a book I’m enjoying
A book I’m really enjoying: 100 Best Books for Children, by Anita Silvey. I was afraid it would be another list of ways to make your child a genius, but instead it was written by a book-lover all about those books you remember reading as a child. For each entry she has researched the stories behind the author and the author’s life when they wrote that book. For example,
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel: Virginia Lee Burton first wrote a book called The Trials and Trails of Jonnifer Lint…yikes. Publishers turned it down and suggested that she see what her boys thought of it. They fell asleep while she was reading it to them, ha! So she wrote something about what she knew they would love: steam engines.
Arnold Lobel, the author of Frog and Toad are Friends, was from New York City and afraid of the countryside. Else Holmelund Minarik, who wrote Little Bear, taught at a rural school and originally wrote the books for her students. Lucy Maud Montgomery, of Anne of Green Gables, had to fight to get her book published. She was first offered a flat fee of $500, but fortunately, she took the other offer of .09 cents per book!
I picked it up at our library (our children’s librarian has exquisite taste). If you see it, grab it!
5 Comments
Susie
I just heard about this book! I am adding it to my list. Also, I loved Mike Mulligan. How fun to learn some background info.
Anna {dear friend}
Love this. Frog and Toad are my most favorite ever. Such fun.
bridget
We just read Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel AND Frog and Toad. This is provident or something.
beaktweets
Fun! I love little back stories like this. I will have to see if my library has it, though so far I’d have to say our children’s librarian does NOT have exquisite taste. Well, that or limited budget.
Leah
Good find Rachael! I love books like this. I just finished a stack of books so I was looking for more reading recommendations.
xo
Leah (and Evie)