Passing On the Classics
Posted by annastan on August 18th, 2009. Filed under: Books, In the News.As I was browsing the NPR website yesterday, I came across a list of must-read children’s classics. There are many lists out there of books children should be reading, but this article really encourages adults to introduce children to classics so that books that have been loved for years can continue to thrive. While some might argue that clinging to old favorites might keep children from being exposed to new books, I’d like to think that there’s room to enjoy both the old and the new.
What’s interesting about NPR’s list is that while it contains some well-known titles (The Phantom Tollbooth, for example) it’s not the lineup you might expect. There is no mention of standards such as Charlotte’s Web or Tuck Everlasting. Instead, we get The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner and Natalie Babbitt’s The Devil’s Storybook. So this begs the question: if you had to make a list of your top three favorite children’s classics, what would they be? And, perhaps more interestingly, are there children’s classics out there that you think shouldn’t be read anymore?
August 18th, 2009 at 8:20 am
I love the first Boxcar Children book.
My list would be
1. Wingman by Daniel Pinkwater (out of print for no good reason)
2. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
3. Harriet the Spy or Mixed Up Files
4. Stonefox
And, unfortunately, Cricket in Times Square has such ridiculously blatant racism, that it’s impossible to read responsibly with kids without a year long unit on stereotypes.
Personally, I don’t like Tuck Everlasting. Usually with students I don’t have to dissuade them from reading it because the opening endless pastoral scene encourages them to put the book down.
August 18th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Hi Sarah – Thanks for sharing your list! I LOVE Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH! I actually love Tuck Everlasting too, but I agree with you that the pastoral scene at the beginning can be a little off-putting.
August 18th, 2009 at 8:58 am
My list would include Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’m a huge L.M. Montgomery fan.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:05 am
I absolutely loved Emily of New Moon when I was young – I think it had a lot to do with the fact that she wanted to be a writer!
August 18th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
“Harriet the Spy” should be on that list…as should Charlotte’s Web.
I loved “The house with the clock in its walls” – so creepy! Glad to see it’s on the NPR gal’s list.
August 18th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Harriet the Spy winds up on a lot of lists. She’s sneaky that way.
August 18th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Plus One for Rats of NIMH. Also, bring back Rudyard Kipling.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
just discovered your site!
can i put in a vote to keep the secret garden in the canon? i know it’s a bit dated but it’s kind of refreshing to have these flawed main characters who come around.
August 19th, 2009 at 4:27 am
The Secret Garden is a great one! It does have some troublesome views on race so young readers should have some historical context to put it in, but it’s such a good story!
August 24th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
In no particular order:
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – I like other Dahl books better, like George’s Marvelous Medicine (should be subtitled “How I poisoned my grandmother with household cleaners”), but Charlie is definitely more “classic”.
* Ender’s Game: Maybe not old enough to be classic, but it’s still pretty good.
* Gremlins 2 – the novelization – I really should have read more as a child.
August 24th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Though Ender’s Game might not be as old as some others classics, I think a lot of people (including me) would put it on the list. And I’m sure no one will dispute the classic nature of Gremlins 2 The Novelization – truly a gem in children’s literature.