Top 100 Children's Books

The Top 100 Children's Books list from the School Library Journal poll. I tried linking, but my HTML was not accepted.

I've bolded (hee, is that a real verb now?) the ones I have read. I've only read half of them! There may be a couple more that I missed. I may have read Pippi Longstocking as a child, but have forgotten. I thought I'd read all the Roald Dahl children's books, but the plot to Matilda escapes me. Some of these I'm interested in reading and some I have absolutely no interest in (like the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories). In any event, what I great job I have that I can sit around and read fun books with impunity! Wheeee! Take that, Wall Street!

100. The Egypt Game - Snyder (1967)
99. The Indian in the Cupboard - Banks (1980)
98. Children of Green Knowe - Boston (1954)
97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - DiCamillo (2006)
96. The Witches - Dahl (1983)
95. Pippi Longstocking - Lindgren (1950) may have read ... got the idea anyway.
94. Swallows and Amazons - Ransome (1930)
93. Caddie Woodlawn - Brink (1935) Planning on reading at some point.
92. Ella Enchanted - Levine (1997)
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Sachar (1978)
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall - MacLachlan (1985)89. Ramona and Her Father - Cleary (1977) I've read 2 or 3 Cleary books. They all slur together.
88. The High King - Alexander (1968) Read The Book of Three and Lost Interest.
87. The View from Saturday - Konigsburg (1996)
86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling (1999)85. On the Banks of Plum Creek - Wilder (1937) Bleagh, no thanks.
84. The Little White Horse - Goudge (1946)
83. The Thief - Turner (1997)
82. The Book of Three - Alexander (1964) Ho hum. Don't need to read any more of them.
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Lin (2009)
80. The Graveyard Book - Gaiman (2008) Literally broke down and cried when I heard this won the Newbery. Not sure why. I hadn't even read it. Just happy for Gaiman, I guess.
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family - Taylor (1951)
78. Johnny Tremain - Forbes (1943) I keep looking at this thinking I should read it.
77. The City of Ember - DuPrau (2003)
76. Out of the Dust - Hesse (1997) A novel in verse? I thought this was going to be ghastly, so I started 1/3 of the way in (the way I handle books I think I won't like - get the exposition out of the way. I can always go back and start over) and immediately realized I would have to ... go back and start over.
75. Love That Dog - Creech (2001) Hmm, may read.
74. The Borrowers - Norton (1953) Will put on To Read list.
73. My Side of the Mountain - George (1959)
72. My Father's Dragon - Gannett (1948) Grew up with these books.
71. The Bad Beginning - Snicket (1999) Read a few of these, that was enough.70. Betsy-Tacy - Lovelae (1940)
69. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Stewart ( 2007)
68. Walk Two Moons - Creech (1994)
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - Coville (1991) Read some of his other books ... will think about it.
66. Henry Huggins - Cleary (1950)
65. Ballet Shoes - Stratfeild (1936)
64. A Long Way from Chicago - Peck (1998) Can't recommend highly enough. Wish I could grow up to be Grandma Dowdel.
63. Gone-Away Lake - Enright (1957)
62. The Secret of the Old Clock - Keene (1959) Of course!
61. Stargirl - Spinelli (2000)
60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi (1990)
59. Inkheart - Funke (2003) Mmnnnrrrr, I don't know. Read The Thief Lord and wasn't that impressed.
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Aiken (1962) Love, love, LOVE Joan Aiken's stuff! Must read. The library didn't have it back 14 years ago when I was reading The Stolen Lake.
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Cleary (1981)
56. Number the Stars - Lowry (1989) Can't read Holocaust stories - they give me nightmares.
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins - Paterson (1978) Looks harmless enough.
54. The BFG - Dahl (1982)
53. Wind in the Willows - Grahame (1908)
52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007) Very imaginative and able to spark more imagination.
51. The Saturdays - Enright (1941)
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins - O'Dell (1960)
49. Frindle - Clements (1996)
48. The Penderwicks - Birdsall (2005) Listened to the audiobook and nearly vomited through the whole thing.
47. Bud, Not Buddy - Curtis (1999) Nothing can hold a candle to TWGTB-1963. It was okay.
46. Where the Red Fern Grows - Rawls (1961)
45. The Golden Compass - Pullman (1995) Read the whole series. Phew!
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Blume (1972) Might have read this.
43. Ramona the Pest - Cleary (1968) Might have read this as well.
42. Little House on the Prairie - Wilder (1935) Forget. It.
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Speare (1958)
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Baum (1900)39. When You Reach Me - Stead (2009)
38. HP and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling (2003)37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Taylor (1976) Should read.
36. Are You there, God? It's Me, Margaret - Blume (1970)
35. HP and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling (2000)
34. The Watson's Go to Birmingham - Curtis (1995) After reading this I thought it was a crime that it didn't get the Newbery ... until I realized it was up against Holes. That must've been a hard, hard decision.
33. James and the Giant Peach - Dahl (1961) The first book a librarian ever recommended to me that I liked. In fact, I loved this book.
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - O'Brian (1971)31. Half Magic - Eager (1954)
30. Winnie-the-Pooh - Milne (1926)
29. The Dark Is Rising - Cooper (1973) I had to listen to the audio of this because reading it was too intense an experience!
28. A Little Princess - Burnett (1905) Read this every month for years and cried my little heart out. Prefer The Secret Garden now. Don't need any help crying. 27. Alice I and II - Carroll (1865/72)26. Hatchet - Paulsen (1989) Read Paulsen's accounts of his real life experiences and it made me terrified of moose attacks. Think I'll pass.
25. Little Women - Alcott (1868/9)
24. HP and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling (2007) Too long. Too much wandering around in the woods.
23. Little House in the Big Woods - Wilder (1932)
22. The Tale of Despereaux - DiCamillo (2003) Mnyeh.
21. The Lightening Thief - Riordan (2005) Update: Tried to read this. Gave up. And I was a big fan of Greek mythology. Oh well.
20. Tuck Everlasting - Babbitt (1975)
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Dahl (1964)18. Matilda - Dahl (1988) Thought I'd read all of these.
17. Maniac Magee - Spinelli (1990)
16. Harriet the Spy - Fitzhugh (1964) Not sure what the point of this book is.
15. Because of Winn-Dixie - DiCamillo (2000)
14. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling (1999) My favorite of these.
13. Bridge to Terabithia - Paterson (1977)
12. The Hobbit - Tolkien (1938)11. The Westing Game - Raskin (1978)
10. The Phantom Tollbooth - Juster (1961)9. Anne of Green Gables - Montgomery (1908) My sister's favorite book. Also an Anne with an "E."
8. The Secret Garden - Burnett (1911)7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)
6. Holes - Sachar (1998) Excellent story. Movie didn't ruin it either (helps for the author to write the screenplay).
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - Koningsburg (1967)
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis (1950) Not much value as a story and a bit hit-you-over-the-head as allegory.
3. Harry Potter #1 - Rowling (1997)
2. A Wrinkle in Time - L'Engle (1962)
1. Charlotte's Web - White (1952)

Lovejoy Is For Real!

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The jury is still out as to whether this book is not about what it says it's about or it's not about what the reader interpreted from the cover that it was going to be about. Phew! Say that five times fast! Sorry about that, been reading too many Pauline letters.
The title might mislead one into thinking it's some sort of self-help book: the power of thinking without thinking. Hmmmm. What it shows is that there is a difference between expert opinion developed over years of study that sums up a new situation in a blink and what is patently just stereotyping out of ignorance. Black person [blink!:] baaad! Lovejoy (fictional antiques "divvie" and crime solver) looks at something from someone's basement [blink!:] genuine treasure!
The lesson here is that you can override your best instincts if you want something to be true or you can overcome your worst instincts and make the world a better place. You choice is being gulled into buying hugely expensive but worthless stuff and killing innocent people. It's all up to you! Take your pick.
The author also discovered that, despite his black heritage, he carries the baggage of negative associations with being black. You can't help it when you are immersed in what is predominantly white culture. (I pulled a quote on this when I was reading that should show up.)

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Crafty Thursday

For the second week in a row I've been sub'ing in the Homeschooler program. They do a craft activity whilst I ruin their childhood with the 1947 Newbery award-winner Miss Hickory. I say ruin their childhood because wait until they get to the part where Squirrel - I can't go on. Oh, the horror! Already Squirrel has been eyeing Miss Hickory's head and popping up unannounced and uninvited in her bed (I'm not making this up, y'all!) to "keep her warm," he claims. It has become apparent that Fawn's mother is off to the local deer processor. Fawn's father is probably already on someone's wall. Miss Hickory is rendered homeless by a selfish chipmonk ("monk" indeed!). Poor drab Miss Hen-Pheasant has told her tale of abandonment by Cock-Pheasant, probably on account of her moping, lack of intelligence, and low self-esteem. Miss Hickory has advised her to throw the bum out if he comes back.

Fortunately for their sakes, the kids had these nice, colorful beads to play with while I droned on and on about this forest soap opera. Fortunately for me, their regular host will be back to finish this story about a little stick-woman who gets her head torn off by her down-stairs neighbor leaving her body to stagger about and come to the "happy" conclusion that it would never have to do any of that "hard thinking" again. This book is perfect for Halloween! It's chock full of horrors!


Carolyn Sherwin Bailey's Miss Hickory

A Turnabout

Everyone is probably sick of the Digital Youth Summit notes, so I've prepared a short book review to provide the refreshing lime wedge to the notes' eye-watering tequila shot.
In what appears to be a series of the Misadventures of Millicent Madding, Brian Tacang (above), a former fashion designer, offers us Bully-Be-Gone. The titular character of the series, an unrepentant inventor named Millicent, devises a formula to fend off the middle-school bullies that make her life, and that of the rest of the smartypants crowd of multi-culturals, a living heck. She calls this formula ... well, "Bully-Be-Gone," but it unfortunately backfires by making the bullies romantically interested in their former victims which, at least for middle-schoolers, is even worse than bullying. I must say that I find the group of kids with mult-cultural backgrounds in children's books to be utterly unrealistic, but this isn't a realistic story, so I'm going to let Tacang get away with it.
Although it's my opinion that Tacang is trying a bit too hard to be funny, especially with the names (such as Uncle Phineas Baldernot), some of this is actually amusing. One could only hope for a librarian with Shakespeare and Toni Morrison tattooed on her well-developed biceps, and I was particularly taken with the cross-dressing English teacher. Oh, sure, it was the monthly Greats Of Literature class and Mr. Templeton was dressed in period costume (big skirt and hat - this must be where the fashion designer bit comes in), but ... Oh, never mind. I just love a man in a dress. What a great middle-school this must be! If only I had children, I'd send them there.

Let's Burn Some Banned Books

Lludmila in front of the Topeka and Shawnee County Library's SecondLife branch

Right across from the Society Hill Library is the Topeka and Shawnee County Library's SL branch. I was ambling by to get the slurls for the SC State Library and Society Hill to add to previous blogs when I noticed the big fire on the roof of the building across the "street." Naturally I ascended those steps on the left to see what was up. Surprise, surprise, surprise! It was a do-it-yourself book burning! You were able to get a virtual book from the stack nearby and then drag it from your inventory to the fire. Then you sign their guest book and tell them what book you burned and why. If you can't think of one off hand, there is a list to the left of the "The Big Read" poster of previously banned books.
What book did I burn? That's my secret. One copy won't be missed.

Lludmila prepares to throw a book on the bonfire.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City/38/158/24