Home |
Who We Are |
Opportunities for Educators |
Advice for Parents |
Support for Kids
1996 Holiday Book List
This list of books for holiday giving was compiled by Leda Schubert
of the Vermont Department of Education and published as a community service by
the Vermont-National Education Association. These books are some of the most
outstanding published in 1996. Books with an * are by Vermont authors!
Picture Books
- Buehner, Caralyn. FANNY'S DREAM. Dial. Fanny Agnes is a sturdy
farm girl who dreams of marrying a prince, but when her fairy godmother doesn't
show up, she decides on a local farmer instead.
- Henkes, Kevin. LILLY'S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE. Greenwillow. Lilly
loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to
wait a little while before showing her new purse, she does something for which
she is very sorry later.
- Hest, Amy. BABY DUCK AND THE BAD EYEGLASSES. Candlewick. Baby
Duck is unhappy about the new eyeglasses she has to wear, until Grandpa Duck
helps her realize that they are not so bad after all. A sequel to IN THE
RAIN WITH BABY DUCK.
- Ray, Jane, reteller. THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES. Dutton. This
retelling of a classic Grimm tale has sumptuous, intricate illustrations.
Primary Grades
- * Amosky, Jim. ALL ABOUT DEER. Scholastic. An inviting nature
book with lots of information about one of Vermont's more common species.
- Cooney, Barbara. ELEANOR. Viking. Cooney presents the often
poignant childhood of Eleanor Roosevelt, who married a president of the United
States and became known as a great humanitarian.
- * Haas, Jesse. BE WELL, BEWARE. Greenwillow. Lily is frightened
when her beloved horse Beware gets sick and exhibits peculiar behavior. The
third book about Lily and Beware.
- Hamilton, Virginia. WHEN BIRDS COULD TALK AND BATS COULD SING.
Scholastic. A collection of stories featuring sparrows, jays, buzzards, and
bats, based on African-American tales originally written down by Martha Young on
her father's plantation after the Civil War.
Middle Grades
- Gauthier, Gail. MY LIFE AMONG THE ALIENS. Putnam. Will and
Robby, who are two ordinary kids, keep having mysterious encounters with aliens
in this funny chapter book. The aliens just might be after their mother's
health-food baking. A great read-aloud.
- * Hesse, Karen. THE MUSIC OF DOLPHINS. Scholastic. In this
wrenching novel, an adolescent girl has been raised by dolphins until she is "rescued."
She becomes a subject of scientific study, and Hesse thoughtfully explores what
matters and what it means to be human.
- * Paterson, Katherine. JIP: HIS STORY. Dutton. Jip, an abandoned
child, learns the secret of his parentage in this gripping, moving story set in
Vermont in the 1850s. Once you know Jip, you won't forget him.
- Prelutsky, Jack. A PIZZA THE SIZE OF THE SUN. Greenwillow. A
delightful anthology of light verse with poems for all tastes, from gross to
witty.
Fiction for Older Readers
- Freeman, Suzanne. THE CUCKOO'S CHILD. Greenwillow. Mia's
parents have been lost at sea, so she has come from Lebanon to live with her
sisters and aunt in Tennessee. Though Mia has longed for a typical American
childhood, she gets something quite different.
- Konigsburg, E.L. THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY. Atheneum. Four sixth
graders form a special bond with each other and with their paraplegic teacher,
who chooses them to represent their class in an Academic Bowl competition. Like
an interlocking puzzle, this novel reveals itself as much more than the sum of
its pieces.
- Pullman, Philip. THE GOLDEN COMPASS. Knopf. Book one of a grand
new fantasy trilogy. This is set in a parallel world very much like Victorian
England, and involves a child of powerful parentage raised as an orphan, as well
as cosmic battles, companions called daemons, armoured bears, treachery,
adventure, and heroism.
All Ages
- Opie, Iona. MY VERY FIRST MOTHER GOOSE. Candlewick. Every child
should own this wonderful new edition of Mother Goose rhymes, with its
imaginative, witty, and cozy illustrations.
- Martin, Jacqueline Briggs. GRANDMOTHER BRYANT'S POCKET. Suffering
from nightmares after her dog is killed in a fire, a young girl in 18th century
Maine goes to live with her grandparents.
- Philip, Neil, compiler. AMERICAN FAIRY TALES: FROM RIP VAN WINKLE TO
THE ROOTABAGA STORIES. Hyperion. Though often influenced by European
tales, American writers developed their own unique stories, reflecting a
progressive and independent spirit. Selections from Carl Sandburg, Louisia May
Alcott, L. Frank Baum and others are dramatically illustrated by Michael
McCurdy's woodcuts.
- Fleischman, Sid. THE ABRACADABRA KID: A WRITER'S LIFE.
Greenwillow. The autobiography of the Newbery award-winning children's author
who set out from childhood to be a magician.
Return to list of reading lists.
Home |
Who We Are |
Opportunities for Educators |
Advice for Parents |
Support for Kids