Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Favorite Children's Books I Didn't Find Until I Was a Grownup


I'm a children's librarian, so I thought I knew all about children's books. I read voraciously as a child. I became a teacher and tried to keep up with all the new books out for children. As a mom, I read what my kids read. I became a children's librarian in 2003. I became a blogger a few years later. I've been a Cybils judge almost from the start of the Cybils, reading and evaluating children's nonfiction picture books, children's picture books, children's easy readers, and children's early chapter books. I challenged myself to read all the Newbery books, and completed that challenge a few years back. 

But it wasn't until I joined the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up group at Yahoo that I had the opportunity to read the best of children's literature from all around the world. Happily, I've now read 555 of the 1001 books, including books from Australia, Chile, South Africa, France, India, and Japan.

Here are some of the amazing children's books I've read from this list. I think you will love them, too.


Ash Road by Ivan Southall


The Summer Book by Tove Jansson


Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis


The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne


The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas


The Call of the Wild by Jack London


By the River by Steven Herrick


Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner


The Peppermint Pig by Nina Bawden


Redwall by Brian Jacques




How about you? What great books have you found in the last few years?



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

14 comments:

  1. You sure do know children books. Oh Yeah! By the River made your list. Definitely one of my very favourite 1001 books. Glad to see Redwall too, and The Three Musketeers- both are excellent books for all ages. I feel shame to my core that I haven't read Ash Road yet. I'm very jealous of your 555, I'm still only at 250-260. I would definitely include The BFG and The Giver, in a similar list.

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    1. I used to feel like I knew children's books from the US, but now I feel like I have a better idea of the best of children's books from around the world.

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  2. I also have a copy of the 1001 Children's Books to Read Before You Grow Up, and now I want to join the yahoo group! Tackling all of the Newberys is another one of my reader goals. I'm so impressed!

    Lauren Hearts Books

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  3. That pig is so cute! Sadly, I have not read any of these books. When my daughter was in elementary school, I volunteered at her school library. That librarian, bless her heart, loved her. She would come around as I was shelving and shove a book in my hands and say, "read this". And so I would. Opened my eyes to lots of great books at that time, like NUMBER THE STARS and HATCHET and the like. So, when I finally became a paid staff member at a library, my favorite thing was reader advisory. Perfect, perfect. Loved it!

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  4. Strangely enough I haven't read Redwall even though I read a book or two from the series (I did watch the tv show though). And Tove Jansson has been on my wishlist for ages; really need to pick up a book or two one of these days...Yay for The Three Musketeers! :)

    My TTT

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  5. Great list! I'm wanting to read Three Musketeers but several of these are new to me. Great list!

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  6. That's a wonderful list of books. I discovered Redwall as an adult too. My youngest was enamored by the series and I read along with her. Great books. Kelley at the road goes ever ever on

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  7. I was thinking about when I read The Call of the Wild as a child the other day! I haven't read any of the others but I remember the Redwall books being popular in our school library.

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  8. The Peppermint Pig sounds intriguing!! I'm off to check it out. Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment on my TTT post for this week.

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  9. Great list! The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is such a heartbreaking story. I hope you have a great week.
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

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  10. I read Call of the Wild many years ago and remember really loving it! Great list!

    Here are my Top Ten!

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  11. Love your take on the topic this week. No reason why we can't love children's literature as adults. A good story is a good story, no matter its intended audience!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    Denise @ Life With No Plot

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  12. I love Dumas! Here is my TTT: http://wordsandpeace.com/2015/03/03/my-top-10-all-time-favorite-books/, though we don't seem to have the same prompt

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  13. Almost all the kidlit books I read as an adult are new to me :) I only know a few on this list!

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