Chapter books for elementary-aged children

Oh, this seems like such an impossible task to start narrowing these down, but try I shall! Please note that this is certainly not an exhaustive list and is based solely on books that I actually own--there are a gazillion amazing books out there, but these are just the ones I love enough to have searched them out and purchased them and made space for them on our shelves.

Something really important: most of these are books that I still love enough to reread as an adult. I pre-read as much as I can of the books my kids are reading, but I also feel like when you read a book, you are making a lifelong friend of that book, and so I want my children to be introduced to MY friends that I still love as an adult. I'm not doing the best job of explaining this, but I do not think that these are just children's books. They are classics for everyone! 

These books are all ones that my children have read or that I consider them old enough to read. As I write this, my five-year-old is reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, my seven-year-old is reading Martin the Warrior, and my ten-year-old is rereading Jurassic Park so that's where we are today in terms of interest levels and abilities (so about a second-grade reading level up through eighth grade. Give or take).

Many of these books are the first in the series or one among many by a particular author. I generally have my kids read the one listed here and then they're hooked and want to read everything by that author, so this is my gateway book, so to speak. For some authors I have listed more than one if I think they're truly exceptional and not to be missed; I have also noted some books about which I have reservations by an author that I otherwise love.

I have also tried to list these by level of difficulty. This is an awesome site which tells you the reading grade level of a specific book, and I have gone through most of our books and noted the level inside the front cover. Keep in mind that most of these increase in complexity and difficulty as the series progresses--so, for instance, five-year-old Isaac can happily read the first few Harry Potter books, but I don't anticipate that I'll find him curled up with Deathly Hallows anytime soon.

Please note that my kids also read their fair share of Magic Treehouse, Warriors, etc., and their list of must-read books would probably look very different from mine! I do require that they read a certain number of books from MY list every so often (depending on what time of year we are in and how busy they are with school--often I require them to read the first three chapters of the book I've picked before they start anything else, and then they're hooked and they're ten chapters in and they've forgotten about the other book). We talk quite a bit about junk-food fun books vs. feast-for-your-mind books, and how it's good to maintain a balance that will nurture your mind. And I do still reserve the right to refuse to let particularly gory, rude, or gross books into our home.

Over the summer, the older children are each reading ten books from my list in addition to everything else they are picking on their own; at this point, they're almost done with my lists, but have added a lot to it by reading everything else that author has written after they finish my picks.



Absolute must-read series to be a human being walking this planet: 

• the Little House books (the ones by Laura Ingalls Wilder are far superior to those written later)
• Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)
• The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis)
• The Dark is Rising sequence (Susan Cooper)
• The Chronicles of Prydain (Lloyd Alexander--I read The Castle of Llyr first and was utterly hooked, so that's how I've started my kids. I think The Book of Three is a little less accessible.)
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
• The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkein)
• Anne of Green Gables & Emily of New Moon (L.M. Montgomery)

Fun series that you and your children should read at some point, but your life will not be over if you don't get around to them...

• Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief and the Kane Chronicles (note: not the same level of gorgeous writing as many of these others, but they got my kids completely and utterly hooked on Greco/Roman & Egyptian mythology, so I think they're worth it! Authored by Rick Riordan)
• Fablehaven (Brandon Mull)
• The Enchanted Forest Chronicles--Dealing with Dragons, etc. (Patricia Wrede)
• Redwall books--they get a little repetitive, but kids love them (Brian Jacques)
• Inkheart trilogy (Cornelia Funke)
• The Thief (Attolia quartet) (Megan Whalen Turner)
• A Wrinkle in Time, etc. (Madeleine L'Engle)

General books that everyone should read:

• From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (E.L. Koningsbury)
• The Girl Who Owned a City (O.T. Nelson)
• Holes (Louis Sachar)
• Indian in the Cupboard (Lynne Reid Banks)
• Harriet the Spy (Louise Fitzhugh) 
• Misty of Chincoteague (Marguerite Henry)
• Matilda (Roald Dahl--I know a lot of people love Roald Dahl but I think he's very macabre. I have my kids read this one and if they want to read more, fine, but I don't push Dahl)
• Caddie Woodlawn (Carol Ryrie Brink; look for the Trina Schart Hyman illustrations!)
• Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell)
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare)
• The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Howard Pyle)
• King Arthur and His Knights (Knowles)
• Where the Red Fern Grows (Wilson Rawls)--bawling your eyes out to this one is a childhood rite of passage
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Avi)
• Catherine Called Birdy (Karen Cushman)
• The Giver and Number the Stars (Lois Lowry)
• Shadow Spinner (Susan Fletcher)
• Banner in the Sky (James Ramsey Ullman--I literally read this book a dozen times one year)
• Johnny Tremain (Esther Forbes)
• James Herriot books--start with All Things Bright and Beautiful
• Cheaper by the Dozen & Belles on Their Toes (Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth--these are some of my absolute all-time favorites)
• The Story Girl  (L.M. Montgomery)
• Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (Margaret Sidney)
• Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)
• Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie; look for the version illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman!)
• Watership Down (Richard Adams)
• Heidi (Johanna Spyri)
• Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
• Hatchet (Gary Paulsen)
• The Jungle Book, etc.  (Kipling)

Fairytales/mythology/fantasy:

• Princess of the Midnight Ball, my girls also love the Dragon Slippers and Castle Glower series (Jessica Day George)
• The Hobbit (Tolkein)
• The Goose Girl, Princess Academy (Shannon Hale)
• Vodnik (Bryce Moore)--one of my close friends from grad school but I'd still say it was good even if I didn't know him personally. I also went to grad school with Brandon Sanderson--it was a talented bunch down there in the carrels! This book is an absolute favorite with both of my girls. 
• Charmed Life, Howl's Moving Castle, Dalemark Quartet, Dark Lord of Derkholm (Dianna Wynne Jones--basically you can't go wrong with anything by Wynne Jones)
• Ella Enchanted (Gail Carson Levine)
• Five Children and It (E. Nesbit)
• Entwined (Heather Dixon)
• Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt)
• Puck of Pook's Hill (Kipling)
• Wildwood Dancing (Juliet Marillier)
• Tamora Pierce (note: her first quartet [Alanna books] are more risque than later stuff. So I would start with the Keladry books, then Daine, then Tricksters, then Alanna. The Circle of Magic books are also intended for a younger audience and age with the characters. I really like Pierce for her heroine-centric books, but just do the later books first). 
• The Hero and the Crown, The Blue Sword, Outlaws of Sherwood, Beauty, Rose Daughter, Spindle's End (Robin McKinley--I LOVE McKinley, but her earlier stuff is definitely better than her later stuff. Deerskin and Sunshine are absolutely not appropriate for younger readers; Dragonhaven is terrible, and Pegasus, Shadows, and Chalice are sadly weak when compared with early McKinley)

So there's some of my favorites--what are yours? What ones have I left off that you would absolutely add to this list?

Book Week!

Hello dear friends! After the latest email asking about my list of children's book recommendations (interestingly enough, that's the most common email I get referencing this blog) I decided it's really time to update things since the most recent post on that topic is from 2010! I'm also updating my pages so that you can more easily find all of these posts, and I'll continue to update it as we go along.

For now, I hope you enjoy the list of my favorites! I know that I have spent many an hour hunting online for a decent list of books that my kids will not only enjoy but that I will enjoy reading to them (again and again and again). Happy reading, friends--I hope these are useful to you and please please add in your favorites in the comments if I've missed them!

passing it along

So I was thinking the other day (in the shower, of course, because that's the most zen-like space ever) about all of the things I learned from my parents and the things that I'm trying to teach my children, and what lessons I learned that I feel are really important to pass on.

And as I was thinking about this, I was wondering what everyone else in the world thought they learned from their parents that they should pass on to their children.  And how much I would love to hear some different perspectives on this (comment away!).

I had lots and lots of ideas, but the ones that really stuck out to me were the following:

1) Spiritual: my parents were really diligent about family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening.  I don't know if we were 100% on all of them all the time, but it sure felt like it!  We also memorized LOTS of scriptures by reciting them together before family prayer every night (there are still several that I automatically think of with the inflections that my sisters and I used to give them when we were trying to emphasize that someone had made a mistake on a certain word..."driven WITH the wind and tossed!")

2) Financial: when I was in middle school (I think?) I sat down with my parents and we calculated all the things I needed money for each month.  Then they gave me that amount and told me that I was responsible for budgeting it out, and gave me a little notebook to record my expenses, plus a box for all my receipts.  Before I could receive the next month's budget, I had to present my notebook (ledger!) and account for every penny of the previous month's budget.  I don't remember how many years this continued on the formal level, but it made a big impression.

3) Work ethic: we had a huge garden when I was a kid, and I vividly remember knowing that I had to weed my rows/snap my giant bowl of beans/etc. before I could ask to do anything else that day.  We also had rotating chores (listed on an Excel spreadsheet taped up inside the kitchen cabinet, also known as the "Decker Slave Chart") and could routinely expect to be asked to do other things as needed. I don't recall ever being paid for anything other than mowing the lawn (which was a gargantuan task that took 4 hours on a riding mower during its heyday); we just knew that as part of the family, we were expected to contribute.

There are my thoughts--what are yours?

spacing

I read something the other day (I can't remember where and I'm not going to bother to hunt it down) about a new study suggesting that the optimal distance between children--for the sake of their IQ, and nothing else--is at least two years.  One sentence in particular stuck out to me:  if children are much closer together than 2 years, it's all about survival, rather than nurturing.

This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately, especially as my children are getting a little older and I'm worrying about the amount of quality time the older ones get compared to the younger ones whose needs are so much more immediate and apparent.  Here is the thing:  I would love to have another baby right now (Neil is the voice of sanity here and reminds me that we do have a baby).  And some days I am so so sad that I am not pregnant, because I just want to complete our family!  I look around and I feel like there are all these little faces that are missing.  (And then some days I think about how miserable my last two pregnancies were, and I am not so sad.)  But right now I'm also struggling to keep on top of everything involved in ensuring my family's survival, and I worry that I'm not getting in enough nurturing.  Where, I find myself wondering, is that perfect balance between the right number of children and the brain power and sanity and patience to give them maximum love and attention?  And then I wonder if maybe it just comes down to spacing.  (And maybe not worrying so much about dusting and vacuuming.  Good luck with that, OCD self.)

So I'm curious.  What do you think is the optimal spacing between children?  What was it like in your family growing up and how did it play out?  What is it like in your family now, if you have children? How do you walk that fine line between survival and nurture? I would love to know, because I am seriously thinking about this all the time.

talking back

blurry, but all the nicely-focused ones where everyone was sitting quietly seemed inappropriate for the post

Human nature being what it is, I suppose I should stop being surprised by total stranger's comments on our family and children.  I always love it when someone stops to tell me that they're well-behaved, or adorable, (and nobody has ever said "Wow, your kids are sure throwing impressive tantrums" although there are times when it would be entirely warranted).

But the ones that I have trouble coming up with a response for are the times like the librarian saying, "Are these all your children?  Did you have them all on purpose?  Why?" (note:  we only had three kids at this point) or yesterday when we were walking into a grocery store and an older man said, "Don't you know what causes them [the children]?"  I was pretty taken aback and said something along the lines of, "They're blessings and we're grateful for all of them," and he said, "Oh...well...I guess they are." 

I grew up in a family of five girls, no boys, and I vividly remember people commenting to my parents, "Oh, you must be so sad to have no boys, " or when my mother was pregnant, "Still trying for that boy, eh?"  As a child I remember thinking that this was really rude, but it never actually bothered me because my parents made such a point out of telling us how lucky they felt to have five girls (plus my dad taught us to shoot and set up our own tents and start fires, so I didn't feel like he felt bereaved). 

I don't really know why I felt like this was blog-worthy, but it's been sort of bothering me ever since yesterday.  I feel like there's some really great comeback out there to comments like this--I'm just too *tired to think of it!  (On the other hand, I was so grateful for the friend who told me after church today that they always love sitting behind us because it brings back so many good memories of when their children were young, which was really sweet considering our kids were not so reverent today and I probably would have been sitting there thinking, boy, am I glad we're past that stage!)

So what do you do when someone says something like this?  What's that snappy comeback I'm looking for that reassures my listening children that I am so glad they're in our family?  Please give me some good ideas!  :-)

*so on the note of being tired, I am dreaming almost every night that I'm running.  It is so not restful!  Last night I dreamed that I had to run a half-marathon before I could sleep, and I was worrying about how I would nurse Luke during the race and thinking that I was going to twist my ankle because it was already 10:30 pm and I could barely see the trail.  The night before that I dreamed that I was running a full marathon in a huge warehouse (the bindery at BYU, where I worked one summer)--around and around--while someone was hitting me in the head with a crescent wrench, and I couldn't just leave because four people had thrown lariats around me and were keeping me there.  After I'd run forever, I finally asked how much further I had to go and they said I'd only covered 0.62 miles.

And yes, it IS a career!

Yesterday I happened upon a blog post (from a very popular LDS blogger) that was a bunch of tips for the half-hearted homemaker.  She encouraged everyone to post their own tips in the comments.  I read through them, and I was honestly a little shocked and appalled (do I sound like a Daily Universe letter to the editor?)  Basically, it was all about how to cut corners (think leaving your vacuum cleaner permanently in the entryway so people always think you're cleaning, but you never actually use it). 

Here's the thing.  I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right.  This isn't to say that my home is always flawlessly clean (come on, I have little kids!) or I have a beautifully prepared dinner waiting the moment my husband walks in the door.  But I really do try hard to have a clean, well-organized, inviting home with nutritious food that I've prepared myself.  I indulge the things I'm passionate about  in this arena:  gardening, sewing, etc.  To me, those things are a gesture of love to my family.  But more than that, I feel like homemaking is my career.  And I try to treat it as such.  As a huge overachiever who really valued scholastic success, I find that I need to work hard at homemaking in order to feel that it's of value, if that makes sense.  As in if I try to do the very best job that I can, then I'm saying that what I'm doing is worthwhile, as opposed to just doing the bare minimum because I feel like it's not worth bothering over.

I know this is very much a matter of individual balance.  But I think that all too often, we look at creating a beautiful, happy, calm home as less than worthwhile.  We think about all the other things clamoring for our attention and wonder if it really is worth cleaning up the thousandth pile of books on the floor.  Or growing a garden when you can just go to the grocery store.  Or cleaning a bathroom mirror that's going to get bespattered with toothpaste when the next kid walks in.  Preparing a meal that toddlers may categorically refuse.

But I believe that it is.  I believe that there is joy and satisfaction in creating an environment for your family that is a place of beauty and serenity and a refuge from the world.  I believe that there is value in spending time and energy and effort to do this.  It takes work and intellectual effort to do this every day!! I believe that we should be proud to be homemakers--that we should view it as a career, not as something to be slightly embarrassed about, as in, "Me?  Oh...I'm just home with the kids." 

Your thoughts?

Turning off the TV

Great post here on some reasons to turn off the TV. 

Growing up, I never had a TV in my home (the first time I lived somewhere with a TV was in college!)  In our home, we have a beat-up old 12-inch TV/VCR combo (which someone gave us) that lives in the very back of our closet--behind my wedding dress and our 72-hour kits--and only comes out when people are throwing up (delightful criteria, I know!)  Neil and I also watch DVDs on the computer (and Hulu!).

When Abigail was younger, I definitely understood the temptation to just turn on a DVD on the computer--or even a YouTube video--so I could just have a few minutes to myself.  And I did, on occasion, but I found that we were all miserable after she'd watched a 20-minute Blue's Clues episode or something like that (she whined for more all day and I felt grumpy about the whining and the fact that I was using the computer screen as a crutch). 

If this is the stage you're in--and you're feeling a little despairing!!--I want you to know that it will pass!!  My children entertain themselves while I take a shower, make dinner, work out, etc.  This has taken a little effort on my part, but I've found that they are happiest being in the same room with me, even if they don't have 100% of my attention.  For instance, while I ran 4 miles this morning Juliet looked at books and played with her dolls on the floor next to me; while I took a shower she sat on the bathroom mat and we sang Primary songs together.  While I make dinner, the kids will often color at the table, play with their Legos in the hallway next to the kitchen, or pitch in with the cooking. About half the time that I'm doing something else they want to be with me; the other 50% of the time they're off playing happily by themselves, but I try to be ready to offer some sort of appropriate entertainment in with me if they're so inclined. It requires a little more creativity on your part, but I've found that my kids are quick to settle in a routine of "while Mommy does x, I do y," and it's smooth sailing from there on out.  (This is not to say that I have not found my entire living room covered in Sharpie marker when I got out of the shower.  They are not angels--just normal kids!)

If you're trying to avoid TV in your home--or just cut down on the number of hours--I can tell you that it will get easier as your children get older, but only if they're not used to having the TV as a resource.  Stick to your guns.  :-) 

I hope I'm not coming off as self-righteous; I really believe that there's real value in not using the TV as a babysitter, but I also understand how daunting it is to keep small people entertained and out of trouble all day.  What I want to convey in this post is that you're not alone!  It's possible!  And it's lovely to see your kids sitting and looking at picture books for hours on end--by choice. 

What do you think?  Is this an issue in your home one way or the other?  Are you happy with the current level of TV-watching going on in your house? 

cleanliness is next to godliness? discuss!

Yesterday afternoon around six, I just quit.  I was exhausted, Neil was working late, and the kids were driving me crazy.  I'd sliced a big chunk out of my thumb early on in the morning (cutting up apples for Jules with a knife that Neil had sharpened the day before, which I had forgotten) and every time I jarred it, it started bleeding all over everything again (like a LOT, so much, for instance, that I thought one of the kids had dumped grape juice all over a puzzle when I wasn't looking).  So after dinner, I just sat down and let the chaos build around me while I tried to block it out.  When Neil got home, I ran 5 miles, then went straight to bed, ignoring the sticky floors and all the rest.

This morning when I got up, I realized that the house really and truly was a mess.  Mostly the kitchen--the dishes from dinner were washed but that was it.  I hadn't finished putting away laundry (kept bleeding on it!), and everything needed to be vacuumed or swept and mopped.  Everyone was hungry and grumpy and the mess seemed to exacerbate it.  I was irritated with myself when I realized that I had to make up for everything I hadn't done the previous night, plus run this morning and go to the grocery store so I had something to feed the missionaries this evening. 

I read a couple of weeks ago a quote that struck me, "Cleaning house with small children is like shoveling during a snowstorm."  I've also heard, "Don't worry about the mess, your kids won't remember it when they're older" and "cleanliness is next to godliness." 

My personal inclination is to keep my living spaces as clean as possible.  And yes, this does entail some frustration as the mother of 3 small children with less time and more mess than I'd like.  I've got a pretty good system figured out, but I do devote a fair amount of my "free" time to keeping things orderly.  Some of this, I think, simply has to happen in order for life to function smoothly (laundry, dishes, etc.) but some (such as disinfecting the counters or organizing closets) may just be icing on the cake.  Personally, I get really stressed if there are messes, so I feel it's worth the trade-off for my children to have less time with me if I'm cleaning but for that time to be more quality time since I'm not frantic about the sticky floor we're sitting on (I do also try to involve them in the home upkeep).  I do worry, however, that we're missing out on fun things because I always want to get the work done first.  (This is a big worry for me:  I want them to remember their childhoods as fun, not just "broom in hand," but I also want them to learn how to keep things clean and orderly). 

What do you think about all of this?  Do you feel that a clean home helps your family to be more calm and happy?  Do you think that the season of small children is not the season to be dusting and mopping?  How do you balance the care of your living space with everything else you have to do?  Did you have a clean or messy home growing up?  Did you notice?  Do you live differently now?

where do you buy your groceries?

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading this article in the Atlantic Monthly. Essentially, it talks about the gigantic strides that Walmart has made in raising the quality of its produce--the author did a blind tasting with critics and foodies with foods sourced from Walmart and from Whole Foods. Surprise, surprise--Walmart came out ahead in many instances.

I used to hate Walmart (actually, I still dislike it). Just walking inside made me feel like I needed to wash my hands (still do). It always seemed to be full of people you'd never see anywhere outside in the "normal world." Their produce was wilting and the selection limited. When we moved here, I always shopped at the Pay Less/Smith's/Kroger, which was considerably more expensive, but boasted fresh sushi (made while you watched), a big section devoted to natural foods, and organic options for just about everything. Plus, I didn't have to wait in line for what seemed like a gazillion years. The cashiers were efficient and I never had to park a quarter-mile away at the edge of the lot. And best of all, there were book-return drop boxes for both local libraries right in front of the store.

Fast forward four years, and now I shop almost exclusively at Walmart. Food prices have gone up. The quality of produce at Kroger has gone down--I bought cilantro there a few weeks ago that wilted into brown nasty in a matter of days. I ended up going to Walmart for kale and parsnips after that same trip, since Kroger was out. Plus, have you tried the organic onions and Walmart brand of vanilla soy milk? Really good. And let's be honest, Walmart is way cheaper. Their lettuces are better. (Have you tried the Marketplace bagged spinach? Could not live as happily without a crisper drawer stuffed with those bags.) The apples are firm and crisp and juicy. Some of the produce is still hit and miss, but by and large, it's a better value than the other grocery stores in my area (the nearest Whole Foods is an hour away...and I must say, I wasn't super impressed the sole time I visited. Maybe I was just there on an off day, but the bulk bins were pretty disappointing and the produce section was smallish).

The only thing is, I don't like supporting Walmart. I wish I could afford to buy food only from the local farmers, but let's face it, my husband is a graduate student, and we have three small children.

What do you think? Where do you do your grocery shopping? Is it worth the extra money to avoid the big-box retailers, or do you think the changes make them worth patronizing? Have you noticed any changes in the quality of big-box store foods over the last few years?

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a public service posting

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Over the last few days, the kids have been eagerly watching the mail. It must seem like magic to them; due to the fact that I bought books from different sellers all over the Internet, we’ve been averaging a package or two every day. They are super excited every day to find out what new book will arrive; it’s going to be a letdown when we’re all through! Yesterday Paul Heins and Trina Schart Hyman’s Snow White arrived (which has the most gorgeous illustrations, plus it follows the Brothers Grimm storyline rather than the saccharine Disney version); we dropped what we were doing and sat down right there in front of the door to read it. Abigail promptly declared that the Disney Snow White was “yuck Snow White, let’s throw it away” and slept with the new version under her pillow. Can’t say that I blame her. And must confess I was right on board.

Anyway, I was thinking today about the hours I spent recently reading over lists called things like “The Best Children’s Books of All Time” or “Don’t-Miss Picture Books” and how some of them were great and some of them were basically a Berenstain Bears catalogue.

So with that in mind, I present to you my favorites out of the nearly 400 children’s books we own. These are the ones that I look forward to reading. J There are lots of others that I enjoy or like or think are fun, but these are ones that I’d recommend adding to your collection.

• The 20^th Century Children’s Book Treasury, selected by Janet Schulman: one of the very best books we own.This is jam-packed with classics and always comes with us to the doctor’s office or anywhere that we may be waiting.This book is SO good that nurses at aforesaid doctor’s offices have written down the title and editor so they can purchase one of their own (really, I’m not kidding). A sampling: Madeline, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, GOodnight Moon, The Snowy Day, Make Way for Ducklings, Guess How Much I Love You, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad DAy, Curious George, Where the Wild Things ARe, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Bedtime for Frances, The Story of Babar, Stellaluna, Harry the Dirty Dog, Owen, The Sneetches. In paperback, it's just under an inch thick and about 8.5 x 11 inches with 300 pages of stories.
• Beatrix Potter: get yourself a good big treasury.
• Jan Brett: we own six of her stories. I love the pictures; the text can be a little much sometimes for short attention spans. Our favorites are The Gingerbread Baby and The Mitten.
• Margaret Wise Brown: The Runaway Bunny and The Big Red Barn
• Eve Bunting: A Turkey for Thanksgiving, The Valentine Bears, and Night Tree
• Virginia Lee Burton: better known for Mike Mulligan, but my favorite has always been The Little House. Now that Nathan has joined our family, Katy and the Big Snow is a huge favorite. 
• Eric Carle: The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear
• Joanna Cole: My kids LOVE the Magic Schoolbus books. I think the new ones are kind of weird, but you can’t go wrong with Lost in the Solar System, Inside the Human Body, Inside the Earth, etc.
• Barbara Cooney: Miss Rumphius, Roxaboxen, and Ox-Cart Man. My favorite author.
• Tomie dePaola has written a gazillion books; our faves are The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush and The Quilt Story.
• Judy Dunn: a whole series about baby animals and the little kids who take care of them. I especially like that it’s photographs and jam-packed full of interesting info along with the story. Our favorites are The Little Duck and The Little Pig.
• P.D. Eastman: Go Dog! Go! and Are You My Mother?
• Ian Falconer: Olivia (the original)
• Joan Heilbroner: Robert the Rose Horse
• Trina Schart Hyman (as illustrator or author): Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Merlin and the Making of the King, St. George and the Dragon, the Kitchen Knight, plus a whole lot more
• Kevin Henkes: Owen, Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse and Chrysanthemum
• Russell and Lillian Hoban: My other favorite author(s). We own every single Frances book and I must also recommend Charlie the Tramp and The Little Brute Family. If you’re going to pick an author(s) to buy all their works, the Hobans should be it. 
• Hilary Knight: The Twelve Days of Christmas
• Mary DeBall Kwitz: Little Chick’s Breakfast and Little Chick’s Big Day
• Brian Lies: Bats at the Beach
• Astrid Lindgren: The Tomten
• Leo Lionni: Frederick
• Arnold Lobel: any of the Frog and Toad books
• Mercer Meyer: our favorite Little Critter book is Just Go to Bed. Little Critter seems to be a real hit with the 2-year-old set.
• Robert McCloskey: better known for Make Way for Ducklings, but I’ve always loved Blueberries for Sal
• Elsie Minarik: any of the Little Bear books
• Arlene Mosel: The Funny Little Woman
• Jane O’Connor: Fancy Nancy (the original)
• Bill Peet: The Caboose Who Got Loose
• Alice and Martin Provensen: A Book of Seasons and The Year at Maple Hill Farm
• Peggy Rathmann: Officer Buckle and Gloria
• Cynthia Rylant: The Relatives Came and When I Was Young in the Mountains
• Richard Scarry: The Bunny Book (he’s written two by this title, the one I mean is the one about what the baby bunny will be when he grows up).
• Maurice Sendak: Where the Wild Things Are
• Dr. Seuss: oh boy, where to start? We own twelve and love them all, except for Hop on Pop, which I can’t stand. My favorite is probably Fox in Socks.
• William Steig: Dr. de Soto
• Jane Yolen: Owl Moon

Did I miss any of your favorites?

discussion

I have a question: how/when/where do you exercise? What's your preferred form of endorphin-charging? Are you an early-morning runner or a late-night gym rat? If you're a mom, how do you fit exercise around your children's schedule? If you don't exercise regularly, do you wish you did, or is it just not an issue? Do you exercise because you like the way you feel afterwards (or during), or because you want to maintain a certain level of fitness or weight?

I've been thinking about this lately, so please share.