Friday, January 4, 2019

2018 Reading Stats

At this time of the year (or even sooner!) I start getting antsy about scrapping all my reading logs and starting fresh for the new year. I don't like to get ahead of myself and do any kind of wrap-up before the year is over because, well, the year isn't over yet! But when the calendar turns, I really crave that fresh slate more than the process of looking back. But why in the world did I even keep those logs if I wasn't going to do SOMETHING with them? I started my reading binder last year largely because I wanted to have some year-end stats, but didn't want to wade through my Goodreads account tallying everything up after the fact. I wanted some running totals instead -- which I now have! -- so I thought I'd share.

Total Books Read: 144 
Includes books for all ages and shorter works, but not picture books.

144 books in a year isn't too shabby! This does make it quite clear though that a LOT of the 336 titles I read for #TheUnreadShelfProject2018 were picture books. So now for some nerdy stats...

Middle Grade: 56 books
Young Adult: 11 books
Adult Fiction: 17 books
Poetry/Novels-in-Verse (MG, YA, & Adult): 20 books
Graphic Novels/Comics/Illustrated: 7 books
Non-Fiction (almost entirely Adult): 33 books

I read a lot more non-fiction than I thought I had and I'm fairly sure this is the most titles I've read in a year in quite some time! And I'm very pleased with 20 poetry/verse books because I've been actively trying to read more of those as well. I was very light on the adult fiction this year and I'm OK with that, though there are a LOT of unread adult titles on my shelves, so I really need to remember that when I'm buying new books. 


Print: 100 books
Audio: 36 books
Print + Audio: 2 books
eBook: 6 books

Nothing too surprising here! I'm not a fan of eBooks because I feel like I'm on screens enough as it is without doing my *regular* reading on a screen as well, but I do have a small collection mostly of shorter works not available in any other format, freebies (from Amazon's First Reads, etc.), and "extras" I got because the Audible audiobook was cheaper if I bought both formats (oh, the irony of Whispersync deals!) I love audiobooks and averaged 3 per month, but read in print as much as I'm able.


Borrowed: 16 books
Owned: 128 books

I love my library and read TONS of library picture books, but I'm very happy the vast majority of books I read for myself were from my own shelves. I must admit, I borrowed a lot more than 16 titles, but many were returned unread. I sometimes feel bad about that, but it's nice to have options and it helps me (sometimes) avoid the impulse to purchase a new book I've just heard about if I see my library has it. If I end up not reading it before I return it, I'm extra glad I didn't shell out the cash!


A few specialized categories I tracked were:

Short Works (collections, anthologies, essays, short stories, novellas): 29 books
Books About Books: 14 books
Classics: 15 books
Newbery Honor/Medal: 11 books
Re-Reads: 10 books

I'm very happy with these numbers as well! The idea behind reading more Short Works was to have some options especially when my reading time is limited. Whether I was reading bit by bit from a collection with many essays/stories/poems or a stand-alone short work, being able to read something in its entirety was always a good feeling, especially when reading a full novel was taking what felt like ages.

I also discovered this year that Books About Books are not an automatic home-run with me -- I've encountered some duds and even DNFed one! They can't all be for every reader and that's OK -- the the ones I loved were really excellent.

My Classics category includes classic children's novels, but no picture books. I lumped all nine of the Paddington Bear novels I read together as only one in my tally because while I definitely consider them children's classics, Michael Bond continued writing them for so many years it gets rather fuzzy where classic ends and contemporary begins. But I'm also glad I finally tackled a few more traditional classics like Wuthering Heights, Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and A Little Princess. In addition, quite a few, though not all, of my Newbery reads overlapped with the Classics category.

And lastly, I shouldn't be surprised to see that all my Re-Reads were on audiobook this year! I love to re-read favorites, but I don't often like to dedicate my *main* reading time to them, so it's nice to sneak in those re-reads in another format -- plus, I'm less worried about the occasional times my attention wanders while listening because I do already know what happens!

OK, I will admit it was kind of fun to take a look at my year as a whole -- even though I'm still anxious to move on with 2019 already!

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Did you track your reading in 2018? I'd love to hear how it went!

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2018 Reading Challenge Wrap-Ups

Happy New Year bookish friends! I know it's been a while, but I have a few 2019 reading challenges I want to sign-up for, so I figure I ought to take a look at how I did on my 2018 ones! I drastically cut down on the number of challenges I joined this past year and I am very happy with how well I was able to do on the ones I did join as a result of narrowing my focus.

MY GOAL: Konigsburg level = 75+ points
PROGRESS: 86 points
STATUS: COMPLETE!

Newbery Medal Winner = 3 points (read 8)
Newbery Honor Book = 2 points (read 3)
Caldecott Honor/Medal Book = 1 point (read 56)


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The Modern Mrs. Darcy 2018 Reading Challenge
MY GOAL: Complete all 12 categories
PROGRESS: 12/12 categories read
STATUS: COMPLETE!



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#TheUnreadShelfProject2018
Info / My Sign-Up Post
PROGRESS: 336 read books from my Unread Shelf
STATUS: COMPLETE!

I didn't set a specific goal for this challenge other than a desire to focus more on reading the unread books in my house than on library books, etc. For this challenge, books I owned prior to 2018 as well as any new books acquired during 2018 were fair game. Every time a new book entered my house, my Unread Shelf number simply increased which I found much easier to track than trying to only count pre-2018 books which gets harder and harder to do accurately as the year goes on (as I've learned from other TBR challenges I've attempted in the past!) My unread number went WAY up as the year went on thanks to a far too many used book sales and Book Outlet orders, BUT I also read a whopping 336 books from my Unread Shelf which includes EVERY type of book from picture books on up. Despite my ridiculous number of unread books still remaining (hello, #TheUnreadShelfProject2019!) I am calling this one COMPLETE and a success!


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Original artwork by Charles Haigh-Wood (1856-1927)
Info / My Sign-Up Post
MY GOAL: Complete Checklist + Read an entire author's work
PROGRESS: 104/104 categories read + 35/65 Patricia Polacco books read
STATUS: checklist COMPLETE! + author option Incomplete! 

For the author option, I mainly focused on Patricia Polacco, but also printed out book lists for Tomie DePaola, Cynthia Rylant, Stephen Gammell, & Jane Yolen. Let's just say I chose some VERY prolific authors to attempt this with! Some of Patricia Polacco's books I read in 2017, but I checked off quite a few more in 2018 -- still leaving me with 30 more to complete her backlist!

(bold = read)
Part of me wants to list all the titles, but that is just WAY too much work! If you are curious about what I read for a particular category, drop me a comment :)

1. Title beginning with A
2. Author beginning with A
3. Title beginning with B
4. Author beginning with B
5. Title beginning with C
6. Author beginning with C
7. Title beginning with D
8. Author beginning with D
9. Title beginning with E
10. Author beginning with E
11. Title beginning with F
12. Author beginning with F
13. Title beginning with G
14. Author beginning with G
15. Title beginning with H
16. Author beginning with H
17. Title beginning with I
18. Author beginning with I
19. Title beginning with J
20. Author beginning with J
21. Title beginning with K
22. Author beginning with K
23. Title beginning with L
24. Author beginning with L
25. Title beginning with M
26. Author beginning with M
27. Title beginning with N
28. Author beginning with N
29. Title beginning with O
30. Author beginning with O
31. Title beginning with P
32. Author beginning with P
33. Title or Author beginning with Q
34. Title beginning with R
35. Author beginning with R
36. Title beginning with S
37. Author beginning with S
38. Title beginning with T
39. Author beginning with T
40. Title or Author beginning with U
41. Title or Author beginning with V or W
42. Title or Author beginning with X or “Ex”
43. Title beginning with Y
44. Author beginning with Y
45. Title or Author beginning with Z
46. An alphabet book
47. A counting book
48. A color word in the title
49. A number word in the title
50. Concept book of your choice— picture book
51. Concept book of your choice — board book
52. bedtime book —board book
53. bedtime book — picture book
54. book that rhymes —picture book
55. book that rhymes — early reader OR board book
56. holiday of your choice — board book or early reader
57. holiday of your choice — picture book
58. wordless picture book
59. new to you author
60. new to you illustrator
61. favorite author
62. favorite illustrator
63. free choice
64. fairy or folk tale adaptation
65. fairy or folk tale traditional
66. a title with the word “first” in it
67. a book set in the state you live
68. a book set in a place you’d like to visit
69. a book set in an imaginary place
70. a book set in the past — fiction or nonfiction
71. a book set in the present
72. picture book for older readers — fiction
73. picture book for older readers — nonfiction
74. early reader — fiction
75. early reader — nonfiction
76. picture book with photographs
77. one word title
78. long title (four or more words)
79. oversized book
80. tiny book
81. a book about playing (hide and seek, tag, or peekaboo, etc.)
82. a book about school
83. a book about hobbies (art, dance, music, crafts, sports)
84. a title that is a question
85. a title that is an exclamation
86. an award winner or an honor book
87. a collection (of poems OR stories)
88. a book with animals (fiction)
89. a book with animals (nonfiction)
90. a book about books or reading
91. a book celebrating family
92. first book in a series
93. any book in a series
94. book with an adventure or misadventure
95. a book about a pet
96. A title with the word “yes” or “no” in it
97. A title with the word “big” or “little” in it
98. a classic published before 1968
99. a book you think should be considered a classic
100. Out of print
101. Library book
102. Impulse Pick
103. Board book published in 2018
104. Picture book published in 2018


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Girl reading a book by Federico Zandomeneghi
Info / My Sign-Up Post
MY GOAL: Minimum of 6 from checklist + Read an entire author's work
PROGRESS: 62/104 categories read + 8/8 Tomie DePoala MG books read
STATUS: checklist goal COMPLETE! author option COMPLETE! 

To the best of my knowledge, the eight books in the Fairmount Avenue series by Tomie DePaola are the only middle grade ones he has written, so I am calling that complete! I did also read the entire Penderwicks series, so I could also count 5/5 of Jeanne Birdsall's books for the author challenge :)

(bold = read)
Same as above, listing all the titles is just WAY too much work! But if you are curious about what I read for a particular category, drop me a comment :)

1. Title beginning with A
2. Author beginning with A
3. Title beginning with B
4. Author beginning with B
5. Title beginning with C
6. Author beginning with C
7. Title beginning with D
8. Author beginning with D
9. Title beginning with E
10. Author beginning with E
11. Title beginning with F
12. Author beginning with F
13. Title beginning with G
14. Author beginning with G
15. Title beginning with H
16. Author beginning with H
17. Title beginning with I
18. Author beginning with I
19. Title beginning with J
20. Author beginning with J
21. Title beginning with K
22. Author beginning with K
23. Title beginning with L
24. Author beginning with L
25. Title beginning with M
26. Author beginning with M
27. Title beginning with N
28. Author beginning with N
29. Title beginning with O
30. Author beginning with O
31. Title beginning with P
32. Author beginning with P
33. Title or Author beginning with Q
34. Title beginning with R
35. Author beginning with R
36. Title beginning with S
37. Author beginning with S
38. Title beginning with T
39. Author beginning with T
40. Title or Author beginning with U
41. Title or Author beginning with V or W
42. Title or Author beginning with X or “Ex”
43. Title beginning with Y
44. Author beginning with Y
45. Title or Author beginning with Z
46. 2018 Newbery Winner or Honor
47. Newbery Winner or Honor from 2010-2017
48. Newbery Winner or Honor from 2000-2009
49. Newbery Winner or Honor from 1990-1999
50. Newbery Winner or Honor from 1980-1989
51. Newbery Winner or Honor from 1970-1979
52. Newbery Winner or Honor from 1960-1969
53. Newbery Winner or Honor from 1950-1959
54. Newbery Winner or Honor from 1940-1949
55. Newbery Winner or Honor from 1932-1939
56. Newbery Winner or Honor from 1922-1931
57. Notable Children's Book from 2018 or 2017
 58. Any book by a Wilder Award author
 59. verse novel
 60. graphic novel
 61. biography or memoir
 62. nonfiction
 63. poetry
 64. audio book
 65. first in a series
 66. any book in a series
 67. last book in a series
 68. favorite author
 69. new to you author
 70. British author
 71. Australian author
 72. Canadian author
 73. translated into English from another language
 74. American author
 75. set in the state you live
 76. set in a place you'd like to visit
 77. set in an imaginary place you'd like to visit
 78. picture book for older readers
 79. book about a pet
 80. animal fantasy
 81. fantasy
 82. alternate reality
 83. science fiction
 84. adventure
 85. action/suspense
 86. mystery/detective
 87. realistic fiction
 88. school setting
 89. multiple points of view
 90. historical fiction -- world war I
 91. historical fiction -- world war II
 92. historical fiction, your choice
 93. historical fiction, mystery or suspense
 94. oh the sads
 95. happy, happy ending
 96. laugh until you cry
 97. coming of age
 98. "diary" or "notebook"
 99. classic, your choice
 100. out of print
 101. library book
 102. impulse pick
 103. published in 2018
 104. YOUR pick for Newbery 2019

Bonus/alternate picks:
 made into a good movie
 made into a horrible movie
 book from your childhood
 free choice
 multiple authors
 orphan child
 vacation setting or road trip
 first crush
 new book by favorite author
time travel or steam punk


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Did you join any 2018 reading challenges? Are you joining any for 2019? I'll be getting my own sign-up posts together soon :)

Friday, October 19, 2018

Updates + Some News!

There are a whole lot of reasons I haven't been posting much these days, but one of my favorite distractions of late has been a bit of exciting news...


We are expecting a little girl at the end of January! I am so looking forward to reading all the baby books with her that my son has been outgrowing. And I will also admit, I won't mind one bit being the main decision-maker on storytime choices again -- at least for a little while!

My son has started 3-year old nursery school (and LOVES it), so those extra blocks of child-free time have been much appreciated. It is really incredible though how quickly school mornings fly by. Both my To-Do and Would-Like-To-Do lists always seem so much more doable at drop-off time than when pick-up time creeps closer and closer!

It has been harder to find the time to blog regularly, but I really do miss it. I've said this before, but I have tons of ideas swirling around for blog posts -- it's just the practicalities of getting them out of my brain and onto the screen! In case you missed it, I did start a bookish Instagram account (find me @bucklingbookshelves) and I've been a bit more consistent posting over there. I also update my Goodreads account very regularly if you're wondering what I've been reading lately -- if we haven't connected on Goodreads yet, let's be friends!

The thing is, I'm finding I usually prefer to spend my limited spare time actually READING than writing about reading -- which is somewhat unfortunate because I'd really like to do both! But I also need to remind myself that 1. I don't need to be spending hours on long blog posts and 2. meticulous editing is unnecessary (I blame the perfectionist in me!) in order to be more active here again. Come January, we will be onto a brand new phase and life will (happily) be turned a bit upside down again. Hopefully between now and then I'll figure out a rhythm that works better for me -- and then I'll get to figure it out all over again in the new year :)

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P.S. You may -- or may not! -- have noticed the blog has a new look. I previously had a background I really loved, but it was a freebie and one day I logged in to see it had simply vanished. I don't know exactly how all that works, but I certainly didn't want a completely blank background, so I quickly threw up a photo of my own bookshelves. I wasn't sure that was going to be permanent solution, but I've decided I rather like it!

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

September Caldecott Calendar: Start of School + Banned Books Week

September means back to school time (at least where we live!) and the last week of September is always Banned Books Week. It truly fascinates me which titles make the frequently challenged lists the American Library Association releases every year, as well as all the other lists they’ve compiled with the data they’ve been collecting for nearly three decades now.

I’m a firm believer that not every book is for every reader and that parents do have a say in what their own (younger) children read, but one person’s preferences or objections shouldn’t dictate other people’s access (or lack thereof) to books. And believe it or not, quite a few Caldecott books have made the various frequently challenged lists I've read (see below for links/references.)

All of my posts for this project (including updates) can be found here or by clicking on 'Caldecott Calendar' in the header up top. My personal favorites will be marked with an asterisk (*). This post may be updated to correct errors, omissions, etc. as we go. Let me know in the comments if you notice anything that should be fixed or added!

Start of School
A Pocketful of Cricket, written by Rebecca Caudill & illustrated by Evaline Ness
1965 Caldecott Honor


Banned Books Week
(Last week of September; 23rd-29th in 2018)

This list was compiled with the help of the following resources:
Frequently Challenged Children's Books (ALA website)
Challenged Picture Books (Scholastic website)
Banned and Challenged Picture Books (Edmonton Public Library website)
Books Under Fire: A Hit List of Banned and Challenged Children's Books, book written by Pat R. Scales


This One Summer, written by Mariko Tamaki & illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
2015 Caldecott Honor
This Caldecott Honor title is actually a graphic novel with an intended audience on the older end of the Caldecott age range -- so I'm not terribly surprised to see it's been challenged. A book with both a Caldecott Honor and a Printz Honor is quite an unusual overlap!


*Strega Nona, written & illustrated by Tomie DePaola
1976 Caldecott Honor


Smoky Night, written by Eve Bunting & illustrated by David Diaz
1995 Caldecott Medal


Saint George and the Dragon: A Golden Legend, adapted by Margaret Hodges & illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
1985 Caldecott Medal


Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, written & illustrated by William Steig
1970 Caldecott Medal


*Where the Wild Things Are, written & illustrated by Maurice Sendak
1964 Caldecott Medal


Tar Beach, written & illustrated by Faith Ringgold
1992 Caldecott Honor


Little Red Riding Hood, retold & illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
1984 Caldecott Honor


Outside Over There, written & illustrated by Maurice Sendak
1982 Caldecott Honor


The Amazing Bone, written & illustrated by William Steig
1977 Caldecott Honor


In the Night Kitchen, written & illustrated by Maurice Sendak
1971 Caldecott Honor


*The Snowy Day, written & illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
1963 Caldecott Medal


Crow Boy, written & illustrated by Taro Yashima
1956 Caldecott Honor


If I Ran the Zoo, written & illustrated by Dr. Seuss
1951 Caldecott Honor


They Were Strong and Good, written & illustrated by Robert Lawson
1941 Caldecott Medal

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Buckling Bookshelves is now on Instagram!

So, I finally caved and started a dedicated bookstagram account separate from my personal account. I've been having fun playing around with it so far and I'd love if you'd come check out my feed if you use Instagram! You can find me @bucklingbookshelves and I'll embed a recent post below.

I've admittedly been posting more on Instagram recently than I have been here on the blog.  But I do have a whole bunch of blog post ideas swirling around in my head I'm hoping to get out of my brain and onto the screen now that summer is over and my son and I are getting settled into his new nursery school routine. (Side note: HOW is he old enough for nursery school already?!?!?)



View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine (@bucklingbookshelves) on

(Side note #2: I actually finished this book last night and I'm just in love with Anne -- bring on the rest of the series!)

Earlier today I put up the first of what will be several IG posts for Banned Books Week, starting with banned/challenged classics I have on my shelves. There's more to come throughout the week on Instagram and I will also definitely be posting my next Caldecott Calendar entry here on the blog featuring all the Medal and Honor books that have been banned/challenged over the years.

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Are you on bookstagram? Leave me your handle in the comments so I can check out your feed, too!

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Review: Give Your Child the World

Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time by Jamie C. Martin with a Foreword by Tsh Oxenreider
Date: June 2016
Format: Paperback
How did I get this book? Purchased

Anyone looking to pick up this book should know it is predominantly a reference volume/book list. Part One which essentially introduces the author and her family, gives some information on how to encourage a global perspective through books, and why she feels such a perspective is important (largely influenced by her Christian faith) is short -- it runs from pages 11-48 and that includes a Foreward by someone else. I enjoyed the opening to this book and used plenty of book darts to mark favorite lines, but if you are expecting a lot of research, statistics, or a deep dive into the subject matter, you're probably going to be disappointed.

I like Martin's premise and agree with her about the importance of sharing books with our kids that broaden their perspectives and introduce them to people, places, and cultures they are unfamiliar with. However, I'm not entirely sure the booklist lives up to the task. Now, I have NOT read the booklists (Part Two) word-for-word, but I have browsed through it and there are some things that give me pause. I'm not claiming to have done an extensive analysis of all the recommended titles, but I have some overall impressions.

First of all, there aren't that many books that take place in current/recent times. History and historical context are certainly important for encouraging a global perspective, but given how much Martin says she wants kids to fall in love with the world and and all the people we share it with, I really was expecting more contemporary stories. For the Europe chapter, there are a whole lot of books taking place during the World Wars and (as other reviewers have said) I don't think that paints a very complete picture of the region. The same could be said for the selections for the Middle East which largely recommends books featuring conflicts, so much so that Martin does not even recommend any titles for ages 4-6 because of that very fact.

I was also expecting more books actually from other countries, books in translation, and books written by people who are a part of these cultures from around the world. I do believe there are books recommended that fit these attributes, but I don't think they are as predominant as I was expecting -- and it's pretty difficult to distinguish which titles are which. There doesn't seem to be any notations about the authors' background or expertise in the various countries or cultures which seems important to me given what this booklist is trying to achieve.

Lastly, there are some titles that raised red-flags for me -- particularly books about Thanksgiving that seem highly problematic and a large number of titles referring to Native Americans without any mention of specific tribes or nations, as if they are just one big group. I am not as educated in this area as I should be, but some preliminary research on the highly respected site American Indians in Children's Literature seems to show that Give Your Child the World is recommending a mix of titles -- some with good representation and some with poor/inaccurate representation. As I said earlier, I am not as educated as I should be on this subject, but I think it is important, especially when recommending books specifically with the goal of broadening young minds and teaching them about people from all around the world. So I'm keeping this book on my shelf, but taking the recommendations with a grain of salt, trying to remember that I should ALWAYS be reading critically, and realizing that I have a lot still to learn myself!

Edited 8/14/18 to add: Recommending Tikki Tikki Tembo as a book representing China is really a disgrace. I think I have found a much better resource for global kidlit, so stay tuned!

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

The Classics Club: Round Two

Back in February 2013, I joined The Classics Club. I was still relatively new to blogging and inspired by all the reading challenges I found once I figured out there was a whole book blogging COMMUNITY I could engage with rather than writing what was essentially an online book journal no one knew about. I'd been meaning to read more classics and kept adding them to my collection, so I thought this would be just the thing to finally get me started. Nothing like going all in, right? I mean there are smaller (and shorter) classics challenges, but I wanted to go big. After all, 50 in 5 years is less than a book a month. Surely I could do that! Except I didn't. Womp, womp, womp. I DID read 32 classics, but things really fell apart when it came to blogging about them. I managed some posts, but the numbers aren't good.

So after explaining all that, why in the world am I back with a second attempt at this thing? Well, my 5 years officially ended five and a half months ago and I've had some time to think things through. I realized that despite falling short of my goal, I really had started reading classics on a more regular basis. A full 25 of the classics I read happened in the final two years of my challenge. And in the intervening months I've read 5 more just in the regular course of my reading life. But there's a bit of a kicker -- they've all been children's classics! Now, The Classics Club advocates for creating a "living list" that can change and evolve as time goes on. My original list did evolve into a children's classics list, but it took me a bit too long to figure that out and then I just ran out of time.

So this time around, my list is going to be all Children's Classics from Day 1. Almost five and a half years later, I know what kind of classics I really want to read. As for the blogging part, I may have fallen off the wagon last time, BUT some of the posts I did write were some of my very favorites (Reading Winnie-the-Pooh as an AdultReading Paddington as an Adult). The idea of writing more posts like those two has me genuinely excited and feeling more confident about the blogging part of the challenge. I also have a pen and paper reading journal set up (a printable freebie from one of Modern Mrs. Darcy's newsletters) I am hoping will help me gather and organize my thoughts to make posting easier.

There is no hard and fast rule about what constitutes a classic, so I combed over my shelves to come up with my list and did the best I could. Books over 50 years old were a given. Newer-ish books that were published as part of a "modern classics" series were also a given. Anything else in the 35-49 years old range I used my judgement (I'm about to turn 33, so anything younger than me I had a hard time thinking of as a classic, even though a book with staying power 30 years later does still feel pretty significant). I used 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up to help me make a few decisions. And if a book won a Newbery Honor or Medal, I was more likely to deem it list-worthy.

It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I have enough unread children's classics in my house to read FAR more than 50 in the next 5 years, so instead of trying to prioritize or pare down  (and since I DO want to read all these books strewn about my house!) I'm jumping in with a longer list. A lot of these are short/easy after all and I anticipate that plenty of books will get combined for blogging purposes.

Alright, enough of all these long-winded explanations -- onto the list! I'm making my official Classics Club goal to read at least 100 children's classics from the (bursting) list below and write 50 blog posts by July 24, 2023.

*Asterisk indicates Newbery Honor or Medal title

  1. A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson
  2. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, by T.S. Eliot
  3. Selected classic poetry with an intended young audience (titles TBD)
  4. Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales (selected collections; titles TBD)
  5. Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales (selected collections; titles TBD)
  6. The Beauty and the Beast, by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
  7. Nursery stories/tales (titles TBD)
  8. Mother Goose Rhymes (titles TBD)
  9. Aesop's Fables, by Aesop
  10. The Milly-Molly-Mandy Story Book, by Joyce Lankester Brisley
  11. Uncle Wiggily's Story Book, by Howard R. Garis
  12. Old Mother West Wind + other stories, by Thornton Burgess
  13. The Complete Polly and the Wolf, by Catherine Storr
  14. The Selfish Giant and Other Stories, by Oscar Wilde
  15. Uncle Remus The Complete Tales, adapted by Julius Lester
  16. Rootabaga Stories + More Rootabaga Stories, by Carl Sandburg
  17. Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories --OR-- Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children, by E. Nesbit
  18. *The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles, by Padriac Colum
  19. Sherlock Holmes stories + novels, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  20. The Gray Wolf and Other Stories, by George MacDonald
  21. Stories for Children, by Issac Bashevis Singer
  22. Homer Price + Centerberg Tales, by Robert McCloskey
  23. Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling
  24. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
  25. Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi
  26. Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie (re-read)
  27. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  28. The Racketty-Packetty House, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  29. Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne
  30. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
  31. The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
  32. The Reluctant Dragon, by Kenneth Grahame
  33. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
  34. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
  35. The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain
  36. Five Children and It + The Phoenix and the Carpet, by E. Nesbit
  37. The Enchanted Castle, by E. Nesbit
  38. The Railway Children, by E. Nesbit
  39. The Book of Dragons, by E. Nesbit
  40. Daddy Long Legs, by Jean Webster
  41. The Wonder Clock, by Howard Pyle with Verses by Katharine Pyle
  42. Twilight Land, by Howard Pyle
  43. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, by Howard Pyle
  44. The Story of King Arthur and his Knights, by Howard Pyle
  45. Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren
  46. Ronia, The Robber's Daughter, by Astrid Lindgren
  47. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland + Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll
  48. *Ginger Pye + Pinky Pye, by Eleanor Estes
  49. The Moffats, by Eleanor Estes
  50. *The One Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes
  51. The Witch Family, by Eleanor Estes
  52. Stuart Little, by E.B. White
  53. The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White
  54. Matilda, by Roald Dahl
  55. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl
  56. Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl
  57. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbit
  58. The Search for Delicious, by Natalie Babbit
  59. *Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett
  60. The Once and Future King series, by T.H. White
  61. *The Dark is Rising series, by Susan Cooper
  62. Anne of Green Gables series, by L.M. Montgomery (Aug 2018)
  63. Emily of New Moon trilogy, by L.M. Montgomery
  64. The Story Girl + The Golden Road, by L.M. Montgomery
  65. The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery
  66. Jane of Lantern Hill, by L. M. Montgomery
  67. *The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
  68. *The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander
  69. The Time Cat, by Lloyd Alexander
  70. Betsy Tacy series, by Maud Hart Lovelace
  71. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series, by L. Frank Baum
  72. Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren
  73. Green Knowe series, by L.M. Boston
  74. Half Magic series, by Edward Eager
  75. All-of-a-Kind Family series, by Sydney Taylor
  76. Swallows and Amazons series, by Arthur Ransome
  77. The Faraway Tree trilogy, by Enid Blyton
  78. *The Ramona series, by Beverly Cleary
  79. The Moomins series, by Tove Jansson
  80. The Paddington series, by Michael Bond (remaining books) (Aug 2018 - 
  81. The Borrowers series, by Mary Norton (remaining books)
  82. Bedknob and Broomsticks, by Mary Norton
  83. *The Little House series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
  84. The Saturdays, by Julie Andrews
  85. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, by Julie Andrews
  86. The Mouse and His Child, by Russell Hoban
  87. The Princess and the Goblin, by George Macdonald
  88. The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge
  89. The Phantom Tolbooth, by Norton Juster
  90. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr
  91. *Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink
  92. Olga da Polga, by Michael Bond
  93. Heidi, by Johanna Spyri
  94. By the Great Horn Spoon, by Sid Flieschman
  95. A Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas
  96. Nancy and Plum, by Betty MacDonald
  97. *The Light at Tern Rock, by Julia L. Sauer
  98. *Fog Magic, by Julia L. Sauer
  99. *The Apple and the Arrow, by Mary & Conrad Buff
  100. *My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George
  101. *Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
  102. *Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard & Florence Atwater
  103. *The Hero and the Crown + *The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley
  104. *The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
  105. *The Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
  106. *The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
  107. *The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
  108. *Miracles on Maple Hill, by Virginia Sorensen
  109. Plain Girl, by Virginia Sorensen
  110. *Rabbit Hill + The Tough Winter, by Ben Lawson
  111. Ben and Me, by Ben Lawson
  112. *Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien
  113. *Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes
  114. *The Door in the Wall, by Marguerite DeAngeli
  115. *Call It Courage, by Armstrong Sperry
  116. *Sounder, by William H. Armstrong
  117. *Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars (Sept 2018)
  118. *Adam of the Road, by Elizabeth Janet Gray
  119. *The Dark Frigate, by Charles Boardman Hawes
  120. *Blue Willow, by Doris Gates
  121. *The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden
  122. *Abel's Island, by William Steig
  123. *The Wheel on the School, by Meindart DeJong
  124. *The 21 Balloons, by Pene DeBois
  125. *Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham
  126. *The Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox
  127. *Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt
  128. *Onion John, by Joseph Krumgold
  129. *Thimble Summer, by Elizbeth Enright (Sept 2018)
  130. *The Egypt Game, by Zilpha Keatley Synder
  131. *A Gathering of Days, by Joan W. Blos
  132. *MC Higgins the Great, by Virginia Hamilton
  133. *Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor
  134. *Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry
  135. *The Fledgling, by Jane Langton
  136. *A Long Way From Chicago, by Richard Peck (Sept 2018)
  137. *Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
  138. Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe
  139. Black Beauty, by Anna Swewll
  140. Hans Brinker, by Mary Mapes Dodge
  141. Five Little Peppers, by Margaret Sidney
  142. The Little Lame Prince, by Dinah Maria Mulock
(Last Updated: 8/9/2018)

As one final note, the "first generation" of Classics Club moderators has just recently retired and a brand new "second generation" has just begun. I have nothing at all against the original team, but I do think the excitement over the new team gave me that last little push to commit to joining again. The Club is on Instagram now and I'm really looking forward to seeing what new ideas and events may happen in the coming years!