We'll start with the great Marguerite de Angeli. Her most known books are Door in the Wall and Yonie Wondernose, but she has many other gems. I grab them every and any time I see one at a sale. Her tales and illustrations are always gentle and soft, even when dealing with tender topics. She seemed to love the Amish, the Mennonite, the Quakers and other hardy, simple folk. Her illustrations are luscious and I can look at them and dream of simpler times. You can find her first works, The Ted and Nina Storybooks, online, with illustrations included. Not as good as a paper copy, but better than not seeing them at all!
One of the newer series in my library, the Hairy Maclary books are Lambie favorites. I blogged about them already once. I love, love, love the complex, but readable rhymes. Poetry is not my strong suit, and I often struggle to get the meter of the words correct. These I can read aloud with confidence.
Next up is Patricia Polacco. I found my first one, Babushka's Doll, about three years ago at a book sale. I liked the look of her illustrations, so I grabbed it. It was a cute little story. I liked that she wrote a lot about family stories and historical topics. When I learned that she couldn't read until the age of 14, I really liked her! I love when an author brings personal stories into their books. Pink and Say is my favorite Polacco story so far. It actually made me cry, and HAS every time I read it. If you hurry, I saw that there are two copies of Thundercake available on Paperback Swap!
Finally in tonight's reviews is Bill Peet. Bill Peet worked with Walt Disney on many of the early cartoon movies we know so well: Pinocchio, Fantasia, Cinderella. He didn't really enjoy the work, though, and began writing and illustrating his won books. I'm so glad he did!
Now his books are not great literature. They may even be considered twaddle by some. I, however, appreciate his unusually stories and rich vocabulary. How could you go wrong with titles like "How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head"? Bill Peet died several years ago. He left many unfinished stories. I'm so glad that he finished as many as he did!
Who are your favorite children's fiction authors? Who do you think I should have included in this post? Who would you like to see featured in the future?
Two of those are among my favorites...Peet and Polacco (I'm working on a Polacco post b/c my kids got to meet her last week and I might get to go see her next week!) Other favorite author-illustrators, Robert McCloskey, Tomie dePaola, Jan Brett, Arnold Lobel...now I want to do a top ten post. I have only Marguerite deAngeli's mother goose...off to read on-line!
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