Seattle Press on Line - Childhood's Greatest Hits

Books for Kids

Childhood's Greatest Hits

By Nicole Jones

May 23, 2002 -- The children's book market is expanding rapidly. With so many books, both great and mediocre, being sold, it's impossible to keep up. Many of today's books are based on cartoon, movie, or television characters or are written by celebrities whom publishing houses are more apt to buy books from because they count on their fame selling the book. Needless to say, these books are not always of the highest literary quality. The classics often get buried beneath the volume of new releases and unless a teacher assigns a classic, children are initially attracted to those related to the characters they're familiar with. However, when introduced to classic literature, most children love it because of the depth of plot, characterization, and storyline. Many of these books have been made into movies, but, as is usually the case, the books are far superior.

Young Readers/Picture Books:

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak: Max is sent to his room for misbehaving. He escapes and travels to where the Wild Things live and becomes their king. However, he soon misses his mom and leaves, despite his subjects' dismay.

The Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover by Jon Stone: Sesame Street character, Grover, narrates this hilarious book. On each page Grover begs and tries to trick the reader into not turning the page because he is convinced that there is a monster at the end of the book and he is scared. With each page turn he becomes more exasperated and more afraid until he discovers that the monster at the end is him!

Go, Dog. Go! By P.D. Eastman: Dogs race around this rhyming, Dr. Seuss-like book in cars and skis, in every color and shape imaginable. The theme of diversity is cleverly introduced in a way that is not preachy. There is also a story of two dogs who come to like each other because of the hats that they are wearing.

The Pokey Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowry: This is a must-have Little Golden Book favorite that hasn't diminished in popularity since it's 1942 original publishing. The puppy of the story always is a little bit slower than the rest of the puppies and because of this he often misses out on dessert because he is out exploring the outdoors.

Emerging Readers/Young Adult

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White: Wilbur is the runt of the piglet litter and set to be killed. However, the farmer's daughter rescues him and raises him into a fine pig. When Wilbur becomes to old to treat as her baby anymore, he goes to live on her uncle's farm where he meets new friends. His best friend is Charlotte, a spider whose clever web weaving saves Wilbur's life.

Ramona Quimby by Beverly Cleary: There are several books documenting the life of Ramona Quimby, beginning when she is four years old in Beezus and Ramona. Precocious Ramona always seems to be finding mischief, even when she tries to be good. Her sister, Beezus especially is frustrated and embarrassed by Ramona's behavior. Ramona's maturation through the many changes in her family including her mom starting a new job, her father's unemployment, and getting her own bedroom are all issues that readers will identify with.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson: Jess is determined to become the fastest runner in the fifth grade class, and in order to be so, he practices running in the fields of his farm all summer. During one of these runs, he meets his new neighbor, tomboy Leslie, who soon proves to be faster than him. Despite his disappointment, the two become best friends, building their own magical kingdom of Terabithia. However, a tragic accident ends the friendship and Jess learns an important lesson about the power of friendship.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien: The widower mouse, Mrs. Frisby has to move her young family to a safer area of the farm to live, but cannot do it alone. She turns to the genetically altered rats of the farm who enlist the help of a crow. The adventure begins and soon Mrs. Frisby finds herself drugging evil cats and freeing the rest of the rats from the torturous NIMH laboratory.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh: Harriet attempts to make sense of the people around her by closely observing and documenting their peculiarities in her journal. However, the notebook is stolen by some classmates, and, shocked to read Harriet's true thoughts about themselves, they shun her.

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