100 Best Books for Children
- Book Review,
by Anita Silvey
From School Library Journal
What makes a book a classic? Silvey, a longtime children's book specialist and literature lover, addresses that question in order to identify books that represent a "basic literary heritage." The result is a highly select list of 100 titles published from 1902 to 2002. These are titles that have been or likely will be enjoyed by children for generations: "The canon of children's books remains the best gift we could ever give our children." And the short essays that introduce this canon are likely to engage adults in surprising ways. There is, of course, a brief synopsis of each book's content plus information about the creation or creator of the book. Written in a conversational tone, these stories "behind the story" provide insight, humor, and passion for the books presented. Additional titles are presented in "Beyond the 100 Best," organized by age (birth through age 12) and also by genre. An extensive bibliography of adult references provides not only documentation but also allows for follow-up by those interested. Silvey notes that a reader's response to a book is part of its story, hence the inclusion of a section entitled "Reading Journal." Altogether, this is a highly useful book for anyone who is interested in the best of children's literature and the fascinating tales behind these books. - Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at Washington DC Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Silvey sets a difficult task for herself: out of the whole world of children's literature, she picks 100 titles no child should miss. Her long experience as a book reviewer and editor makes her list pretty much spot-on. The book runs the gamut from classics (Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and Mary Poppins) to new favorites (Lily's Purple Plastic Purse and Out of the Dust). Still, the preponderance of titles seems to be from the middle of the last century, books that have stood the test of time. The selections are divided by type and age, beginning with board books and ending with books for older readers ("Ages 11 to 12"). Each title gets a short essay that not only discusses the book and what it has meant to its audience but that also supplies wonderful behind-the-scenes information, such as how the venerable I Can Read series came to be. A helpful list, "Beyond the 100 Best," points parents in the right direction for more good reads. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
By selecting only 100 "best books" Anita Silvey distinguishes her guide from all the others and makes it possible to give young readers their literary heritage in the childhood years. The books we hear or read when we are children stay with us all our lives. If we miss them when we are young, we"ll miss them forever: no Hungry Caterpillar, no Winn-Dixie, no Roll of Thunder. As adults we remember a few familiar favorites, but no one but an expert like Anita Silvey, with her thirty-five years at the heart of children"s book publishing, could put together an authoritative list like this one. Parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians, and bookstore clerks will feel completely comfortable recommending these books for any child, from infancy to almost-teens. Silvey includes, in addition to the 100 best, extensive lists of books to meet special needs and interests as well as classics, selected by age, to round out this extraordinarily useful work. In addition to giving an age range and the plot of each book, Silvey relates the fascinating, often hilarious story behind the story, something only an insider in the field of children"s publishing could tell. 100 Best Books for Children is as much fun to read as it is helpful.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Board BooksBirth to Age 2Goodnight MoonWritten by Margaret Wise Brown (1910–1952)Illustrated by Clement Hurd (1908–1988)Published in 1947 by Harper & RowBirth to age 2 32 pagesUpon awakening early one morning in 1945, Margaret WiseBrown wrote down the entire text of Goodnight Moon in almostfinal form, and called it "Goodnight Room." That morningBrown, or "Brownie" as she was known, telephoned her editor, thelegendary Ursula Nordstrom, to read her the text, which Nordstromaccepted immediately for publication. In those days, editorialtaste rather than publishing committees determined the fate ofgeniuses.Margaret Wise Brown, who would write more than a hundredbooks for children in her short career, claimed that she dreamt herstories, and Goodnight Moon appears to be a case in point. However,Brown"s creative dreaming followed years of intense training.A student at Bank Street College"s School of Education, Brown beganto explore writing books that incorporated the revolutionaryideas of Lucy Sprague Mitchell, the visionary founder of BankStreet. Both Brown and Mitchell believed that books should exposeyoung children to the "here and now" world of their own home surroundings.Children need to hear about and see all the things thatthey feel comfortable with in their own world. So in GoodnightMoon, the mother and child say good night to all the familiar objectsaround them. Everything present in the great green room ispart of a child"s real world and reflects Brown"s "here and now" philosophy.After the telephone call, Nordstrom began searching for anappropriate artist for the text, but Brown insisted she wanted noone other than Clement Hurd. Goodnight Moon demonstrates howgreat books are made, and almost unmade, by seconds and inches.For his original sketches for the book, Hurd drew his protagonistsas a human grandmother and a young boy. This version wentthrough several proof stages, but eventually Margaret Wise Brownand Ursula Nordstrom insisted that the characters be bunnies.Hurd relented; as the illustrator of The Runaway Bunny (also byBrown), he could draw rabbits like an angel. In fact, those close tohim often said he looked like a rabbit. Hence, the resulting book,rather than being tied to a human environment, achieved an otherworldly,timeless dimension.Hurd also accepted Brown"s and Nordstrom"s criticism of thecow in his original picture. He altered it anatomically so that noone would object to the udders. And on Nordstrom"s suggestion,he replaced a map with a bookcase because she wanted to promotethe idea of children having books in their rooms. However, Hurdworked out many innovative concepts that remained in the finalart. Half-page black-and-white illustrations display all the objectsin the room; but Hurd used only one piece of color art for the mainscene of the book. That art was simply darkened, by degrees, by theprinter. As the story moves forward — "Goodnight bears / Goodnightchairs / . . . Goodnight mush / And goodnight to the old ladywhispering "hush"" — the child and parent keep going back to exactlythe same room, but each time a little more light has been removed.Goodnight Moon met immediately with the kind of criticism thatall too frequently welcomes our great books. A Harper sales representativewrote, "Frankly I"m having a tough time with [GoodnightMoon]. . . . As soon as [most buyers] see the size of it for $2.00 theythrow it at me. They like the color, story, and idea, but will nottouch it at that price. . . . I don"t think we"ll even sniff the quota. At$1.00 it would really move." But the book was not reduced to$1.00, and it did not really move for another twenty years or so.Goodnight Moon remained a quiet book; not until the 1970s did itgain a significant audience.Although some critics dismissed the book as overly sentimentalwhen it appeared, future generations have grown to appreciate thecrisp language, clear geometric forms, and bright, bold colors.Children as young as eight months can appreciate the appearanceof familiar objects in the art — such as the moon, the fire,and the mouse. A timeless book, almost like a child"s eveningprayers, Goodnight Moon has lulled millions of children around theworld to sleep.Mr.Gumpy"s Outing..........................................................................By John Burningham (b. 1936)Published in 1971 by Holt, Rinehart, and WinstonBirth to age 2 32 pagesAfter graduating from Central School of Arts and Crafts inLondon, John Burningham began searching for work as anartist. Because no one would hire him, he tried developing a children"sbook. Fortunately for both Burningham and for children,that first book, Borka: The Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers,won Britain"s prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal, given to the bestpicture book of the year.Seven years later, Burningham produced another book that wonthe Greenaway Medal. In Mr. Gumpy"s Outing, the hero, who liveson a river, first appears wearing a hat and huge boots. Mr. Gumpytravels along in a boat, picking up animals and children who promiseto make no trouble. But, of course, they cannot avoid breakingtheir promises, and the whole crew ends up in the river before goingto a sumptuous high tea.Wonderful to read aloud, the book can be, and often is, acted outby a group of children. The predictability of the story sequence —""Will you take me with you?" said the dog. "Yes," said Mr. Gumpy."But don"t tease the cat." / "May I come please, Mr. Gumpy?" saidthe pig. "Very well, but don"t muck about."" — encourages childrento join in; it also gives them confidence as they begin to readfor themselves. Burningham deftly balances brown pen sketches,quite free and expressive, with brilliant full-color art. He deliberatelygives the drawings an unfinished look — so the child canhave maximum freedom to imagine events.Although Burningham had an opportunity to extend Mr.Gumpy"s adventures further, which he did in Mr. Gumpy"s MotorCar, he deliberately avoided creating a series. Fond of his characters,he is still more interested in a new project than in repeatingsomething he knows.John Burningham believes that really great children"s books"contain as much for adults as for children." Certainly, parents andteachers have enjoyed this watery outing every bit as much as children.And at the end, when Mr. Gumpy says, "Come for a ride anotherday," the child and adult reader will probably do so — many,many times. Mr. Gumpy"s Outing reminds us that readers of allages can be charmed by simple things.The Very Hungry Caterpillar..........................................................................By Eric Carle (b. 1929)Published in 1969 by World Publishing CompanyBirth to age 2 24 pagesA young graphic designer, Eric Carle had been tinkering withthe germ of an idea for a book called A Week with Willi Worm.He wanted to use a unique book design, with holes cut into thepages, to show the progress of a very hungry worm working hisway through all kinds of foods until it grows fat. But his editor AnnBeneduce was less than enthusiastic about a green worm as a protagonistand believed that Carle should use a more sympatheticcharacter. When she suggested a caterpillar, Carle answered simply,"Butterfly." With these new elements, Eric Carle completedThe Very Hungry Caterpillar, a book that has become popular allover the world.In the story a winsome caterpillar eats a variety of foods until hefinally turns into a butterfly. While showing a simple story of transformation,the book presents very young children with such conceptsas counting, days of the week, and the life cycle of a butterfly,in bold, graphic art.Carle made his debut as a children"s book illustrator in a schooltextbook story, written by Bill Martin, called Brown Bear, BrownBear, What Do You See? Later reissued for bookstores, the title hasenchanted millions of children with its simple rhythm, rhymes,and brilliant art. For The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Carle played withthe form of the book and developed pages of different shapes andwidths — an experiment influenced by the books he read as a childin Germany. Although no printer in the United States could befound to manufacture economically a book with so many die cuts,Beneduce located a printer in Japan who was able to produce thebook. Since that time, The Very Hungry Caterpillar has sold a copy aminute somewhere in the world, more than 20 million altogether.Over the years Carle has gone back to reillustrate many of hispopular volumes, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar, aiming toget a wider variety of colors and a cleaner design. In his studio, hespatters colored tissue papers with paint to create special texturesand effects. After cutting the papers into the desired shapes, hethen pastes them in layers on cardboard. Sometimes he uses crayonsor ink to make the final touches. Carle works and reworks eachpiece, aiming both for scientific accuracy and for visual excitement.In November 2002, Eric Carle, his wife, Barbara, friends, andcolleagues opened the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.Tucked in the hills of western Massachusetts, at Amherst, the museumhas quickly become a travel destination for families andschool groups who want to look at Carle"s original collages as wellas rotating exhibits of other artists" work. After presenting childrenwith one popular book after another, Eric Carle gave all of thechildren of the United States and the world another unique gift —our first permanent American museum to house original picturebookart.Copyright © 2004 by Anita Silvey. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.
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