I have a confession. For a while there, all I read was children’s books. I mean, I’ve read plenty of adult books in my day, but since having children, that’s become more challenging. And our library charges late fees on adult books, but not on children’s books, so that’s some incentive there. And what with reading to the children, etc., I have gotten in a lot of children’s book reading in the last 15 years. I think it’s high time I wrote a list of my favorites, in no particular order.

1. Beatrix Potter Complete Tales R/I

After checking out each individual story numerous times, and even some of the DVDs, we finally broke down and bought the collection. We love the beautiful watercolor illustrations, and the British dialog and 19th century customs. I think my two particular favorite tales are The Fierce, Bad Rabbit, and the Pie and the Patty Pan. It was really hard to choose just two. Everyone, even Yanni, who likes to be contrary, and has an irrational dislike for all things British, loves this book.

2.These Happy Golden Years (Little House)

I love most of the Little House on the Prairie books, as well as the stories of Laura’s great-grandmother, Martha, her grandmother, Charlotte, her mother, Caroline, and her daughter, Rose. I’ve read every one I can get my hands on, except, curiously, Little House on the Prairie. (I had assigned that to Yanni when she was 9 or so, and she told me it was boring. I must remedy this at once!) My all-time favorite of the all the series is These Happy Golden Years. This tells of Laura and Almanzo’s courtship, and it is so chaste and sweet.

3. Secret Garden, Little Princess, Little Lord Fauntleroy: Three Complete Novels

After I finished reading The Secret Garden to the babies last spring, I went on a quest to read more Frances Hodgson Burnett. Of the three, I think the babies prefer The Little Princess. I’m partial to The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy. I thought it was interesting how Burnett insists that her heroines look ‘queer,’ but her hero, Lord Fauntleroy is beautiful. I wonder if that’s because she had a son?

4. Pollyanna

This was part of my cultural icons search. I wanted to know what people meant when they called someone a Pollyanna. I loved this hopeful, Christian character. She changed so many people’s lives, and turned so many hearts just by thinking about things for which to be grateful. I also loved Pollyanna Grows Up (Puffin Classics)

5. Little Women (Signet Classics)

When I started reading this to Yanni and Xay, I had to read ahead. Soon I had finished reading it to me, but not to them! Yanni has since read it, and I didn’t think Xay really cared too much. I liked this book so much better than Little Men and Jo’s Boys. Girls coming of age really strike a chord with me. I wish I’d discovered these as a girl!

6. Black and White

This is an interesting book I’d found at the library, and ordered it on Amazon as soon as I could. It tells four different stories per page, and you have to figure out which story goes where, and when each one starts and ends, and how they’re all connected somehow. I really like this one more than the children do. It’s too illogical for most of them.

7. Sam and the Tigers: A Retelling of ‘Little Black Sambo’ (Picture Puffins)

I got to meet the illustrator of this book! When I was a free-lance reporter for CityLife, Jerry and Andrea Pinkney came to town, so I interviewed them for one of two articles I actually contributed to the paper. (I discovered that reporting is not my thing. I much prefer blogging). It was neat to meet the illustrator, though, as I had already been a big fan of his beautiful watercolors. This story is a re-telling of the Sambo story, written by Julius Lester in a lilting southern storytelling style. The pictures alone are enough to recommend this book.

8. The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set (adult) (Narnia)

I didn’t expect to like these books; I don’t care for fantasy. But these were more than that. I read them to Yanni and Xay years ago, and by the third book, I was hooked, too. My favorites in the series are different from Yanni’s, which are different from Xay’s. We enjoy listening to them on tape as well. This last winter was spent od’ing on The Horse and His Boy from the Focus on the Family radio series.

9. Heidi (Children’s Classics)

Yanni had to read excerpts from Heidi when she was in the fourth or fifth grade. We checked the book out from the library, and I read it to Xay. We loved the story of the little girl with the big faith, and her nurturing grandfather. We checked out a movie about it, and it was no where near as good as the book. I can’t wait to read it to the babies!

10. The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne’s House of Dreams, … Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside)

It was an adventure finding each of these books at the library. My quest took me to every branch in town, but it was worth it. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Anne next. And then the story followed her children. I was so upset to finally finish with Rilla of Ingleside! I wanted the story to go on and on and on.