Read me a story: 101 good books kids will love.

Experts agree that there are many benefits to reading to children. One important one: It takes time to read a book. What better gift can we give a child than time?

We've made many mistakes raising our children - on a family vacation several years ago we left two of them behind in a Pizza Hut in Minocqua, Wisconsin, a fact that is still the subject of many a guilt trip. But I know we've done one thing right. We read to them.

Goodnight Moon, The Fuzzy Duckling - the list of books we read would be familiar to many young parents; so would our motives for reading: We love books, and we wanted to share this love with our children. We enjoyed the quiet time a book provided, and, at day's end, we liked the ritual of bath, books, prayers, and bed for them - followed by some time alone for us.

As time passed and our son and daughters grew and changed, our reasons for reading to them did the same. We still enjoyed the quiet time, but something else was added. The books we read often enhanced Tom's or Maggie's pleasure in the things he or she had seen that day. Sometimes the very titles Annie or Kate would choose would give us, as parents, a clue to something that had been important to them that day. Martha and Molly, as did their older siblings before them, would often find, in books, a certain comfort to soothe a worry or hurt that had been part of their day.

Much has been written about the value of books. Reading books and being read to at an early age develops literacy, enhances vocabulary and grammar skills, instructs the reader about the world close at hand and far away, and encourages creativity and imagination. Being read to establishes a never-to-be-forgotten sense of security in providing a ritual, a period of time during which a child and reader sit together and attend to a story.

As I look back over the years of reading, being read to, and reading to, I remember many of the books that are part of me as a result of these experiences. It gives me pleasure to think of the many books that are also part of our children's histories.

Most of us read to our children for the sheer fun of it. It gives us pleasure to pass on to our children the stories we loved when we were their age. We enjoy discovering with them stories that are new to us and them. Often, too, a story can say for us the things we feel inadequate to express in our own words. Even those who are not big readers themselves choose to read to their children because educators stress the benefits of reading, particularly early reading, to children. There are also subtle reasons to read to our children, and these are perhaps the most important of all.

When we read, we have to slow down. We gather our child or children to ourselves, and we spend time with them. We give, they receive. Sometimes they give as they make their own observations about the story being read. We establish a ritual, and rituals provide security. We establish a tradition, and this leads to another important reason to read to our children.

Parents pass a culture to their children. As parents we do this whether we want to or not. What we choose to do, or not to do, conveys a message to our children. When we read to our children, we teach them that they are important to us. Books are a relatively inexpensive treat, and public libraries provide them for free. But we do spend time when we read. It takes time to sit down to read a book. What better gift can we give our child than the gift of time?

Because books teach as they are enjoyed, they provide a near perfect way to say what is important to us. Children might soon lose interest in a lecture about the importance of honesty or kindness, yet they will spend hours listening to stories.

Reading provides an oasis in a world too busy and too active at times to stop and take note of what really matters. This, too, is why it continues to be of value to read to our children long after they have learned to read themselves. Two years ago when one daughter in our house was making her way through Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, I read the book to her. As an honors English student, she was more than capable of reading the book herself, but we enjoyed moving through it together and talking about the ideas. I hope that experience remains for her as pleasant as it does for me. And I am sure there are older parents who continue, as mine do when we talk on the phone or visit, to say, "What are you reading?" or "Have you read ...?" While we can no longer curl up on the couch together, we can still share our love of books and the ideas they hold.

Perhaps the best reason for reading to children is the reason that motivates our own reading as well: We read because it is good for the soul. Christians often feel at odds with the world. Reading can remind us that we are not alone in thinking certain values are important. They can put us in the presence of families who are working to be good people. Books can remind us that it is important to be kind, accepting, and to stand up for what is right.

Feel free to browse

What follows is a look at books for children. They have been chosen precisely because they are not religious or "Christian" in a formal sense. Books are subtle. They can teach without preaching. The titles have been chosen in a less-than-scientific manner. I began and ended my research at my children's bookshelves. I also spent time in the juvenile sections of Stuart Brent and Waterstone's bookstores in Chicago, and I spoke with lovers of books - adult friends of mine and the high-school students I teach.

One thing to bear in mind: I hold a prejudice so deeply seated that it feels like a universal truth that books and television are mutually exclusive. Period. A family that truly enjoys books will keep television viewing to such a minimum that it will be virtually nonexistent. It's difficult to maintain the attention of a toddler who has been raised on a diet of images that change every few seconds. It is virtually impossible to expect a child of early school age to settle in with a book and adapt to the challenge of following the words if that child has grown accustomed to receiving his or her entertainment in a passive manner. Turn off the television.

A second point. Children's books come with a recommended reading level. While this idea is well intentioned, it can be a mistake. Author Robertson Davies said it best in his speech "The Conscience of a Writer." "There are," Davies says, "no absolutes in literature that can be applied without reference to personal taste and judgment. The great book for you is the book that has the most to say to you at the moment when you are reading. I do not mean the book that is the most instructive, but the book that feeds your spirit. And that depends on your age, your experience, your psychological and spiritual need."

Taking this into account, then, the books that follow have been loosely grouped into even looser categories, and these categories overlap. Books have been listed from younger to older readers, starting with books that are often read aloud to children, continuing to the junior-high-school level, after which point we can assume that the child is making almost all reading choices fairly autonomously.

Listen, my children

It is possible to read to a very small child. Children old enough to sit in a lap can look at pictures as the pages of a book are turned for them. This establishes a ritual and teaches the skill of sitting while looking at brightly colored pictures. While the littlest readers may not understand the actual words themselves, the ritual of words and their rhythm is a wonderful introduction to reading. Little children love the idea of ritual. Equally important to them is security.

Children also have an early aesthetic sense and can enjoy the feel, texture, and color of a book at a very young age. Anyone who has observed a baby playing endlessly with his or her fingers and toes knows that this person has a developing capacity for enjoying intellectual stimulation. The following books are colorful, pleasant to look at, repetitive in tone, and provide a chance to look at the world inside and out of the house.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown: A little bunny says goodnight to the familiar objects in his room. Pat the Bunny, a tactile "look" at the child's world by Dorothy Kunhardt. Each Peach, Pear, Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, with its charming illustrations and rhymes, invites a baby to play a game of "I Spy." Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman and A House Is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman: repetition promotes a sense of security. Peter's Chair (which also deals with the arrival of a new baby), The Snowy Day, and almost any book by Ezra Jack Keats use colorful yet gentle illustrations that put a child in a world of people doing pleasant things together and on their own. The Baby by John Burningham and Grandmother and I by Helen E. Buckley give a look at family members young and old.

Little children delight in the many creatures God has given us. My Little Hen by Alice Provensen, Baby Farm Animals by Garth Williams, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Noah's Ark by Peter Spier, The Little Puppy (and other animal titles, such as goat, lamb, and so on) by Judy and Phoebe Dunn; Baby Animal Book by Daphne Davis - all provide a lovely look at the wonder of creation.

Finally, the following classics need little description. Their longevity is testimony enough to the fact that they answer a need in the children to whom they are read: Scuffy the Tugboat by Gertrude Crampton (Scuffy is also brave and resourceful), Tawny, Scrawny Lion by Kathryn Jackson and Saggy, Baggy Elephant, Poky Little Puppy by Janet S. Lowrey, The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper ("I think I can, I think I can..."), Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, and Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown should be in a category all by itself because this one does it all. A little bunny asks what his mother would do were he to run away. With beautiful words and even more beautiful illustrations, she convinces him that there is no place on earth he could go that she would not be there to protect him. An all time favorite. Brown has also given us the ultrasatisfying Home for a Bunny. Another type of book that can be included in a selection of books for babies is any Mother Goose book. Children love the security of repetition and the humor inherent in these rhymes. These books act as a child's first introduction to poetry. Choose your own favorites - two from this house are Classic Mother Goose and an edition illustrated by Tomie de Paola.

Very first reading experiences will include titles that will change depending on the child being read to. Parents are advised not to discount books that have some story line. Many times the pleasure of the rhythm of the words means as much to a child as would knowing their literal meaning. Books without words can be enjoyed by a child who enjoys time alone with books. The following books provide a way for a child to "read" on his or her own, but can be enjoyed with an adult as well: Babies by Gyo Fujikawa, The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, Seasons by John Burningham, Ah-Choo by Mercer Mayer (and also by Mayer, Four Frogs in a Box and A Boy, a Dog, a Frog, and a Friend), Deep in the Forest by Brinton Turkle (a twist on the story of the three bears), Blackboard Bear by Martha Alexander, and moonlight by Jan Ormerod, a delightful look at a family putting a reluctant child to bed.

Relative adjustments

The following books present young children with loving and sometimes imperfect families. In Go and Hush the Baby by Betsy Byars, Will hushes the baby with a cookie and a story among other things, before the baby finally falls asleep. Jeremy Isn't Hungry by Barbara Wilhams shows how a big brother "helps" his harried mother by looking after baby brother Jeremy. A Birthday for Frances and Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban - time spent in the company of this very human little-girl badger is time well spent and never to be forgotten. In these two favorites, Frances prepares for her sister's birthday and for bed respectively. Big Brother by Charlotte Zolotow is dependably satisfying, as are all Zolotow's books. And My Mean Old Mother Will Be Sorry, Blackboard Bear by Martha Alexander and Someday, Said Mitchell by Barbara Williams give us children who are angry, but know they are loved. Maurice Sendak!s classic Where the Wild Things Are does the same, and perhaps the paradigm of this type is Wilham Steig's Spinky Sulks. When Spinky gets teased one time too often, he takes to his hammock until his family's love is proved to his satisfaction.

Papa Small is a classic Lois Lenski look at a father. Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber continues the adventures of Lyle and his adopted human family from The House on East Eighty-eighth Street and Lyle Finds His Mother, which reunites this fetching crocodile with his biological mother. Beverly Cleary's Two Dog Biscuits gives us ordinary children and an ordinary day, and the beauty of Owl Moon by Jane Yolen lies in its ability to take us with an ordinary parent and child as they experience the extraordinary beauty of a perfect night for "owling."

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig gives us a donkey whose parents are reunited with him even though he has been transformed into a rock, and Rosemary Well's Hazel's Amazing Mother gives us a mother who acts for mothers everywhere when she swoops down on some nasty little children who are tormenting her beloved Hazel. Finally Fay and Delores by Barbara Samuels are two appealingly human sisters.

Hey, what about me?

All children need acceptance. The following books introduce the reader to families and friends who come to accept someone. Perhaps the classic case of the need for acceptance can be seen in sibling rivalry. In A Baby Sister for Frances, Russell Hoban, lets us watch Frances as she comes to love baby sister Gloria. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and I'll Fix Anthony are two Judith Viorst tales to which any siblings can relate. I'll Be the Horse If You'll Play With Me and Nobody Asked Me If I Wanted a Baby Sister by Martha Alexander show older and younger-aged children respectively as they adjust to the problems and pleasures of living with a sibling. And no look at sibling rivalry would be complete without (my favorite) Rosemary Well's Noisy Norah. You simply must meet Norah, an absolutely gorgeous little spitfire of a mouse who does what it takes to get the familial attention she needs.

Other kinds of acceptance within the family can be seen in Ponsettia and Her Family by Felicia Bond, wherein a little pig from an overcrowded house comes to see her family is not so bad to have around; Dinner at Alberta's by Russell Hoban, with a funny family who accommodate one another, as do family members at William's House in Charlotte Zolotow's William's Doll.

Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus and Gregory the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat give us a lion whose parents love him enough to accept him as he is and a goat who reaches a compromise with his loving parents. In Fish Is Fish, Leo Lionni advises self-acceptance as a fish learns this important truth. Thy Friend Obadiah by Brinton Turkle has Obadiah, the charming little Nantucket Quaker who reluctantly befriends a ubiquitous seagull, just as Molly's friend in Kay Charao's Molly's Lies befriends the little kindergartner and thus inspires her to stop fibbing. Ferdinand by Munro Lief is the sweet, classic story of a gentle bull, and Oliver Button Is a Sissy by Tomie de Paola gives us Oliver who, having been teased for taking dance lessons, shows his schoolmates that those lessons can be impressive.

Acceptance can sometimes take the form of forgiveness. Kevin Henkes' Chrysanthemum is a sweet little mouse who loves her name, until classmates make fun of it. They get their comeuppance, though, and Chrysanthemum is gracious about it. Again, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are features Max, who, while wearing his wolf suit, is sent to bed by his mother, yet it all works out in the end. I hope Richard Scarry's book The Naughty Bunny is still in print. It tells the story of a bunny who puts his mother through a harrowing day. Of course she forgives him. And the paradigm for an of us who need forgiveness is the beloved Curious George.

Though there are some pallid later versions, the original H. A. Rey books - Curious George Rides a Bike and the first title above - must be on every child's bookshelf. There is nothing this adventuresome little monkey will not try, and the man in the yellow hat forgives him unconditionally. You'll also want to make the acquaintance of Oliver and Amanda pig in Jan Van Leeuwen's Oliver Pig at School. Children can read Else Holmeskund Minarick's Little Bear books to themselves or enjoy them with an adult. No Fighting! No Biting! by the same author encourages a gentler approach to living. Wendell, in Kevin Henkes' A Weekend With Wendell, isn't easy to love as he teases and torments his hosts for the weekend, but his hostess comes to find him endearing. You will, too.

Mole and Troll by Tony Johnston and Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel are great friends, as are George and Martha, a hippopotamus couple from James Marshall. Tomie de Paola's Bill and Pete, a crocodile and his little bird friend, are not to be missed; neither are Strega Nona, de Paola's little "grandma witch" and Big Anthony, her helper, who is in constant need of forgiveness.

A book that should be read by every Christian, and should be read repeatedly, is The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes. This children's classic tells the story of Wanda Petronski, a poor child whose life is made miserable by two young classmates. The classmates come to realize, too late, that they have been unfair to Wanda.

And they all lived happily ...

As children grow and move a bit away from the protective circle of home and family, they have a need to feel competent. Children like to be reminded that things usually turn out just fine in the long run. We can teach them that God plays a part in this. Here are some books that place our children in the presence of people, things, and animals who are making their way successfully through the world. Frederick is Leo Lionni's little mouse who provides for his fellow mice by giving them something they didn't know they needed. Swimmy by the same author tells the story of one tiny black fish, who, united with his fellow fish, finds strength and protection.

Virginia Lee Burton gives us Katy and the Big Snow, wherein a valiant little snowplow digs an entire town out after a blizzard. I have memorized the words to Burton's Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, having read it almost daily to a parade of children eager to hear one more time how Mike and his machine dug the cellar of the new town hall in record time. Ivan Sherman's I Am Giant reminds the reader of just how powerful a little girl giant can be. William Steig's Brave Irene delivers a dress for her ailing seamstress mother despite the obstacle of a raging blizzard. Lentil saves the day for Robert McCloskey's town filled with people waiting to welcome home a local hero.

McCloskey has given us so many unforgettable books. The mallard family in his Make Way for Ducklings has become so famous that Boston's Public Gardens have a statue of them. Blueberries for Sal ends happily despite the crisis of mistaken identities that happens when a mother bear and Sal's mother unknowingly swap offspring. One Morning in Maine features this same family. A tooth has been lost, then lost again, but all works for the best in the end.

Parents will love Oh Were They Ever Happy! by Peter Spier, which tells the tale of thoughtful children painting the house while the parents are gone for the day. Mercer Mayer's Little Critter runs into a little trouble himself when he tries to help out in Just For You. Don Freeman gives us a little bear who solves a problem in A Pocket for Corduroy.

Marjorie Flack's classic The Story About Ping takes us to China, where we meet Ping as he is separated from, and reunited with, his family. In A Bargain for Frances, Hoban brings Frances back again, this time to solve the problem of a friend who has tricked Frances out of her favorite tea set. Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece finds its soul mate. The little boy in his book The Giving Tree finds wisdom. And James Marshall's Miss Nelson, from several titles beginning with Miss Nelson is Missing, finds a way to discipline her unruly class of school children when she must be away from school.

The illustrations in Lore Segal's Tell Me a Mitzi are unusual yet captivating in this series of stories, the first one following Mitzi as she puts in a full day's work before her parents are even out of bed. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater has captivated children for ages as it follows the ups and downs of Mr. Popper as he tends to these creatures. The idea of caring for something or someone is beautifully realized in Lynn Reid Bank's series featuring The Indian in the Cupboard. Omri discovers that a cabinet he has received is magic as the plastic toy he has placed inside it comes to life. The three books that follow Omri and his magic cupboard are not to be missed.

Perfect the Pig by Susan Jeschke provides magic of another sort as we watch Perfect, a lovely little winged pig, get stolen and reunited with his friend Opal. Lost in the Storm reunites a boy and his dog after an island storm. Left Behind by Carol Carrick reunites a boy with his classmates after they become separated on a class trip. Well before its time is Marjorie Flack's The Easter Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes. Not only is this feminine Easter Bunny able to provide a kindness for a sick little boy, but she has filled her position only after overcoming social prejudice and managing to get her household if numerous little bunnies in order by giving them all household chores to tend to.

Another wonderful role model with a slightly older reading level is Carol Ryrie Brink's Caddie Woodlawn. Caddie is brave, resourceful, and compassionate as she grows up in her native Wisconsin. Like Laura Ingalls Wilder's wonderful Little House books, Brink's book is based on family history.

Walter D. Edmond's The Matchlock Gun, based on his family's history, tells the tale of a pioneer family in 18th-century Hudson Valley, New York. An ultra-Catholic book with a historical setting is The Outlaws of Ravenhurst by Sister Imelda Wallace, S.L., which follows a family who has come from Scotland to the Chesapeake Bay area.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner is also satisfyingly old-fashioned in tone and introduces us to a family of four orphans who make their way through challenging situations. Finally, Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner is, like A Hundred Dresses, a book that must not be missed. A young boy tries to help his very sick grandfather by winning an almost impossible-to-win sled race. The boy's sled dog is memorable, but the book's most unforgettable hero is the legendary Stone Fox of the title.

Family fortunes

As children make their way through the middle years in school and begin to prepare for early high-school experiences, tastes in books change. Here's a somewhat shorter list of titles that seem to meet the needs of the slightly older reader.

Sounder by William H. Armstrong: a share-cropper family and their dog are featured in this moving story of a family that must depend on one another as the father serves a prison term. John D. Fitzgerald tells us the story of his own family in his stories featuring The Great Brain, his older brother Tom. Catholic readers may find it easy to identify with this Mormon family whose religion is part of daily life. All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor introduces another series based on an author's family. This family is, for much of the series, composed entirely of girls, and these girls are Jewish. The reader will learn much about Jewish faith and traditions, but the charm of this series lies in the love the family members have for one another.

Beat the Turtle Drum by Constance Greene is the poignant story of Kate, who dreams of being a writer, and her sister Joss, whose death forms the focal point of this novel. Death figures in another young-adult novel - Irene Hunt's Up a Road Slowly; here Julie deals with her jealousy of a sister and the death of a schoolmate. Sarah Plain and Tall is Patricia MacLachlan's look at a different kind of family, this one formed when a father sends for a wife who can be a mother to his children.

Betsy and Tacy are two classic figures in children's literature. Grade-school children enjoy following the day-to-day adventures of the two inseparable friends created by Maud Hart Lovelace in her Betsy and Tacy series. Bunnicula (and later Howliday Inn) by James Howe would not seem, at first glance, to be about families, dealing as they do with a vampire bunny and being told in the voice of a dog, but these characters do their living in the presence of a very ordinary, loving family. Elizabeth Enright's The Saturdays was a favorite of mine through grade school. It tells the story of a family whose four children combine their allowances so that each child may pursue a favorite activity on his or her particular Saturday.

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery presents an alternative family in that Anne is adopted by the Cuthberts, a brother and sister who live on Prince Edward Island in Canada. Our family found this series so captivating that we once traveled to Prince Edward Island simply to see where Anne had lived. Read the books. Take the trip. Both are worth it.

More family data. In consulting my list of books, I found a note written in my 13-year-old daughter Kate's handwriting: "Don't leave out The Outsiders." This title by S. E. Hinton has never been a favorite for me, but all our adolescents have loved this story of a family of motherless boys who are loyal to one another while dealing with stress from the outside world. The book remains a favorite with many young people.

The Railway Children, like those in The Outsiders, are also under pressure yet stick together when their father is suddenly, and for reasons no one will explain to them, not there one morning. E. Nesbit's book follows them as they help one another and their mother through the tough times that result. A Day No Pigs Would Die, Robert Newton Peck's autobiographical novel, is a painful yet beautiful telling of the death of Peck's father. Cynthia Voigt's Homecoming presents an absent father and opens with a mother abandoning her children. This novel, and Dicey's Song, which follows it, is much more uplifting than the descriptions would indicate.

Let the Circle Be Unbroken, Mildred D. Taylor's story of the Logan family, whose friend T. J. is on trial for murder, shows the reader a family capable of courage, love, and understanding in the face of obstacles. And perhaps these obstacles are telling themes in the literature of families often sought out by children as they begin to test their own independence and abilities.

It's not easy being a kid

Growing schoolchildren probably wish that their worries could stay as simple as those faced by Frances the badger and Swimmy the fish. Watching young people deal with pain, suffering, and difficult day-to-day situations can help young men and women develop a sense that they too are strong and capable. (An inside: consider recommending a child's book to the adolescent working through a problem. Beloved childhood books can be a comfort at any age.)

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink is a wonderful book for grade-school or middle-school readers. Two young girls find that, after a shipwreck on an island, they are responsible for the health and safety of a group of babies. Readers will enjoy following the adventures of these modern-day Robinson Crusoes (and the shipwreck is handled in a remarkably untroubling way).

An urban setting - New York's Harlem - provides the setting for A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich by Alice Childress. Young adolescent readers appreciate the honesty of this book in which hope and reality bump up against one another as a young boy struggles with the escape offered by drugs. While not comforting, this book can provide a good meditation on the very real sufferings of people within the adolescent portion of the mystical body.

Soup and Me is another autobiographical offering from Robert Newton Peck. This warm and funny, yet sometimes poignant, book follows the fun and misadventures of Peck and his boyhood friend, Soup. The boys overcome obstacles, and the true enjoyment of the writing comes from the fact that so many of these obstacles are self-created.

Julie, of Jean Craighead George's Julie of the Wolves, is actually Miyax, a young girl lost in the North Slope area of Alaska. A young man who must also contend with physical as well as mental challenges is Sam Gribley, the hero in George's novel On the Far Side of the Mountain. Bette Green's Summer of My German Soldier puts the young-adult reader in a small Arkansas town with Patty Bergen, a 12-year-old who will form a friendship with a young German soldier housed in a camp for prisoners of war during World War II. Watching as Patty comes to see that her friend Adolph is not so much a Nazi as he is a lonely, frightened teenager, will perhaps inspire the reader to question his or her own approach to such things as stereotyping and war.

Many books for school-aged readers blend themes so beautifully that it is impossible to place them in any one category. Lois Lowry's Number the Stars makes a powerful argument for peace. Ten-year-old Annemarie and her best friend Ellen Rosen live in Copenhagen. The year is 1943, and Ellen is Jewish. This book deals with family, bravery, and overcoming obstacles. Gary Paulsen's Hatchet deals with a harrowing adventure as its young hero struggles to stay alive after a wilderness plane crash; the book also presents his thoughts about his parents who have had an unsuccessful marriage. Jacob Have I Loved is Katherine Paterson's coming-of-age story of sisters Louise and Caroline.

Summer of the Monkeys, Wilson Rawl's account of a young boy who discovers a much-sought-after bunch of monkeys, defies strict classification, as does Marjorie Kinan Rawling's enduring tale The Yearling about a young fawn adopted by a boy in Cross Creek, Florida. Finally another book by Wilson Rawls that should not be pinned down is Where the Red Fern Growns. This story of Billy and his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann, is one that can make strong men cry; like Stone Fox, it is difficult to read aloud past the lump in your throat.

The end never comes

Books take us out of ourselves to a world we might not otherwise see. They introduce us to people worth meeting. They put us in the presence of virtues worth imitating. The youngest child can enjoy a book, and that very book, enjoyed before even the first day of school, may speak to the child on such a profound level that it comes to mind years later when it is needed. Children will lead us, and later lead themselves, to the books that speak to them. These will stay with them forever.

Once upon a time

The following stories are timeless and appealing because they are both comforting and empowering. Good is rewarded and evil punished; size and age mean nothing if one is clever; magic is possible. These stories come in many forms, with varied text and illustrations. A subtle benefit of folk tales is the window they provide into different cultures.

Paul Galdone: The Three Bears The Three Little Pigs

Peter Asbjornsen: The Three Billy Goats Gruff 

Marcia Brown: Stone Soup

Robert McCloskey: Andy and the Lion (an updated version of the traditional Androcles and the Lion).

Wanda Gag: Millions of Cats

Esphyr Slobodkina: Caps for Sale

The Brothers Grimm: Bremen Town Musicians Rumpelstiltskin Shoemaker and the Elves

Charles Perrault: Little Red Riding Hood Cinderella

Ezra Jack Keats: Over in the Meadow

Jacob Grimm: Frog Prince

Hans Christian Anderson: The Ugly Duckling The Princess and the Pea The Emperor's New Clothes Thumbelina

Arlene Mosel: Tikki Tikki Tembo 

Oscar Wilde: The Selfish Giant

Peter Parnall: The Great Fish

Arthur Ransome: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship

Margot Zemach: It Could Always Be Worse

Harve Zemach: Salt: A Russian Tale

William Steig: Caleb and Katie The Amazing Bone Brave Irene Tiffky Doofky

Gerald McDermott: Anansi the Spider: A Tale from Ashanti

Tomie de Paola: The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush The Legend of the Bluebonnet The Legend of Old Befana

Good books that help grow great kids

Jan Shoup is the co-owner of the Magic Tree Children's bookstore in Oak Park, Illinois. As Director of Religious Education at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church in Oak Park, Shoup often speaks to groups about using children's books to raise moral children. Here are some of her favorites.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. Miss Rumphius travels the world and enriches her northeastern corner of it by planting field after fields of lupines.

Grandpappy by Nancy W. Carlstrom. Nate follows his grandfather through his daily routine and sees a Christlike life being lived with no fanfare. "Be a light, Nate," says Grandpappy, in words and actions.

Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork. Respect for nature, love of art, and the importance of relationships all play a part in this quiet, lovely book.

A Rose for Abby by Donna Guthrie. Abbie, a minister's child, spends her after-school hours with lost-and-found things. She finds a way to help a bag lady and is rewarded.

The Bee Tree; Chicken Sunday; Appalamanda's Dream; Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco. These books and any by Polacco are gentle and imaginative and help open doors to new worlds.

Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting. This book has a special twist that children will find charming and powerful.

The Empty Pot by Demi. An emperor, who is looking for a successor calls all the children to get a seed, plant it, and see what happens. The importance of honesty and courage is seen and rewarded.

Who Is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate. This is a beautiful book for the Advent season.

Rag Coat by Lauren Mills. Kindness and acceptance play important parts in this story of a coal miner's daughter and her patchwork quilt coat.

In times of trouble

Some things are too painful to talk about. Watching others move through similar situations can provide comfort.

Death: Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs by Tomie de Paola The Tenth Good Thing about Barney by Judith Viorst The Dead Bird by Margaret Wise Brown

Living with a single parent: Mushy Eggs Adrienne Adams I Love My Mother by Paul Zindel A Father Like That by Charlotte Zolotow

Illness: The Sick Story by Linda Hirsch A Visit to the Hospital by Francine Chase Just Awful by Alma Whitney

War: Potatoes, Potatoes by Anita Lobel War and Peas by Michael Foreman Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag. The best of the best - not to be missed. Brave Soldier Janosh by Victor Ambrus Drummer Hoff by Barbara Emberley