Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Must-Read Children's Books?

Today on NPR, Lesley Blume recommended some "classic" books for kids that may not necessarily appear on summer reading lists. In the segment entitled A Classic List of Must-Read Children's Book, Blume tells Linda Wertheimer:
"It is our responsibility to introduce classics to the next generation, because there's such a flood of new titles on the book market right now, especially in young adult literature, and we have to make sure that the books that we love go into the hands of our own children."
I found myself scratching my head a bit, wondering what's wrong with some of the new titles. Don't get me wrong, classics are great, and some will resonate with kids today just as they did with us, but some will most definitely not. Blume's list includes titles like The Witches by Roald Dahl, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers, and more.

As with any list of this type, I don't agree with all the choices. Head on over and give it a listen. Then, come on back here and tell me what books you might like to see on a list like this. And don't forget--tomorrow's classics welcome!

1 comment:

  1. It's an odd list, to be sure, but I always like to see what books others consider "classics." Some of her choices I'd heard of, but not read; others I haven't thought of in years.

    My students this summer were blown away by The Wee Free Men; Pratchett was completely new to them and they loved it. So that's my "tomorrow's classic" for you!

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