This post is in response to my Mom's comment on this blog that she needed to know our favorite children and teen books right away. Here's the list Amber and I came up with this morning. Mom, most of these are fantasy books, so I'm not sure if you'll like them. I put an asterisk by the books that are fairly realistic. You might like them better.
Our Favorite Picture Books
(Mom probably didn't want picture books, but I love them, so I'm listing them anyway!)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Suess
My favorite picture book of ALL time. Maybe my favorite book of all time!
Corduroy*, by Don Freeman
The Story of Ferdinand*, by Munro Leaf
Crictor*, by Tomi Ungerer
Curious George*, by H. A. Rey
Bumblebee*, by Margaret Wise Brown
Jarom and I read this so many times we memorized it
Good Night Moon*, by Margaret Wise Brown
Amber and I read this so many times we memorized it
The Cereal Box, by David McPhail (?)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day*, by Judith Viorst
The Stinky Cheese Man, by Jon Scieszka
Silly, silly, silly
Super Cluck, by Jane O'Connor
This book got Jarom interested in reading
Amelia Bedelia*, by Peggy Parish
The Golly Sisters Series*, by Betsy Byars
Monkey Monkey's Trick*, by Patricia McKissack
One of Amber's all-time favorite books
Lily's Purple Plastic Purse*, by Kevin Henkes
Miss Nelson is Missing!*, by Harry Allard
Meagan and Amber both loved this one.
Frog and Toad are Friends*, by Arnold Lobel
Diary of a Wimpy Kid*, by Jeff Kinney
I like the first book in the series the best
Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey
Amber submitted this one. My are these books silly!
Dogzilla, by Dav Pilkey
I Spy Book Series*, by Jean Marzollo & Walter Wick
Jarom loved these so much he wanted to be Walter Wick when he grew up.
He made lots of I Spy set ups and had me photograph them for him.
Our Favorite Children's Books (Chapter Books)
(Don't know if Mom meant these either, but here they are!)
The Magic Treehouse Series*, by Mary Pope Osborne
Lots of books in this series, based on actual historical events. Jarom loved,
loved, loved these. And Amber liked them, too.
Del Tora Quest Series, by Emily Rodda
Jarom and Amber both loved these. I think Cameron may have read them?
Anything by Roald Dahl, but especially:
The Witches, Mathilda, James and the Giant Peach and
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Amber loves Roald Dahl.
A Series of Unfortunate Events Series*, by Lemony Snicket
Amber read all of these. They were good, but rest of us didn't get in to
them so much.
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, by Bruce Coville
Meagan liked this so much she gave it to Amber one Christmas.
Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine
Any book by Gail Carson Levine, really. I like the book better than the movie.
Mom, you might like her book, Dave at Night*, based on her father's childhood in
an orphanage in Harlem. Hey, and it goes along with the whole "Annie" theme.
Farmer Boy*, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Love all her Little House books, but this is my favorite.
Probably because they're always eating!
Nancy Drew Series*, by Carolyn Keene
Amber and I love these. The original Nancy Drew books, not the newer ones.
The other kids never really got in to these. We're mostly in to fantasy.
The Mad Scientists' Club*, by Bertrand R. Brinley
I haven't read any of these, but Amber says they're awesome.
All-of-a-Kind Family*, by Sydney Taylor
A fun story of a family of all girls. I really liked this book in elementary school.
Maybe because I could relate to the all girls thing?
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
Spooky, slightly macabre book, just like the title suggests.
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg
For some reason, I never read this one, but Holly raved about it.
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
Ditto above.
Deep and Dark and Dangerous, by Mary Downing Hahn
Amber suggested this. It's a ghost story. She also suggested Closed for the Season
by the same author.
Our Favorite Books for Teens
(The first few might be more suitable for pre-teens?)
The Gateway, by Obert Skye
The first in the Leven Thumps series. The plot has a few problems, but the
wacky inventiveness of the book makes up for it. I listened to this on CD
while I was washing dishes and cleaning the house. Hmm... maybe I should
try that again.
Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer
First in a series of books about an evil boy genius. Amber liked it. I could
take it or leave it. But I did like Artemis's Butler (named Butler, of course!).
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
Love the whole series, but this is my favorite. My favorite movie of the series,
too. Love Hagrid.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
The whole Percy Jackson Series is good. This is the first of five books. In the
series, Percy Jackson is Poseidon's son and the Greek gods are real. In fact, he
he hangs out with Athena's daughter and a satyr named Grover through most
of the series.
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
A better - and easier - read than the Lord of the Rings series.
For one thing, no Tom Bombadil!
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
The Extraordinary and Unsual Adventures of Horatio Lyle, by Catherine Webb
Amber suggested this one. An Amazon review calls it a cross between Sherlock
Holmes and Dr. Who. No wonder Amber likes it.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Books by a former Monty Python writer. What could be better?
Huckleberry Finn*, by Mark Twain
Another of my favorite books of all time.
To Kill a Mocking Bird*, by Harper Lee
Amber read this on her own when she was 12. Just for fun. Unusual, I know.
Sherlock Holmes*, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
This is from Amber. She loves Mr. Holmes.
The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale
A Utah author, no less. Based on a lesser-known fairytale.
The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Amber suggested this book. I haven't read it. The reviews on Amazon are good...
It's about a boy who grows up in a Utopian society and discovers maybe
perfection and ease aren't as great as one might think.
Cinder, by Marissa Meyer
Amber suggested this book, too. It's another spin on Cinderella, but this time
she's a cyborg.
The Warriors Series, by Erin Hunter
Amber says this series is really popular at her school. She hasn't read any of them
but says they're about a clan of cats.
Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Amber owns this one. Actually, she just told me she has Beautiful Chaos It's
a supernatural teen romance. Hopefully better than the Twilight Series. (I know
some people love Twilight, but I trouble understanding why.)
The 13th Reality Series, by James Dashner
Amber hasn't read this series, but says one of her friends really likes it. It's Sci-Fi.
So, Mom, I hope that's a good enough list for you!
UPDATE: Meagan came over tonight and wanted me to add three more books:
The Devil's Arithmetic*, by Jane Yolen
A novel about why the holocaust should be remembered. I've read this one.
It's pretty good, but sad. Of course, it's about the holocaust, so how can it
not be sad?
Anthem, by Ayn Rand
A book about individuality. I haven't read it, but Meagan loves it. Futuristic
sci-fi book.
The Secret Garden*, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Another book Meagan's read that I haven't. I'm not sure why I haven't.
This made me think of another book:
Dragonwings*, by Laurence Yep
One of the books I "borrowed" from Meagan when she was supposed to be
reading it for school. It's about Chinese-American life in California in the
early 20th century.
And Jarom wanted me to add this book:
Eragon, by Christopher Paolini
This is one of Jarom's favorite books. And Cameron's, too. It's about a
boy and a dragon on a quest to save their world.
