Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
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
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,
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,
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published 1933) was the author’s second historical fiction children’s novel. As with her first (Little House in the Big Woods; see review), Wilder has written a concise book detailing the daily life and experiences of a child in 1800s America. It differs from all the rest of Wilder’s book
I don’t remember having read These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder before (first published 1943). I believe that when I read through the series, my oldest daughter got “bored” because Laura was no longer a girl. This month my nine-year-old and I did enjoy it. While it isn’t a favorite of mine and
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published in 1941) continues the story of the pioneering Ingalls family, now with Laura 14 and a half years old. The book continues immediately after the closing of The Long Winter, and it is now spring 1881. But life will never quite be the same for
Fern is trying to find her way back to the only home she remembers in middle grade novel The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2024). Fern has lived on the Ranch since she was six, so when her mom sneaks her away, she is shocked and distressed. As she
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published 1940) is a great tale of endurance and survival for the Ingalls family, pioneers in the brand new city of De Smet in the Dakota territory. During this historic winter, frequent blizzards lasting 3 or 4 days crippled towns and halted railway traffic, which means that De
Twelve-year-old Rosie can see color when she hears music and she hears music when she sees colors. Her perfect “echoic” or audio memory mean that she is surrounded by constantly music, including in her thoughts. In the beginning of her story in The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler (Carolrhoda Books, 2024), Rosie is
What was Anne Frank like before she started her famous diary? How did she get along with her sister, her mother, and the changing world around her? When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary by Alice Hoffman (Scholastic, 2024) is intended to give us a glimpse into this real girl
The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2023) is the third volume in the story about The Wild Robot. My daughter and I listened to the others in anticipation of seeing the movie (as soon as it’s not $$$ to rent online!). I was excited when I first learned
The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Stories by Ella Young (published 1929) records the traditional Irish Fionna saga, which features the story of Fionn (pronounced “Finn”), a young son of a clan chief in ancient Ireland. In the forward, the author notes that this is one of the oldest sagas from Gaelic people, and yet so
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