March 24, 2008...6:28 pm
Positive Canon of Children’s Books
At a recent workshop, I met a young parent who was astounded to hear that I have a personal library of almost 1,200 childrens books ranging from very early picture books through young adult novels.
I started collecting children’s books long before I had children of my own. I started with books that people had given me as a child, which wasn’t many because my mother believed in going to the library instead of buying books. Then I always checked out the children’s collection whenever we visited used bookstores, which was an early shared activity with my husband. Then I discovered estate sales and online used bookstores.
I looked for books that I remember reading over and over as a child. I’ve worn out at least one series of Narnia books. I looked for books that I remember made me feel stretched, like I could be more than I felt I was, such as Honore Morrow’s true story about the Sager children in On to Oregon. I looked for books that comforted me when I felt distressed. I still find Tamora Pierce’s books a great way to feel better.
When my children came along, we were much more likely to buy books that we wanted them to read. We collected all 14 of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. My son had us read them to him over and over.
. ….
We collected the full set of Great Brain books by John Fitzgerald. Both kids thought they were supremely funny. We collected the books that made my kids finally get impatient with hearing only a single chapter at bedtime, launching them into independent reading. For my daughter that was the Boxcar Children books, for my son, Brian Jacques’ Redwall series.
I collected Tarzan, Caddie Woodlawn, Tintin, Eleanor Farjeon’s wonderful tales, the Andrew Lang color fairy tale books, not just Anne of Green Gables but all the L. M. Montgomery books I could find, not just Little Women but all the Louisa May Alcott I could find, not just Peter Rabbit, but all the Beatrix Potter I could find.
Martin Seligman once talked about people working together to create the positive canon, an analogy to Harold Bloom’s Western canon with the additional criterion that entries support what’s known scientifically about the life well lived. I thought it was a great idea, but got overwhelmed on my first trip to the bookstore with the enormity of the task. But perhaps I could make a contribution here by reviewing some of the children’s books that have made the most difference to me.
I’ll add links to the list as I add them.
- My review of Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small series
- Ruth Gannet’s My Father’s Dragon series
- Interesting definition of happiness in one of L. M. Montgomery’s short stories
- L. Frank Baum’s 14-book Oz Series
- Exploration of strengths in Wizard of Oz
- Margot Benary-Isbert’s series, The Ark and Rowan Farm
- John D. Fitzgerald’s The Great Brain series
10 Comments
March 24, 2008 at 6:32 pm
[...] Steph K. wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAt a recent workshop, I met a young parent who was astounded to hear that I have a personal library of almost 1200 childrens books ranging from very early picture books through young adult novels. I started collecting children’s books … [...]
May 7, 2008 at 9:50 am
[...] children’s books I’ve been collecting all my life. I’ve just started working on a positive canon of children’s books after people started asking me for ideas of books to read to their children. I’d love to hear [...]
May 7, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader DSO, DFC by Paul Brickhill is a story I read as a young teenager - and it had a profound positive impact on me! The review of the movie version (www.imdb.com/title/tt0049665/) gives an excellent summary.
May 7, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Thanks, Kris. I’ll check it out.
May 8, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Pollyanna (an oldie but goodie)
The glad game changed my life as a child. I still play it and read it to my grandson. He loved it too!
May 8, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Roxy,
Yes!
I’d like to rehabilitate the word “Pollyanna” - so people don’t use it to mean a foolish optimists.
To me, the glad game is a special discipline of thought — to search diligently and creatively for something to be glad about.
It’s very related to Sandra Schneider’s realistic optimism — http://theanocoaching.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/realistic-optimism/
Kathryn
May 9, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Hi Kathryn,
I like all the Dr. Seuss books, and I think the Lorax has particular relevance now.
Laura
May 11, 2008 at 2:37 pm
[...] 這讓我想起故事的力量。哪些著作會讓你提名為正面經典之作？在你感到沮喪時，哪些故事會振奮你的精神，讓你充滿樂觀之感，提醒你再接再厲，增強你對他人的理解？將它們收集起來，在你需要的時候，記住這些故事。我的很多故事是我從小開始收集的兒童故事。在人們問我該給他們的小孩讀些什麼書後，我開始著手編著兒童正面經典讀物。我樂意瞭解在你成長的過程中那些給你帶來變化的書籍。 [...]
May 12, 2008 at 1:23 pm
[...] 这让我想起故事的力量。哪些著作会让你提名为正面经典之作？在你感到沮丧时，哪些故事会振奋你的精神，让你充满乐观之感，提醒你再接再厉，增强你对他人的理解？将它们收集起来，在你需要的时候，记住这些故事。我的很多故事是我在一生中收集的儿童故事。在人们向我问询该给他们的小孩读些什么书后，我刚刚着手编着儿童正面经典读物。我乐意了解在你成长的过程中那些给你带来变化的书籍。 [...]
June 3, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Check out ‘The Red Tree’ by Shaun Tan. It is marketed as a children’s book but would appeal to adults too. Fantastic pictures, very simple text.
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