i like to read a story to my kids before they go to sleep.
lately, i've realized that i don't love many of the stories that i have.
i'm not a fan of many modern books-- i crave the beauty and poetry of literature that we have lost with books like No David No!, Junie B. Jones, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Cute stories, yes. Beautiful literature, NO.
I'm craving simple, thought provoking, beautiful, classic, picture book type stories.
In this day and age, kids know Sponge Bob, and maybe even Cat in the Hat, but they don't know Georgie Porgie or Little Miss Muffett, or even "Not by the hair on my chiney, chin, chin." Ariel but not Rumpelstiltskin.
My other issue is that my favorite books get ruined... from lots of love. Whereas the books I love least are still in mint condition. My younger kids don't have the beautiful books that my older children loved.
I need to update my favorites.
So, I decided that once a month i would take my kids to the book store and we would buy a new book for our collection.
Guess what? Even at Barnes and Noble it was hard for me to find a book i love.Weird huh?
They had some great books- but they were all paper back, or cost $30.
Next month, I'm going to buy online.i LOVE what i ended up coming home with...
Actually, I bought 2 books... from the same author/illustrator Gyo Fujikawa.
Have you heard of her?
i found this picture... which makes me love her more.Fairy Tales and Fables... you can buy it for $9.95 here.
and, A Child's Book of Poems... you can buy it for $9.95 here.
Actually, at Amazon right now, you can get 4 of Fujikawa's books for the price of 3... they are DARLING.
i also LOVE her Original Mother Goose book... but i have 100 mother goose books already.
(If I was shopping at Amazon-- I'm sure i would have gotten 4 of her books.)
There is actually an etsy store that sells pages from her books to frame.
The poems in her child's book of poems are old fashioned. Some are familiar classics, others are new to me.
The classic stories in the fairy tales and fables books, are short and easy to read, but CLASSIC in their language. Yes, little red riding hood says, "Grandmother, what big ears you have." And the wolf responds, "The better to hear you with my dear." Grandmother, by the way, is hiding in the closet. (This may not be true to how it was first written, but it does make more sense... you really couldn't chop grandma out of the wolf's stomach.) In the tortoise and the hare, the final line is the classic "Slow and Steady wins the race."
i LOVE that. Easy to read and classic language with darling pictures. What more could you ask for?
I have left these two books on my coffee table this past week. All throughout the week, I have read them to my little kids, but I have found them in my big kids room. My bigger girls have, on their own, memorized many of the poems. And, my boys keep asking me, "Mom, what does pantaloons mean?" or "What's a moor?"
I LOVE it!!
Any suggestions?
I asked for The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury for Christmas for my kids and they love it. I like a treasury that they can thumb through and pick out a story or two for me to read or ready themselves and if we go on a trip I can just grab it and we are good. This book has minimized its illustrations but it has many fun stories some of which we already own.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679886478/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Here's some great ones you might like:
ReplyDeleteJohnny Appleseed, illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen (I LOVE her illustrations)
This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie (Kathy Jakobsen ills. this one, too)
The Little House (I think Bec LOVES this one) AND Calico the Wonder Horse, by Virginia Lee Burton
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran (this is magical and simple for me and my kids)
The Children's Book of Virtues, edited by William J. Bennett
Quick as a Cricket, Don and Audrey Wood
And my most favorite of all (I'm planning on buying another one so I can use the pictures) is Eloise Wilkin Stories (hardcover). You'd love them, especially the illustrations, if you don't have them already. Your youngest two would love them.
Happy reading.
I LOVE Gyo Fujikawa! We had some of her books growing up and they were always my favorites!
ReplyDeletewow. can gyo really be that old? she looks like she is on her way out and it isn't even 1900. could that really be her? I know, how many people can have that name. as far as art goes , il ove 50's retro. that is what this looks like to me. Mary blair is my favorite retro artist. her book " i can fly" makes me so happy.
ReplyDeleteI love to go to thrift stores to find old classics. i have gotten a lot of richard scary books and some really fun old short story collections for kids. the golden book collections are always good. it is funny though, i find that it is harder to get through older stories. people and children were much more patient with a story back then. I found myself getting a little lost in a rip van winkle.
I got your phone message and might come by in the later morning. i will call first.
Love
ReplyDelete'The Little House' Virginia Burton.
The little Red lighthouse and the great gray bridge... by hildegarde swift
scuffy the tugboat - golden book.
for older kids... The Saturdays Series by Elizabeth Enright.
And all of a Kind Family Series by Sydney Taylor.
Perhaps you know of all those, but anyhoo... they are some my favorite classics.
Oh, wow! I was looking on line for a photo of a Gyo Fujikawa book to put on my parenting blog about reading to kids and found your delightful blog. Thanks for sharing! Gyo's A to Z Picture Book and Surprise! Surprise! were 2 of my boys' favorite books 25-30 years ago. Love them so much!
ReplyDeleteDiane
www.childhoodmyths.blogspot.com