BLUE SPRUCE nominee – 2012
by Nicholas Oldland
Kids Can Press, 2010
30 pp.
Age: 3+
Interests: animals, moose, adventure, boats, islands, travel, trying new things, survival skills
Also by this author: The Busy Beaver, Big Bear Hug
A Bundle of Ballads
05 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 10+ Tags: British history, folktales, history, medieval history, poetry, Robin Hood
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER – 1959
compiled by Ruth Manning-Sanders
illustrated by William Stobbs
London: Oxford University Press, 1959
245 pp.
Age: 10+ ?
Interests: medieval history, British history, poetry, legends, folklore, Robin Hood
Also by this illustrator: Kashtanka
Kashtanka
05 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 8+ Tags: circus, dogs, Russia, theatre
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER -1959
by Anton Chekhov
illustrated by William Stobbs
London: Oxford University Press, 1959
49 pp. – 7 chapters
Age: 8 +
Interests: dogs, circus, theatre, cruelty to animals
Note: a little dark for children – read through it yourself first…
Other: Foxie by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire is another version of the same story which is a little more kid-friendly
Also by this illustrator: A Bundle of Ballads
Bedknob and Broomstick
04 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 6+ Tags: adventure, British history, Magic, medieval history, siblings, travel, witches
by Mary Norton
Harcourt Brace, 1943
(the two original books – The Magic Bed-Knob and Bonfires and Broomsticks – are now commonly combined into this one volume)
189 pp., 20 chapters
Age: 6+
Interests: magic, witches, medieval history, adventure, siblings, travel
Next: the Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks has a totally different plot than the book
Also by this author: The Borrowers series
The Saturdays
03 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 7+ Tags: art, city life, family, music, New York, siblings, single parent
by Elizabeth Enright
(first book in the Melendy Quartet series)
Henry Holt and Company, 1941
177 pp., 8 chapters
Age: 7+
Interests: family, siblings, art, music
Next: the other 3 Melendy books are The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, Spiderweb for Two: a Melendy Maze
Also by this author: Thimble Summer, Gone-Away Lake
May I Bring a Friend?
01 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 2+ Tags: animals, castle, manners, royalty, tea parties
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1965
written by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
illustrated by Beni Montresor
Simon & Schuster, 1964
42 pp.
Age: 2+
Interests: animals, royalty, castles, zoo, manners, invitations
The Kingdom Under the Sea
28 Dec 2011 4 Comments
in Books, books 5+ Tags: adventure, dragons, Fairy Tale, folktales, Magic, mermaids, Princess, Russia, witches
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER – 1971
written by Joan Aiken
illustrated by Jan Pienkowski
Jonathan Cape, 1971
104 pp. – 11 stories
Age: 5 +
Interests: fairy tales, folktales, Eastern European folklore, magic, princesses, princes, mermaids
Also by this illustrator: Haunted House, Meg and Mog series
Also by this author: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase series
Once a Mouse…
26 Dec 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+ Tags: animals, art, folktales, India, jungle, mice, philosophy
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1962
subtitle: A Fable Cut in Wood
by Marcia Brown
Simon & Schuster, 1961
30 pp.
Age: 4 +
Interests: mice, animals, folktales, India, magic, art, philosophy
Also by this author: Stone Soup, Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper
The Hundred Dresses
23 Dec 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 7+ Tags: artists, bullies, bullying, class, fashion, friendship, school, teasing
by Eleanor Estes
illustrated by Louis Slobodkin
Harcourt Brace & Company, 1944
80 pp., 7 chapters
Age: 7 +
Interests: school politics, teasing & bullying, peer pressure, friendship, fashion, art
Also by this author: Ginger Pye, The Moffats, The Witch Family
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
21 Dec 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 8+ Tags: bad behavior, Christmas, church, religion, theatre
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Barbara Robinson
HarperCollins, 1972
80 pp., 7 chapters
Ages: 8 +
Interests: Christmas, Christmas pageant, putting on a play, religion, church
Also by this author: sequels featuring the Herdmans – The Best School Year Ever, The Best Hallowe’en Ever
Rarest Kind of Best 