momsuz123 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 My 8 y/o dd loves to read. In fact, at times, that is all she wants to do. I have a fairly decent library at home, but am wondering, if money was not the issue, what books would you have for your kids? Let me edit this to add, not only the "must" books, but any great books you really want at your kids fingertips. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I think every home library should have a Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (although I prefer the 60s or 70s editions to the newer editions,) a Concise OED, and any dictionary from the early 1900s. Beyond that, it all depends on your personal preferences. We love fantasy and mythology here. Specific titles and editions I would buy with unlimited funds? My library has the Dover Calla Editions and they are absolutely beautiful. I would love to add several of those books to our home library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Here are some that both of my dds loved: Favorite Medieval Tales by Mary Pope Osborne American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Charlotte's Web by E.B White The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B.White Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis Chaunticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer and Barbara Cooney St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges Little House on the Prairie by L.I. Wilder Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame Billy and Blaze by C. W. Anderson (and others in series) Heidi by Joanna Spyri The Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien Little House on the Prairie by Laura I. Wilder On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura I. Wilder Prince Caspian by C.S.Lewis Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes The Moffats by Eleanor Estes Pinky Pye by Eleanor Estes The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie S. Carlson The Little Lame Prince by Dinah Maria Mulock The Wheel on the School by Meindert Dejong Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan Skylark by Patricia Maclachlan The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit William Shakespeare's The Tempest or Twelfth Night by Bruce Coville (or any of the others) A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson Ordinary Princess by Mary Margaret Kaye The Doll People by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations by Diane Stanley Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Jester The Good Master by Kate Seredy Black Beauty by Anna Sewell The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald The Secret Garden and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Parin D'Aulaire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I like to have a few of the red (Latin) and green(Greek) bilingual Loeb Classics on the shelf. Even young children are fascinated with the little books and like to stare at the Latin and Greek and realize that books, real books, were written in Latin and Greek by real authors. Something clicks in their brains by HOLDING the books, and being read to from them. Yes, most of the text is boring and inappropriate for the young ones, but passages here and there can be found. For some children, their eyes open wide and they talk in hushed voices while holding the books. The books awaken a desire to learn the ancient languages in children. As they read the English, they can't help looking over and wondering which Latin/Greek word is the same one they are reading in English. The Greek math books are fascinating to children. And copying a little geometry from them is doable at quite a young age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnmusic Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 My kids are readers extraordinaire, it is their passion above all else. But the one book that we could not live without is the Bible - it sets the course for our day & our hearts, gives us cheer, food for thought, ideas to ponder and discuss. We read it individually, together, large portions quickly for content, slowly one or two verses to chew on for awhile. It speaks to us equally when we're down and tired, and when we're happy. Sorry to wax on, but I'm so grateful to enjoy Bible reading again and so glad that my kids are enjoying it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I have to go to bed so I'll limit myself to just one selection, and I think I'll go with the World Mythologies Series books. Here's a story I did about them a while back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I have to second the Bible being foremost. I love Kfamily's list and we have most of those. A few I would add (and I know I will miss an absolute ton): The Hiding Place Emma Animal Farm Adam of the Road Golden Gobblet Bronze Bow Missionary bios Call it Courage Thornton Burgess anything Freddy Goes Camping (and series) The Foundling Any FIAR books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three4me Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Mostly just subbing so I can see everyone's favorites! Right now my kids are still young, but so far we love our Mother Goose books and our fairy tale books, and the Jesus Storybook Bible. Mind you, we have hundreds of others, but those are the ones we read almost daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Also agreeing with Kfamily, and adding: a collection of Perrault and Grimm fairy tales The Little Prince A Little Princess Big Susan Robin Hood Treasure Island Oliver Twist Pollyanna Anne of Green Gables Bambi A Christmas Carol The Hobbit Pickle-Chiffon Pie The Little Engine that Could Oh the Thinks You Can Think! Robert the Rose Horse the Green Knowe series, starting with The Children of Green Knowe The Invention of Hugo Cabret Five Little Peppers and How They Grew Because of Winn-Dixie At the Back of the North Wind A Bear Called Paddington Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (almost anything by Roald Dahl, actually) The 13 Clocks Charlotte Sometimes Baby Island Winnie the Pooh The Seven Year Old Wonder Book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Raggedy Ann Stories Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself the Ramona books Black Beauty Pippi Longstocking I could keep going, but I'll stop here. We love books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 A good Atlas. One that is probably less than 50 pages, so it is easy to find each continent and country. (Individual countries are not profiled, but capitals are listed). When we read a story that references a place, we look it up. I had a good atlas, but I can't recommend it because it is OOP. And now I can't find it!!! :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Everything by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I am a bit of a minimalist so I don't own many books, especially since I've always been blessed to live near good libraries. For me to own something, it needs to fit at least one of these three criteria: 1) we need to use it on at least a weekly, if not daily, basis, 2) it is essential, but unavailable from the library, or 3) it has already been read a few times from the library and has reached annual re-read status. Group 1(Daily/Weekly Use) A few good picture Bibles (The Action Bible is a big hit right now.) Children's catechism Atlas Dictionary Animal encyclopedia (DK's Visual Encyclopedia of Animals has proved perfect for us at this point.) Plant/tree/star/nature field guides Group 2 (Occasional use, but essential that are not at library) Good saint biographies Well-illustrated, good re-tellings of classic fairy tales Set of phonetic-based leveled readers Group 3 (Books that reach annual re-read status) My kids' list so far... We really, really have to love them before we buy! Chronicles of Narnia The Hobbit The Flower Fairy books The Little House series 101 Dalmations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I am a bit of a minimalist so I don't own many books, especially since I've always been blessed to live near good libraries. For me to own something, it needs to fit at least one of these three criteria: 1) we need to use it on at least a weekly, if not daily, basis, 2) it is essential, but unavailable from the library, or 3) it has already been read a few times from the library and has reached annual re-read status. :hurray: I love lists by minimalists! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I agree with a lot said so far. 1. I agree that the Bible as number one, though it has taken me a long while to find children's Bibles which are accurate, or at least mostly so. Here are the best children's Bibles IMO: The First Step Bible (Mack Thomas)--for babies through toddler years The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories (Kelly Pulley)--for Preschool through early elementary The Child's Story Bible (Vos)--late elementary 2. There are 39 books in the Christian Heroes: Then & Now series (Benge) which are fabulous. I found them at my library. 3. A good history atlas is quite helpful. I prefer the Kingfister Illustrated History of the World which is out of print, except for the first few chapters which cover caveman theories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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