The RAHK Report for 3/31/18

We spent a few days in New York with my mom last week, so the girls had lots of opportunities to listen to books in the car, at Grandma's house, and when we got home again. This week's Read-at-Home Kids Report is a round-up of what they've enjoyed.

Audiobooks 

• Homer Price by Robert McCloskey, read by John McDonough
  This was an enjoyable audiobook for my husband and me as well as for the kids. The best part is that the narrator sings when the text calls for it. We've all been singing the little tune he used ever since we finished the book.
• Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary, read by Stockard Channing
  Four-year-old Little Miss Muffet has much in common with Ramona, and we all enjoyed this funny tale of Ramona's experiences beginning kindergarten. Stockard Channing does some accents that don't suit the Pacific Northwest setting, but she is an engaging reader. 
• Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater, read by Nick Sullivan
  I didn't listen to this book all that carefully, but the narrator was lively, and the kids did seem to enjoy the story until they drifted off to sleep. I'll have to read it again, though, before I can say I've actually read the story.

Grandma's Books

• Click Clack Surprise by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin
  My mom had read this book to the girls on Skype, but this was their first time seeing it in person. Bo Peep (2.5 years), especially, took a very strong liking to it, and requested multiple re-readings. This is the book Cronin and Lewin read when I saw them at the National Book Festival, and I think, after the first one, it's the best book of this series. 
• I Can Do It Myself by Stephen Krensky
  Bo Peep read this one with Grandma, but she didn't like it nearly as much as Click Clack Surprise.
• Ten Little Rabbits by Brimax
  This is a basic counting book. The text is okay, but the vintage illustrations are the real appeal.
• The Easter Egg by Jan Brett
  This was a bedtime read-aloud with Grandma. I missed most of it, but the artwork is nice.
• My First Book of Animals by Alain Gree
  My mom has 9 of these board books, and I read all of them, some with Jumping Joan, and then when she lost interest, the rest by myself. 

Gifts from Grandma

• Mischievous Meg by Astrid Lindgren, illustrated by Janina Domanska
  Miss Muffet shares a nickname with the protagonist of this book, so it was a natural choice for her. The plan is for her to read this independently. 
• All That Sunlight by Charlotte Zolotow
  Miss Muffet often memorizes and recites poetry, so my mom picked out this book for her. I haven't looked at it carefully yet, but the poems seem a bit longer than the ones in Everything Glistens and Everything Sings, which we bought previously.
• Mrs. Peanuckle's Fruit Alphabet
  This colorful board book was a gift for Jumping Joan (5 mos.), but I can tell that all three kids will enjoy learning the names of the different fruits.
• The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward,  illustrated by Marjorie Flack
  We have a copy of this book already, but Bo Peep was given a small gift edition that comes with a necklace. Since she tends to be rough on books, I'm happy for her to have her own copy to handle! 

Read-Alouds at Home 

• More Milly-Molly-Mandy by Joyce Lankester Brisley
  We're still reading this at lunchtime. The most recent chapter involved a bubble bath, which both big girls thought was the greatest thing they'd ever heard.
• The Fuzzy Little Duckling by Jane Werner Watson
  This is a Golden book I dug out of our box of Spring books. The story is pretty generic, but the artwork is very sweet. It was a good Spring story to read before Easter. 
• P. Zonka Lays an Egg by Julie Paschkis
  This is a perennial favorite, also pulled from the Spring book stash. Miss Muffet immediately took it to read on her own after I read it aloud. 
• Tale of Tails by Elizabeth H. MacPherson, illustrated by Garth Williams
  The rhythm of the text of this Golden book always feels off to me, but I like the old-fashioned illustrations. 
• Little Chick by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by John Butler
  This book was Miss Muffet's prize back when we still did library summer reading programs. The illustrator has been a favorite of Bo Peep's, but she wasn't that into this book. 
• The Bear Who Saw the Spring by Karla Kuskin
  This is my all-time favorite picture book about seasons. The text is so simple, but so poignant. 

Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge: March 2018 Link-Up

This is the official Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge link-up post for March! In comments, please share your reviews and posts about any "old school" books you have read this month. (Even if you're not officially signed up for the challenge you're welcome to participate with anything you've posted about a book published in the decade of your birth or before.)

Here are my "old school" reviews for the month:

• Happy Little Family by Rebecca Caudill (1947)
• The Wonderful Farm by Marcel Ayme, illustrated by Maurice Sendak (1951)
• A Girl Called Al by Constance C. Greene (1969)
• Good Charlotte by Carol Beach York (1969)
• The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill (1972)
• The Cartoonist by Betsy Byars (1978)
• Does Anybody Care About Lou Emma Miller? by Alberta Wilson Constant (1979) 

Reading Through History: Does Anybody Care About Lou Emma Miller? by Alberta Wilson Constant (1979)

My big Christmas surprise from my husband this year was a used (and signed) copy of this hard-to-find sequel to Those Miller Girls! (This is the third book. I have yet to read the second.) Lou Emma is now fifteen, and she and her sister, Maddy, age fourteen, live with their father, their stepmother, Miss Kate, and a three-year-old half-brother, Barney. The buzz around their adopted hometown of Gloriosa, Kansas is that for the first time a woman, Mrs. Lavinia Biddle, is running for mayor. All of the Millers support her candidacy wholeheartedly, and Lou Emma even has an idea for a cause that Mrs. Biddle can incorporate into her campaign platform. Unfortunately, though, Mrs. Biddle is not interested in Lou Emma's idea of opening a public library, and Lou Emma must take matters into her own hands in order to get the idea noticed.

Like the later Betsy-Tacy books, this is a novel with more teen concerns than childish ones. Lou Emma has all the self-confidence issues that often plague adolescence and they influence everything from her relationships with her dad, her sister, and her stepmom, to her budding romance with Tommy Biddle and her rivalry with obnoxious schoolmate Zetta Colby. Through the course of the book, though, Lou Emma begins to find her voice and come of age, but in a very organic and wholesome way. There is some teen rebelliousness in this book (mostly on Zetta's part), and even a bit of a catfight but nothing to scandalize a younger reader very much. I would consider it a "clean" teen read.

This book lacks some of the appeal of the first book of the series. Because Lou Emma is older and struggling to understand her parents at times, there isn't as much light-hearted family repartee in this book, and Mr. Miller seems to fade into the background a bit now that the family is larger. But there is some very realistic tension between Lou Emma and Maddy and a wonderful friendship with an ornery algebra teacher that pick up the slack. The book also imparts a lot of information about women's suffrage and early feminism (the only kind I can even try to tolerate) and gives some interesting insight into how libraries got started back in the beginning of the 20th century.

I'm really curious about that second book, The Motoring Millers, and I hope I will find it someday so that I can see how all three work together as a trilogy. But I am pleased to have read the last book of the Millers' adventures, and I'm planning to save the book for my own girls to enjoy when they are young teens.

Why I Read "Old Smelly Books" (and Where To Find Them)

If this blog had a smell, it would probably be "old book smell" considering how many vintage and used children's books I mention here. Today, to go along with Blog All About It's March topic of Favorite Scent (and also as a discussion post for the Book Bloggers Discussion Challenge), I want to share some of the reasons I like to read those older kids' books.

Reason 1: To fill in the gaps.

My copy of this book
was so beaten-up!

My interest in old books first stemmed from my realization that there were a lot of gaps in my personal knowledge of children's books. When I was a kid, I refused to read books in which I thought a character might die, or which in some other way appeared to me to be scary or unsettling. So while the rest of the voracious readers of my age group were enjoying Little Women and A Wrinkle in Time, I was reading and repeatedly re-reading Just As Long As We're Together by Judy Blume and Baby-sitter's Club #6 Kristy's Big Day by Ann M. Martin, knowing that these books were "safe." But a reader cannot live on Blume and Baby-sitters alone and once I was working as a children's librarian, I realized that if I was going to be any good at readers advisory, I needed to know both the new and the old books in my collection. So I started an "Old School Sunday" feature on my professional blog, and began reading classics, award winners, and other favorite vintage books I missed as a kid.

Reason 2: To understand the canon. 

It's hard to appreciate this
book without reading A
Wrinkle in Time!

As I read more and more older books, I began to realize the ways in which knowing the canon of children's literature helped inform my reviews of newer books. This was not only true of books which are direct homages to beloved classics, as When You Reach Me is to A Wrinkle in Time, but of children's books in general. Having a broad knowledge of the books that have come before helped me to sense where a new book belonged, how it compared to others of its type, and which classic book's fans might adopt it as a new favorite. As frowned-upon at it is to say this, I did primarily get into librarianship because of books, and it quickly became clear that the way to enjoy the bookish aspects of the job was to get as big and wide a picture of the world of children's books as I could. I have come to believe that this broad and varied knowledge of children's books is really necessary for professionals in the children's literature field.

Reason 3: To find suitable content.

I also like old books because it seems like their content is more in line with the Christian morality I'm trying to live out in my own life and to instill in my kids. That's not to say there aren't newer books that can do this because I definitely have come across some great ones, but I don't usually feel that I have to heavily scrutinize vintage books for sexual content, moral relativism, anti-Christian sentiment, age-inappropriate political agendas, etc. There are definite exceptions, but I do think it's easier to find older books that match up with what I'm looking to share with my kids than it is to find newer ones.

Reason 4: To indulge feelings of nostalgia.

This cover has finally
been updated, but I'm
still fond of the original.

And the last reason I read vintage kidlit is that it gives me a cozy nostalgic feeling. Though I was born in the early '80s, I grew up with a lot of exposure to the pop culture of the '50s, '60s, and '70s, so often books that are ten or more years older than I am still feel like they came from my own childhood. There have been many occasions where I have read a vintage children's book not because it was on my library's shelves and not because I plan to share it with my own kids someday, but simply for my own enjoyment. A particular guilty pleasure of mine are friendship and family stories from the '60s and '70s with cheesy cover illustrations.

Resources for Discovering Old Books

If you, too, tend to enjoy a little throwback reading every now and then, you will want to check out the following resources: 

• OpenLibrary.org
  Open Library is an initiative of the Internet Archive which has the ultimate goal of having a webpage for every single book, in and out of print. It also has a lending library of digitized books that can be read online by registered users. Each user is limited to 5 books at a time, and the loan period is two weeks. I have found a variety of old books on this site that have been weeded from my local libraries or have been out of print so long that they are just hard to find in general. These have included picture books by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers and Maurice Sendak, the original editions of Charlaine Harris's Aurora Teagarden books (for adults), and even a cozy mystery set at my alma mater entitled Murder at Vassar (also for adults). 
• @yearlingreads on Instagram
  When I'm not sure what I want to borrow next from Open Library, I like to scroll through this Instagram account, which focuses on paperback books from the '60s, '70s and '80s. Many of them are blasts from my own past, and others are books I would have loved as a kid but missed for some reason. She also shares great vintage covers for well-known classics. Recent discoveries I have made through @yearlingreads have included the Al series by Constance C. Greene, Meaning Well by Sheila R. Cole, and Thatcher Payne-in-the-Neck by Betty Bates.
• Lost Classics of Teen Lit 
  I subscribe to this blog through Feedly and occasionally spend some time reading through it if I'm looking for a book suggestion or I see a post about an old favorite. I loved the recent post about a book called Teenage Marriage: Coping with Reality that struck me as both sad and funny. This blog also mentions a lot of books I recall either reading as a young teen or seeing on the shelves on my small-town public library back in the 80s and 90s. 
• Reshelving Alexandria
  This network of Facebook groups focuses a lot on nonfiction sets of books, but fiction comes up a fair amount as well. It's good for browsing and learning the names of authors and books of the past that have stood the test of time. I haven't been active in the group lately, but it is my understanding that the admin team is to launch a website with premium content. Personally, I don't think I'd pay for access to their book lists, but I do think visiting the groups a few times is a good way to discover a few new-to-you books. There is also a Marketplace group where you can purchase old books at reasonable prices. 
• Used Book Sales
  My husband and I go to a lot of used book sales, and these can be great places to stumble upon old-school children's literature gems. Many of the sales we frequent have vintage sections, where we have found interesting titles we never would have known about otherwise. Favorite book sale finds have included The Secret Language, the only novel of long-time HarperCollins editor Ursula Nordstrom and Cress Delahanty, a quirky Southern coming-of-age novel by Jessamyn West, with illustrations by Joe Krush. Find sales near you using BookSaleFinder.com. 

Do you read old books? Why or why not?

Fumbling Through Fantasy: Good Charlotte by Carol Beach York (1969)

Charlotte, usually called Tatty, is generally not known around Good Day Orphanage as being good at anything. When Miss Lavender and Miss Plum go away for a few days, however, Mrs. Singlittle comes to take their place, and she takes a strong liking to Charlotte right away. She gives her the nickname of Good Charlotte during their very first meeting, and despite Charlotte's feeling that it's a misnomer, it sticks. That very same day, a mysterious girl with blue hair arrives at the orphanage. Her name is Esmerelda, and she claims to be a princess who has been enchanted by goblins and must remain that way until the first snowfall of the year. Like Mrs. Singlittle, Esmerelda also takes a liking to Charlotte and chooses her to be her special friend.

This short and sweet chapter book has much in common with other school stories, but adds a supernatural twist. I spent a lot of the story trying to figure out whether Esmerelda was a real princess, an imaginary friend, or a real girl masquerading as a princess, and my opinion is that it never becomes clear, but that it doesn't really matter. The larger focus of the story  -  Charlotte seeing herself in a new light after a few unexpected kindnesses - comes across just as strongly whether Esmerelda is magical or not. The situations in the story, and the relationships among the girls are what you might expect from a typical school story, but the supernatural element and Charlotte's very relatable flaws and mistakes help it to stand out a bit from others.

Fans of cozy stories about orphanages and boarding schools, as well as those who like a touch of magical realism in these types of stories will love this sweet book. It reminded me of a cross between the Orphelines series and Dory Fantasmagory. This book is also apparently the inspiration for the name of the rock band, Good Charlotte. The Internet says the band hadn't read the book, though, so they really just liked the name, not the character herself.

My To-Read List for This Spring (and Beyond...)

One of my goals for the two read-a-thons I plan to participate in this spring (Spring into Horror during April and Bout of Books May 14-20) is to get through the huge pile of books that have come to live on my nightstand, as well as the ARCs I've requested for books with publication dates in April, May, and June. While I am pretty sure I won't make it through all of these, I also can't say for sure which I will end up reading, so I thought I'd just quickly highlight my stack of options for today's Top Ten Tuesday topic, "Books On My Spring TBR."

Nonfiction (Adult and Children's)

• My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
  A friend of mine watches The Durrells in Corfu, and she recommended it to me. I of course don't want to start watching without reading the book first. 
• Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
  My Catholic book club is reading this for our April discussion. 
• Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist
  My husband has been asking me to read this homeschooling guide for months, and I keep forgetting about it.
• Picturesque Tale of Progress: Conquests I by Olive Beaupre Miller
  I have been planning to get back into reading this nonfiction set that we'll be using to homeschool history, but I keep putting it off in favor of fiction. 
• An Unforgiving Land: Hardscrabble Life in the Trapps, a Vanished Shawangunk Mountain Hamlet by Robi Josephson and Bob Larsen
  My great-grandmother is mentioned in this book, and there is even a photo from her childhood. My grandmother bought the book for me years ago, and I am starting to feel guilty about not reading it!

Mysteries (Adult)

• The Memorial Hall Murder by Jane Langton
  This is not the first of the series, but it caught my eye at a used bookstore because I have enjoyed this author's children's books.
• 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs
  Based on the description of this book on Amazon, it sounds like I'll be able to count it as my one required scary book for Spring into Horror. 
• Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs
  It's rare that I own two consecutive books in a series, but since I do, I'd like to get through both so I can pass them on to another reader and free up some space.
• The Crossword Murder by Nero Blanc
  This was another random book sale find that I'm curious about. 
• Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy
  I've been meaning to get back into this series. I'm especially interested in this one because it introduces a new administration to the White House.
• Decked by Carol Higgins Clark
  Another book sale book. I've been wanting to try this series for a long time. 
• The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
  There are actually six from this series on my nightstand, but this is book 5 and I don't have 6 or 7, so for now, this is the only one I feel I need to finish soon. 
• Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon
  I have wanted to read this for years, but somehow it keeps getting forgotten. 

Romance (Adult)

• Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs
• Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs

I bought both of these books because I have enjoyed the author's work in the past, and because I was at a book sale where paperbacks were "up to 5 for a $1." I wasn't about to miss out! I typically get really interested in summer books when the weather first warms up - I'm hoping that's soon!

Children's Fiction

 

• Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace
  My husband has been asking me to read this one, and I have been procrastinating because it doesn't look like my usual fare. 
• Honestly, Katie John! by Mary Calhoun
  I have read the first two of this series and would like to finish this series, which also includes Katie John and Heathcliff. 
• By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman
  Another recommendation from my husband that's been on my nightstand for many months!
• All Alone in the Universe by Lynne Rae Perkins
  I really loved Criss Cross and have been wanting to read this book, which comes before it, for years. 
• The Sparrow Child by Meriol Trevor
  Trevor is one of the best Catholic writers ever, and I don't know why I haven't read this yet! 
• The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles
  I find the covers of the books in this series so appealing, but have yet to read one. This is the third book, so I'll be reading out of order, but there is a new book coming out so I'd like to get them all read before that comes out. 
• Dandelion Cottage by Carroll Watson Rankin
  This looks like a sweet vintage story that I will really enjoy. 
• Wild Geese Flying by Cornelia Meigs
  I find Cornelia Meigs's writing a bit difficult to get into at times, so I've been avoiding this book, but I do really want to read it. 

ARCs (Adult and Children's)

• Running Through Sprinklers by Michelle Kim (4/17/18)
• Better Off Read by Nora Page (5/8/18)
• The Twin Test by Rula Sinara (5/8/18)
• Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea by Lynne Rae Perkins (5/15/18)
• Front Desk by Kelly Yang (5/29/18)
• Save the Date by Morgan Matson  (6/5/18)
• The House that Lou Built by Mae Respicio (6/12/18)
• Why Can't I Be You? by Melissa Walker (6/19/18)

What are you planning to read this Spring?

The RAHM Report for 3/19/18

What My Kids Are Reading

This week's RAHK Report includes our St. Patrick's Day read-alouds and the book my four-year-old has been reading to my two-year-old.

What I Finished Reading

• Fatal Frost by Karen MacInerney
  I had a hard time getting into this book at the beginning, but things really picked up after a few chapters and it ended up being a really compelling mystery. I was wondering at first whether I'd stick with the series, but I've decided I definitely will. 
• The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
  This was really good in a creepy sort of way. I think I prefer The Sherwood Ring, just because it's more like my usual type of book, but this was very good. I will probably have a review up in about a month. 
• Dead Letter by Betsy Byars
  This series is growing on me. Herculeah is certainly a unique heroine. 
• Your Old Pal, Al by Constance C. Greene
  I liked this third book of the series a lot. I'd been hoping for a book devoted to the tension that other associations introduce into the Al//unnamed narrator friendship, and this was it!

What I'm Currently Reading

• All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot
  I read a bit in this one this week. I'll be out of town over the weekend and into the early part of next week, so I may not finish it right away, but probably by the time I post another RAHM Report in two weeks, it will be done. 
• The Advice Column Murders by Leslie Nagel
  I've started this ARC a couple of times, but I keep getting distracted. Hopefully I'll be able to sit down and really focus on it before we leave for our trip. 

Challenge Progress

• Fatal Frost counts for Cloak and Dagger and Craving for Cozies. 
• The Perilous Gard and Your Old Pal, Al count for Old School Kidlit. 
• Dead Letter counts for the Author Love challenge. 
• I also published reviews of the following titles for the Writing Reviews challenge: Southern Discomfort by Caroline Fardig; Fit to Die by Ellery Adams; Happy Little Family by Rebecca Caudill; and A Girl Called Al by Constance C. Greene. 

I'll be linking up today with Unleashing Readers/Teach Mentor Texts and Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?