Period, yes, but
fun too

Historical atlas
Prehistory
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Greece
Rome
Middle Ages
Renaissance
Industrial age
Victorian times
Depression
WWII
Cold war
Information age
Future
King's mistress

Home

Best classic for the youngest

You may fear that some of these books could be "too old" because they were written a long time ago, but kids do not see that: for instance, generation after generation delights in "Green eggs and ham". I think it is because the book discreetly reflects the sense of absurdity that children have when confronted with the adults' bizarre requests.

Start with Peter Pan (essential book) the celebrated book of J.M. Barrie (b. 1860) also in movies

Rudyard Kipling (b. 1865) Kipling was a friend of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA. I wish I could have listened to their conversations. I am sure you know all about the Jungle Books, thanks to Disney. So you can find it as movies, CDs...and plenty of Jungle Books
I also like the Just so Stories for Little Children

Beatrix Potter (b. 1866) Would you believe that I once knew an old man who had been a neighbor of Beatrix Potter in Scotland? He was then a child, of course, and she was very old. I met him many years ago and I am now old too. He told me that she had little patience with children (frankly, from his stories, she was not very nice). She certainly had more patience and displayed more charm with animals, because all the animals she drew had been her pets, including the terrible Peter Rabbit A movie was made in 2006 called Miss Potter with Renee Zellweger.

A.A. Milne (b. 1882) Do you think you can miss Winnie-the-Pooh?

Saint-Exupery (b. 1900) The French call him Saint-Ex He was a pilot, got killed during World War II. His plane crashed in the Mediterranean Sea and was discovered decades later. He wrote a book that most French children know by heart The Little Prince (essential book) It is the story of a child that comes from another planet and wonders about this word. The book was translated into many languages, and a friend of mine translated it into Irish.

Dr Seuss (b. 1904) There are, I think, about 40 marvelous books to pick.Dr Seuss still lived in La Jolla when I visited there, and people who had a chance to see him across the street considered that it was a special happy day. Just like people who saw Einstein: it gave them a good feeling. My preferred book is one of the least sold. It is called "I am not going to get up today", and it is the story of child who stays in bed, period. No moralism here!

Miss Bianca is a series of books, and we should include "The rescuers", written by Margery Sharp (b. 1905). They have given birth to two nice Disney movies. I am sure you remember that cute little mouse with the voice of Eva Gabor.

Philip D. Eastman (b. 1909) Maybe this name does not tell you much, but I am sure you have seen the book "Are you my mother?"

Watty Piper This was not quite a person: the famous Little Engine That Could was rewritten from older stories when it was first published in 1930. It is still upbeat today.

There are two more authors that are very prolific and very well liked, and I did not read them in time (I am getting way too old for the chocolate factory). Check Roald Dahl(b. 1916) and Gary Paulsen (b. 1939)

From another culture(the author, Salman Rushdie (b. 1947), is Anglo-Indian) comes a surprising book: Haroun and the sea of stories When I opened it, I thought it would be for younger adults, because the book is more philosophical than what we are used to, but I was wrong: I have seen plenty of younger kids who love the book.