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Category Archives: 20th Century
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 20th Century, 5 and up, American, Betsy-Tacy books, childhood, children's classic, early 20th century, fiction, friendship, good out loud, growing up in America, historical, humour, illustrated, imagination, Maud Hart Lovelace, mid-western United States, play, semi-autobiographical, siblings, society, starting school, under 7s, whimsical
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A nonsensical tale for grown-ups: Once On a Time by A.A. Milne
A little known story by A.A. Milne, Once On a Time is an absurd and whimsical fairy story. It starts when one king takes exception to another king taking a morning walk over his battlements during breakfast time while wearing … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Fantasy, General adult audience
Tagged 20th Century, adventure, British, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, humour, seven league boots, whimsical
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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 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, animals, British, coming-of-age, courage, Dick King-Smith, drama, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, humour, orphaned hero, parody, there be Dragons, wolves
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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
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
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a YA fantasy book. I knew it was a winner as soon as I saw that it has chapter titles like “In which Howl expresses his feelings with Green Slime”. It follows … Continue reading
Posted in 13 years and up, 20th Century YA, British, Fantasy, Young Adult
Tagged 20th Century, adventure, better than the movie, British, coming-of-age, convoluted plot, Diana Wynne Jones, fantasy, fiction, humour, John Donne, magic, mild romance, seven league boots, whimsical, Wizard Howl, YA classic, young adult
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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 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, American, animal behaviour, animals, birds, boats, children's classic, disability, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, honour, humour, impressively pompous character, literacy, mild romance, music, muteness, nature, overcoming adversity, summer camp, swans, trumpet, whimsical, zookeeping
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These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder is the last of the Little House books that Wilder completed and also my favourite. At the end of Little Town on the Prairie Laura received her teaching certificate. Now Laura has … Continue reading
Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century YA, Young Adult
Tagged 10 and up, 19th Century, American, character-driven, children's classic, coming-of-age, courtship, education, farming, fiction, good out loud, historical, Little House Book, North Dakota, pioneering America, prairies, school, semi-autobiographical, YA classic, young adult
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Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder continues the Little House books. The Long Winter is over, the prairie is filling up and Laura is old enough to get summer work sewing in the growing town. When winter … Continue reading
Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, 20th Century YA, Children's Classics
Tagged 10 and up, 19th Century, American, character-driven, children's classic, coming-of-age, education, farming, good out loud, historical, Little House Book, North Dakota, pioneering America, prairies, school, semi-autobiographical, young adult
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Letters from England by Karel Čapek
Letters from England by Karel Čapek is a book I picked up for $5 in New Zealand, one of those high points of secondhand-bookshopping. As suggested by the title, it’s a collection of letters from the Czech author’s travels in … Continue reading →