What is all this about books for kids?

Some YA books are perfectly fine gifts for kids, wthers might have subjects you might want to check with parents prior to gifting. So there will be overlap between this post and the YA post. And that’s fine.

Why am I posting books in both places? Because if a kid is a reader, they are probably reading above their age group, and might want more challenging books. But you might not want to introduce some subjects unknowingly. (By that I mean the existence of boinking, and the existence of abuse and assault.) You probably know what your small person can handle, but if you aren’t sure, stick to this list and wait a year or two on the YA list.

See also this list got older Kids and this YA list.

Isabel Allende: Kingdom of the Golden Dragon (2004) (Fantasy)

Alexander Cold asks his grandmother, Kate, if he can accompany her on her latest expedition for International Geographic, this time to a remote country in the Himalayas. A country nicknamed The Forbidden Kingdom, because of its far location and the fact that very few are allowed to visit each year.

Elsewhere in the Himalayas, Dil Bahadur, disciple to the Buddhist monk Tensing, travel and see unexpected wonders, as Dil Bahadur trains and prepares for his future.

Kendare Blake:
Anna Dressed in Blood (2011), Girl of Nightmares (2012) (Fantasy)

The grease-slicked hair is a dead giveaway— no pun intended.

So is the loose and faded leather coat, though not as much that as the sideburns. And the way he keeps nodding and flicking his Zippo open and closed in rhythm with his head. He belongs in a chorus line of dancing Jets and Sharks.

Then again, I have an eye for these things. I know what to look for, because I’ve seen just about every variety of spook and specter you can imagine.

Gail Carriger : Etiquette & Espionage (Female) (Fantasy)

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners–and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine’s, young ladies learn to finish…everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage–in the politest possible ways, of course.

Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling:
A Wolf at the Door (2000) (Fantasy)

Conder Elephant – Jane Yolen
The Months of Manhattan – Delia Sherman
Instructions – Neil Gaiman
Mrs Big: “Jack and the Beanstalk” Retold – Michael Cadnum
Falada: The Goose Girls Horse – Nancy Farmer
A Wolf at the Door – Tanith Lee
Ali Baba and the Forty Aliens – Janeen Webb
Swans – Kelly Link
The Kingdom of the Melting Glances – Katherine Vaz
Hansel’s Eyes – Garth Nix
Becoming Charise – Kathe Koja
The Seven Stage and Comeback – Gergory Maguire
The Twelve Dancing Princesses – Patricia A. McKillip

Swan Sister (2003) (Fantasy)

Greenkid – Jane Yolen
Golden Fur – Midori Snyder
Chambers of the Hear – Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Little Red and the Big Bad – Will Shetterly
The Fish’s Story – Pat York
The Children of Tilford Fortune – Christopher Rowe
The Girl in the Attic – Lois Metzger
The Harm that Sang – Gregory Frost
A Life in Minature – Bruce Coville
Lupe – Kathe Koja
Awake – Tanith Lee
Inventing Aladdin – Neil Gaiman
My Swan SIster – Katherine Vaz

Phil & Kaja Foglio:
Agatha H and the Airship City (2011), Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess (2012), Agatha H. and the Voice of the Castle (2014) (Female) (Fantasy)

Novelizations of the Girl Genius comic!

Girl Genius:
Agatha Heterodyne and the Bettleburg Clank (2002), Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City (2004), Agatha Heterodyne and the Monster Engine (2004), Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams (2006), Agatha Heterodyne and the Clockwork Princess (), Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite (2007), Agatha Heterodyne and the The Voice of the Castlee (2008), Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones (2009), Agatha Heterodyne and The Heirs of the Storm (2010), Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse (2011), Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell (2012) Siege of Mechanicsburg (2013) (Female) (Fantasy)

William Goldman: The Princess Bride (1973)

Lian Hearn:
Tales of the Otori: Heaven’s Net is Wide (2007), Across the Nightingale Floor (2002), Grass for His Pillow (2003), Brilliance of the Moon (2004) (Non-WASP)

My mother used to threaten to tear me into eight pieces if I knocked over the water bucket, or pretended not to hear her calling me to come home as the dusk thickened and the cicadas’ shrilling increased. I would hear her voice, rough and fierce, echoing through the lonely valley. “Where’s that wretched boy? I’ll tear him apart when he gets back.”

But when I did get back, muddy from sliding down the hillside, bruised from fighting, once bleeding great spouts of blood from a stone wound to the head (I still have the scar, like a silvered thumbnail), there would be the fire, and the smell of soup, and my mother’s arms not tearing me apart but trying to hold me, clean my face, or straighten my hair, while I twisted like a lizard to get away from her.

Nina Kiriki Hoffman:
Stir of Bones (2003)
Spirits that Walk in Shadow (2006)
Ghost Hedgehog (2011)
A Fistful of Sky (Fantasy)

“Ultimate Fashion Sense? What kind of curse is that?”

“You can’t possibly wear that skirt with that blouse. Those socks!”

She glanced down at herself. “What’s wrong with my socks?”

“Ribbed socks? With plaid? Not midcalf height! Please! Either anklets or knee-highs. And your hair? How can you live with it?”

“What’s wrong with my hair?”

“You can’t go out in public with that hair. Come on.” I grabbed her arm and dragged her upstairs.

“Gyp, what are you doing?”

“I have to cut your hair. It’s imperative. No one should have to live with looking at that any longer.”

Dorothy Hoobler : The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn (Female)

Samurai fear nothing, not even death. They are loyal and brave. Fourteen-year-old Seikei has studied the way of the samurai, and would like nothing more than to be one. But a samurai is born, not made; Seikei was born the son of a tea merchant, so a merchant he must be. But when a priceless ruby intended for the shogun-the military governor of Japan-is stolen by a ghost, Seikei finds himself having to display all the courage of a samurai. Seikei is the only person to have seen the thief, and now the famous magistrate, Judge Ooka, needs the boy’s help to solve this mystery. Can the son of a merchant prove himself worthy to the shogun himself?

Madeleine L’Engle:
A Wrinkle in Time (1962), A Wind In the Door (1973), A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978) (Math & Science) (Fantasy)

Ursula K. Le Guin:
A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), The Tombs of Atuan (1970), The Farthest Shore (1972) (Fantasy)

Charles de Lint:
Waifs and Strays (2002)
Dingo (2008)
Little (Grrl) Lost (2007)
The Blue Girl (2004) (Fantasy)

Imogene’s family has moved to Newford, and she decides to take advantage of the move to a place where no one knows her, to change herself, and to stay out of trouble. On the first day of school she makes friends with Maxine, a girl outcast from her peers for being smart, and that friendship immediately puts her on the outs with the popular kids.

And she meets Ghost. A boy who died at school under mysterious circumstances–was it murder or suicide or accident.

Nelson Mandela: Favorite African Folktales (2002)

Robin McKinley: The Hero and the Crown (Female) (Fantasy)

Although she is the daughter of Damar’s king, Aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have enspelled the king into marrying her to get an heir to rule Damar-then died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son. But none of them, not even Aerin herself, can predict her future-for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the Blue Sword.

Garth Nix:
Sabriel: Sabriel (1997), Lirael (2002), Abhorsen (2003), Across the Wall (2005) (Fantasy)
Mister Monday (2003)

Sabriel is the daughter of Abhorsen–the Charter necromancer who puts the restless dead beyond the ninth gate. She has been sent outside of the walls of the Old Kingdom for her education, seeing her father in person only a few times a year, but seeing him in death more frequently, as Abhorsen trains her in their arts.

Mrs. Umbrade certainly didn’t want to know how Sabriel saw her father. Sabriel, on the other hand, always looked forward to his unofficial visits and watched the moon, tracing its movements from the leather-bound almanac which listed the phases of the moon in both Kingdoms and gave valuable insights into the seasons, tides and other ephemerae that were never the same at any one time on both sides of the Wall. Abhorsen’s sending of himself always appeared at the dark of the moon.

Daniel José Older:
Shadowshaper (2015), Ghost Girl in the Corner (2016), Shadowhouse Fall (2017) (Female) (Non-WASP) (Fantasy)

No matter what she did, that little voice came creeping back, persistent and unsatisfied.

Not enough.

Today she looked menacingly into the mirror and said: “I’m Sierra María Santiago. I am what I am. Enough.”

Pat O’Shea: The Hounds of the Mórrigan (1985) (Fantasy)

Philip Pullman:
His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (1996), The Subtle Knife (1997), The Amber Spyglass (2000) (Fantasy)

Ransom Riggs: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2011) (Fantasy)

Runaways:
Pride & Joy (2003), Teenage Wasteland (2003), The Good Die Young (2004), True Believers (2005). Escape to New York (2006), Parental Guidance (2006), Live Fast (2007), Civil War: Runaways & New Avengers (2007) (Fantasy)

Caroline Stevermer and Patricia C. Wrede:
Sorcery & Cecelia -OR- The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (1988), The Grand Tour (2004), The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After (2006) (Female) (Fantasy)

Aunt Elizabeth and I called at the vicarage yesterday and spent a stimulating afternoon listening to the Reverend Fitzwilliam discoursing on the Vanities of Society and the Emptiness of Worldly Pleasures. Aunt Elizabeth hung on every word, and we are to return and take tea on Thursday. I am determined to have the headache Thursday, if I have to hit myself with a rock to do it.

Maggie Stiefvater :
Raven Boys: The Raven Boys (2012), The Dream Thieves (2013), Blue Lily, Lily Blue (2014) (Fantasy)
The Scorpio Races (Female) (Fantasy)

Fuel was leeching slowly into Gansey’s expensive chinos, the second pair he’d ruined in a month. It wasn’t that he meant to be careless — as Adam told him again and again, “Things cost money, Gansey” — it was just that he never seemed to realize the consequences of his actions until too late.

Jonathan Strahan: Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron (2012) (Fantasy)

Jonathan Stroud:
The Amulet of Samarkand (2003), The Golem’s Eye (2004), Ptolemy’s Gate (2006)

The temperature of the room dropped fast. Ice formed on the curtains and crusted thickly around the lights in the ceiling. The glowing filaments in each bulb shrank and dimmed, while the candles that sprang from every available surface like a colony of toadstools had their wicks snuffed out. The darkened room filled with a yellow, choking cloud of brimstone, in which indistinct black shadows writhed and roiled. From far away came the sound of many voices screaming. Pressure was suddenly applied to the door that led to the landing. It bulged inward, the timbers groaning. Footsteps from invisible feet came pattering across the floorboards and invisible mouths whispered wicked things from behind the bed and under the desk.

Mariko Tamaki (Fantasy): This One Summer (Female)

J.R.R. Tolkein: The Hobbit (1937) (Fantasy)

Megan Whalen Turner:
The Thief (1996), The Queen of Attolia (2000), The King of Attolia (2006), A Conspiracy of Kings (2010)
Instead of Three Wishes (2006) (Fantasy)

I am a master of foolhardy plans, I thought. I have so much practice I consider them professional risks.

G. Willow Wilson: Ms. Marvel:
Vol. 1 No Normal (2014), Vol. 2: Generation Why (2015), Vol. 3: Crushed (2015), Vol. 4: Last Days (2015) (Female) (Non-WASP) (Fantasy)

Patricia C. Wrede: A Matter of Magic  (Female) (Fantasy)
Frontier Magic: Thirteenth Child (2009), Across the Great Barrier (2011), The Far West (2012) (Female) (Fantasy)

EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT A SEVENTH SON IS LUCKY. THINGS COME A little easier to him, all his life long: love and money and fine weather and the unexpected turn that brings good fortune from bad circumstances. A lot of seventh sons go for magicians, because if there’s one sort of work where luck is more useful than any other, it’s making magic.
…
Nobody seems to think much about all the other sons, or the daughters. There’s nearly always daughters, because hardly anybody has seven sons right in a row, boom, like that.

Laurence Yep: Dragon’s Gate  (Non-WASP) (Fantasy)

In 1867, Otter travels from Three Willows Village in China to California — the Land of the Golden Mountain. There he will join his father and uncle.

In spite of the presence of family, Otter is a stranger among the other Chinese in this new land. And where he expected to see a land of goldfields, he sees only vast, cold whiteness. But Otter’s dream is to learn all he can, take the technology back to the Middle Kingdom, and free China from the Manchu invaders.

What is all this about books for kids?

This category was a little more complicated for me, because I don’t remember a lot of the books I read about this age–possibly because I read a lot of Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon, which I loved, but there’s not a lot of variety there.

These are some books I’ve gotten for various small people, but I haven’t read some of them, because I frequently send the books directly to the kids, missing the opportunity to flip through the book before sending it along. So my criteria for picking those books was whether they looked like something *I* wanted to read.

Kelly Barnhill: The Girl Who Drank the Moon (2016) (Female) (Fantasy)

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.

Robert Beatty: Serafina and the Black Cloak (2015) (Female)

A brave and unusual girl named Serafina lives secretly in the basement of the grand Biltmore Estate amidst the splendor of the Gilded Age. Serafina’s pa, the estate’s maintenance man, has warned her to keep herself hidden from the fancy folk who live on the floors above, but when children at the estate start disappearing, Serafina and her friend Braeden Vanderbilt must work together to solve a dark and dangerous mystery.

Joanna Cole: Best-Loved Folktales of the World (1982) (Folklore) (Non-WASP)

There are books from my childhood that I turned to time and again, and shaped my future reading. This book is foremost among these.

Because of this book, I have multiple shelves of folk and fairy tales. This book started my fascinating and love of stories from other cultures, times, and places.

Sharon Creech:
Walk Two Moons (1994) (Female) (Non-WASP)

Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the “Indian-ness in her blood,” travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a “potential lunatic,” and whose mother disappeared.

The Wanderer (2002)(Female)

Karen Cushman: Catherine Called Birdy (1994) (Female) (History)

Catherine, a spirited and inquisitive young woman of good family, narrates in diary form the story of her fourteenth year—the year 1290.

Roald Dahl:
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (1977)

This is another book that I read time and again, and that contributed to my love of short stories. Although the title story is very good and has always stuck in my memory, I love all the stories here. They are strange and wonderful and amazing.

THE BOY WHO TALKED WITH ANIMALS
THE HITCHHIKER
THE MILDENHALL TREASURE
THE SWAN
THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR
LUCKY BREAK: How I Became a Writer
A PIECE OF CAKE: First Story-1942

Kate DiCamillo: The Tale of Despereaux (2003) (Fantasy)

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other’s lives.

Deborah Heiligman: Charles & Emma – The Darwin’s Leap of Faith (2009) (Math & Science) (History)

Beginning with Darwin’s notorious chart listing reasons to wed and not to wed, Heiligman has created a unique, flowing, and meticulously researched picture of the controversial scientist and the effect of his marriage on his life and work. Using the couple’s letters, diaries, and notebooks as well as documents and memoirs of their relatives, friends, and critics, the author lets her subjects speak for themselves while rounding out the story of their relationship with information about their time and place. She shows how Darwin’s love for his intelligent, steadfast, and deeply religious cousin was an important factor in his scientific work—pushing him to document his theory of natural selection for decades before publishing it with great trepidation. Just as the pair embodied a marriage of science and religion, this book weaves together the chronicle of the development of a major scientific theory with a story of true love.

Norton Juster: Phantom Tollbooth (1961) (Fantasy)

For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams.

Jacqueline Kelly: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (2009) (Female) (Math & Science)

Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.

Madeleine L’Engle:
A Wrinkle in Time (1962), A Wind In the Door (1973), A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978) (Math & Science) (Fantasy)

It was a dark and stormy night. In her attic bedroom Margaret Murry, wrapped in an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of her bed and watched the trees tossing in the frenzied lashing of the wind. Behind the trees clouds scudded frantically across the sky. Every few moments the moon ripped through them, creating wraithlike shadows that raced along the ground. The house shook. Wrapped in her quilt, Meg shook. She wasn’t usually afraid of weather.— It’s not just the weather, she thought.— It’s the weather on top of everything else. On top of me. On top of Meg Murry doing everything wrong.

Thanhha Lai: Inside Out and Back Again (2011) (Female) (Non-WASP)

Today is Tet,
the first day
of the lunar calendar.

Every Tet
we eat sugary lotus seeds
and glutinous rice cakes.
We wear all new clothes,
even underneath.

Mother warns
how we act today
foretells the whole year.

Everyone must smile
no matter how we feel.

Ingrid Law: Savvy (2008) (Female) (Fantasy)

Thirteen is when a Beaumont’s savvy hits—and with one brother who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity, Mibs Beaumont is eager to see what she gets. But just before the big day, Poppa is in a terrible accident. And now all Mibs wants is a savvy that will save him. In fact, Mibs is so sure she’ll get a powerful savvy that she sneaks a ride to the hospital on a rickety bus with her sibling and the preacher’s kids in tow. After this extraordinary adventure—full of talking tattoos and a kidnapping—not a soul on board will ever be the same.

Grace Lin: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2009) (Female) (Non-WASP)

In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life’s questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family’s fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.

L.A. Meyer: Bloody Jack (2002)

Life as a ship’s boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of eighteenth-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas.

There’s only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret. This could be the adventure of her life–if only she doesn’t get caught.

Sara Pennypacker: Pax (2012)

Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter’s dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild.

At his grandfather’s house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn’t where he should be—with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox.

Terry Pratchett:
Amazing Maurice & His Educated Rodents (2001), The Wee Free Men (2003), A Hat Full of Sky (2004), Wintersmith (2006), I Shall Wear Midnight (2010) (Fantasy)

I adore Terry Pratchett. His fantasy is both hilarious and politically biting.

These are kids’ books set in Discworld–just the thing to start young readers on the road to hilarious stories.

And the Librarian.

Ellen Raskin:
The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues
The Westing Game (1978) (Mystery)

A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead… but that won’t stop him from playing one last game!

Rick Riordan:
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer (2015)
The Lightning Thief (2005) (Mythology)

J.K. Rowling:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1998), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1999), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2001), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2005), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) (Fantasy)

Noelle Stevenson:
Lumberjanes Vol 1 (2015)
Nimona (2015) (Female) (Fantasy)

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

Jeremy Whitley: Princeless:
Save Yourself (2012), Get Over Yourself (2013), The Pirate Princess, Be Yourself, Make Yourself (Female) (Non-WASP) (Fantasy)

Jane Yolen: Hippolyta and the Curse of the Amazons (2002) (Female) (Mythology)

When the Amazons fall victim to an ancient curse, their thirteen-year-old princess must fight beasts and take on great challenges to get things back to normal for the people she loves.

What is all this about books for kids?

Now we’re to books with fewer pictures and more words. Still for young readers, but these are chapter books.

Young Reader

Gail Carson Levine: Ella Enchanted (Female)

Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
Danny, The Champion of the World (1975)

Danny the Champion on the World was my favorite Roald Dahl book. So many things in this book stuck clearly in my memory.

I don’t want to send you to school quite yet. In another two years you will have learned enough here with me to be able to take a small engine completely to pieces and put it together again all by yourself. After that, you can go to school.

One day during intermission, I went to Mr. Snoddy’s study to give him a bill and Sidney Morgan came along with me. He didn’t come for any special reason. We just happened to be together at the time. And as we went in, we saw Mr. Snoddy standing by his desk refilling his famous glass of water from a bottle labeled GORDON’S GIN. He jumped a mile when he saw us.

I have to stop looking for quotes now, or I’ll end up sitting here reading the whole book.

Astrid Lindgren: Pippi Longstocking (1945) (Female)

Charles de Lint: A Circle of Cats (2003)

If you’ve ever talked to me about books for any length of time, at some point my love of Charles de Lint will come up. He writes primarily short stories, but he has also written novels, and even a kids book.

Of course it’s out of print, but I have a copy, and perhaps one day it’ll go back into print.

Sid Fleischman: McBrooms Wonder One-Acre Farm (1972)

As a child I had a subscription to Cricket, which was the most marvelous magazine ever. I read my first McBroom story in Cricket, and I fell in love with McBroom and his farm.

willjillhesterchesterpeterpollytimtommarylarry and little Clarinda!

Neil Gaiman: Coraline (2002) (Female)
Odd & the Frost Giants
The Graveyard Book (2008)

Neil Gaiman writes everything from picture books to comics and everything inbetween. Everything is good, but check before giving a book to a small person, to be sure you didn’t get a grown-up book. (That you should keep and read for yourself.)

Betty MacDonald: Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (1947)

I came across Mrs Piggle-Wiggle at Central School and LOVED her. I think it was the upside-down house that I adored the most. Who as a kid didn’t lie with their head hanging off the sofa, wondering what the house would be like if everything was upside down.

Mary Norton: Borrowers

Scott O’Dell: Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960) (Female) (Non-WASP)
The Black Pearl

I honestly have no idea how many times I read this when I was young, but it was a lot.

Pam Muñoz Ryan: Esperanza Rising (Female) (Non-WASP)

Esperanza thought she’d always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico–she’d always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers.

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events: A Bad Beginning (1999)

I’m sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

Maryrose Wood: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place:The Mysterious Howling (2009)
The Hidden Gallery (2011)

IT WAS NOT MISS PENELOPE LUMLEY’S first journey on a train, but it was the first one she had taken alone.

As you may know, traveling alone is quite a different kettle of fish from traveling with companions. It tends to make people anxious, especially when en route to a strange place, or a new home, or a job interview, or (as in the case of Miss Lumley) a job interview in a strange place that might very well end up being her new home.

Click through on any of the title (or book covers) to see the books on Amazon. (And if you buy, I get a few parts of pennies to build up towards a book for me!)

What is all this about books for kids?

There is some overlap between this category and the picture books. Think beginning readers who might like lots of pictures in their stories while they’re still getting used to the whole reading thing.

Cathy Goldberg Fishman: When Jackie and Hank Met (2012) (Sports) (History) (Non-WASP)

Jack Roosevelt Robinson and Henry Benjamin Greenberg were born eight years and one thousand miles apart.

Nobody knew these babies would grow up and play baseball. Nobody knew Jackie and Hank would meet and become heroes.

Russell Hoban : Best Friends for Frances (1969)

Bread and Jam for Frances (1964)

I have pretty clear memories of reading these when I was small.

Margaret Hodges: Saint George and the Dragon (History)

A re-telling from Spenser’s The Faerie Queene of George, the Red Cross Knight.

The Kitchen Knight (1990) (History)

In the days when monsters and giants and fairy folk lived in England, a noble knight was riding across a plain. He wore heavy armor and carried and ancient silver shield marked with a red cross. It was dented with the blows of many battles fought long ago by other brave knights.

Elsa Holmelund Minarik: Little Bear illustrated by Maurice Sendak (1957)

Illustrated by Maurice Sendak. That is all.

Barbara Cooney: Miss Rumphius (1983) (Female) (Math & Science)

The Lupine Lady lives in a small house overlooking the sea. In between the rocks around her house grow blue and purple and rose-colored flowers. The Lupine Lady is little and old. But she has not always been that way. I know. She is my great-aunt, and she told me so.

Leo Lionni : Frederick (1967)
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse (1969)
Inch by Inch (1960)
Fish Is Fish (1970)

I think Fish Is Fish was probably my favorite of these books, but I loved them all.

Rafe Martin: Rough Faced Girl (Female) (Non-WASP)

Mal Peet: Cloud Tea Monkeys (2000) (Female) (Non-WASP)

Tashi and the monkeys met in their usual place, where the endless rows of tea bushes were broken by a jumble of rocks and a tree spread its shadow on the ground. Here she sat and crossed her legs. The monkeys watched her with their deep, serious eyes.

Francois Place : The Old Man Mad About Drawing: A Tale of Hokusai (2004) (Art) (History) (Non-WASP)

I love and adore this book. I am heartbroken that it is currently out of publication–there are so many more kids I want to give this book to!

Andrea Davis Pinkney: Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra (2006) (Music) (Non-WASP)

You ever hear of the jazz-playin’ man, the man with the cats who could swing with his band? He was born in 1899, in Washington D.C. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington. But wherever young Edward went, he said, “Hey, call me Duke.”

Doreen Rappaport: Elizabeth Started All the Trouble (2016) (Female) (History)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton couldn’t go to college but more importantly, she couldn’t vote.

A brief look at the start of the Women’s Suffrage Movement–and a time when women were still often treated as property rather than citizens.

Allen Say: Tea with Milk (1999) (Female) (History) (Non-WASP)

From the window in her room, the girl could see the city of San Francisco. She imagined that it was a city of many palaces. And one day her father would take her there, he had promised, riding on a paddle steamer across the shining bay.

Her parents called her Ma-chan, which was short for Masako, and spoke to her in Japanese. Everyone else called her May and talked to her in English.

Tanya Lee Stone: The House that Jane Built (Female) (History)

Jane Addams was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her social activism.

Laurie Wallmark: Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (2015) (Math & Science) (History) (Female)

Any geek worth their salt knows that Ada Lovelace was the mother of computing. But if you aren’t a geek, then you may never have heard of the daughter of Lord Byron who created programming and changed the world to come.

Click through on any of the title (or book covers) to see the books on Amazon. (And if you buy, I get a few parts of pennies to build up towards a book for me!)

What is all this about books for kids?

This is the “everything else” post, of books that don’t fit into any other categories. They fall into three categories: books I loved as a child, books that are gorgeous and I fell in love with as an adult, or Caldecott winners. And often books fall into more than one category.

Tony DiTerlizzi: The Spider and the Fly

Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly

I utterly adore this book.

Neil Gaiman: Wolves in the Walls (2003)

The Dangerous Alphabet

M Is for Magic

I have long been a fan of Neil Gaiman, and his books for kids are utterly delightful (there will be other books appearing for older kids as well).

Just be aware that in addition to kids book, Neil Gaimain also writes adult book, so check the book before giving it to a small person.

Elsa Holmelund Minarik: Little Bear illustrated by Maurice Sendak (1957)

Illustrated by Maurice Sendak. That is all.

Jory John: The Bad Seed

I’m a bad seed.

A baaaaaaaaaaad seed.

William Joyce: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore

Munro Leaf: The Story of Ferdinand (1936)

There was a little bull, and his name was Ferdinand

This book I clearly remember both owning and reading.

Robert McCloskey: Blueberries for Sal (1948)

One day, Little Sal went with her mother to Blueberry Hill to pick blueberries.

Little Sal brought along her small tin pail and her mother brought her large tin pail to put berries in. “We will take our berries home and can them,” said her mother. “Then we will have food for the winter.”

Lauren Mills: The Rag Coat

Acknowledgements:
Inspiration for this book was drawn from numerous sources, including the Foxfire books, a song by Dolly Parton, and my own childhood.

Jon J Muth: Zen Shorts

“Michael! There’s a bear outside!” said Karl.
“A what?” called Michael.
“A bear. He’s really big. And he’s in the backyard.”
“What’s he doing?” Michael asked.
“He’s sitting. He has an umbrella,” said Karl.

Patricia Polacco: Babushka Baba Yaga (1993)

The Keeping Quilt (1988)

Rechenka’s Eggs (1988)

As a fan of Baba Yaga, how could I not love a kids’ book about her?

Antoinette Portis: Not a Box

Why are you sitting in that box?

It’s not a box.

Terry Pratchett: Where’s My Cow? (2005)

OOK!

This book is really just for Terry Pratchett fans, but since everyone should be a Terry Partchett fan, of course I’m listing it.

Peter H. Reynolds: Ish (Creatrilogy)

The Dot (2003)

John Rocco: Blackout

It was a normal summer night in the city.
Hot,
Noisy,
Busy.
And then…
The lights went out, and everything changed.

Maurice Sendak: Where the Wild Things Are (1963)

In the Night Kitchen (1970)

Chicken Soup with Rice (1972)

Eating once
Eating twice
Eating chicken soup with rice

Uri Shulevitz: Snow (1998)

Herve Tullet: Mix It Up (2014)

Press Here (2011)

David Wiesner: Sector 7 (1999)

Flotsam (2006)

Free Fall (1988)

Art & Max (2010)

Tuesday (1991)

If you have never read Sector 7, then you should immediately find it and give it to a small person in your life.

Click through on any of the title (or book covers) to see the books on Amazon. (And if you buy, I get a few parts of pennies to build up towards a book for me!)

What is all this about books for kids?

As a geek of long-standing, I want to encourage all the small people in my life to get excited about math and science. Actually, I want them to be excited about anything they love, but as I love math and science, I want them to be unafraid of subjects that are sometimes imposing or scary. I want them to see a seed turn into a plant and smile in joy. To see chemicals react and gasp in amazement. To look at numbers and see beauty.

I want them to be geeks, and to see joy and amazement everywhere around them.

Pretty much everything here overlaps with another category.

Math & Science

Andrea Beaty: Rosie Revere Engineer (2013)

Ada Twist Scientist (2016)

Barbara Cooney: Miss Rumphius (1983)

The Lupine Lady lives in a small house overlooking the sea. In between the rocks around her house grow blue and purple and rose-colored flowers. The Lupine Lady is little and old. But she has not always been that way. I know. She is my great-aunt, and she told me so.

Demi: One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale

Long ago in India, there lived a raja who believed that he was wise and fair, as a raja should be.

Deborah Heiligman: The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos (2013)

If you have read many scientific journals, then you are probably aware of Paul Erdos, the man whose name is on more scientific papers than any other person. This story talks about the boy who became that man–and also about how he ended up publishing with so many people.

Ashley Spires: The Most Magnificent Thing (2014)

Laurie Wallmark: Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (2015)

Any geek worth their salt knows that Ada Lovelace was the mother of computing. But if you aren’t a geek, then you may never have heard of the daughter of Lord Byron who created programming and changed the world to come.

Click through on any of the title (or book covers) to see the books on Amazon. (And if you buy, I get a few parts of pennies to build up towards a book for me!)

What is all this about books for kids?

Having a number of girls in my life, and having been a girl once myself, I search out books with female characters. Especially of the self-rescuing princess type.

There is again a good deal of overlap with other posts.

Girl Power

Andrea Beaty: Rosie Revere Engineer (2013)

Ada Twist Scientist (2016)

Cynthia Chin-Lee: Amelia to Zora (2008)

Barbara Cooney: Miss Rumphius (1983)

The Lupine Lady lives in a small house overlooking the sea. In between the rocks around her house grow blue and purple and rose-colored flowers. The Lupine Lady is little and old. But she has not always been that way. I know. She is my great-aunt, and she told me so.

Demi: One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale

Long ago in India, there lived a raja who believed that he was wise and fair, as a raja should be.

Paul Goble: The Girl Who Loved Horses

Kathleen Krull: Wilma Unlimited (2000)

No one expected such a tiny girl to have a first birthday. In Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1940, life for a baby who weighed just over four pounds at birth was sire to be limited.

But most babies didn’t have nineteen older brothers and sisters to watch over them.

Most babies didn’t have a mother who knew home remedies.

Rafe Martin: Rough Faced Girl

Mal Peet: Cloud Tea Monkeys (2000)

Tashi and the monkeys met in their usual place, where the endless rows of tea bushes were broken by a jumble of rocks and a tree spread its shadow on the ground. Here she sat and crossed her legs. The monkeys watched her with their deep, serious eyes.

Doreen Rappaport: Elizabeth Started All the Trouble (2016)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton couldn’t go to college but more importantly, she couldn’t vote.

A brief look at the start of the Women’s Suffrage Movement–and a time when women were still often treated as property rather than citizens.

Allen Say: Tea with Milk (1999)

From the window in her room, the girl could see the city of San Francisco. She imagined that it was a city of many palaces. And one day her father would take her there, he had promised, riding on a paddle steamer across the shining bay.

Her parents called her Ma-chan, which was short for Masako, and spoke to her in Japanese. Everyone else called her May and talked to her in English.

Ashley Spires: The Most Magnificent Thing (2014)

Tanya Lee Stone: The House that Jane Built

Jane Addams was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her social activism.

Deborah Underwood: Intersteller Cinderella

Laurie Wallmark: Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (2015)

Any geek worth their salt knows that Ada Lovelace was the mother of computing. But if you aren’t a geek, then you may never have heard of the daughter of Lord Byron who created programming and changed the world to come.

Jonah Winter: Frida (Art) (2002)

I am a heathen. I know next to nothing about art, and generally don’t appreciate it. But even I know of Frida Kahlo.

Click through on any of the title (or book covers) to see the books on Amazon. (And if you buy, I get a few parts of pennies to build up towards a book for me!)

What is all this about books for kids?

So, I asked for a category name for books that are about cultures and people other than white English speakers. The best I got was multi-cultural, but that wasn’t quite what I was looking for, so until someone gives me a better recommendation, I’m going with Non-WASP.

You’re going to start to get some overlap here, because I have books that are about female characters that are also minorities etc.

Verna Aardema: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (1975)

The mosquito said, “I saw a farmer digging yams that were almost as big as I am”

“What’s a mosquito compared to a yam?” snapped the iguana grumpily. “I would rather be deaf than listen to such nonsense!” Then he stuck two sticks in his ears and went off, mek, mek, mek, mek, through the reeds.

Ada Twist Scientist (2016)

Cynthia Chin-Lee: Amelia to Zora (2008)

Jen Cullerton Johnson: Seeds of Change (2010)

Demi: One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale

Long ago in India, there lived a raja who believed that he was wise and fair, as a raja should be.

Cathy Goldberg Fishman: When Jackie and Hank Met (2012) (Sports) (History) (Non-WASP)

Jackie and Hank were born eight years and one thousand miles apart.

Nobody knew these babies would grow up and play baseball. Nobody knew Jackie and Hank would meet and become heroes.

Arthur A. Levine : The Boy Who Drew Cats

In fifth grade this story was in my reading book. There weren’t any pictures, but the story stuck in my mind, and eventually I decided to try and find the story. First, there are several versions of this story. The one I first read was the more gruesome of the tales.

Avoid large places at night–keep to small!

Paul Goble: The Girl Who Loved Horses

Susan Hood: Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay (Music)

Rachel Isadora: The Princess and the Pea

Ezra Jack Keats: Goggles (1969)

“Archie, look what I found,”
Peter shouted through the pipe.
“Motorcycle goggles!”
Archie watched Peter through the hole.
He listened and smiled.

The Snowy Day (1962)

I love winter and the snow, so this was an easy pick for me.

Kathleen Krull: Wilma Unlimited (2000)

No one expected such a tiny girl to have a first birthday. In Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1940, life for a baby who weighed just over four pounds at birth was sire to be limited.

But most babies didn’t have nineteen older brothers and sisters to watch over them.

Most babies didn’t have a mother who knew home remedies.

Gerald McDermott: Anansi the Spider

One year I received a book that was a collection of folktales from around the world (that book will come up later) and some of my favorite tales were Anansi the Spider tales.

It’s one of the reason I was so delighted by Neil Gaiman‘s American Gods, because of Aunt Nancy.

Rafe Martin: Rough Faced Girl

Arlene Mosel: The Funny Little Woman (1972)

Long ago, in Old Japan, there lifed a funny little woman who liked to laugh, “Tee-he-he-he,” and who liked to make dumplings out of rice.

Arlene Mosel: Tikki Tikki Tembo (1968)

Once upon a time, a long time ago, it was the custom in China to give firstborn sons great, long, important names. Second sons were given only little, short names.

In a small village there lived a mother with two sons. The second son was called Chang, which means “little or nothing”. But the first son was called Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip pen pembo, which means “the most wonderful boy in the whole world”.

Mal Peet: Cloud Tea Monkeys (2000)

Tashi and the monkeys met in their usual place, where the endless rows of tea bushes were broken by a jumble of rocks and a tree spread its shadow on the ground. Here she sat and crossed her legs. The monkeys watched her with their deep, serious eyes.

Andrea Davis Pinkney: Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra (2006) (Music)

You ever hear of the jazz-playin’ man, the man with the cats who could swing with his band? He was born in 1899, in Washington D.C. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington. But wherever young Edward went, he said, “Hey, call me Duke.”

Christopher Raschka: Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (1997)

Never leave your cat alone.

Be bop.

Mysterious Thelonious (1997)

John Coltraine’s Giant Steps (2002) (Music)

I love jazz. It’s the music that influenced so much of what we listen to day, but the music and the men who composed and played it were just as amazing.

Allen Say: Tea with Milk (1999)

From the window in her room, the girl could see the city of San Francisco. She imagined that it was a city of many palaces. And one day her father would take her there, he had promised, riding on a paddle steamer across the shining bay.

Her parents called her Ma-chan, which was short for Masako, and spoke to her in Japanese. Everyone else called her May and talked to her in English.

Click through on any of the title (or book covers) to see the books on Amazon. (And if you buy, I get a few parts of pennies to build up towards a book for me!)

What is all this about books for kids?

Since elementary school I have had a love for folktales and folklore. So when I’m looking for new books, I tend to seek out tales based on folktales.

Folklore

Verna Aardema: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (1975)

The mosquito said, “I saw a farmer digging yams that were almost as big as I am”

“What’s a mosquito compared to a yam?” snapped the iguana grumpily. “I would rather be deaf than listen to such nonsense!” Then he stuck two sticks in his ears and went off, mek, mek, mek, mek, through the reeds.

Tomie dePaola: Strega Nona (1975)

In a town in Calabria, a long time ago, there lived an old lady everyone called Strega Nona, which meant “Grandma Witch.”

Although all the people in town talked about her in whispers, they all went to see her if they had troubles.

The Clown of God (1978)

Arthur A. Levine : The Boy Who Drew Cats

In fifth grade this story was in my reading book. There weren’t any pictures, but the story stuck in my mind, and eventually I decided to try and find the story. First, there are several versions of this story. The one I first read was the more gruesome of the tales.

Avoid large places at night–keep to small!

Paul Goble: The Girl Who Loved Horses

Rachel Isadora: The Princess and the Pea

Gerald McDermott: Anansi the Spider

One year I received a book that was a collection of folktales from around the world (that book will come up later) and some of my favorite tales were Anansi the Spider tales.

It’s one of the reason I was so delighted by Neil Gaiman‘s American Gods, because of Aunt Nancy.

Rafe Martin: Rough Faced Girl

Arlene Mosel: Tikki Tikki Tembo (1968)

Once upon a time, a long time ago, it was the custom in China to give firstborn sons great, long, important names. Second sons were given only little, short names.

In a small village there lived a mother with two sons. The second son was called Chang, which means “little or nothing”. But the first son was called Tikki tikki tembo nosa rembo chari bari ruchi pip pen pembo, which means “the most wonderful boy in the whole world”.

Esphyr Slobodkina: Caps for Sale (1940)

I don’t actually remember owning this book as a kid, but I clearly remember reading it.

The monkeys, of course, stuck in my memory.

Margot Zemach: It Could Always Be Worse (1976)

This is another book that I don’t think I owned as a kid, but I definitely remember reading and loving it.

Once upon a time in a small village a poor unfortunate man lived with his mother, his wife, and his six children in a little one-room hut.

Click through on any of the title (or book covers) to see the books on Amazon. (And if you buy, I get a few parts of pennies to build up towards a book for me!)

If you are interested in other books on folk and fairy tales, I have a page for them, separated by region of origin.

What is all this about books for kids?

These are picture books about historical figures or historical times. These books are for kids ranging in age from pre-school to about second grade.

History

Aliki: A Medieval Feast

The King is coming to visit! The lord and lady of Camdenton Manor must work quickly to prepare for his arrival. It will take weeks to ready rooms, set up tents, and prepare the feast itself. Everyone is busy hunting and hawking, brewing and churning.

What’s not to like about food?

Cynthia Chin-Lee: Amelia to Zora (2008)

Cathy Goldberg Fishman: When Jackie and Hank Met (2012) (Sports) (History) (Non-WASP)

Jackie and Hank were born eight years and one thousand miles apart.

Nobody knew these babies would grow up and play baseball. Nobody knew Jackie and Hank would meet and become heroes.

Deborah Heiligman: The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos (2013)

If you have read many scientific journals, then you are probably aware of Paul Erdos, the man whose name is on more scientific papers than any other person. This story talks about the boy who became that man–and also about how he ended up publishing with so many people.

Margaret Hodges: Saint George and the Dragon

A re-telling from Spenser’s The Faerie Queene of George, the Red Cross Knight.

The Kitchen Knight (1990)

In the days when monsters and giants and fairy folk lived in England, a noble knight was riding across a plain. He wore heavy armor and carried and ancient silver shield marked with a red cross. It was dented with the blows of many battles fought long ago by other brave knights.

Kathleen Krull: Wilma Unlimited (2000)

No one expected such a tiny girl to have a first birthday. In Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1940, life for a baby who weighed just over four pounds at birth was sire to be limited.

But most babies didn’t have nineteen older brothers and sisters to watch over them.

Most babies didn’t have a mother who knew home remedies.

Andrea Davis Pinkney: Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra (2006) (Music)

You ever hear of the jazz-playin’ man, the man with the cats who could swing with his band? He was born in 1899, in Washington D.C. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington. But wherever young Edward went, he said, “Hey, call me Duke.”

Christopher Raschka: Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (1997)

Never leave your cat alone.

Be bop.

Mysterious Thelonious (1997)

John Coltraine’s Giant Steps (2002) (Music)

I love jazz. It’s the music that influenced so much of what we listen to day, but the music and the men who composed and played it were just as amazing.

Doreen Rappaport: Elizabeth Started All the Trouble (2016)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton couldn’t go to college but more importantly, she couldn’t vote.

A brief look at the start of the Women’s Suffrage Movement–and a time when women were still often treated as property rather than citizens.

Allen Say: Tea with Milk (1999)

From the window in her room, the girl could see the city of San Francisco. She imagined that it was a city of many palaces. And one day her father would take her there, he had promised, riding on a paddle steamer across the shining bay.

Her parents called her Ma-chan, which was short for Masako, and spoke to her in Japanese. Everyone else called her May and talked to her in English.

Tanya Lee Stone: The House that Jane Built

Jane Addams was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her social activism.

Laurie Wallmark: Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (2015)

Any geek worth their salt knows that Ada Lovelace was the mother of computing. But if you aren’t a geek, then you may never have heard of the daughter of Lord Byron who created programming and changed the world to come.

Jonah Winter: Frida (Art) (2002)

I am a heathen. I know next to nothing about art, and generally don’t appreciate it. But even I know of Frida Kahlo.

Click through on any of the title (or book covers) to see the books on Amazon. (And if you buy, I get a few parts of pennies to build up towards a book for me!)

Anyone who has known me for more about about thirty seconds knows that I love to read. Because I want to share that love of books, all the small people in my life get books for their birthdays (and also for Christmas, if they’re family).

Since I’ve been doing this for more than 18 years at this point, and because I keep track of the books I give (because I don’t want to give the same books to the same families multiple times) I have a pretty substantial list of kids book. So I’m going to be make some recommendations, divided into age groups.

Picture Books: History & Historical Figures
Picture Books: Folklore
Picture Books: Multi-Cultural
Picture Books: Girl Power
Picture Books: Math & Science
Young Readers: More Pictures
Young Readers: Fewer Pictures
Middle Grades
Older Kids
YA Books

Some books will appear on more than one list, because my thought is this. If a kid loves to read, then some YA books are more than appropriate for them, because their reading level is higher than YA. But some YA books contain themes that might not be appropriate for middle age readers (acknowledgement of boinking, primarily), so they belong only in the YA category. It’s up to you to know the kid for whom you’re giving books, to know if acknowledgement of sex is something they’ll be ok with.

This is less a morality thing IMO, than whether the kid will be comfortable with the material. I read James Baldwin in middle school, and I remember being really confused by the idea of two male characters having sex–because I could not for the life of me figure out how that would work, but there is no way I was going to *ask* someone about it.

So, know your kid.

This will be the reference post, with links to the different posts. If you have any questions or would like to make requests or recommendations, PLEASE feel free to do so.

Also, I want to add some classifications to the books, and one of those is for books about non-white characters. I’m currently using the tag Non-WASP, since no one could give me a better term.

If you want to start browsing as I write, I have two existing pages that are somewhat regularly updated:

Kids’ Books
YA Books

Now for my FAVORITE! Pulling apart the year as a whole to look at the different parts!

I read a ridiculous number of books this year. Ridiculous. I blew past last year’s total of 189 in October and kept on reading.

Total books read: 230

First up: Book format

The trend of reading primarily eBooks has continued, although I did listen to more audio books this year than in any year previous.

You’ll also notice that I did a lot of re-reading this year. The past year was difficult for me mentally, so I did a lot of comfort reading–reaching for those books I already know I love to escape my brain.

The multiple formats simply means that I own the book in more than one format–most commonly I owned a mass market paperback and then got the same book in electronic format, but audio books also count. Especially since I rarely listen to a fiction book I haven’t already read.

The multiple formats was lower than I might have expected, because a lot of the books I was looking for were available from the library as ebooks or audio books. (There are weird gaps in what the library has though.)

eBook: 179
Audio: 30
Trade Paperback: 18
Paperback: 3
Hardback: 0
Multiple Formats: 48
Re-read: 128

I like this chart because you can see precisely when I got an eReader, and exactly how that changed my reading habits.

I also think that kindle and the ability to read the same book across devices has helped increase the number of books I’ve read, since any time I have any kind of wait I can just pull out my phone and start reading. I no longer have to make sure to put a book in my pocket or purse, since as long as I have my phone, I have a book to read.

Next: Genre

These numbers are going to be a little more confusing, because a single book (especially the books I read) can be multiple genres (fantasy AND mystery AND romance). But for the most part things were pretty evenly split between fantasy and mystery.

Fantasy: 105
Mystery: 99
Romance: 42
Comic: 24
YA: 7
Non-Fiction: 6
Anthology: 3
History: 2
Cookbook: 1

If you’re curious, that dip in mysteries occurred after Grandmom died. It was a while before I was in the mood to read straight-up mysteries, since then I’d often think, “Grandmom would have loved this…”

Finally, the thing that made me start tracking all these stats in the first place: the authors.

It has been a constant complaint (mostly by men) that there just aren’t that many female authors out there. This is, of course, bullshit, but I figured the best way to show that would be to a look at my own reading habits over time.

This year, as with most other years, my reading was relatively evenly split between male and female authors.

Female: 105
Male: 91
Joint + Anthology: 34
Initials: 0
Male Pseudonym: 0
Anthology: 15
Joint: 19

Male: 40%
Female: 46%
Joint + Anthology: 15%

I’ve actually plotted both genre and author gender on a single chart, to see how reading romances affected things, but even in chart form it’s still confusing and it turns out mysteries are more closely correlated to author gender than any other genre of book I read. And even then, the relationship doesn’t always hold up. (FREX, the year I re-read all of Donna Leon’s 20-some Brunetti mysteries.)

Regardless, my point remains that it is not difficult to find excellent books my female authors to read. So if someone complains they don’t know of any good female authors, send ’em my way. Chances are I can recommend something they’d like.

And that’s 2017 in reading!

The Books of 2017

Here are the books of December!

Some of my favorite books of December were Flame in the Dark by Faith Hunter, the Jacqueline Kirby series by Elizabeth Peters, and The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan.

Also: the complete 2017 round-up!

Fantasy

The Tropic of Serpents (2014) Marie Brennan (8/10)

Mystery, Historical

Lady Darby
The Anatomist’s Wife (2012) Anna Lee Huber (7/10)
Mortal Arts (2013) Anna Lee Huber (8/10)
A Grave Matter (2016) Anna Lee Huber (8/10)
Lord John
The Custom of the Army (2010) Diana Gabaldon (8.5/10)
Barker & Llewellyn
The Hellfire Conspiracy (2007) Will Thomas

Fantasy, Supernatural

Soulwood
Flame in the Dark (2017) Faith Hunter  (8.5/10)

Mystery

Jacqueline Kirby
The Seventh Sinner (1972) Elizabeth Peters (8/10)
The Murders of Richard III (1974) Elizabeth Peters (8.5/10)
Spenser
Thin Air (1995) Robert B. Parker (8.5/10)

Audio

Chance, Audio Version (1996/1997) Robert B. Parker narrated by Burt Reynolds (8.5/10)
Jar City, Audio Version (2000/2004/2011) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder narrated by George Guidall
Bangkok Tattoo, Audio Version (2005) John Burdett narrated by Paul Boehmer

And now the stats!

Lots of re-reads last month (although there were three audio books, which are always a re-read for me).

eBook: 10
Audio: 3
Multiple Formats: 3
Re-read: 8

Genre-wise it was mostly mystery, with a little bit of fantasy thrown in.

Fantasy: 3
Mystery: 10

As for the authors, mostly women this month!

Male: 3
Female: 10

We ended 2017 with a hike and Coopers Rock, and began 2018 in the same way.

It was cold, but the days were beautiful so we had wonderful hikes!

Date: 2017-12-31
Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Headwaters, Roadside Trails
Distance: 3.3 miles
Elevation: 1874-2412 feet
Temperature: 11-14 F

Date: 2018-01-01
Location: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trails: Hemlock Trail
Distance: 2.3 miles
Elevation: 1620-1866 feet
Temperature: 8-10 F