Scattered thoughts about kidlit love >> a peek inside the fishbowl

08 Apr, 2010

Scattered thoughts about kidlit love

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy

I am in birthday planning mode right now. Sarah is about to be nine and it’s been rather chaotic around here. I’ve been thinking a lot about things like loot bags and birthday cakes and presents.

One of the parents of asked us what Sarah would like for her birthday. If I had to give one answer it’d be BOOKS. She’s really into historical fiction. Specifically, the lives of the Tudors. (Go figure.) Every once in awhile she’ll pipe up about King Henry his poor wives. It’s history 101. I’m going to have to keep the Wikipedia page about the Tudors open on my computer for easy access from now on.

One of our gifts to Sarah will probably be a book. We know her well so we know what kind of books she’d enjoy. She likes comics just as much as she enjoys historical novels.

But sometimes kids are hard to buy books for, especially if it happens to be one you don’t know very well.

I have a name for you: Graeme Base. His work is immensely creative, spans many age groups and is interesting to adults too. Are you familiar with his work?

Friends gave us a copy of The Waterhole when Emma was small. There was a time when she insisted we pour over it with her every night before she went to sleep.

Last week Emma snagged a copy of The Eleventh Hour from our community bookshelf. It’s brilliant. Genius. Delightful. The writing, the illustration, the DETAIL. It is amazing on many many levels. I can’t imagine a boy or girl who wouldn’t love it.

As a family we read from a chapter book every night. Right now we are just finishing the VERY LAST Harry Potter. We’re at the point where Dumbledore and Harry are at a heavenly King’s Cross, chatting about You-Know-Who. The girls are on the edge of their seats.

I’m not sure what’s next. Recommendations are welcome!

What are your kids reading right now?

Related posts: