Kids Get All The Good Books

[radio_silent]

The other day I asked osprey_archer  if she would be interested in a summer reread of our favorite children and teen literature. Thank goodness she is AWESOME, and said yes!

We want to reread and discuss our favorite kid's book and  to read kid lit we somehow missed as kids. We'll both post review on LJ so we can compare observations and reminisce together.

Comments

[shah_of_blah]

1. I actually have The Westing Game sitting on my shelf because I got it for 50 cents from a used bookstore. It is waiting for me to read it

[radio_silent]

1. As I recall, it's pretty awesome.
2. Yes! It's one of those books that I always forget how much I love. But then I read it and love it.
3. I don't know! I'm just apathetic to it? At least in retrospect, I am. So I need to reread it. Or maybe I'll read James and the Giant Peach.
4. Wow! That's like me and my Merlin fic. : P
5. : )
I'm especially excited for Haroun, though.

[shah_of_blah]

I'm especially excited for Haroun, though.
As you should be! You will love it.

But I also think you will love Howl's Moving Castle. Honestly, Diana Wynne Jones is one of my favorite fantasy/YA authors. I want to be her. Or be friends with her. Something. She's written a ton, but highlights include: Howl's Moving Castle (obviously), The Dark Lord of Derkholm, Deep Secret, The Merlin Conspiracy, Dogsbody, Time of the Ghost, and The House of Many Ways. She has written a lot of awesome books.

Other books to add to this list...gosh, well His Dark Materials would have to be top of my list. Definitive books of my young life. I'd also add The Demon's Lexicon series by sarahtales (formerly mistful). Also the Earthsea series. Maybe the Indian in the Cupboard books? Oooh, and I didn't read this as a child but it is YA: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Oh, and A Wrinkle in Time.

When are you planning to do this epic (re-)read?

[osprey_archer]

I am so very, very seconding The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian! It's absolutely brilliant.

[bluehippos]

What a wonderful Idea... I am trying to read all the books I've bought but never read. Keep us updated :)

[radio_silent]

Ohh, that's an intimidating task! But absolutely worthwhile. : )

[jenepel]

Aw, this is a great idea! I love kid-lit, and tons of the ones you listed are books I've read. I just brought a bunch of my old books down from my parents house, and currently my French housemate is halfway through the Little House books. She had only seen the TV show, so it's a whole new world - she's really excited about them!

For other favourites, I loved some of the other L. M. Montgomery books, like the Emily series, or the two books about Pat. Oooh, or Jane of Lantern Hill. And a few classic British fantasyish authors - E Nesbitt (The Enchanted Castle, 5 Children and It) and Edward Eager (Half Magic).

When are you coming to England/ where are you going? (I kind of followed the link trail back and saw a reference to it somewhere.) Will you be in London at all? :)

[radio_silent]

That sounds like fun! Maybe when I'm abroad (I leave at the end of this week!) I'll do some investigating into international kid-lit. OR you should just ask her for some recommendations. If she likes Laura Ingalls I figure her taste is pretty solid.

I'm fairly certain I read and enjoyed the Emily series? The Pat ones aren't as familiar.

Ohmygod, I loved half magic! Oh, that's going on the list, I had forgotten about that! Oh, now I'm really excited to read that.

I'll definitely be in London, though I have NO idea when just yet.

[jenepel]

I have a pretty good grasp of UK/US kidlit, since that's what I had access to growing up, but beyond that not so much. I should definitely ask Claire if she knows any good French ones that have been translated!

If you're coming through London though, we should meet up and do drinks or food or something. Or, you know, if you need a couch to crash on. :)

I've also got to second (third?) people's opinion of Diana Wynne Jones. She is AWESOME and I've loved her as both a kid and an adult.

[radio_silent]

I've also got to second (third?) people's opinion of Diana Wynne Jones. She is AWESOME and I've loved her as both a kid and an adult.

Thanks for the advice! : ) And of course thanks for the couch-crashing offer and everything--I'm not too sure about my schedule abroad just yet.

[elluithauren]

So You Want To Be a Wizard is an excellent suggestion. Perhaps you'd enjoy The Two Princesses of Bamarre; silly, but it has some nice fairytale and fantasy elements that I remember enjoying as a child. Plus, Gail Carson Levine; she's a pretty solid YA author.

[radio_silent]

I remember The Two Princesses of Bamarre! I read it a couple times and went through various stages of being upset with the ending--the one sister stays with the fairies, right, and becomes immortal? Or something like that. I always thought that the book was wonderful but the way the sisters separated at the end was kind of cruel.

[osprey_archer]

I knew, I knew I knew I knew that I had forgotten important books! And there at the very top of your very first list: A Little Princess. I LOVED A Little Princess to a million itty bitty pieces! How could I have forgotten it? I'm doing a project which involves A Little Princess! MY BRAIN IS LIKE A SIEVE!

I'm also quite fond of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Harriet the Spy, but I feel less embarrassed about forgetting them. I loved how zany the stories were in Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - like the boy who picked at his food and got smaller and smaller plates every day.

Also, I have read Chasing Vermeer, although I wasn't overwhelmingly impressed. I think among kids it's quite popular, though.

As for your "To-Read" list, the only ones I've read are Arm of the Starfish (which was okay, but I thought A Ring of Endless Light was way better) and Peter Pan. Oh, how I hated Peter Pan! I think I wrote a ranty post - yes, I did, here it is - about my epic loathing of Peter Pan. Just in case you want to cross something off without reading it

[radio_silent]

Oh, I'm going to read your Peter Pan post right now. I saw Finding Neverland when I was in middle school, I think, or maybe early high school, and fell in love with aspects of the Peter Pan story...but I'd definitely be open to reading or not-reading the book. We shall see!

I read a little bit of Rushdie's Shame for a lit class (so technically I should have read all of it, but it was the end of the semester and the timing was bad) and fell in love with the way he uses language. But on the other hand based off what I learned in lecture Shame got rather bloody or horrific and so I wasn't sure I wanted to finish it in my free time, but I definitely want to read more Rushdie.