Category Archives: 20th Century Children’s

Quintessential Diana Wynne Jones: Archer’s Goon is about a boy, a family, a town and a threatening goon who takes up residence in the kitchen

Archer’s Goon is classic Diana Wynne Jones with various mysteries and characters gradually converging. The arrival of the Goon in Howard and Awful’s kitchen, demanding mysterious payment in the form of written words from their author-father, leads them to the … Continue reading

Posted in 10 years and up, 11 years and up, 13 years and up, 20th Century Children's, Adventure, British, Children's Classic, Comedy, Fantasy, Fiction, Novel, Speculative Fiction, YA Classic, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A children’s series that ages with its audience: Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill captures 10 year old life well

Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill is the third in Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. The girls are now 10 years old and the largely standalone chapters of the first two books smoothly transition into larger story arcs … Continue reading

Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, American, Children's, Children's Classic, Children's Classics, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fables about in groups, the vagaries of fashion, stalemates, dealing with difference and the consequences of carelessness when naming one’s children: The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

Posted in 2 years and up, 20th Century, 20th Century Children's, American, Children's, Children's Classic, Picture Books, Poetry, Short Stories, Under 5 years, Under 7 years | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Climbing trees, cutting your own hair and making messes with all the things you find in the kitchen: Maud Hart Lovelace’s second Betsy-Tacy book beautifully captures the experience of being 8 years old

Betsy-Tacy and Tib continues Maud Hart Lovelace’s engaging series of early 20th century American childhood. Betsy, Tacy and their new friend Tib are now 8-year-olds. Life is full of adventures, often with their genesis in Betsy’s fertile imagination. In this … Continue reading

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 5 years and up, American, Children's Classics, Novel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An alphabet book that keeps adults interested: Animalia by Graeme Base

Animalia is a classic Australian picture book by Graeme Base. I have delightful memories of eating gelato with my sister after buying this book as a gift for the children of some friends I was about to visit. K and … Continue reading

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 4 years and up, Australian, Picture Books, Under 7 years | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Capturing childhood: Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

I recently discovered Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series doing a literature-map search of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Similarly, Lovelace’s series draws on her own American childhood and the target audience ages with the protagonists. In the first book, Betsy-Tacy, the girls … Continue reading

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 5 years and up, American, Children's Classics, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Adventure for kids, humour for grown-ups: Dragon Boy by Dick King-Smith

Dragon Boy by Dick King-Smith is another classic dragon story from my childhood by one of my favourite children’s authors (he also wrote The Sheep-pig aka Babe). Orphaned John is found crying in the forest by a dragon, Montague Bunsen-Burner. … Continue reading

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's, Fantasy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tongue-in-cheek dragonlore: The Discovery of Dragons by Graeme Base

The Discovery of Dragons by Graeme Base is another delightful Australian picture book that works on multiple levels. Detailing the unlikely tale of how four unlikely people discovered dragons with beautiful illustrations, funny comic strips along the bottom of each … Continue reading

Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, Australian, Fantasy, Picture Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Dragon of Mith by Kate Walker

The Dragon of Mith is an Australian kids book by Kate Walker. It’s the story of a vegetarian dragon, a ridiculous number of dragon-slayers, a community of hermits and a blood-thirsty butcher (amongst others). I have vague memories of the … Continue reading

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Australian, Children's, Children's Classic, Fantasy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

E.B. White is better known for Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, but my favourite of his books is The Trumpet of the Swan. It tells the story of Louis, a trumpeter swan who can’t trumpet, which has grave implications for … Continue reading

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's Classics, Fantasy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment