I was so excited to read this biography since Charlotte’s Web is one of my all time favorite children’s books. EB White wrote 3 children’s books, StuaI was so excited to read this biography since Charlotte’s Web is one of my all time favorite children’s books. EB White wrote 3 children’s books, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, are among some of the most well-known literature for children.
In this book, Sims provides a glimpse into the childhood of Elwyn Brooks White (he grew up in Mount Vernon, NY) and gives us a sense of him being an anxious child whose love for animals and writing began to blossom. Into adulthood, E.B., nicknamed Andy, continued his anxious and melancholic manner as he experienced awkwardness with girls. The World Wars affected him yet escaped him as he never served, and he eventually became a staff writer in the very beginnings of The New Yorker magazine. He met his wife there, married his editor, 7 years older than he was. They spent their lives split between Manhattan and their farm in Maine.
Always the friend of animals and nature, Andy’s triumph with Charlotte’s Web came straight from his life on the farm and his melancholic experience with the duplicitous nature of raising and caring for his animals only to eventually slaughter them. The story of Charlotte’s Web came directly from his own experiences on his farm.
Sims tells the story of the book that has become the bestselling children’s book in the United States and is truly beloved by so many people. I learned what his writing process looked like and how Andy created his characters and the painstaking research he did on spiders so that he could get Charlotte’s nature just right. He wanted all of his characters to be true to their natures.
E.B White will always be a favorite of mine and I enjoyed learning about him through this author’s perspective. I also enjoyed reading about the other people and children’s authors that were important at the time and who may have been personal friends of White’s � James Thurber, for example. So, when you pick this up, you will learn about the man who wrote the story about the pig and the spider and more!
All writing is both a mask and an unveiling. ...more
I never had the pleasure to read this as a child and wanted to pair it with my reading of Anne of Green Gables this year. I am surprised by the similaI never had the pleasure to read this as a child and wanted to pair it with my reading of Anne of Green Gables this year. I am surprised by the similarities between the characters of Anne and Pollyanna but Porter gives her orphan a different path toward the middle to the end of her story. It is rather saccharin for my adult liking but I imagine a child would love hearing this read aloud to them.
Pollyanna’s endearing personality of being GLAD is infectious. She believes in “Living� which is not merely breathing. For Pollyanna, the fun in living is in playing and exploring the natural world as well as playing the Glad game.
…there is something about everything that you can be glad about, if you keep hunting long enough to find it.
…if God took the trouble to tell us eight hundred times to be glad and rejoice, He must want us to do it � SOME. ...more
What a wonderful blast from my past to pick up this first book in the series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My favorite TV show when I was little waWhat a wonderful blast from my past to pick up this first book in the series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My favorite TV show when I was little was Little House on the Prairie. I wanted to be Laura Ingalls! I lived vicariously through her as I watched her life portrayed on my TV and just thought how awesome it would have been to live on the prairie with the Ingalls family.
This is written perfectly for a pre-teen, tween age about her life growing up in the pioneer times in Wisconsin. This is such a beautiful story of a loving family who always works and plays together. We see a year in the life of the Ingalls� family and get to look in on their daily lives. Ma and Pa Ingalls and their 3 daughters, Mary, Laura and Carrie live in a log cabin in the middle of the Big Woods. This was a time and a lifestyle so different from today. Food must be grown and meat must be hunted. Clothes were made and everything was useful. Pa playing his fiddle before they went to bed and the girls begging him to tell them stories is so reminiscent of a simpler time and way of life. I particularly enjoyed reading the scene about Mary and Laura’s dolls:
Mary was bigger than Laura, and she had a rag doll named Nettie. Laura had only a corncob wrapped in a handkerchief, but it was a good doll. It was named Susan. It wasn't Susan's fault that she was only a corncob. Sometimes Mary let Laura hold Nettie, but she did it only when Susan couldn't see.
These are books that I look forward to reading with grandchildren some day. I only remember reading Farmer Boy to my boys when they were little. I wish I had read them all to them. What wonderful conversations we could have had about pioneer living. I own all of these books and will look forward to the day (when I have grandchildren) when I can share some of my favorite books with a new generation!...more
The Secret Garden was not on my reading list as a child so reading it for the first time as an adult was quite fun! It is a classic story that introdThe Secret Garden was not on my reading list as a child so reading it for the first time as an adult was quite fun! It is a classic story that introduces an extremely disagreeable, ill-tempered orphan and demonstrates how the beauty and magic of nature and the power of thinking positively can do much to transform and heal. Themes of transformation and renewal on many levels are explored within the characters and the landscape. The Yorkshire moor emanates a mystical presence and helps to set the mood for the magical scenes. The children are the focus of this story and they learn many valuable lessons such as the value of friendship, the beauty and healing in nature and the outdoors, the importance of hard work, and the power in transformation of body and mind....more
An icon of American children’s books, Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss has made one of the biggest marks on multiple generations with his whimsical An icon of American children’s books, Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss has made one of the biggest marks on multiple generations with his whimsical rhymes and wacky illustrations. He became a marvel in the world of children’s books and his legacy remains as strong, if not stronger than when he was alive. A career that spanned over 5 decades, one can say he is a household name not only for children but adults of all ages!
Dr. Seuss� books have been charming children since his first big book was published in 1936, And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street. After being rejected by 27 publishing houses for being “too different� with an unpopular and unfashionable style and a story with “no moral message�, Ted’s reaction was simple What’s wrong with kids having fun reading without being preached at?
Like most authors and artists, the initial struggle to get a break can be difficult but for Ted, who never had a knack for academics and was a lover of pranks and all things funny, once he made his entry into the children’s book world, there was no turning back for him. Funnily enough, some of his most known books resonate moral messages and are probably one of the biggest reasons that adults love his books as much as kids.
Remember his book Horton Hatches the Egg had a lovely message with these famous lines: ”I meant what I said, and I said what I meant� An elephant’s faithful—one hundred per cent!�
The book shares the years he spent as an advertising illustrator and political cartoonist during WW2. He eventually joined the Army as a member of a Hollywood unit under the direction of Frank Capra, the famous movie director, and member animator Chuck Jones of Bugs Bunny fame. This group produced bi-weekly newsreels for the military. Many years later, Ted and Chuck Jones would collaborate to create the legendary movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Reading this book will enlighten you about how his books came to being, but the most interesting to me was that he was instrumental in killing the Dick and Jane books when he was tasked with creating a book that would enable children to have fun while learning to read. And thus The Cat in the Hat came to life! And a new publishing house called Beginner Books was formed.
This is a very well-planned and thorough look at the life of this reclusive man who never had any children of his own and didn’t really even like to be around groups of them, but spent his entire life entertaining and teaching millions of children and adults through his zany creations. He created his own language through his books and showed kids that reading can be fun.
Here are some of his most famous: The Cat in the Hat, McElligot’s Pool, Horton Hatches the Egg, If I Ran the Zoo, Horton Hears a Who!, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Yertle the Turtle, Green Eggs and Ham, The Sneetches, Hop on Pop, Fox in Socks, Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?, The Lorax, There’s a Wocket in my Pocket, You’re Only Old Once, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!...more
All the feels from this sweet story. Loved the different perspectives of Auggie’s story from all of the major characters. Eye-opening with a wonderfulAll the feels from this sweet story. Loved the different perspectives of Auggie’s story from all of the major characters. Eye-opening with a wonderful kindness message. Great middle grade lit....more
Wow! Loved this so much. The author did a great job allowing the reader to experience Melody’s life and struggles. Melody is an eleven year old with cWow! Loved this so much. The author did a great job allowing the reader to experience Melody’s life and struggles. Melody is an eleven year old with cerebral palsy. She is smarter than her class mates but she can’t speak. Her brain is brilliant though. She has a funny personality. I just loved her thoughts and how we were able to read what she was thinking.She was counted out because she didn’t look or act “normal�. What is normal and who should define it? Oh and Mrs. V is the best neighbor ever! Everyone please read this. ...more
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