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Next time you read a book by a favorite author or poet, look closely at that page where "previous works" are listed. Sometimes you'll discover a pleasant surprise, especially if you have kids or work with them: a book for children. Some of these have become classics in their own right.
This post is a continuation of Part 1, a necessarily incomplete list of good books for children by celebrated authors of adult fiction, including James Joyce, Leo Tolstoy, Mark Twain, and Amy Tan. Again, the publishers and pub dates listed aren't the only ones, and the age ranges are based on my own judgment or the publisher's.
WORTH TRACKING DOWN
Jarrell, Randall, The Animal Family (HarperCollins, 1997). Ages 8 and up. This is a moving fantasy of how a solitary man finds a family-consisting of a mermaid, a bear, a lynx, and a little boy. The language is poetic and the characters kind and understanding toward each other, despite their differences. This Newbery Honor Book was Jarrell's last work before his death.
--The Bat-Poet (Harper Trophy, 1996). Ages 8 and up. A beautifully written and touching allegory of a poetry-writing bat who can't sleep during the day. When the bat poet's peers make fun of his creative images, he simply stops sharing them. He fares little better with a mockingbird, who, though he admires the bat's poem, analyzes its rhyme scheme instead of feeling its emotion. Finally the bat poet finds an appreciative audience and is able to unleash more of his imagination. Young readers will see the value of being true to one's nature and may also get an increased appreciation for poetic imagery and the difficulties of the artist's life.
--Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1987). Ages 5 and up. Jarrell translated this version from the German, saying he tried to make it as much like the original story as he could. Jarrell also wrote The Gingerbread Rabbit and Fly by Night.
Joyce, James, The Cat and the Devil (Schocken, 1981). Ages 6 and up. This simple story is actually a letter Joyce wrote to his grandson Stephen. (A crucial few lines are in French.)
Keneally, Thomas, Ned Kelly and the City of the Bees (David R. Godine, 1995). Ages 7-12. This is a first-person, inside-a-beehive adventure, written for Keneally's daughters.
Kennedy, William, and Brendan Kennedy, Charlie Malarkey and the Belly Button Machine (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1986). Ages 4-8. William Kennedy began writing this amusing bedtime story with his son when Brendan was four.
Kesey, Ken, Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear (Puffin, 1992). Ages 6 and up. Kesey retells a story his grandmother told him about a quick-thinking squirrel that outwits a big, hungry bear. This is an especially good read-aloud book.
King, Stephen, The Eyes of the Dragon: A Story (New American Library, 1994). Ages 8 and up. King wrote this adventure/fantasy/fairy tale--complete with dragons, princes, and magic--for his thirteen-year-old daughter because she had no interest in his popular horror stories.
Kinnell, Galway, How the Alligator Missed Breakfast (Houghton Mifflin, 1982). Ages 4 and up. This brightly illustrated book contains absurd characters and situations: a rabbit who tries to fly and then writes a book about it, a strolling bathtub, an alligator who swallows a car, and a porcupine whose haircut makes him look like a hat.
Kotzwinkle, William, Trouble in Bugland: A Collection of Inspector Mantis Mysteries (David R. Godine, 1986). Ages 10 and up. This is a collection of clever takeoffs on the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
--Hearts of Wood & Other Timeless Tales (David R. Godine, 1986). All ages. Five fairy tales about such wonders as carousel horses that come alive and a butterfly catcher who dreams he's a butterfly.
Le Guin, Ursula K., Catwings and Catwings Return (Orchard, 1990 and 1999, respectively). Ages 5-10. Four winged kittens fly away from the dangers of the city only to find adventures they hadn't expected. The feline characters are provided with realistic histories and human-like emotions. Le Guin also wrote other Catwings tales, including Jane On Her Own and Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings.
--Very Far Away from Anywhere Else (Atheneum, 1976). Ages 12 and up. This story centers on a seventeen-year-old intellectual who longs for and finally finds someone who understands him.
--A Visit from Dr. Katz (Atheneum, 1988). Ages 5-8. A tale of two cats who help cure their young female owner of the flu by curling up on her tummy.
Maurois, Andre, Fattypuffs and Thinifers (Knopf, 1989). All ages. Two boys find themselves on opposite sides of a negotiating table because the nations of the Fattypuffs and the Thinifers want to fight about their differences.
McEwan, Ian, The Daydreamer (Bantam, 2000). Ages 8 and up. A ten-year-old boy daydreams about fantastic events in this wryly amusing tale about the imagination and growing up.
Oz, Amos, Soumchi (Harcourt, 1995). Ages 12 and up. The misadventures of an eleven-year-old boy growing up in British-occupied Jerusalem.
STILL MORE BOOKS
Saki, The Story-Teller (David R. Godine, 1987). Ages 9 and up. All thirteen of these witty tales are about children. In each, the kids come off better than their petty and predictable elders.
Sandburg, Carl, Rootabaga Stories, Part One and Rootabaga Stories, Part Two (Harcourt, 1988 and 1989, respectively). Ages 5 and up. The language in these stories is lyrical, the characters and story lines strange and fantastic. Readers will find such oddities as a broom handle that marries a rag doll, two skyscrapers who whisper together and decide to have a child (who turns out to be a train), and a jackrabbit who jumps so high he never comes down.
Saramago, Jose, The Tale of the Unknown Island (Harcourt, 2000). All ages. This is a wry and surreal fable about a determined man and the king's cleaning woman who prepare a boat to find an unknown island. Instead, they find themselves and love. The tale can be experienced on more than one level, and the unusual lack of "he said, she said" indicators adds a flowing note to the reading.
Singer, Isaac Bashevis, Stories for Children (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1985). All ages. These thirty-six tales feature a variety of interesting characters including an absent-minded professor who forgets his own address, a Yiddish-speaking parakeet who plays unwitting matchmaker, and a wise rabbi who battles a wicked witch. In simple prose, Singer writes of magic, fools, love, and deceit.
--The Golem (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1996). Ages 5 and up. Singer retells the tale of the golem, a clay giant who helps the Jews of Prague. Singer also wrote The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah and When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw and Other Stories.
Stafford, Jean, Elephi: The Cat with a High I.Q. (Yearling, 1962). Ages 7 and up. A bored cat smuggles a small foreign car into his apartment so he can have a playmate.
Strand, Mark, Rembrandt Takes a Walk (Crown Publishing, 1990). This is an amusing fantasy about a boy who visits his absent-minded, art-collecting uncle and finds he can remove food from famous paintings. When Rembrandt steps out of a painting, the boy takes him for a walk around town, where the famous painter is obsessed with drawing everything he sees. Vividly illustratrated.
Tan, Amy, The Chinese Siamese Cat (Macmillan, 1994). Ages 4 and up. A colorful picture book that tells an amusing fable about the ancestry of some kittens.
--The Moon Lady (Aladdin, 1995). Ages 5-9. A picture book about a long-ago autumn moon festival in China, through the eyes of a seven-year-old.
Thomas, Dylan, A Child's Christmas in Wales (David R. Godine, 1984). All ages. First published in 1954, this is probably Thomas's most famous childhood reminiscence. The language is musical and should be read aloud for optimum pleasure.
Thurber, James, The 13 Clocks (Dell, 1992). Ages 8 and up. A complex, funny tale of a prince, a princess, and a wicked duke who's afraid of Now. (Also: Many Moons, The Wonderful O, and The Great Quillow.)
Tolkien, J. R. R., The Hobbit (Houghton Mifflin, 1999). Ages 7 and up. This fantasy adventure about the mythological kingdom of Middle Earth can be enjoyed both by older children and, as a read-aloud, by kids as young as seven. Tolkien continues the saga in the epic trilogy Lord of the Rings.
--Roverandom (Houghton Mifflin, 1999). Ages 9 and up. Tolkien wrote this fantasy to console his son for the loss of a tiny toy dog.
--Smith of Wootton Major (Houghton Mifflin, 1991). Ages 8 and up. A deftly written fantasy about the odd things that happen to a boy who eats a star at the Feast of Good Children. Tolkien also wrote Mr. Bliss, Farmer Giles of Ham, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (poems).
Tolstoy, Leo, The Lion and the Puppy and Other Stories for Children (Seaver Books, 1988). Ages 5 and up. Tolstoy wrote these tales for a primer used in a school he founded. His aim was to invent interesting stories that would teach right from wrong while conveying messages about freedom, courage, generosity, patience, and respect for nature. The title story is about a lion that learns to love a puppy that has been tossed to him as food. When the puppy dies, the lion dies of grief.
--The Fool (Schocken, 1981). Ages 5 and up. A verse retelling of a Russian folk tale. Tolstoy also wrote Fables and Fairy Tales.
Twain, Mark, Poor Little Stephen Girard (Schocken, 1981). Ages 6 and up. A witty short story about a boy who hears of someone who became successful by collecting pins in front of a bank. Other Twain stories for children include A Cat-Tale, written for his own daughters; The Stolen White Elephant, about a giant, white, Bible-eating elephant; and Legend of Sagenfeld, a fairy tale.
Verne, Jules, Adventures of the Rat Family (Oxford University Press, 1993). Ages 7 and up. A droll literary fairy tale with lots of dialogue to keep the action moving and many intriguing words for younger readers to learn.
Walker, Alice, To Hell with Dying (Harcourt, 1993). Ages 9 and up. Told from an adult perspective, this reminiscence concerns old, alcoholic Mr. Sweet, who is often on the brink of death. The children who are his friends save him with kisses, tickles, and love. (Also: Finding the Green Stone.)
Wilbur, Richard, Loudmouse (Harcourt, 1982). Ages 6-10. The story of a mouse whose family's safety is endangered because he cannot speak softly.
--The Disappearing Alphabet (Harcourt, 1997). All ages. "If G did not exist, the color green/ Would have to vanish from the rural scene." And so on.
--Opposites, More Opposites, and a Few Differences (Harcourt, 2000). All ages. A collection of Wilbur's previous volumes of poems (Opposites and More Opposites), plus some additional poems. This book asks whether, for example, there's an opposite of "sheep" or of "SOS."
Wilde, Oscar, The Happy Prince and Other Stories (Wordsworth, 1999). Ages 6 and up. This volume contains nine magical tales first told by Wilde to his own two sons. In "The Selfish Giant," a giant keeps children out of his garden, and spring doesn't come until he has a change of heart. In "The Star Child," a proud boy learns humility as he wanders through his medieval world. (Also: The Nightingale and the Rose.)
Wolitzer, Hilma, Wish You Were Here (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986). Ages 9-12. Believable characters, as in Wolitzer's other books for preteens, Introducing Shirley Braverman and Out of Love. She tackles the everyday, the dramatic, and the traumatic-divorce, death, war, shyness, loneliness-with skill, humor, and insight.
Woolf, Virginia, The Widow and the Parrot (Harcourt, 1988). Ages 9-12. This story, illustrated by Woolf's grandnephew, was written at the request of her nephews, Quentin and Julian Bell, for a family newspaper they put out regularly when they were young. They didn't like it; it wasn't as frivolous as they'd hoped.
(c) 2010 by Susan K. Perry
* Part 1 of this series is here.
* Here's Part 3 of this series, when I share books of poems for kids by famous poets.
