Children's Books
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in Off-Topic
Because the holidays are coming round, I've been looking at children's books. I figure it's a better gift than (gasp) video games or movies. Anyway, sacrilegious as part of that sounds, I thought maybe it might be good idea to start a thread on favorite children's books so maybe it will give others ideas to do the same.
My recommendation:
The Funny Adventures of Little Nani. Wonderfully written, it includes illustrations and is also interactive. I cannot say how impressed I was by what the author has done.
http://www.amazon.com/Funny-Adventures-Little-Nani-Volume/dp/147769708X
My recommendation:
The Funny Adventures of Little Nani. Wonderfully written, it includes illustrations and is also interactive. I cannot say how impressed I was by what the author has done.
http://www.amazon.com/Funny-Adventures-Little-Nani-Volume/dp/147769708X
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For the young'uns, I recommend "Puzzle Island" by Susannah Leigh. Good for 6 year olds... I read this when I was very young, there are a lot of neat puzzles inside. The hardcover goes for $30, but I found the soft cover again for $10-ish. The story is about a young boy who becomes a pirate, and sets sail to find hidden treasure. The art is interesting, and the puzzles are all engaging.
For those a little bit older (7-11 or so), there's the "Encyclopedia Brown" series. They are dated, but very good. I read these like crazy when I was 8. The series is about a boy who was a genius, and helped his detective father solve certain cases. He had read an entire set of encyclopedias to expand his knowledge.
Each of these books contains short stories. The story will give the reader a setting, and clues are peppered throughout. At the end of each story is a question for the reader, usually along the lines of: "Encyclopedia made a sly grin. He already knew the identity of the cabbage-snatching culprit. Do you know who the culprit is? If you do, turn to page ### to check your answer!"
At the end of the book was a section filled with answers, and their detailed explanations regarding the supporting clues. Fantastic stuff!
Let's see... some other good series are "Goosebumps". I had about 20 of those, but other classmates kept stealing them >:|
A fantastic series of books are the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. Seriously... best things ever!
I will give this some more thought... it's been a looooooong time! :P
Tove Jannson - Moominvalley in November
Richard Curtis and Tony Robinson - Odysseus, The Greatest Hero of Them All
(for ages I thought this book was a dream that I once had - about 20 years later I discover it is real! happy days.)
See full article on ...
http://twisted-genius.squarespace.com/journal/2009/6/19/ace-dragon-ltd-by-russel-hoban-illustrated-by-quentin-blake.html
Also, Robert Westall is wonderful; perhaps the forerunner to Michael Morpurgo his stories have quite dark themes, many based in wartime. The Scarecrows is a school text in the UK but my favourite of his was Ghost Abbey. He visited our school not long before he died and to my great embarrassment I got the name of that book wrong even though I'd read it so many times - I called it Haunted Abbey.
Arthur Ramsome's books are wonderful too.
It occurs to me that all of these are pretty old now, some were old when I first read them as a kid, but the reason I still remember them so well is they're classic stories, full of adventure and intrigue, they took you on a journey, which is exactly what the best books should do. To bring it up to date a bit, anything by Philip Pullman. His Dark Materials for fantasy and philosophy and the Sally Lockhart mysteries for stories with an historical, fantastical, steampunk-ish edge. I love kids books. The best outshine many adult novels easily.
Next is the Dragon Codex series, all about Dragons and the people who come in contact with them. Red Dragon Codex, Silver Dragon Codex... etc. Each is a stand-alone story, and all of the ones I have read are very good. The author is R.D. Henham (I don't know if this is an actual person or merely a pen name for several authors).
If you have heard of the new movie Rise of the Guardians, there is a book series associated with it called the Guardians of Childhood. Three j-YA books have come out in the series, beginning with Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core and Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies. They introduce us to the characters in the film, and there is a related book for younger children about the Sandman called "The Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie". And about their leader, "The Man in the Moon". Another book in the older series is coming out next year about the Sandman, tentatively titled, "The Sandman and the War of Dreams". The author is William Joyce. And while most of the characters in the J-YA books are male, there is also a girl being raised by the Wizard Ombric Shalazar who is an active participant in their adventures, so there is a female role model for girls as well.
Another good book series for younger kids is the Barnaby Grimes series. Set in an Edwardian London-type city, Barnaby is a messenger lad who delivers his messages over the rooftops rather then on the streets, as the rooftops are faster and easier to manage, making him a "High Stacker". And because he's an adventurous and curious young man, he also gets involved with strange mysteries happening in the city, all based on various old monsters, like werewolves, zombies, the invisible man and so on. These books are by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell.
Another good series for kids is the Ottoline mysteries, by Chris Riddell. Ottoline is a young girl who lives in a large city, usually on her own, as her parents are off in mysterious, exotic locales having adventures. She has adventures of her own, with Mr. Munroe, her friend, a Norwegian Bog Troll (Kind of looks like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family). This book mixes words with cartoon pictures and has a great deal of whimsy that appeal to younger readers.
And if you have readers into mysteries, the Roman Mysteries series by Caroline Lawrence follows a young Roman citizen named Flavia Gemina, her slave girl Nubia, a Jewish boy named Jonathan, and Lupus, a mute boy, as they solve mysteries in and around the Roman Empire. The series went on for 23 books, and the ending was a bit sad, as Flavia had to go around under an assumed name because the Emperor believed she and her friends had betrayed him, but while it lasted, it was an engaging series. There was also a live action television series from the BBC based on the books- I never got to see it, so I don't know how closely they adhered to the books, or even if they did.
Well, that's enough rambling from me, I think. Never ask someone who works in a library for book recommendations... we'll talk your ears off!
I guess all of theses are picture book authors, but they're fun too and some are bizzare
The Hobbit...because it's never too early
The Black Cauldron & series by Lloyd Alexander