Some Books

So, I had been reading Say You're One of Them, which was an NPR-suggested summer read. It was a heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, soul-crushing read. I would put it up there with Night and the Haiti stories of Edwidge Danticat, on my shelf labeled "Why Do We Do This To Each Other?"

I had to read that book slowly, and de-compress after each story. For a change, I started Jodi Picoult's Vanishing Acts; I usually plow through her books quickly, but it wasn't much of a relief -- her books always stress me out a little, as I wait for the awful surprise near the end. (I've seen that a lot of her books have been made into Lifetime movies.) She always teaches you a little something -- this time, it was Southwestern American Indian traditions.

So I have several directions to go with my next read; I had bought a new copy of Peace Like a River for Clay to take along to Japan. He really liked it and wanted to talk about it, but it's been so long since I read it that I need to re-read so we can discuss it. We have the next book by Leif Enger on the shelf, so after he finishes this huge book he is reading about India, maybe we can read that together.

That huge India book, a novel, was shared by Clay's boss, Chris. They often share books; he had given her his copy of Geography of Bliss, and she loved it so much that she has purchased several copies to give away. He came home yesterday with one of those new copies -- she said our copy had been "thumb worn" and she thought we needed a new one. So, I could read that. I still have the new David Sedaris, Karen Armstong's The Battle for God and 1/2 the Mother Teresa bio to get to.

Or, I could clean the house, do some laundry, sew or knit.

As I decide, I thought I would share this; Pam recently had a list of books on her blog. I was sad to say there were a bunch that I didn't even recognize! But I love those lists, and I've always wanted to make my way through the Time 100 Best Books list, or one of the others you see so often from publishers, newspapers or bloggers.

So, to make myself feel better, I copied the list from the NEA of the 100 best books for children and young people (I know, after 5 years on the bookmobile, a college class in children's lit, 3 children and 3 grandchildren, this is cheating. But I do feel better, and I could finish up this list pretty quickly -- maybe I should.)

I sort of followed Pam's directions, with a few changes: Bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you’ve started but haven’t finished, cross out the ones you hated, and underline the ones on your book shelf! Combine indicators as appropriate. (I haven't hated a single one of these, and I'm not sure how to underline in blogger. So, I made my very most favorite books BIG and made the ones I've read a million times red).

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Corduroy by Don Freeman

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss

Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault

The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka

Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman

The Napping House by Audrey Wood

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

The BFG by Roald Dahl

The Giver by Lois Lowry

James and the Giant Peach: A Children's Story by Roald Dahl

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Engalls Wilder

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Stuart Little by E. B. White

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

And, I would add The Magie Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne, Olivia by Ian Falconer and Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie. And finally, Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson, which Sharon read to the kindergartners yesterday. I love any book that ends in a hug.

Peace