I was just reading Shannon Hale's blog. Right now, she is probably one of my favorite authors. If you don't know who she is, you should check out some of her work. I recommend The Princess Academy, The Goose Girl, and Austenland, although I have loved pretty much all of her work.
Anyway, I am getting sidetracked. She was saying that her son just started kindergarten, and because it is a new school, their library still needs to be stocked. She was put on the committee to select the books for the new library, and it got me thinking about the awesome books I read in elementary school. What would I want to have there? There have been a ton of new books since I was in elementary school, so I am sure there are more that are great. But these are the ones I remember loving, so here is my list (at least a partial one):
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Boy, and pretty much anything else by Rold Dahl (he was definitely a favorite).
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. I like a lot of her stuff, but if I had to pick one for a school library, it would be this one.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. While I never read this in elementary school, it was one I should have read. And I love it now!
A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle. I read these ones over and over again in elementary school, starting, I believe, in 3rd grade.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I loved these when I was younger. And I love them now. They were what got me interested in his other work.
Oh, the Places You'll Go by Doctor Seuss. I love Dr. Seuss. But this is probably my favorite of all time by him. A close second would be Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now and Sneeches and Other Stories. Really, anything Dr. Seuss is awesome.
The Calvin and Hobbes comics were another favorite. Although I didn't like them as much as my brother, I still enjoyed my comics. These were the ones that got me started.
The Giver and Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. Both had interesting concepts behind them. Great for discussion.
Summer of the Monkeys. I cannot for the life of me remember who wrote this, but I liked it when we read it in 4th grade.
I discovered most of these as an older reader, but most things by Dianna Wynne Jones would be included in my ideal fiction section. I love The Dalemark Quartet (probably for a slightly older than elementary school crowd, but Junior High kids would probably like them), Howl's Moving Castle (again, I might put this more in the junior high age group), and The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (these would fit in the older elementary grades, I think).
The Farthest Away Mountain and The Fairy Rebel by Lynn Reid Banks. The Indian in the Cupboard is good for boys, too. But the first two were some of my favorites. I remember my mom reading my sister, brother and me The Fairy Rebel and how much I loved it.
Catwings by Ursula K LeGuin. Totally nerdy, I know, but I loved these in 3rd and 4th grade. I think those grades were when I really started to love reading.
Peter Pan by J. M Barrie. One of my favorites of all time, period.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. I think most people who like Peter Pan probably wouldn't agree with this. But I think these books were great for younger readers. You kind of just have to separate the two stories.
Walk Two Moons and Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech. I actually have greatly enjoyed most of her books. Or I did at that age. They aren't ones I have gone back and read again, but I wouldn't say I never would.
Beauty by Robin McKinley. I would also (for my sister, as I have not read them yet) add The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. And probably The Outlaws of Sherwood.
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary. I would probably put all the Ramona books in there. I was obsessed with Ramona when I was younger. I think she's hilarious now, because she reminds me so much of how I was when I was growing up. And would still like to be.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge! by Judy Bloom. I still love these ones. I will probably read them to my children one day.
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler by E.L Konigsberg. I don't even remember exactly why I loved this book so much. I just did. It possibly had something to do with the kids hiding in a museum. It just seemed neat when I was in about 4th or 5th grade.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. Because we've all had one.
Strega Nona by Tomie DePaola. I remember pretty much loving anything by Tomie DePaola when I was in about 2nd grade.
Wow... I am just scratching the surface here. I could go on forever. But I think I should probably do a couple of things I have been putting off for the last couple of hours. Perhaps I will add to the list later. Maybe if you have some books you remember from elementary school, you could share your thoughts. Just a suggestion.
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