CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 2007
by David Wiesner
New York: Clarion Books, 2006
Age: 5+
Interests: ocean, ocean creatures, nature, beaches, photography, magic
Also by this author: Free Fall, Tuesday, Sector 7, The Three Pigs
Flotsam
28 Jun 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+ Tags: beach, Magic, mystery, nature, ocean, photography, sea creatures
Matilda
27 Jun 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 6+ Tags: bookworms, family, Magic, psychic powers, school, strong girls, teachers
by Roald Dahl
illustrated by Quentin Blake
London: Jonathan Cape, 1988
240 pp. – 21 chapters
Age: 6+
Interests: kids who are bookworms, school, magic, psychic powers, revenge!
Also by this author: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
20 Jun 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+, Classics Tags: adventure, castle, Magic, storms, strong girls, travel, witches, wizard
The Wizard of Oz (aka The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
by L. Frank Baum
original illustrator W. W. Denslow
first published 1900
158 pp. (in New York: Sterling, 1999) – 24 chapters
Age: 5 +
Interests: magic, witches, adventure, travel, tornadoes
Also by this author: 14 Oz sequels, of varying quality
The Funny Little Woman
19 Jun 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 3+ Tags: cave, cooking, folktales, Japan, Magic
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1973
Arlene Mosel, author
Blair Lent, illustrator
New York: E. P. Dutton, 1972
36 pp.
Age: 3+
Interests: folktales, Japan, cooking, magic, caves
Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper
16 Jun 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 3+, Classics Tags: Fairy Tale, Magic, Princess, romance
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1955
Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper
translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown
New York: Macmillan, 1954
30 pp.
Age: 3 +
Interests: fairy tales, princesses, magic
The Magic Finger
14 Jun 2011 2 Comments
in Books, books 4+ Tags: birds, ducks, Magic
by Roald Dahl
illustrator Quentin Blake
London: Puffin, 1964
63 pp.
Age: 4 +
Interests: animal welfare, birds, magic
Also by this author: James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, Charley and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and many, many more
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
14 Jun 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 5+ Tags: frogs, jazz, Magic, New Orleans, Princess, swamp
Rated: G
Length: 97 min.
Age: 5 + Commonsense Media sez: 6 +
Scary Factor: villain Dr. Facilier calls upon evil spirits for help several times; three frog-hunters in the swamp shoot guns and whack each other around quite violently; shadow demons chase Prince Naveen; several close calls with alligators and other creatures in the swamp; death of a ‘good guy’ main character near the end is rather shocking and very sad; death of Facilier as demons drag him down into hell (presumably)
Intense: death of a main character is very upsetting, his funeral is shown with grieving friends, although in the end it is rather uplifting
Bad Behavior: some drinking in restaurants and parties, plus one brief gag re. a drunk at the masquerade ball
Language: “hell”, “crap”, insults (“stupid”)
Interests: frogs, swamps, New Orleans, jazz, magic, princesses
Ella’s Big Chance
13 Jun 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+ Tags: Fairy Tale, fashion, Magic, romance
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER – 2003
by Shirley Hughes
London: Bodley Head, 2003
44 pp.
Age: 4+
Interests: fairy tales, fashion, love stories, magic
Also by this author: Dogger
Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep
27 May 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+ Tags: fairies, Magic, skipping
Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep
by Eleanor Farjeon
illustrated by Charlotte Voake
first published in 1937
this edition: Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 1997
61 pp.
Age: 5 +
Interests: fairies, magic, skipping
The Magic Fishbone
17 May 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+, Classics Tags: fairies, Fairy Tale, Magic, Princess, siblings, strong girls
subtitle: “A Holiday Romance from the Pen of Miss Alice Rainbird, Aged Seven”
by Charles Dickens
originally published 1868
this edition: illustrated by Louis Slobodkin, Vanguard Press, New York, 1953
36 pp.
Age: 4 +
Interests: magic, fairies, princesses
Also by this author (for children): The Cricket on the Hearth, A Christmas Carol
Rarest Kind of Best 