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Bestsellers:
Recommended Reading in Children’s Books
By Karen Mendez Smith
December 1, 2002
BROWN BEAR,
BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE by Bill Martin
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GUESS HOW
MUCH I LOVE YOU by Sam McBratney |
Looking
for worthwhile children’s books that still have what it takes
to be a bestseller?
Here are some that get high marks from critics and kids alike.
Just
right for smaller-sized hands are board books (ages infant - 4)
such as BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE?
by Bill Martin and illustrated by Eric Carle ($7.95, Henry Holt
& Company, 0805047905). The classic GOODNIGHT MOON
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd, is a natural
for the nursery ($10.36, HarperCollins, 0694016756.) We can’t
stop there! Another must have is: GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE
YOU by Sam McBratney with art by Anita Jeram ($6.95, Candlewick)
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak |
Best-selling
picture books (ages 4-8) of merit also give us lots of choices.
Dr. Suess continues to reign with OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL
GO ($17.00, Random House, 0679805273). The escapades of
that big-dreaming, artistically inclined pig Olivia continue in
OLIVIA SAVES THE CIRCUS by Ian Falconer ($16.00, Simon
& Schuster, 0689829531). It’s no surprise that WHERE
THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak ($16.95, HarperCollins,
0060254920), also in paper ($5.99, HarperCollins, 0064431789), consistently
makes bestseller lists.
BISCUIT
(MY FIRST I CAN READ BOOK SERIES), the story of
a puppy who wants just one more thing before bedtime, will delight
Early Readers ages 4-8 in hardcover ($15.99, HarperCollins, 0060261986)
or paper ($3.99, HarperCollins, 0064442128). For pure fun, I
KNOW KARATE (HELLO READER SERIES) with
simple rhymes by Mary Packard and with art by Dee DeRosa ($3.99,
Scholastic, Inc., 0590254987) will have readers on their feet.
BECAUSE
OF WINN-DIXIE byKate DiCamillo |
Some
standout middle grade books (ages 8-12) include STARGIRL
by Newbery-winning author Jerry Spinelli. In this alternately funny
and sad story, a girl who is different eventually recognizes the
value of her independent spirit ($15.95, Random House, 0679886370,
and $8.95, Random House, 037582233X). BUD, NOT BUDDY,
by Christopher Paul Curtis, a poignant novel about a young boy searching
for his father during the Great Depression, won both the 2000 Newbery
Medal and the 2000 Coretta Scott King Award ($16.95, Bantam, Doubleday,
Dell, 0786225742). Kate DiCamillo’s BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE
($15.99, Candlewick, 0786236655, and in paper, $7.99 0763616052)
also gets my vote as one of the outstanding bestsellers because
of its gritty but always deftly woven themes of love and loyalty.
Teens (12 and up), too, have a wealth of titles to choose from.
Of special mention is THE LIGHTKEEPER’S DAUGHTER
($16.95, Delacorte, 0385729251). Iain Lawrence’s superb prose
positively illuminates the psychological drama of a young mother
who returns to explore the dynamics of her dysfunctional family.
Questioning teen readers will also find helpful, and rightfully
so, THE BOOK OF HELP, edited by Michael Cart ($17.95,
Cricket Books, 0812626591) which features powerful writing by leading
young adult’s authors.
It’s difficult to find an endpoint to all the worthy bestsellers.
But readers can take comfort in knowing that, as sales escalate,
so do the number of quality children’s books for the choosing.
by Test
testing
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