The Palm Beach Post ran a great feature about getting children excited about reading. In the article, youth service librarians listed some of their favorite children's books and memorable moments that occurred during story hours.
The article inspired me to think of a few of my favorite books. Here they are:
Picture Book: Mrs. Biddlebox by Linda Smith, illustrated by Marla Frazee (I have a copy with the original wonderfully gloomy cover art and I love it!)
Middle Grade Novel: A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban (This is exactly the book I wish I'd written.)
YA Novel: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie (I love this book for its honesty, humor and heartache.)
Adult Novel: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (My tenth grade English teacher, Myra Durlosky, recommended this gem. For those who are wild about words, I have one for you to sum up this delightful epistolary novel: CLEVER!)
Adult Non-fiction: Anne Lamott. (Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year, Bird by Bird: Some instructions on Writing and Life, Travelling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, etc.) Ms. Lamott's truth-telling has gotten me through many of life's stages and challenges.
Please take a moment to comment and share your favorite books.
Thanks,
Donna
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7 comments:
Cool topic!! Here are my all-time favorites:
Picture Book: We Were Tired of Living in a House - Liesel Moak Skorpen (the original version, with breathtaking pencil drawings, in particular a dog looking out at the sea...)
Middle Grade Novel: Three-way tie - The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (probably hands down my favorite book of all time), and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (I used to read this in secret, afraid it was a "girls' book")
YA Novel: Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
Adult Novel: The Stand by Stephen King, and a close second is Birdy by William Wharton
Adult Non-fiction: On Writing by Stephen King (but I'm with ya on Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird)
Picture Book: Ooh, a toughie. Tie between Walter the Baker by Eric Carle (or really, almost any Eric Carle) and Pigs A Plenty, Pigs Galore by David McPhail. Great art, great story, both.
Middle Grade Novel: Another tie (you will sense a theme) Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Holes by Louis Sachar. Oh, and of course, let us not forget Harry Potter and the ...
YA Novel: Does Jane Eyre count? A Separate Peace is brilliant, even upon rereading as an adult. Catcher in the Rye also. How about A Prayer for Owen Meaney or The World According to Garp, because what is life without a John Irving now and then ... Let's see ... The Stand, I agree, is also the best work Stephen King ever did. And, for something completely different, I submit Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson, although I'll admit it might not be as good as I remember it being.
Adult Novel: This also is a very long list, but top choices here have to be Pride and Prejudice, Tale of Two Cities, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Great Gatsby, The Color Purple, Beloved and then on and on it goes ...
Adult Non-Fiction: Ooh also a difficult category. I will leave this for others ...
fun exercise, Donna. Hope all is well.
vicki
Vicki,
I see where your daughters get their love for reading. Great choices!
Donna
Another excellent blog post, Ms. Gephart. My list of favorites changes often. Favorite picture book -- Goodnight Moon. A couple of my all-time favorites are Grapes of Wrath and TC Boyle's Tortilla Curtain.
PB: Do Baby Bears Sit in Chairs? by Ethel Kessler. It's probably out of print, but I have a copy.
MG and YA oh boy...can't choose just one.
Adult Novels: Memoirs of a Geisha OR The Lovely Bones
NF: I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
Thanks, Dan. I've got to read Tortilla Curtain one of these daze, er, days.
And Steph, thanks for the reminder about Ephron's book. I just reserved it at the library. Am sure your book will be on the list someday soon!
I like to read middle grade novel and interesting history books...
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