Our Favorite Kids Books: Stand-Alone Favorites (Part 1)
Books have always played a large role in my life. My mother, being a book-worm herself and having been an english teacher, always rejected video games or television as a proper way to pass the time. The most popularly used punishment was the “grounding,” which for us meant no T.V., no video games, no screens of any kind, except for maybe homework use. But since we were such perfect and obedient children, this sentence would be in effect for at least one of us kids more often than not. So what are you to do when you can’t use technology? Pick up a book!
I’ve taken the liberty of dividing our personal favorites into three categories: Stand-Alone Favorites, Treasuries, and Novels. “Stand-Alone Favorites” are those books which act as bedtime stories. They’re one-time reads, much like Dr. Suess books, Where the Wild Things Are, and Goodnight Moon. Treasuries are collections of short stories all about the same character(s). They aren’t necessarily in chronological order, so they aren’t true novels. This would be like all the Curious George stories, conveniently placed in one giant book. Lastly, there is the “Novels” category. It’s vital that kids are introduced to different levels of reading early on. If your kid can sit long enough, don’t be afraid to read them a chapter a night of a novel. Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are excellent examples of a starter novel for kids.
In a brief attempt to collect a list of Stand-Alone Favorites, I quickly realized that I had too many for a single blog, as I would like to comment briefly on each one (Be warned! There are spoilers!!). I won’t order them based off of my favorites, because I can’t decide which are better. In this list, I will be excluding the more popular children’s books, such as Dr. Suess books, The Giving Tree, Where the Wild Things Are, Goodnight Moon, etc. This is a list books that probably aren’t as widely known, but I believe should be.
Stand-Alone Favorites: Part 1!
“Miss Nelson is Missing!!” by Harry Allard and James Marshall
Miss Nelson is Missing is one of those books that gets better as you age. A very nice teacher has an unruly class who take advantage of her kindness. Suddenly, without warning, a cruel substitute teacher named Miss Viola Swamp takes over the class. She is cruel, overbearing and forces the children to appreciate their missing teacher. As it turns out, it’s just Miss Nelson in disguise! It’s cute, funny, and as an adult I realize that every teacher has probably wished they could do this at some point or another.
“A Porcupine Name Fluffy” by Helen Lester
Who had ever heard of such a thing? Cute and zany, it’s a book that teaches kids not to be upset by what they aren’t. Just because a porcupine is named “Fluffy” doesn’t mean he has to be fluffy. Being yourself, prickles and all, is important, even if others think it’s silly.
“Stone Soup” by Ann McGovern
Soup from a stone. Fancy that. Not all good children’s books have to have a moral. In fact, I would argue that having a silly story just for the sake of silliness is sometimes better than a book covered with moral implications and life lessons. Kids have wild imaginations and simple, unexpected, fantastic and strange stories can lead to more of their kind. This book is about a hungry man tricking a selfish old woman out of a meal. Not much more can be said, but I love it!
“Christina Katerina and the Time She Quit the Family” by Patricia Lee Guach
As a child, didn’t you ever wish you could just do what you wanted all day long? Christina Katerina gets to do just that when she quits her family. I firmly believe that if I had tried to do this, there’s no way I’d get as much room as Christina did... My parents LOVED to remind me that “my room” didn’t belong to me at all in the first place... But Christina Katerina soon realizes that living on her own is tough and lonely, and decides to rejoin her family. It’s a cute book, playing on the wishes of children around the world.
“Tops and Bottoms” by Janet Stevens
This is another story with questionable morals, my favorite kind. A very lazy bear inherits all his father’s farmland, but decides sleeping is far more important than putting
any of that farmland to use. Meanwhile, a Hare has lost all of his wealth and land to a bet with a tortoise and must find food for his starving family. So, rather than fixing his gambling addiction, he decides to con the sleeping bear out of all the crops in his field. In the end, the bear wakes up and decides to work for himself, and the hare uses his unfairly gained riches to feed his family and buy his land back. It’s a story where cleverness is rewarded, and laziness is looked down upon. Whether the bear is at fault for letting himself be conned, or the hare is wrong for unjustly taking all the food and creating loosely interpreted verbal contracts, nobody can say. But the story is hilarious and fun all the same.
I will continue with more fun children’s books you should consider, next time!
