The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making - Catherynne M Valente

one sentence summary:
September is 12 and she is tired of her boring old life so goes on a grand adventure.

review:
This is a brilliant story, it reminds me of a cross between Phantom Toll-Booth and Caroline. It is so well written that even though it is a children's book I am going to have to recommend everyone take the time and read it. The characters are all unique, there are no stereotypes or tropes to be found on the pages of this thrilling little story. The writing it self is beautiful, with poetry like prose on every page. With each new character comes a new adventure. Do yourself a favour and read this (also a great gift if you don't know what to get a 7-10 year old or for a baby shower... every kid should have this on their book shelve).


10/10

Henry Huggins - Beverly Cleary

One Sentence Summary:
A boy and his dog overcome the obstacles that face boys as they grow up.


Review:
heartwarming stories aimed at middle-school (and maybe younger) boys. Written using language that young boys can read themselves and overlapping with other characters in the quirky suburban world that Cleary has created.   A 1950's world with ice cream cones and long summer days when a boy and his dog could have adventures and even take the bus without a parent, well before the advent of televisions in every room and video games to play on them. I highly recommend this to any boy (or girl) who likes reading.

8/10

 

Where The Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein

one sentence summary
Poetry and illustration team up to explain why life doesn't actually suck (or at least that is what I took out of it)

review
if you are between 8 and 108 and haven't read this yet, put down your knitting and go read it now! The quirky little poems will rattle around in your head for the rest of your life. And you will be grateful for it. It is a brilliant work.

10/10

Coraline - Neil Gaiman

one sentence summary:
a little girl finds an alternate world that is exactly like her own, but is completely different.

review:
A really well written story with a strong, independent female protagonist aimed at kids old enough to know the difference between reality and make believe. I can guarantee I will be reading this to my niece and grandniece given the opportunity. Gaiman does a fantastic job of describing the world through the eyes of a child. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially young girls who feel misunderstood by the world.

8/10

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and The Great Glass Elevator) - Roald Dahl

one sentence summary:
Charlie is a little boy who is heading towards a terrible adulthood when an eccentric man puts him on a new and exciting path.

review:
when I was a kid I loved both of these stories. The illustrations added a lot to the books (in these editions I can not speak for the other editions). There is something universally appealing about a poor boy winning the golden ticket to a better life and then actually getting that life by being a good person. Not to mention the satisfaction of seeing the bratty kids get their comeuppance. The writing is endearing, I recommend all kids read these the day they are old enough to make out the vocabulary.

10/10

Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak

one sentence summary:
Max gets sent to his room for misbehaving.

review:
This is a beautifully illustrated story. The story is simple, easy for beginner readers and even better to read out loud. It is a story which tells everyone that your mother will always love you.
10/10
10/10

A Child's Garden of Verses - Robert Louis Stevenson

one sentence summary:
A collection of poetry extolling the wonder of being a child.

review:
This is a wonderful read, very Victorian in it's language which adds to the appeal of the child like joy the poems evoke. I recommend reading it out loud to any and every small child in your life. On the internet there seems to be much complaint about the language used being un-relatable to today's children, well if that is the case maybe we need to make smarter children.

7/10

The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales - The Brothers Grimm

one sentence summary:
Before there was Disney fairy tales were much more gruesome.
review:
I happen to know a lot about the brothers Grimm and I can tell you that they did not come up with all of these stories on their own, rather they collected all the folk tales in Eastern Europe and wrote them down, thus they get all of the credit. I do not recommend these for children unless you stop reading and add your own happy endings because none of the true endings of fairy tales are happily ever after ones. These are all timeless classics and I believe no library is complete without them in it. Translated into almost every language these are all brilliant stories. Personally, I have a beautiful copy that was given to me by one of my mom's friends at my baby shower.
10/10

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

One Sentence Summary: 
Grumpy wealthy man is visited by three spirits and becomes a philanthropist.

Review:
One of Dickens less superfluous pieces of writing. A classic story worth reading under the Christmas tree, unfortunately the language used makes it less accessible than it once was as it requires more than a grade 9 education to read (which is a wonderful thing in my opinion). The descriptions of everything as still long winded but the plot plays out much more quickly than in other Dickens classics making this the one story of his that I will recommend everyone read for a taste of the Victorian Era.  


9/10
8/10

Notable Quotes:
"Bah," said Scrooge, "Humbug."

If you enjoyed this (because you like Victorian Era story telling) you should read:
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Kim - Rudyard Kipling
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

ps. I think the Muppet Christmas Carol is the best - followed closely by the one with Mickey Mouse and Goofy