kid lit

So since there has been a dearth of posts lately, I thought I'd tackle our neglected category: books. I claim to love reading but the truth is that I haven't really read as much as I'd have liked to since I started college, and I haven't really enjoyed that many books either. But when I was home last weekend, I was reminded of all the children's books that I've read probably dozens of times. So here's a list of some of my all-time favorites:

1. Anything and everything by Madeleine L'Engle, but most notably A Wrinkle in Time, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, A Ring of Endless Light, The Young Unicorns, Dragons in the Waters, and A House Like Lotus. I own 14 Madeleine L'Engle books which means that she is definitely one of my favorite authors of all time. I relate to all of her heroines: Meg, Vicky, and Polly, in different ways, and it's pretty amazing that she's written about them for over 40 years. I also love all the crossovers and links between the books she writes.

2. The first three (maybe four) books of the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery. I think I've always secretly wanted to live in another era. Prince Edward Island seemed so wonderful and idyllic...I even wrote one of my college essays about these books.

3. The Story Girl and The Golden Road also by L.M. Montgomery. More PEI dreaming. I really loved the narrator and the ending of the second book when they all go their separate ways kind of made me cry, especially when Bev says that Cecily won't live to be an adult.

4. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Still one of the best mysteries I've ever read!

5. Half Magic by Edward Eager. While Madeleine L'Engle wrote more serious fantasy, Half Magic is just pure fun.

6. A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt. I'll admit that I wasn't so into the Tillerman series at first, but it kind of grew on me, and I liked Jeff A LOT.

7. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. Such a smart book for kids. Hiding out overnight in the Met? How cool is that?

8. The One-Hundreth Thing About Caroline by Lois Lowry. This one isn't too famous but for some reason it has a permanent place on my shelf. It's a mystery-of-sorts, and there's just all sorts of quirky, wonderful stuff in it.

9. The Boys and Girls series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Just a really fun series about a family with three daughters moves next door to a family with four sons. I am STILL trying to catch up with these.

10. The Secret Garden and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Not too much to say here, just two of the best children's books ever written. Also of note: they've both been adapted into really really good movies as well. The Secret Garden in 1993 and A Little Princess in 1995 (by Alfonso Cuaron!).