Baby Books for Babies: An Update
Current list of childhood books I’ve re-read:
- Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Judy Blume)
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Barbara Robinson)
- Holes (Louis Sachar)
- A Wrinkle in Time (Madeline L’Engle)
- An embarrassingly large number of Babysitters Club books
I actually just finished reading Holes yesterday, and that book is even better than I remember it. It’s surprisingly…intricate?…for a kid’s book. It’s not hard to read or anything like that, but everything ties together in more ways than you typically see in a lot of kid’s books. I also really like Sachar’s writing style and characters; I actually bought a physical copy of his Sixth Grade Secrets because I used to love that book as a kid. So if you haven’t read Holes, read it!
A Wrinkle in Time was a disappointment. It wasn’t nearly as good as I remember it being.
Now I need to figure out what to read next!
HEY LOOK MORE NOSTALGIA
I’ve been on Goodreads a lot lately because I like to look up what other people think about the books on my list (after I’ve already finished them, of course). Today I found someone who had a list of books that kids in the 90s probably read. There were a few on there that triggered some memories for me.
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
I can’t remember if we had to read this in elementary school or if it was just one of those books we had on our shelves and I just decided to read it.
Bunnicula by Deborah Howe and James Howe
I had this when I was pretty young, I think. Maybe my mom read it to me?
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman
I want to say I read this in 6th grade as part of a group book report thingy. We decided to make a little movie reenactment of part of it, ‘cause I had a camcorder and I LOVED doing that kind of thing. I remember liking the book quite a bit.
Holes by Louis Sachar
I think Mrs. Lohrmann (our 6th grade teacher) read this aloud to us.
Perspective (yet another nostalgia-driven post)
You’re probably thinking, what’s with all the nostalgia, Claudia? NO ONE CARES!
Yeah, I know no one cares.
But I think they’re all coming from how much I’m missing Moscow and thinking about all the time I spent there as a kid/teen/young adult. Just the constant thinking of Moscow is dredging up a bunch of old memories.
So yeah, that’s the explanation. Sorry if you don’t like it.
ANYWAY.
The random thing I remembered today was a set of fairy tale books I had when I was a young kid (first and second grade, maybe?). The series was called “Another Point of View” by Alvin Granowsky and it presented classic fairy tales/fables from the “traditional” perspective and then from a different perspective based on one of the other characters in the story.
I think my mom got me several of these, but the one I remember was “The Three Billy Goats Gruff/Just a Friendly Old Troll.”
Edit: sweet, here’s a lady reading it on YouTube.
I remember my mom always emphasizing the importance of critically looking at stories, especially movies. Thanks, mom!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Shoutout to my super awesome amazing mom! I love you so much!
On a related note: I don’t know how many of you out there watch the Colbert Report, but a few months ago Stephen did an interview with the (now late, RIP) Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are. I highly advise you watch part 1 and part 2 if you haven’t yet, ‘cause they’re hilarious.
Anyway, in the second part of the interview, Stephen read Mr. Sendak a children’s book he himself wrote entitled I Am A Pole (And So Can You!). He got a blurb from the children’s author (“The sad thing is, I like it!”) and promised that as soon as he got a publisher, the book would be out for purchase.
Well, Stephen Colbert being Stephen Colbert, he announced a week or so ago that IAAP(ASCY!) would be released on May 8th.*
My mom and I both thought Stephen’s book hilarious, so I decided to buy her a copy for Mother’s Day. It’s longer and has more illustrations than the version he read on the air, and the little extras on the jacket sleeves and the additional pages are pretty great as well. Plus, all proceeds from the sale of his book (and the audiobook version) go to USVETS, a non-profit organization dedicated to returning troops.
So if you’re looking for a cool little gift for someone or think Stephen Colbert is awesome, go get a copy of this book. It’s pretty rad.
*Coincidentally, this is the day that Mr. Sendak passed. Freaky, eh?
“Don’t be afraid. I’m only a toaster. Plug me in. Go on. You’ll like it.”
I found The Brave Little Toaster on YouTube. That movie is such a trip.
[Insert frantic Wikipedia research here]
DUDE IT WAS A BOOK TOO:
The blanket looks alarmingly like a serial killer in the cover illustration. One of those calculating, quiet types who smothers children in their sleep.*
Wiki: “The Brave Little Toaster was well-received by critics. Anna Quindlen, writing for the New York Times, called it ‘a wonderful book for a certain sort of eccentric adult. You know who you are. Buy it for your children; read it yourself.'”
Hahahahaha.
Its full title is The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances, which leads me to believe that author Thomas M. Disch is pretty freaking great. Must…acquire…copy…
*NaNoWriMo 2012 idea: rewrite The Brave Little Toaster as a horror book. Call it Burnt. The five appliances are bitter to the point of extreme revenge over being left at the cabin by their master. They set out to seek revenge on him. Along the way, Blanky’s initial harmless hallucinations about the master soon give way to his psychopathic tendencies. Because we all know it’s the quiet, innocent-seeming ones who are apt to snap and turn on their friends in the middle of the woods.
Dude. This is so happening.
Edit: Mr. Disch and I share a birthday. It’s a sign.
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