It is perfect timing to discuss the history of authoritarianism in the world! On Tyranny: Twenty lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder (first published in 2017) is a brief overview of the things that have happened in the past century that led to the regimes with totalitarian leaders, including the events in Nazi
Emily’s Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary (published 1961) is a funny semi-autobiographical historical novel about a girl in the 1920s living in rural Oregon, written by the esteemed and well-beloved Beverly Cleary. I hadn’t know Cleary had written any historical fiction books; I’d only been familiar with her Ramona and Henry Huggins books, some of
The picture book Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! by April Pulley Sayre (illustrated by Annie Patterson; Charlesbridge, 2010) emphasizes the human and animal dangers to turtles, and the ways humans can help. The refrain “Turtle, turtle, watch out!” echoes throughout. Watercolor illustrations make this a friendly read, despite these dangers.
Beverly Cleary is best known for her Ramona Quimby stories and her Mouse and the Motorcycle books. But she has a repertoire of other stories. One two-book series that my daughter and I found begins with the story of Ellen Tebbits, a very good girl who finally finds a best friend. The sequel book is
The stray dog Bob finally got to tell his story in The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate (Storytide, 2020). Bob was the friend of the gorilla Ivan, who spent 27 years in a cage at an interstate exit mall, and a baby elephant named Ruby. As Bob talked about his early days, his
Mary Bennet finally gets her own story and happiness in The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow (Henry Holt, 2020). Mary the easily ignored middle daughter of the family at the center of Pride and Prejudice, and I’m sure many readers of the classic novel skim over her role. She’s annoying and reflects badly on
With a wide variety of poems, the picture book Volcano Wakes Up! by Lisa Westberg Peters (illustrated by Steve Jenkins; Henry Holt, 2010) shows the plants, crickets, and road having a conversation as a sleepy volcano “wakes up.” Based on volcanoes on the Hawaiian Islands, this book reminds readers that the Hawaiian Islands are active
These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer (published 1926) introduces the Duke of Avon as a cold-hearted and ruthless man, so why does he purchase the young urchin that runs into him in the road one day? Although he is known as “Satanas” to those around him, the young urchin quickly become the duke’s devoted page,
The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published posthumously in 1971) is the author’s “rough draft” of one more book about her early life, in this case the first four years of her marriage. Because it was only discovered after her death and was published in essentially the same form it was found it,
What’s Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott; published 1995) is an easily approachable “Let’s Read and Find Out!” book that finds commonalities between a child and other living things. It is written with a conversational voice that would attract very young children and has a second-person narration that directly speaks to
Little Blacknose: The Story of a Pioneer by Hildegarde Swift (published 1929) is a story for a young child about the creation of the first steam locomotive in New York State. The steam locomotive, eventually called the DeWitt Clinton Steam Engine, ran between Albany and Schenectady beginning in 1831. (Although that’s less than 20 miles,
A Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame Roland by Jeanette Eaton (published by 1929) is a fictionalized biography of a significant French woman during the violent French Revolution. Marie-Jeanne “Manon” Phlipon was a woman of Paris. As a child, her brightness was soon discovered. She studied every subject, including history, mathematics, agriculture, and
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