Monday, October 4, 2010

Treasuries

Veee wrote a wonderful post about the treasuries she owns. What a nice selection! I have some of the same books (Aesop, The Real Mother Goose, Herriot) and would LOVE to get Milly, Molly Mandy. I am not a huge fan of treasuries. I like stand alone books better. They are easier to read, lighter, have all or most of the original art and seem to be more likely to be pulled off the shelf and used. I thought I would have only a few to post about but as I went over my shelves, I found more than I expected.

These are some of the tall tale type of treasuries I found.



I have the Dr. DoLittle Treasury because it has one or two stories that I have not yet found in singletons. I will pass it on when I find them. Yankee Doodle Cousins is a recent acquisition. It's full of American tall tales. It is written by Anne Malcomson and illustrated by Robert McClosky. You can't go wrong with that pairing! I have read a few of them and like her style. Tall Tale America is written by Walter Blair and my copy is illustrated by the great Glen Rounds. There are a lot of great stories in these two books!



Poetry anthologies are the easiest kinds to find at library book sales! After looking for a long time, I finally found the Oxford Book of Children's Verse. It's our main poetry tool. I have blogged before about the many manifestations of Mother Goose that grace our shelves. This one, illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen, is one of my favorites. I love the folksy style of their drawings. The Boys Book of Verse by Helen Dean Fish and The Girls Book of Verse by Mary Gould Davis are also worth sharing with your children. They are what we used for the last couple of school years.



Bullfinch's Mythology is a collection of his three great works: Age of Fable, Age of Chivalry and Legends of Charlemagne. These books are used extensively in AO beginning in Year 4. I was lucky enough to find a copy of this collection at a library books sale and then another at a garage sale. I also had an illustrated version that I thought my art-loving ninth grade daughter would like. It had classical illustrations (read that: some folks was nekkid here and there!) She wasn't at all comfortable with that! I passed it along.

Great Stories Remembered and The Moral of the Story were both books I won from our local radio contests, long ago when I listened to the radio. I don't think I have read the Great Stories one. Looking at the price on Amazon makes me want to, though! I'd pop over to E-Bay if I was looking to buy that book. I did read The Moral of the Story at least twice. I liked it very much. Hero Tales was a gift from a friend of our family. These are nice, short character sketches. This book is well used in the homeschool community. I like to read it occasionally during lunch while everyone is sitting around the table.



How did that picture flip? Why can't I flip it back? :sigh: Oh, well. Here are the children's treasuries I have. Curious George was purchased at Costco for a Christmas gift to my eldest her second year, Beatrix Potter and Pippi Longstockings were library sale finds. The Potter book is suffering from the cheaply-made malady Veee mentioned. When it was taken down last a big chunk of pages separated from the spine and fell out. I'm not too worried about it. I have all the books in singletons. George gets used by each Lambies as they go through the right phase. Pippi hasn't caught anyone's eye yet. Perhaps I'll leave it out on the livingroom table for a few days and see if someone 'takes the bait'!

6 comments:

  1. When you find the other Dr. Doolittles, please, consider me first in line.

    Are any of these particularly pro-Christian or Christian?

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  2. Sure, Dakota! Great Stories, The Moral of the Story and Hero Tales are all Christian.

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  3. I remember watching the Pippi movies as a kid and have no experience with the books. Can you explain their value and why would they not be considered twaddle?
    Thanks Frankie!

    Emily

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  4. Emmy, I have never seen the movies but I read Pippi (just the first one) a couple of years ago. I liked it. It is a fun story, with challenging vocabulary and engaging characters. Some may disapprove of Pippi's attitude toward adults at times. She was sometimes bossy and deceptive. I don't know what others think of Pippi, but she earned shelf space in Momma's library.

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  5. Thanks Momma, I'll have to pick up a copy to see if I want to add it to our shelves as well.

    Emily

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  6. I love the value of treasuries but avoid the picture book treasuries that botch the drawings. Curious George (and Curious George and Friends) are a good exception. Madeline is another. I've been disappointed by Virginia Lee Burton's and avoided Don Freeman's for that reason.

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