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THE
ENRICHING
WORLD
OFA
GOODBOOK
T
o help you in your search for
good reading. here is a brief re–
counting of the kinds of books avail–
able and their characteristics,
beginning with the preschool and
kindergarten leve!.
1. Plcture storles,
for prereaders and
beginning readers. (I ncludes realis–
tic stories, informational stories,
poems, fantasy, etc.) These stories
are generally built around one or
two major themes : !ove or reas–
surance, and achievement.
Peter
Rabbit
by Beatrix Potter, over 70
years old. has both themes a nd is
still popular. Peter survives his dar–
ing advent ure, returns safe and
sound, and is put to bed after a
punishment of chamomile tea . The
Litt/e Bear
books,
Mike Mulligan
and His Steam Shovel, Madeline,
and
Little Tim
a re others in this
beginner category.
2. Mother Goose and Ballads
in–
troduce children to the fun of lan–
guage . Rhyme, rhythm, humor, and
the nonsense elements delight them.
Ballads appeal because of their dra–
matic stories and are a bridge be–
tween Mother Goose rhymes and
regular narrative poetry.
3. Folk Storles.
Cha llenge and
achievement are the heart of the
folk-tale themes. The heroes or her–
oi nes must perform stern tasks if
they are to survive, but the fact that
they deal competently with adver–
sity and come through modestly tri–
umphant is both reassuring and
encouraging. Stories such as "Cin–
derella," "The Three Li ttle Pigs,"
"Three Billy-Goats Gruff," and
"Snow White" dramatize the stormy
conftict of good and evil. And they
reiterate the old verities that k.ind–
ness and goodness will triumph over
evil if they a re backed by wisdom.
14
wi t, and courage. These are basic
truths we should like built into th e
depths of the child 's social
co~
sciousness.
4. Fantasy, Fables, Myths , and
Epics.
The drama and beauty of
these literary forms appea l to most
children, and the excitement of the
great epics satisfy a child 's rever–
ence for courage and high deeds.
5. Humor.
Children as much as we
grown-ups need the saving therapy
of la ughter. Each family will proba–
bly find its own favorites, but a few
widely popular ones are the Seuss
books,
Winnie rhe Pooh,
and the
Christopher Robín books of A. A.
Milne,
Pippi Longstocking, Char–
/otte 's Web, The Borrowers, The
Wind in the Wi/lows,
and C. S.
Lewis'
N am ia
series.
6. Poetry
ex tends children's imagi- .
nations and gives them new inward
vision and understanding. It in–
creases a child's appreciation of lan–
guage and introduces a different
kind of loveliness, that of mood,
emotion, and lyric. Nonsense and
humor in poetry teach a chi ld that
he can joke with words a nd that life
is fun.
7. Animal Stories
satisfy strongly the
need to love and be loved, awaken
sympathy and compass ion in chil–
dren's hearts, and teach them that
a ll creatures need to be cared for.
"Love is the most civi lizing force in
life. So Jet children weep over
King
of the Wind
or
Gentle Ben;
they
need the therapy of tears if they are
to learn compassion."
8. Realistic Stories.
Themes of love
a nd achievement abound in realistic
stories of family life. Earlier series
which a re sti ll popular today are
The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew,
and
The Hardy Boys.
They are
joined by such modern titles as
Little Eddie, Hemy Huggins, Meef
the Austins, Cheaper by the Dozen,
Blue Willow,
and
Roosevelt Grady.
9. Adventure Tales.
These include
sea stories, mysteries. a nd such das–
síes as
Treasure Js/and, Kidnapped,
and Dana's
Two Years Befare the
Mast;
they satisfy a child's longing
for vicarious adventure; they give
him a look at the grown-up world
before he has to enter it and at other
times and places wh ich he may
never be able to visit in person.
1O.
Historical Fiction
does the same,
while making history come a live.
Two fine books in this class which
appeal to children from 8 to 15 are
The Courage of Sarah Noble
and
J ohnny Tremain.
Two Newberry
Meda! winners a re historical fiction.
/stand of the Blue Dolphins
(196 1)
and
The Bronze Bow
(
1962).
11.
Blography
reinforces historical
fiction. Gqod biographies are avail–
a ble a t various age levels. Good au–
thentic treatments that are as
" fascinating as fiction" have been
done on Paracelsus, Galileo, Keats,
Peno, Columbus, William Blake,
Washington, Sequoyah, Lincoln ,
Lee, Gandhi , and many others.
According to Miss Ruth Robín–
son, chi ldren's librarían at the
downtown Los Angeles Public Li–
brary, there are certain tilles that
are classics and constant favorites .
Here are the most asked-for classics
and con temporary books:
CLASSICS
Thumbelina,
Anderson
The Wizard ofOz,
Baum
Wind in the Willows,
Graham
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
Grimm
The Lion, the Witch
&
the Ward-
robe,
Lewis (the Narnia Series)
Peter Rabbit,
Potter
Charlolle's Web,
White
The Little House in the Big Woods,
Wilder
Big Golden Animal ABC,
Williams ·
CONTEMPORARY
A re Yo u There God? It 's Me,
Margaret,
Blume
The Mystety of the Singing Serpent,
Carey
The Ve1y Hungty Caterpillar,
Carie
The Guinness Book of World Rec-
ords
Jo/m Henry,
Keats
Nancy Drew,
Keene
/stand ofthe Blue Do{phins,
O'Dell
The Best Word Book Ever,
Scarry
Where the Wild Things Are,
Sendak
Encyclopedia Brown,
Sobol
I f your children agree with the
majority of their peers, there should
be severa! books in those lists they'll
enjoy. Here' s to good reading and
successful children.
The
PLA\N TRUTH September 1976