The Challenge! Part I

The Challenge! Part I

I confess, I was afraid that no one would respond to the invitation on my first post, and I’d be reduced to making up imaginary children with imaginary book preferences. But, wow! That was not the case. With four responses and five challenges--and such great challenges, too, with so much potential--the hard part was limiting my recommended titles to a reasonable number. So much so that I’m going to split my response into two parts. Much thanks to everyone who participated!

Herewith, Part I: Book Recommendation Challenge Responses 1-3.

1) From Susan—5 year old girl, likes:

• First Thousand Words in Spanish
• Madeline
• Harry the Dirty Dog

My recommendations:

• The Night I Followed the Dog, by Nina Laden. It’s got a dog with a mysterious secret life, a kid who goes on an adventure in the middle of the night, and best of all, Laden hand-lettered the text in a halfway-to-rebus style that I can only call “visual onomatopoeia” in which many words are written out in a way that gives a sense of their meaning: the O’s in the word “Looked” have little eyes in them, etc.

• Madlenka, by Peter Sis. In this simple yet rich picture book, Madlenka walks around the block greeting all her neighbors—each of whom speaks a different language—with the exciting news that she’s just lost her tooth. Cool die-cut illustrations. (This feels a bit like cheating, since Akelda mentioned it in her request, but it's so perfect I couldn't resist.)

• Manana, Iguana, by Ann Whitford Paul. A take-off on the old “Little Red Hen” story, starring an iguana who decides to have a fiesta. Every time she asks her friends for help, they respond with the title phrase…until the day of the fiesta itself. Will the iguana’s friends redeem themselves? Can you stand the suspense?? Lots of Spanish words tossed in, and a glossary at the back.

2) From Alkelda—4 year old girl, likes:

• Madlenka
• Princess and the Pea (Lauren Child version)
• Fairies

 My recommendations:

• Alice the Fairy, by David Shannon. Alice is just an apprentice fairy, so she can only do really simple magic: like turning her white dress red (with spilled juice—oops!) and magically making the room turn dark (with just a flick of the light switch). A Lauren Child fan might like Shannon’s goofy illustrations.

• The Paper Bag Princess, by Robert Munsch. Full disclosure: knowing Alkelda as I do, I’d be surprised if her daughter hasn’t already encountered this classic tale of a princess who sets out to rescue her caddish fiancé from a fearsome but somewhat gullible dragon. But it’s always good for a re-read, and Elizabeth is such an excellent role model for princesses everywhere: she's brave, resourceful, clever, and won't put up with any guff!

• Twig, by Elizabeth Orton Jones . Considering how many little girls are obsessed with fairies, there are remarkably few decent fairy-themed kids’ books on offer. This novel, about a charming little girl named Twig who befriends an elf, is a bit of a stretch for a 4-year-old listener, but might be a good read-aloud if broken up into small bedtime segments.

3) From Veronique (first request of two)—9 year old girl, likes these series:

•  Nancy Drew
•  Tin Tin
• Harry Potter

 My recommendations:

• Get Real! Series by Linda Ellerbee. In the first volume of the series, 11-year-old Casey Smith starts a newspaper at her middle school. Then it’s off to the races as she rakes up muck and solves mystery after mystery in volume after volume. Ellerbee (a former reporter herself) isn’t afraid to take on big issues, but she keeps the tone light and steers away from preachiness.

• Baby-Sitters’ Club graphic novel version, by Ann Martin and Raina Telgemeier. I was too old for the Babysitters’ Club books the first time around, and never did manage to get all the way through one (though I like some of series author Ann Martin’s other books). But this! This, I liked. Raina Telgemeier cuts through what were wordy passages in the originals with a few deft visual strokes, and gives new life to this series about four middle school friends who start a babysitting club. Skews a bit older than “Babymouse,” though a 9-year-old might enjoy that too.

• Chrestomanci series, by Diana Wynne Jones. The ripple effect from the Harry Potter craze has been great for all kids’ fantasy authors, and nobody deserves that boost more than Diana Wynne Jones, who’s been writing clever stories about magical kids since J. K. Rowling was a wee sprout sitting her 11-Plus exams. The books in this series can be read in any order—they take place in the same magical world, but among slightly different sets of characters—but I’d recommend starting with Charmed Life (about a boy whose older sister is a witch and gets invited to study with the great Chrestomanci) or Witch Week (about a school for children with witch parents, in a world where witchcraft is possible but illegal).

These descriptions are getting wordier and wordier, which means I’d better stop for now before I end up writing recommendations that are longer than the books themselves!

Back next time with the last two challenges...

 

September 30, 2007

Comments

[Veronique]

Thanks, and perfect timing -- her book orders are due in a couple days! :-)

[Susan]

Hey, Curious Girl would be all about the imaginary children and their imaginary books, if you get to that point (which you never will, because this is just all so very cool!).

We've read and enjoyed Madlenka (and even more so, Madlenka's Dog), so I'm pretty sure your other recommendations are going to be on the mark (and I'm going to check out some of the others you mentioned for the other commenters). Since our librarian just left the synagogue library and has been replaced by someone who clearly likes adult books more than kids' books, I'm very happy you're blogging here. It's like a small town library right in my computer.

[ALKELDA]

Hi Els! You are right in that we have read Paperbag Princess. :) I have requested Alice the Fairy from our library but I'm going to have to place an interlibrary loan on Twig, as our library system doesn't have it. I had thought the author sounded familiar, and sure enough, she's the illustrator for Prayer for a Child. I confess I despise those illustrations, but perhaps her writing is more up my alley.

Thanks for the recommendations!