In the last two days, I have read/reread:
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler
- Then Again, Maybe I Won’t
- A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 1: A Bad Beginning
- The Phantom Tollbooth
I have also spent several lovely hours wandering through the stacks of three different children’s libraries. The nostalgia is permeating everything. I’d forgotten what it’s like to haul home a stack of 15 new delicious-looking books and devour 2 or more of them before the day is over.
I have spent most of my adult life searching for that blinkered bliss that accompanies childhood reading. I almost never find it. If this continues, I’m in for a really good winter vacation.
This is my JOB. Are you kidding me?
Thank you all so much for your book suggestions! I will post a full 45-book reading list for my Child Studies course for your enjoyment once it is finalized.
“Well, I would like to make another trip…but I really don’t know when I’ll have the time. There’s just so much to do right here.”
-The Phantom Tollbooth
Image by Jules Feiffer
Classroom as Microcosm 
I don’t think anyone is ever too old for children’s literature! I re-read Matilda last night and it put a HUGE smile on my face, I will never be too old for Roald Dahl! x
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I rediscovered The Phantom Tollbooth while my daughter was in the hospital. It was a true escape during a really rough time and I have re-read it again since then just to get that feeling! It is just such an amazing book! I can’t wait to see your list and after the last commenter, I will be checking out Matilda (who I think I missed when I was younger). I loved Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and anything by Judy Blume, of course! I am so excited to have my daughter reach an age where we can read books together (she is 3 – we read books together, but they are not exactly enthralling to ME at this point). I am collecting all the Nancy Drews for her currently so we can hopefully read and enjoy the whole set together!
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Looking forward to the final list.
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I was looking through your blog and found this post. I felt compelled to comment. I have been a reader since the moment I began to read at 3. I have learned much. The first book you listed here. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler was one of my favorites, along with A Wrinkle in Time, the Trixie Belden series, as well as Nancy Drew mysteries. I could go on and on.
Now, I watch my grandchildren enjoy reading or being read to. The little one loves to be read to and let’s be honest reading a book that has less then 50 words over and over can break the strongest grandparent. The older one. he’s 8, loves Harry Potter and anything about knights, wizardry and adventures. Recently he was reading the real-life account of a child who was a Jewish orphan in Germany in WWII. He picked that book himself at he library. I was very proud of him to see that he was moved by such a poignant yet horrific story.
Experiencing books through a child’s eyes is precious thing. I can only imagine how proud my parents and grandparents were when every year at the top of my list for Santa Claus were the books I wanted. Ooops! I should have mentioned Little House on the Prairie.
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