Books provide the backdrop and blueprints into our lives,… their very essences escape from the written word, and enter into our unconsciousness, becoming insatiably a ‘part’ of us. We keep the stories inside us for years to come, and those characters, settings, and stories stay with us evermore.
Books are the keys to unlocking the hidden dimensions of the written word. We can leave the physical reality and transcend into the temporal-imaginative reality for spells at a time.
Which key would you pick!?
And, who says you have to be limited only to just ‘one’!?
Ahh… alas! A plausible dilemma! Which to choose? And, if you choose, did you choose the right book for the living moment that you’re in, so that the story your about to delve into matches not only your mood but your overall outlook or state of mind!?
The possibilities are endless, start ‘leaping’ into the unknown. Unlock the mysteries yet seen. Travel to places beyond mere comprehension. Imagine the locales. Engulf yourself in the atmosphere. Delve into the psyches of the characters.
Immerse yourself in the totality of the experience.
Children’s Literature:
The Undiscovered Frontier
In my humble opinion, the world in which children’s literature thrives is this amazing space of illuminating horizons and uncharted territories, that allow a child or an adult re-discovering the genre to circumvent reality for worlds full of innocence, self-discovering phases, adventures of grand proportions, curiosities and imaginative explorations, all whilst wrapped up in the eyes and understandings that come to us within our childhoods. The books that writer’s pen under this branch of literature endeavour to give children of all ages something worth contemplating and to give the youngest readers something positive to chew on whilst dealing with the woes that are fraught whilst growing up and growing into our own skin. Nurturing our ability to think and contemplate heavy issues as well as the ordinary whisperments that accrue during the every day hours of youth.
This is such a hearty slice of literature, that for the determined reader, one can carve out an impressive array of offerings that are not overtly dark OR cumbersome in their mirth for violence. Mind you, I understand there is a convergence of a theory that the state of the world in 2013 is withered and tethered to the gritty, the grimly, and the grimed. Yet. I am one who chooses to go a different way, to choose the path not readily taken or yielded too, and to always seek out the light and the positive. The world’s issues and tragedies have always been in the back of all of our minds’ for centuries upon centuries,… the world will always face difficulties inasmuch as we struggle individually, but to concede defeat and ‘just go with the flow’ of the masses is not something I am willing to do. Therefore, the books that you will see me place on this page are not the usual children’s books that might be spoken about elsewhere.
Their the hidden gems of this broad spectrum of the genre that includes: early/new reader books, picture books, chapter books, board books, juvenile fiction, young adult fiction, and various sub-headings I am sure I have not touched upon. This is the ultimate undiscovered frontier whereupon a reader of any age can pick up where they first left off and jettison back into the age of childhood adventure and enable them to pass on what they find to anyone who appreciates the quality of story mixed with the exuberance of our growing years. Literacy is a lifelong pursuit which blissfully can begin at any chapter of our living years.
It ought to be noted, that my curious foothold into Children’s Literature at the tail-end of my twenties began ever so innocently as I wanted to be in a position to recommend titles to my nieces and nephews, inasmuch as my future children. I may or may not have succeeded in my original endeavour but what a testament I can attest in ‘discovering’ a sliver of blissitude in my eager pursuit of ‘the next wicked sweet Children’s Lit’ which fancies my eye, whet’s my appetite for imaginative bliss, and carves out a niche in my heart for the characters I am soon to be acquainted and happily well-known.
{*NOTE: The link behind the titles will jump you to the review of my impression of the book after I read it whereas the link behind the author’s name will catapult you to the author’s direct website. Further still, it should be reflected that nearly all the books I am discovering now were happily first seen contained within my local library’s card catalogue. If my memory serves otherwise to note of a book specifically found on ‘the shelf’ of a big box book shoppe OR that of an indie book shoppe, I shall make that notation on the review.}
I shall always direct readers to go straight to their local library at full speed ahead — such an act will result in a hearty stack of books which might topple out of one’s arms if a canvas sack or any reusable bag is not carried in ahead of standing gobsmacked at the enormity of the selections that await you! Simply said: Libraries rock my world, what are you waiting for to seek out one near you?
A sampling of the Books of my Growing Years:
{all of which I still stand by as being as well received today as they were then, as time stands still clasped in a suspended stasis in certain things during our lifetimes, and the importance of story and character held within the cherished books of our youth is one such existence of suspension}
Most of the links per authors listed here will direct you to the Wikipedia page about them, as I could not find a contemporary site to share. IF you’d like to travel down memory lane for your own reading adventures, scope out this page to read through Children Literature Authors.
- The Collective Works of Richard Scarry
- The Collective Works of Dr. Seuss
- The Paddington Bear {series thereof} by Michael Bond
- The Berenstain Bears {series thereof} by Stan and Jan Berenstain, later Mike Berenstain; educational website for The Berenstain Bears.
- The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson
- The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper aka Arnold Munk
- Curious George {series thereof} by H.A. Rey; aka Hans Augusto Rey and Margaret Rey; educational website for Curious George
- The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter; educational website for Peter Rabbit.
- Mike Mulligan’s Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
- The Collective poetry of Shel Silverstein
- The Cricket in Times Square {series thereof} by George Selden
- 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
- The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
- The Baby-Sitters Club {series thereof} by Ann M. Martin
- The Saddle Club {series thereof} by Bonnie Bryant
- Thoroughbred {series thereof} by Joanna Campbell aka Jo Ann Simon; the chronological order of the series, including the spin-offs.
- The Black Stallion {series} by Walter Farley
- Nancy Drew Case Files, Nancy Drew Super Mysteries {series thereof} by Carolyn Keene; all about Nancy Drew
- The Hardy Boys {series thereof} by Franklin W. Dixon; all about the Hardy Boys
- Mandie {series} by Lois Gladys Leppard
- Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
- The Cooper Kids Adventure {series thereof} by Frank Peretti; however, I *only!* knew of the original four stories in the series! There are *8* now!
- The Cassandra mysteries by Jennifer Austin; I never understood how this only made it to being a quartet, nor could I understand why I could not unearth the author’s name, as this was a pen name.
- The Secret Garden & A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
- The Purple Door {book one: Guardian series} by Janifer C. De Vos; early-on in 2013 I discovered 2 more books in the series and purchased them from Powells online store, as they are out-of-print! I simply never knew they existed until then! Although, I always did wonder what happened next!
- The Indian in the Cupboard {series thereof} by Lynne Reid Banks
- The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg; this is an excellent primer for the Sixty-Eight Rooms series!
- The Incredible Journey by Sheila Bornford
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
- Little House in the Big Woods {Little House series thereof} by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- White Fang by Jack London
- King’s Dragon {book one: The Crown of Stars series} by Kate Elliott
- A Night Without Armor: Poems by Jewel
- Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
Books I am Discovering Now:
Prior to a new local library {1999-2009}: {whereupon I had to lean on big box book shoppes to chart new territory and re-immerse myself in a corner of literature I had not walked in quite awhile, as far as picking up the books and actually ‘reading them’ verse acknowledging the changing styles and formats by which the books populate on the shelves, which emerging authors were becoming mainstays, and how very frustrated a lot of young people were in knowing which book on the shelf might implore them to seek out. I personally would have preferred a lovely indie in my backyard, but fear not, dear readers, you make do with what you have in front of you!}
- A Series of Unfortunate Events {series thereof} by Lemony Snickett
- An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
- A Wrinkle in Time {Time Quartet series thereof} by Madeleine L’ Engle
- Harry Potter {series thereof} by J.K. Rowling; educational and interactive Harry Potter website: Pottermore.
- Stormbreaker {book one: Alex Rider series} by Anthony Horowitz
- The Boxcar Children {series thereof} by Gertrude Chandler Warner; educational website for The Boxcar Children.
- The Magic Treehouse {series thereof} by Mary Pope Osborne; educational website for The Magic Treehouse.
- Encyclopedia Brown {series thereof} by Donald J. Sobol
- Junie B. Jones {series thereof} by Barbara Park; educational website for Junie B. Jones.
- Eragon by Christopher Paolini; the Inheritance Cycle website.
- Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr
- The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne*; Winnie the Pooh & Pals; Just Pooh; The Page at Pooh Corner;
- The Swiss Family Robinson by Joann Rudolf Wyss*
- Little Women* & Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
- Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore
- Heidi by Johanna Spyri*
- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie*
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
- Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter*
- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren*
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende*
- Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh*
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming* {I did not realise that the master of episonage fiction (a la Bond!) was the one who originated this one!? Wicked sweet!}
- The Borrowers {series thereof} and Bedknob and Broomsticks by Mary Norton*
- Mary Poppins {series thereof} by P.L. Travers*
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain*
- Jumaniji by Chris Van Allsburg
- Stuart Little by E.B. White*
*NOTE: These {*} are titles that I knew of growing up but for one reason OR the other did not read. I could have perhaps watched a motion picture adaptation of the work OR a tv series of the work in lieu of the actual books. I always meant to read them, and I still plan on doing just that!
Thereafter and henceforth onward {2009+}: {I am forever grateful that we live in an age where the ‘card catalogue’ has gone virtual whereupon the intrepid literary wanderer such as myself, can log on ‘nearly at any given hour’ (nearly here refers to the fact most library catalogues shut down after the midnight hours, which is angst for night owls everywhere!) and where your happily able to roam the ‘stacks’ which might per se be contained at five separate branches within your library system? Save the petrol, go virtual!}
Read about why I am committed to seeking out #EqualityInLit whilst supporting the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign!
{ This list is a compliment to my Story Vault }
Stories of Middle Grade
{ links route to reviews if their on the “titles” }
- 13 Birthdays by Wendy Mass
- Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy
- Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary
- The Sixty-Eight Rooms {book one: the Sixty-Eight Rooms series} by Marianne Malone
- The Golden Hour {book one: The Golden Hour series} by Maiya Williams
- The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
- A Dragon in the Driveway {book one: Dragon Keepers series} by Kate Klimo
- We the Children: Keepers of the School {book one:} by Andrew Clements
- Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve
- A Madhatten Mystery by John J. Bonk
- Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- Call Me Amy by Marcia Strykowski
- Amy’s Choice by Marcia Strykowski
- Missing in Paradise by Larry Verstraete
- The Walking Fish by Rachelle Burk & Kopel Burk
- Wonder Horse by Anita Daher
- Callahan Crossroads by Anola Pickett
- To Catch A Cat Thief by Sean Cummings
- The Contaminated Case of the Cooking Contest by Peter Wong & Pendred Noyce
- Once Upon A Time in Venice (audiobook) by Monique Roy
Stories of Young Adult
{ links route to reviews if their on the “titles” }
- The Indigo Notebook {book one: The Notebook series} & What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau
- The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants {series} by Ann Brashares
- Red Thread Sisters by Carol Antoinette Peacock
- Redheart by Jackie Gamber
- Sela by Jackie Gamber
- Reclamation by Jackie Gamber
- A Book Blogger Retrospective of the Leland Dragon series by Jackie Gamber *special post*
- Uncovering Cobbogoth by Hannah L. Clark
- The Dreamosphere by Laura Stoddard
- The Strength of Ballerinas+ by Nancy Lorenz
- Star of Deliverance by Mandy Madson Voisin
- Intangible by C.A. Gray
- Invincible by C.A. Gray
- Moonflower by EDC Johnson
- Time And Again by Deborah Heal
- Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading
- Ian Quicksilver: The Warrior’s Return by Alyson Peterson
- The Last Gatekeeper by Katy Haye
- I, Walter by Mike Hartner
- Alchemy’s Daughter (PREQUEL) by Mary A. Osborne
- and continuing,… see more of my musings via my Story Vault (Archive of Reviews)
Picture Books OR Early Reader | Chapter Books:
{ links route to reviews if their on the “titles” }
- A Moment in Time by Jennifer Butenas
- The Olive Tree by Christine Layton Graham,
Joan Layton Merrell, Carol Layton Ogden - The Little Girl and Her Shadow by O.K. Reade
- The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake by Robin Newman
- I Can Pray Everyday by Catherine Christensen
- Scripture Princesses by Rebecca J. Greenwood
- Inspector Dewey by Kristen Heimerl
- Fancy Nancy {series} by Jane O’ Connor
- and continuing,..
[content warning]
This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
I am particularly concerned about explicit vulgarity inclusive to certain novels within the Young Adult & New Adult genres due to how unnecessary I feel they are to be included at all. I am also keen on not seeing excessive violence and violently graphic sequences included in any work of Children’s Literature irregardless of where it ends up on the bookshelf.
I believe all works of Children’s Literature should be ‘clean reads’ for young & developing minds to not only draw empathy out of the life lessons within the stories but to encourage a better tomorrow for the generations growing up in today’s world. The fact that strong language was always heard on school grounds when I was growing up and moreso today, does not constitute a need to include the street language that is so very rampantly inclusive to stories within certain age brackets.
Part of reading is to better ourselves and the world view we have of the outside world past our homes and personal environments – why then not learn how to better use our own words to describe our thoughts and feelings of everyday life?
Follow my ‘Fly in the Ointment‘ notations to understand where I stand on this growing issue and debate; as I am not limited to hoping to find ‘clean reads’ in Children’s Lit but in Adult Lit as well.
I decided to move these out of my Story Vault due to the Content Warnings.
- The Boxcar Baby by J.L. Muvihill
- An Uncommon Blue by R.C. Hancock
- The Pact by Mitchel S. Karnes
- The Dragon’s Pawn (sequel to “The Pact”) by Mitchell S. Karnes
- Lost in Thought by Cara Bertrand
- The Angel of Losses by Stephanie Feldman
- King of the Mutants by Samantha Vérant
- Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress by Sarwat Chadda
- Midnight Runner by Marilee Jackson
- The Lazarus Game by Stephen J. Valentine *retraction & after review pending* May 2015
- The Smoke Hunter by Jacquelyn Benson
Updated: 2020 March
{SOURCES: Children’s Lit blog badge created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo. Local Library badge provided by Squeesome Designs (free to use for book bloggers).}
NOTE ON COPYRIGHT:
All writing and content on this blog is of my own creation, unless otherwise attributed and/or sourced. No unauthorized use and/or duplication of writing or content without permission of blog author and owner is prohibited. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013-2020.