Tag Archives: illustrated

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

Problem-solving run amok in Stuck, a quirky picture book by Oliver Jeffers

Stuck, written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, is an absurd picture book about a boy named Floyd, whose kite gets stuck in a tree. The book follows his outrageous problem solving as he tries to get it down.

Posted in 2 years and up, American, Contemporary Children's, Irish, Picture Books, 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

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

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

Posted in 20th Century, Biography/Autobiography, General adult audience, Letters, Social Commentary/Analysis, Travel and Geography Non-Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Door in the Air and Other Stories by Margaret Mahy

The Door in the Air and Other Stories is my favourite book by Margaret Mahy, a fantastic (in both senses) kiwi children’s author. I have two favourite stories from this book. The first is The Work of Art, which makes … Continue reading

Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, Children's, Fantasy, New Zealander, Short Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas is a beautiful picture book about the nature of memory. It tells the story of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge who lives next door to an old people’s home where his … Continue reading

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

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is the story of a bored boy named Milo who comes home to find a box. It contains a a tollbooth that allows him to drive his toy car into the Kingdom of Wisdom, … Continue reading

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