My favorite (and most remembered books from my childhood) were the Jan Brett books, as as it would go, those are my favorite to read to our 3 year old now. My favorites are 'The Mitten" "Annie and the Wild Animals" "The Hat" and "Gingerbread Baby" She not only writes them but does the artwork too, and as someone who loves architecture, clothing, and all the little details of other places and culture, her artwork is just incredible. It feels special to read the actual books to my kids that I read as a kid, so glad my parents saved them all these years.
I just remembered a series I loved when I was little, the ‘All of a kind family’, a Jewish family with 5 kids living in New York I think. Some of the stories lived on with me as if they were my own memories. Just like Tuppence to cross the Mersey. ❤️
I forgot one of my all time children's favorites called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. We reread that one every Christmas. It's a very old book.
I find it so fascinating that in my home growing up we always had bedtime story and my dad encouraged us to read by always having lots of books around for us to read and not just proper little Mennonite books either🤭 most birthday and Christmas gifts included books. Then in my husband's family they were almost never read to and most of the books they had around were of the Christian genre but so poorly written (one must know Rod and Staff books to know what I mean). The characters and morals are high but the imaginative and creative literature is lacking. The difference in mine and my husband's ways of thinking in the ways that are influenced by books is so huge. I don't mean that I am smarter than he is just that my vocabulary is definitely bigger and I know much more about history and the things one would read in books. I hope that makes sense because I'm not sure how to describe it.
Now I read religiously to my children. It helps that I love children's books and I love reading aloud but I also have a huge burden to increase our children's mental and verbal iq but reading to them a lot. I rarely say no when they ask me to read and they throw a huge fit if we can't read chapter books at night.
I do so love reading and so do all of my siblings and few of my husband's siblings do. It's all just fascinating. Long live books and I do wonder if children listening to audio books has the same effect as a parent or adult reading to them?
Also your comment about listening to audiobooks reminded me of Jim Weiss. We listened to his retelling of stories raptly as children and I purchased some of his CDs for my own children to listen too. Definitely still has the same effect I truly believe as he has a knack for really bringing stories to life.
Really interesting observation and question about listening to audio books vs. listening to parents read to us. We read to our kids every night. I used to notice that listening to my husband read (and he's a very good reader) was always so different than how I would have delivered the sentence. Simple, subtle things like where we put emphasis or the characters voices (he didn't do voices), things like that. So what of a stranger reading it? So much can be changed in tone, pauses, and where and what we accentuate.
And I'm so glad you brought up "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". I remember reading it when it first came out. I was a bit too old, but it was at a cottage we rented and I couldn't help but be delighted by it. I think I better resurrect it for another read.
Oh my gosh, this is so true! My husband and I weren't lucky enough to raise a child together (he came into my life when my daughter was 15), and he's never shown any particular affinity for the littles. So I was surprised when a friend from France was visiting with her 7 year old and we took turns reading her tons of bedtime stories. He was an amazing read out loud person! SO different from how I read (I was an elementary teacher so I've done this a lot). I saw another whole side of him, so endearing.
Oh, I am looking forward to reading all the recommendations! I may need to split my recommendations into multiple comments. These are my children's recommendations... (I should also preface that we are Christians and homeschoolers. Also my children are 9 and 7 year old boys. These are the books THEY love most so far.) All Smithsonian Backyard series, my 7 year old just received The Complete Winnie the Pooh Collection by A.A. Milne, Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem, The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter, Jan Brett (I believe someone mentioned her books as well, beautiful books), Tales of Buttercup Grove Series, Gail Gibbons series, Little House series, William J. Bennett books, Where the River Begins by Thomas Locker (gorgeous book for boys), Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (for older children).
By far, Owl Moon is the children’s bedtime book that I’ve enjoyed reading at least a thousand times. My children now read it to theirs children 💕 .
I came upon a box of books once that were discarded from the school library for unacceptable content. My favourite was ‘Walter, the Witch, And the Striped Flying Saucer’. Beautiful story but one of the characters smoked a cigar, so got thrown out :( .
My favorite books are the series by James Herriot. They tell his story as a British Veterinary Surgeon in Yorkshire during the 1940s. He beautifully describes the countryside, his work and interactions with the farmers and town people.
When I saw you ask this question, my immediate thought was "East of Eden" but alas you are already on it! Sublime! This House of Sky by Ivan Doig is another one, a memoir of a man from Montana from a bygone lifetime ago, in the old times, but so beautifully written. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather set in the New Mexico territory ((and anything else she writes)), All Quiet on the Western Front moved me so deeply for its solomn emotional intensity. Frankenstein, believe it or not, has such so many powerful messages, it cannot be underestimated - it was not the book I expected it to be. The Sea Wolf by Jack London is one of his most philosophical books. The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin. I also think you would love the Shepard's Life by James Rebanks.
As for children's, Wind in the Willows is another ((Can also be enjoyed as an adult)). Where the Red Fern Grows makes almost all kids bawl at the end...a great lesson about the death of pets. Anything by Paul Goble because the illustrations are just mesmerizing.
A special book that I read in college is called The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel, and it is so beautiful. I am not Jewish, but as I was beginning to farm at the time, I found so much overlap in the spirituality of farming and the reverence of the Sabbath, that I think you would especially appreciate, after having read your book...it's wisdom is abiding and relatable to your/our perspective on life.
I discovered Ivan Doig last year and love his books. I raise sheep and loved This House of Sky plus The Shepherd’s Life. Just recently finished Wind in the Willows which I had for years but had never read. And just picked up Where The Red Fern Grows.
A children's book we use to love to read is Puddles by Johnathan London. It must be read appropriately, BIG puddles must be spoken with exaggeration and little puddles must be spoken softly. Most importantly, HOP HOP HOP must be spoken loudly and quickly as if you were jumping into the puddle at that moment 😉
For adults: north woods by Daniel Mason which is an historical fiction novel that tells the story of a single house and its inhabitants in western Massachusetts over four centuries. It explores themes of love, madness, and the connection between humans and the natural world. Right up your alley!
I want to thank you for choosing such beautiful paintings to go along with your text. I am like a sponge with beautiful things; a starved person for beauty in this modern, over-illuminated world. So thank you. As for book recommendations, of course The Secret Garden is an enduring story, as well as the Enid Blyton books in the Adventure series as well as the Famous Five. My class loves I Want to go Home, by Canadian Gordon Korman. Pippi Longstocking of course, and Beverley Cleary’s Ramona the Pest. As for adults, I can recommend The River Why, a young man’s journey to Christ. Xx
I'm so glad you like them, Petra. It was such a delight for me to discover this artist for the first time. What a gift to be slowed and to see through his observant, admiring spirit. Thank you for the recommendations! So many incredible ones here. :)
I gave you my list of children's books so on to the adults: Full tilt: Ireland to India with a bicycle by Dervla Murphy (all of her books are great), Margaret Lawrence's The Diviners and The Stone Angel, The Studhorse Man by Robert Kroetsch and Passionate Journey by Frans Masereel (a story told in woodcuts - a delight! Love this and cannot wait for all the recommendations.
I have stopped reading any new publications for the same reasons you outlined. I have gone back to the classics including those I read as a child. I started reading the classics to my grandchildren (8 & 10 years). I started with Charlotte’s Web which they loved. Then Black Beauty, Sounder, Digby the Biggest Dog in the World, Shiloh, and other dog and horse stories that they love. Some are a challenge to find as they are out of print. I recently read A Dog of Flanders and sobbed at the end. I was told by an employee at a bookstore that the reason children aren’t reading classics now is the reading level is higher than what they get in school now. So sad.
Last year I had the tremendous good fortune of “randomly” coming across a raving review for books by a woman called Gene Stratton-Porter. This happened at a time I was rather desperate for some wholesome, heartsome fictional reading material. I searched and found two of her books—The Keeper of the Bees and The Harvester. They were written in the early 1900s. Simply stunning, beautiful works. For young adults or adults…I went on to read many other of her works and she hardly writes a bad line anywhere. Also has an amazing personal story. I’ve also been recalling recently a series by Susan S. Cooper for young adults, called The Dark is Rising, with several books, that I read in sixth grade, and it was great…intense! Would add (for adults) The Space Trilogy by CS Lewis as well.
My favorite (and most remembered books from my childhood) were the Jan Brett books, as as it would go, those are my favorite to read to our 3 year old now. My favorites are 'The Mitten" "Annie and the Wild Animals" "The Hat" and "Gingerbread Baby" She not only writes them but does the artwork too, and as someone who loves architecture, clothing, and all the little details of other places and culture, her artwork is just incredible. It feels special to read the actual books to my kids that I read as a kid, so glad my parents saved them all these years.
YES!
I just remembered a series I loved when I was little, the ‘All of a kind family’, a Jewish family with 5 kids living in New York I think. Some of the stories lived on with me as if they were my own memories. Just like Tuppence to cross the Mersey. ❤️
I forgot about these! They’re wonderful.
Yes! My 8 year old son loves this series!!
This book is fantastic and one of my favorites that I’ve read with my daughter!
I forgot one of my all time children's favorites called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. We reread that one every Christmas. It's a very old book.
I find it so fascinating that in my home growing up we always had bedtime story and my dad encouraged us to read by always having lots of books around for us to read and not just proper little Mennonite books either🤭 most birthday and Christmas gifts included books. Then in my husband's family they were almost never read to and most of the books they had around were of the Christian genre but so poorly written (one must know Rod and Staff books to know what I mean). The characters and morals are high but the imaginative and creative literature is lacking. The difference in mine and my husband's ways of thinking in the ways that are influenced by books is so huge. I don't mean that I am smarter than he is just that my vocabulary is definitely bigger and I know much more about history and the things one would read in books. I hope that makes sense because I'm not sure how to describe it.
Now I read religiously to my children. It helps that I love children's books and I love reading aloud but I also have a huge burden to increase our children's mental and verbal iq but reading to them a lot. I rarely say no when they ask me to read and they throw a huge fit if we can't read chapter books at night.
I do so love reading and so do all of my siblings and few of my husband's siblings do. It's all just fascinating. Long live books and I do wonder if children listening to audio books has the same effect as a parent or adult reading to them?
Also your comment about listening to audiobooks reminded me of Jim Weiss. We listened to his retelling of stories raptly as children and I purchased some of his CDs for my own children to listen too. Definitely still has the same effect I truly believe as he has a knack for really bringing stories to life.
I forgot about that book! Going to hunt that one down for this Christmas as that was one of my favorites as a child.
We love that book, too. The newest movie that came out last year is really well done and wonderful.
Really interesting observation and question about listening to audio books vs. listening to parents read to us. We read to our kids every night. I used to notice that listening to my husband read (and he's a very good reader) was always so different than how I would have delivered the sentence. Simple, subtle things like where we put emphasis or the characters voices (he didn't do voices), things like that. So what of a stranger reading it? So much can be changed in tone, pauses, and where and what we accentuate.
And I'm so glad you brought up "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". I remember reading it when it first came out. I was a bit too old, but it was at a cottage we rented and I couldn't help but be delighted by it. I think I better resurrect it for another read.
Oh my gosh, this is so true! My husband and I weren't lucky enough to raise a child together (he came into my life when my daughter was 15), and he's never shown any particular affinity for the littles. So I was surprised when a friend from France was visiting with her 7 year old and we took turns reading her tons of bedtime stories. He was an amazing read out loud person! SO different from how I read (I was an elementary teacher so I've done this a lot). I saw another whole side of him, so endearing.
Oh, I am looking forward to reading all the recommendations! I may need to split my recommendations into multiple comments. These are my children's recommendations... (I should also preface that we are Christians and homeschoolers. Also my children are 9 and 7 year old boys. These are the books THEY love most so far.) All Smithsonian Backyard series, my 7 year old just received The Complete Winnie the Pooh Collection by A.A. Milne, Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem, The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter, Jan Brett (I believe someone mentioned her books as well, beautiful books), Tales of Buttercup Grove Series, Gail Gibbons series, Little House series, William J. Bennett books, Where the River Begins by Thomas Locker (gorgeous book for boys), Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (for older children).
By far, Owl Moon is the children’s bedtime book that I’ve enjoyed reading at least a thousand times. My children now read it to theirs children 💕 .
I came upon a box of books once that were discarded from the school library for unacceptable content. My favourite was ‘Walter, the Witch, And the Striped Flying Saucer’. Beautiful story but one of the characters smoked a cigar, so got thrown out :( .
Tara, let’s do the same with children’s songs!
I grew up with Owl Moon! It's necessary
Ohhhh... songs! Okay, yes, I'd like that very much. Thank you for the recommendations!
Love Owl Moon- such a gorgeous book!
My favorite books are the series by James Herriot. They tell his story as a British Veterinary Surgeon in Yorkshire during the 1940s. He beautifully describes the countryside, his work and interactions with the farmers and town people.
“All Creatures Great and Small”
“All Things Bright and Beautiful”
“All Things Wise and Wonderful”
“The Lord God Made them All”
I’ve read every single one 5,343 times 🙂🙂🙂🙂❤️
When I saw you ask this question, my immediate thought was "East of Eden" but alas you are already on it! Sublime! This House of Sky by Ivan Doig is another one, a memoir of a man from Montana from a bygone lifetime ago, in the old times, but so beautifully written. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather set in the New Mexico territory ((and anything else she writes)), All Quiet on the Western Front moved me so deeply for its solomn emotional intensity. Frankenstein, believe it or not, has such so many powerful messages, it cannot be underestimated - it was not the book I expected it to be. The Sea Wolf by Jack London is one of his most philosophical books. The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin. I also think you would love the Shepard's Life by James Rebanks.
As for children's, Wind in the Willows is another ((Can also be enjoyed as an adult)). Where the Red Fern Grows makes almost all kids bawl at the end...a great lesson about the death of pets. Anything by Paul Goble because the illustrations are just mesmerizing.
A special book that I read in college is called The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel, and it is so beautiful. I am not Jewish, but as I was beginning to farm at the time, I found so much overlap in the spirituality of farming and the reverence of the Sabbath, that I think you would especially appreciate, after having read your book...it's wisdom is abiding and relatable to your/our perspective on life.
I discovered Ivan Doig last year and love his books. I raise sheep and loved This House of Sky plus The Shepherd’s Life. Just recently finished Wind in the Willows which I had for years but had never read. And just picked up Where The Red Fern Grows.
I absolutely second all of these! Love Willa Cather.
A children's book we use to love to read is Puddles by Johnathan London. It must be read appropriately, BIG puddles must be spoken with exaggeration and little puddles must be spoken softly. Most importantly, HOP HOP HOP must be spoken loudly and quickly as if you were jumping into the puddle at that moment 😉
Braiding sweetgrass
I'm about 2/3 through this book. I especially like the beginning, where she talks about how they teach their youth, their "We are one" mantra.
For adults: north woods by Daniel Mason which is an historical fiction novel that tells the story of a single house and its inhabitants in western Massachusetts over four centuries. It explores themes of love, madness, and the connection between humans and the natural world. Right up your alley!
Dear Tara,
I want to thank you for choosing such beautiful paintings to go along with your text. I am like a sponge with beautiful things; a starved person for beauty in this modern, over-illuminated world. So thank you. As for book recommendations, of course The Secret Garden is an enduring story, as well as the Enid Blyton books in the Adventure series as well as the Famous Five. My class loves I Want to go Home, by Canadian Gordon Korman. Pippi Longstocking of course, and Beverley Cleary’s Ramona the Pest. As for adults, I can recommend The River Why, a young man’s journey to Christ. Xx
I'm so glad you like them, Petra. It was such a delight for me to discover this artist for the first time. What a gift to be slowed and to see through his observant, admiring spirit. Thank you for the recommendations! So many incredible ones here. :)
Oh The Secret Garden! The moor! Dickson’s mom❤️. I practically love every part!
I gave you my list of children's books so on to the adults: Full tilt: Ireland to India with a bicycle by Dervla Murphy (all of her books are great), Margaret Lawrence's The Diviners and The Stone Angel, The Studhorse Man by Robert Kroetsch and Passionate Journey by Frans Masereel (a story told in woodcuts - a delight! Love this and cannot wait for all the recommendations.
I have stopped reading any new publications for the same reasons you outlined. I have gone back to the classics including those I read as a child. I started reading the classics to my grandchildren (8 & 10 years). I started with Charlotte’s Web which they loved. Then Black Beauty, Sounder, Digby the Biggest Dog in the World, Shiloh, and other dog and horse stories that they love. Some are a challenge to find as they are out of print. I recently read A Dog of Flanders and sobbed at the end. I was told by an employee at a bookstore that the reason children aren’t reading classics now is the reading level is higher than what they get in school now. So sad.
They're lucky to have you! Highly recommend "Paddy" by R.D. Lawrence - I named a little duck after him in his honour. Such a delight is R.D. Lawrence.
Such a delight. After North Runner we did Secret go the Wolves and now Ghost Hunter.
Have you tried the Blaze books by C.W. Anderson? They can be tricky to find, but my son had them on repeat for over a year
Oh my gosh! Yes! I grew up reading Billy and Blaze books. I loved the charcoal illustrations!
Will look it up. Thanks.
Last year I had the tremendous good fortune of “randomly” coming across a raving review for books by a woman called Gene Stratton-Porter. This happened at a time I was rather desperate for some wholesome, heartsome fictional reading material. I searched and found two of her books—The Keeper of the Bees and The Harvester. They were written in the early 1900s. Simply stunning, beautiful works. For young adults or adults…I went on to read many other of her works and she hardly writes a bad line anywhere. Also has an amazing personal story. I’ve also been recalling recently a series by Susan S. Cooper for young adults, called The Dark is Rising, with several books, that I read in sixth grade, and it was great…intense! Would add (for adults) The Space Trilogy by CS Lewis as well.
Gene Stratton-Porter is a favorite around here. Have you tried Freckles or Girl of the Limberlost?
I never read Girl of the Limberlost but I watched the movie over and over again as a kid!
For kids -
Anything by Byrd Baylor
Millions of Cats, an absolute gem written in 1928
Bear Snores On, my teens can still recite the whole thing from memory!
My side of the Mountain
Julie of the Wolves
Hatchet
The Borrowers
Wrinkle in Time (anything by Madeleine L’Engle, really)
For adults-
Also anything by Madeleine L’Engle, her adult books are so good
The Egg and I by Betty McDonald (who wrote the Mrs Piggle Wiggle children’s books)
Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, a fairytale that takes place in an 1800’s Alaskan homestead
The Bear by Andrew Krivak
The Bear totally changed my perspective on death. Such a beautiful story.
Oh Betty Macdonald is a treasure- I quote her all the time. She’s hilarious.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Just reread it in October for the first time since high school and it was incredible. So inspired to go back and read more classical literature!