Favorite Children's Literature, an Update In Honor of Beverly Cleary

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     This was a Friday Faves that we published two years ago in September for National Literacy Day. But I am updating it today in honor of Beverly Cleary who just celebrated her 102nd birthday!  It seems appropriate that on What to Read Wednesday we talk again about some great children's literature since Beverly Cleary has definitely been a notable contributor to the Children's Lit genre. Last week my mother turned 96 and I talked about a favorite series of her's on this post. It is time to recognize another woman who has seen much and influenced many in her lifetime.

     Happy National Literacy Day (*and now Beverly Cleary's Birthday!),  and welcome to Friday Faves #32 and What to Read Wednesday! (Ha Ha, both at the same time! This is confusing!) We can't let a celebration of literacy go by without talking about some of our favorite books.  And since we become literate on children's books, we decided to pay tribute to some old favorites today. Be sure to join in the fun and remind us of the books you loved as a child in the comments section!

What were your favorite children's books?

     If you know me at all, you know that books have always been a huge part of my life.  I wanted my children to love books as much as I do.  I believe that your children are never to young to read to.  I read to mine before they were born.  I read to my grandchildren whenever I can.  Books open up a child's world and imagination and the more a child is read to, the better reader he will become.  My mom gave me that gift as a child.  She loves to read, too!  When I was young, she would take me to the library and recommend books to me. I loved them all.  Today I chose my favorite because of those memories I have of my mother.  One of my all time favorites is Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne.  I read the original book of stories first, and then later came to love the Disney versions and movies as well.  All of the best quotes come from Winnie! I made a picture frame for my little grandson when he was born prematurely and tiny.  I put this quote from Pooh on it.

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

You can still get the original version of Winnie-the-Pooh by clicking the link below. I love the illustrations in the original.
I also just learned of this book, Finding Winnie, that is about what inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh stories! I feel like I need to read it! It is a Caldecott Medal winner!
*Update! If you have Netflix, check out the Disney movie "Christopher Robin". It is a live action story about when Christopher Robin is all grown up. He has almost forgotten his time in the 100 acre wood, but Pooh hasn't forgotten him. He comes back into Christopher's life just in time to help him save his family and to remember what is important. It reminds me of "Hook" and the story of grown-up Peter Pan. I am a lover of Winnie-the-Pooh and I thought this movie was sweet and funny. Eeyore stole the show for me. (You can also rent or buy it onAmazon.)

I decided that for this Friday Fave, I needed to ask not only my children, but my grandchildren about what books they enjoy reading. On Tuesdays, I go eat lunch with my grandson Spencer. (He is the one reading with his daddy in the collage above.) His parents tell me that his favorite books are The Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle and Where's Spot by Eric Hill. Two great choices! I was introduced to The Little Blue Truck by my grandson Adrian, and Where's Spot I re​ad with some of my own children. They are fun books to read and interact with.

    Alicia and her little Adrian chose Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex.  It is described as a petrifying parody of Goodnight Moon, a​lthough Alicia says it is not petrifying at all. The rhymes are so cute and the illustrations are funny.  It lends itself so well to interaction with your child. There is a part about tummies when Alicia will rub Adrian's tummy, and the characters lend themselves to different voices and you can count while reading to encourage that skill. (My grandson is quite good at it!) And now, Adrian will get the book and "read" it for himself! 
     And, PS, Goodnight Goon would make a great toddler Halloween gift! 

My 5 grandchildren who live in Wyoming have tons of books between them. Some of their favorites are Go, Dog, Go, by PD Eastman and the Little Critters books by Mercer Mayer. I have a fondness for the Mayer books as well. The illustrations really tell the story in those books! Here is a good one.

Lindsey has always loved Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice S​endak. She says she loves it because of the language in it. It's like it is coming straight from Max's imagination. He was a wild thing that day and got in some trouble for it, but he still had an adventure that helped him see that home is a good place to be, and his mom still loves him even though he was being wild in his wolf suit. LIndsey has decorated the nursery for her her baby girl in the theme of Where the Wild Things Are becaus​e even if Emily is wild sometimes she wants her to know that her supper will always be waiting for her, and it will still be hot.

     Madalynn chose something a little more for a first or second grade reader.  She says that she always loved the Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park. A lot of school teachers will use these fun chapter books as read alouds in their classrooms.  That encouraged Madalynn to read more of them on her own.  She said that since she was about the same age as Junie, it was fun to imagine herself getting herself into the same situations that Junie did. I have read these aloud to many students over the years as I taught school and they are always a lot of fun and enjoyable for the children.  The chapters aren't too long, so an emerging reader can feel a great sense of accomplishment as they finish a chapter.

       That brings me to Beverly Cleary and her Ramona Quimby Series!  There are many books in this wonderful series about a girl named Ramona who goes through all of the kid relate-able growing pains of being a in school and a part of a family.  Some of her experiences are heartwarming, some are funny and some are just downright embarrassing!  It is said that Beverly Cleary used her own childhood as an inspiration for these stories. 

      Some of Beverly Cleary's other books that you may recognize are: 

• The Mouse and the Motorcycle
• Ribsy
• Dear Mr. Henshaw​​

     You can go to this website to learn more about Beverly Cleary, to see all of her books that are available, to see character descriptions, to play games and to find helps for educators!  

     Of course, as I type this post, so many more books come to mind and I wish that I could share many more with you.  There are a few great resources to use that will recommend great children's books when you are looking for something new and worthwhile.  

• There are the Caldecott Medal Winners.   That link will take you to a list that begins in 1938! It is fun to see how many you have read!  Maybe it would be fun to see how many you can get to read to your children or grandchildren! I've only read 17 of them.  I've got some reading to do! 
• The Newbery Award Winners' list begins in 1922!  The 2017 winner is The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill.  This list contains picture books and chapter books.  I have most recently read the 2011 winner, Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. It is a great read for 5th or 6th grade students.   *Update! We talked about this year's winners on this post, along with some of our favorites over the years!
• My kids used to love to watch Reading Rainbow.  I loved to watch it with them.  Good Reads has compiled a list of all of the featured books on that program.  Who can forget Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain?  Or, in Arizona, you've got to love Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport.

     

     So, if you are looking for some good reads for your kids and yourself to enjoy together, I hope we have given you a start!  There are so many great choices out there, so lets all grab a book and celebrate National Literacy Day!  Be sure to tell us about some of your favorites! 

Other posts about books that we have shared:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR SEUSS

Children's Christmas Books to add to Your Library

BOOKS OF POETRY