Children's Chapter Books- Fiction

Favorite Children's Chapter Books (Fiction)........so far

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane- DiCamillo
Anne of Green Gables- Montgomery
All of a Kind Family- Taylor ( I apologize for having had the title wrong for SO long.)
In Grandma's Attic- Richardson
Ginger Pye- Estes
The Cricket in Times Square- Selden
Sarah, Plain and Tall- MacLachlan
Skylark- MacLachlan
More Perfect Than the Moon- MacLachlan
A Bear Called Paddington- Bond
Stuart Little- White
The Matchlock Gun- Edmonds
Thee Hannah!- D'Angeli
Yonie Wondernose- D'Angeli
Skippack School- D'Angeli
The House at Pooh Corner- Milne
The Hundred Dresses- Estes
A Lion to Guard Us- Bulla
Yonie Wondernose- D'Angeli
A Little Princess- Burnett (adapted by Dubowski) We have not read the full version yet.
The Hundred Dresses- Estes
Stone Fox- Gardiner
King of the Wind- Henry
The Doll People- Martin and Godwin
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrim- Bulla
King of the Wind- Henry
Little House in the Big Woods- Wilder
Farmer Boy- Wilder
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin- Henry
The Good Master- Seredy
Journey to America- Levitin
Lincoln and His Boys- Wells

Anything by Thornton Burgess-- He has a ton of books about animals and nature. Some are very elementary and some are real chapter books designed to teach children about nature. Unfortunately, he refers to "Mother Nature" but we just insert "the Creator". These books are well worth the trouble!

Picture Books


Picture Books that passed the test at our house:

Don't miss these great books just because you think your kids are "too old" for picture books!! A truly wonderful picture book will be enjoyed by ANY age. These books are in alphabetical order by author.  Some are definitely better suited for girls and others for boys. I have put an asterisk beside the book titles that have a masculine figure as the main character. (May have missed a few) The books listed here are only ones we have read, enjoyed, and/or find them helpful for learning. Some we like just for the pictures. I have also included some non fiction and historical fiction picture books that you may find in my other lists.
BE SURE TO SEE AMERICAN HISTORY BOOK LIST.  IT CONTAINS MANY OF OUR ALL TIME FAVORITE PICTURE BOOKS!


The Snail House, The Baby in the Hat, The Treasure Hunt, The Little Cat Baby- Ahlberg
The Story of Johnny Appleseed- Aliki
Billy and Blaze* (all stories)- Anderson
The Nightingale*- Anderson retold by Mitchell (illus. by Ibatoulline)
Degas and the Little Dancer- Anholt
Otters Under Water, Turtle in the Sea, A Manatee Morning, Come Out, Muskrats, Beaver Pond Moose Pond, Rabbits and Raindrops, Every Autumn Comes the Bear, Raccoon on His Own, Raccoons and Ripe Corn- Jim Arnosky (His animal illustrations alone are worth checking these out. There are many, but I have listed only the ones we have read.)
A Seed is Sleepy, An Egg is Quiet- Aston, Long
The Dove's Letter- Baker
Summer Story, Winter Story (Brambly Hedge)- Barklem
Emily (Dickinson) - Michael Bedard
Madeline stories- Bemelmans
The Five Chinese Brothers- Bishop
Stone Soup*, Cinderella (my favorite version to read)- Brown
Grandpa- Borack
Flannel Kisses- Brennan
Fritz and the Beautiful Horses*- Brett
Rabbit Inn- Brewster
Rachel Carson- Preserving a Sense of Wonder- Bruchac and illus. Thomas Locker
The Quiltmaker's Gift, The Quiltmaker's Journey- Brumbeau
Dandelion Hill- Bulla
The Memory String (for older children-divorce/ stepmother addressed), The Wednesday Surprise, A Day's Work- Bunting
The Little House, Choo Choo*, Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel*, Katy and the Big Snow- Burton
Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?, Wishing Dawn in Summer- Carlstrom
The Princess and the Pea- Lauren Child
Molly's Pilgrim- Cohen
See the Ocean- Condra
Abbie in Stitches- Cotten
Miss Rumphius- Cooney
Giggle, Giggle, Quack- Cronin
The Two Cars*, Too Big*, Children of the Northlights- d'Aulaire (see Favorite Children’s Biographies)
Yonie Wondernose*- de Angeli
Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs*, Now One Foot, Now the Other*, The Clown of God- dePaola
Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken- DiCamillo
Petunia, Veronica, Donkey-Donkey-Duvoisin
Simeon's Gift*- Edwards
Nine Days to Christmas (A Story of Mexico)- Ets and Labastida
The Story About Ping, Angus and the Ducks- Flack
Muncha, Muncha, Muncha, Tippy-Tippy-Tippy, Hide* A Big Cheese for the White House: A True Tale of a Tremendous Cheddar, Boxes for Katje- Fleming
Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge*- Fox
Will's Quill, Corduroy- Freeman
Leah's Pony- Friedrich
The Hatmaker's Sign- Fleming
The Animal Hedge*, Shadow Play, The Scarebird*, Weslandia*- Fleischman (some of these are by the Fleischman son)
The Happy Lion, The Happy Lion Roars- Fatio (illus. Duvoisin)
Tanya's Reunion- Flournoy
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers*- Gerstein
Little Toot*- Gramatky
My Mama Had a Dancing Heart- Gray
Mrs. Rose’s Garden- Greenstein
The Musicians of Bremen- Grimm (retold and illustrated by Puttapipat)
Bess and Bella- Haas
The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee-Hale
Ox-Cart Man*- Hall
Fancy That- Hershenhorn
When Jessie Came Across the Sea, The Dog Who Belonged to No One- Hest
Redcoats and Petticoats- Kirkpatrick/Himler
A Song for Lena- Hippely
The Kitchen Knight (A Tale of King Arthur) - retold by Hodges
Saving Strawberry Farm-Hopkinson
The Rumpoles and The Barleys Series*- Hunt
Yonder- Johnston
Reading with Dad- Jorgenson
The Hello Goodbye Window- Juster
The Snowy Day*, Whistle for Willie*- Keats
Emma- Kesselman
Let Me Hold You Longer*- Kingsbury
From Dawn Till Dusk, When Spring Comes- Kinsey-Warnock
Queen of the May- Kroll
The Raft*- LaMarche
This is [City or State- New York, Texas, San Francisco etc.] - Lasek
They Were Strong and Good*- Lawson
Papa Small*, Cowboy Farm, The Little Fire Engine, The Little Auto, The Little Farm, The Little Sailboat*, The Little Train*, Policeman Small*, On a Summer Day, The Little Family - Lenski
Always Room for One More (Scottish nursery tale)- Leodhas
Floss, Friends- Lewis
Our Nest- Lindbergh
Applesauce Season*- Lipson
Crow Call- Lois Lowry
The Way Home, You Are Special*, You Are Mine*-Lucado
The Little Island- MacDonald
Three Names, What You Know First, Painting the Wind, All the Places to Love- MacLachlan (see also Favorite Chapter Books)
Julia Morgan Built a Castle- Mannis
Starlight Sailor*- Mayhew (illus. by Jackie Morris)
I’ll Always Be Your Friend- McBratney
Make Way for Ducklings, A Morning in Maine, Time of Wonder, Blueberries for Sal- McCloskey
The Escape of Oney Judge (A Slave Finds Freedom)- McCulley
The Amazing Felix*, Mirette on the High Wire, Mirette and Bellini, Mirette and Bellini Cross Niagra Falls, The Bobbin Girl (appropriate for older children)- McCully
Ma Dear's Aprons- McKissack
Roxaboxen, The Year of the Ranch-McLerran
The Teddy Bear*, Boy on the Brink*, The Train*, Edward and the Pirates, The Party, Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby*- McPhail
Across the Alley*- Michelson
The Rag Coat- Lauren Mills
At Ellis Island, A History in Many Voices- Peacock
Pilgrim Cat- Peacock
The Cock, the Mouse and the Little Red Hen- Percy
A Rooster Crows: A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles- Petersham

The Keeping Quilt, Just Plain Fancy, When Lightening Comes in a Jar, The Lemonade Club, Ginger and Petunia, Thundercake, Pink and Say, The Bee Tree, John Philip Duck, Something About Hensley's, Babushka's Doll, Thank You, Mr. Falker, Chicken Sunday, Mr. Lincoln's Way, The Junkyard Wonders- Polacco (I LOVE ALL of these books, but a couple of them are definitely older subject matter so read the summary to see if it is appropriate for your kids.)

Song of the Swallows- Politi
The Glorious Flight- Provenson
Sailing Home:  A Story of a Childhood at Sea- Rand
The Secret Seder- Rappaport
My Mother is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World- Reyher
ish- Reynolds
Testing the Ice- A True Story About Jackie Robinson- Robinson
When Marian Sang- Ryan
When I Was Young in the Mountains, The Relatives Came, Bunny Bungalow, The Old Woman Who Names Things, Let's Go Home, Long Night Moon- Rylant
Grandfather's Journey*, The Bicycle Man*, Tea with Milk and Sugar (older subject matter)- Say Can You Hear it Inside ?, Can You Hear it Outside?- Schulte (wonderful introductions to fine art paintings published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art)
The Blizzard's Robe- Sabuda (similar to the D'Aulaire classic Children of the Northlights)  a bit mystical but intriguing
May I Bring a Friend- Schenk De Regniers
Duck on a Bike- Shannon
How I Learned Geography- Shulevitz
When I Wore My Sailor Suit- Shulevitz
Caps for Sale*- Slobodkina
Daddy Played Music for the Cows- Sorenson
Polar- The Titanic Bear- Spedden
The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night- Spier
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Yellow and Pink*- Steig
The Gardener, The Friend, The Journey, The Library, The Money Tree- Stewart
The House in the Night- Swanson
The Little Red Lighthouse and The Great Gray Bridge*- Swift, Ward
Many Moons- Thurber
The Treasure Tree*- Trent, Smalley (beginner chapter book with LOTS of pictures)
Around the Year- Tudor
Rachel and Obadiah- Turkle
A Tree is Nice- Udry
Probuditi!, Two Bad Ants- Van Alsburg
The Circus Ship- Van Dusen
The Biggest Bear-Ward
Champions on the Bench*- Weatherford
Waiting for the Evening Star*, Night Sounds Morning Colors*, The Gulps*- Wells
Goat’s Trail, Circus- Wildsmith (illustrations alone make these worth it)
Full Moon-Wilcox and David
Remember Me- Wild
Leonardo and the Terrible Monster*, Knuffle Bunny, Knuffle Bunny Too- Mo Willems
Grandma Essie's Covered Wagon- Williams
A Chair for My Mother- Vera B. Williams
Abe Lincoln- The Boy Who Loved Books*- Winters
Scrabble Creek- Wittman
The Napping House*- Wood
Every Friday*- Yacccarino
Umbrella- Yashima
Daisy's Taxi- Young
Rapunzel- Zenlinsky
Sarah's Questions, A Coat for Anna- Ziefert
The Seashore Book, This Quiet Lady, A Father Like That- Zolotow

Readers Worth Reading

Owl at Home- Lobel
Wagon Wheels- Brenner
Amelia Bedelia- Parish
Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express- Coerr
Prairie School- Avi
First Flight: The Story of Tom Tate and The Wright Brothers- Shea
Christian Liberty Nature Reader: Book 1 (only one we have read) – Wright
The Long Way to a New Land- Sandlin
The Long Way Westward- Sandlin
Sam the Minuteman- Benchley
George the Drummer Boy-Benchley
The Boston Coffee Party- Rappaport
The Josefina Story Quilt- Coerr
Indian Summer- Monjo
Daniel’ s Duck- Bulla
Clara and the Bookwagon- Smiler
Snowshoe Thompson- Smiler
Dust for Dinner- Turner
The Big Balloon Race- Coerr
The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto- Standiford
The Drinking Gourd: A Story of the Underground Railroad- Monjo
Buttons for General Washington-Roop
Helen Keller- Adler

With Chapters:
The Little House Chapter Books (Adapted from the Rose Years Books)- MacBride
The Lighthouse Family Series- Rylant
Brighton LOVES the Elephant and Piggie Books by Mo Willems…….and I do too!!

History

PLEASE don’t skip over this section because it says “History”.  Some of these would be some of our FAVORITE picture books~with a few chapter books mixed in.  I feel it’s the best way to teach history to our children-- and they don’t even know they are learning!

I started my lists with books we had seen on Kathy Keller's list from her booklet "Turning Back the Pages of Time: An American History Library List". These are the books I have read from her lists and also ones we have found on our own. Everything is American history with only a couple of exceptions included.

Early Explorers- 900-1600's

Columbus, Leif the Lucky- D'Aulaire
The Cruise of Christopher Columbus-
The Log of Christopher Columbus-Columbus (selections by Lowe)
Viking Adventure- Bulla (Historical Fiction)
America Begins - Dalgliesh
And There was America- Duvoisin
Ferdinand Magellan- Groh
Amerigo Vespucci- Knoop

Early Indians and Pilgrims 1600-1650

The First Thanksgiving- Hayward (A reader)
Pocahontas and the Strangers- Bulla
The Pilgrims of Plimoth- Sewall
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims Man- Bulla
Squanto and the First Thanksgiving- Kessel
Three Young Pilgrims- Harness
The Thanksgiving Story- Dalgliesh
The Story of Priscilla Mullins – Leininger
Pilgrim Cat-Peacock
If You Sailed on the Mayflower- McGovern
Anne Hutchinson's Way-Atkins
Pocahontas- D'Aulaire
Across the Wide Dark Sea- The Mayflower Journey- Leeuwen
On the Mayflower: Voyage of the Ship's Apprentice and a Passenger Girl- Waters
Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl-Waters
Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy- Waters/Kendall
Pilgrim Children on the Mayflower- DeLage
Pilgrim Courage: From a Firsthand Accout of William Bradford- Smith, Meredith

Colonial America 1650-1700

Adventures in Colonial America Series- James Knight
Boys and Girls of the Colonial Days
Rachel and Obadiah - Turkle
The Courage of Sarah Noble- Dalgliesh
Benjamin Franklin- D'Aulaire
The Ox Cart Man- Hall
If You Lived in Colonial Times- McGovern
The Long Way to a New Land, The Long Way Westward- Sandin
The Matchlock Gun- Edmonds
Boys and Girls of Colonial Days- Bailey

American Revolution 1700-1800

The Fourth of July Story- Dalgliesh
George Washington- D'Aulaire
George the Drummer Boy, Sam the Minuteman-Benchley
Ghost Ship- Clark
Paul Revere's Ride- Longfellow
Dangerous Crossing-Krensky
When Washington Crossed the Delaware- Cheney
The Boston Coffee Party- Rappaport
Phyllis Wheatley- A Voice of Her Own
The Star Spangled Banner-Spier
Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys- Gauch
Buttons for General Washington- Roop
Pheobe the Spy- Griffin
Patience Wright: America's First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy- Shea
American Girl Doll Felicity Series- Tripp

Westward Expansion 1780-1860

Adventures in Frontier America Series- Chambers
Sailing Home- A Story of a Childhood at Sea- Rand
Daniel Boone- Averill
Dandelions, Train to Somewhere- Bunting
Adventures in Frontier America Series- Chambers
Close to the Wind- Malone
The Josefina Quilt Story- Coerr
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter- Olson
Dakota Dugout- Himler
Sarah, Plain and Tall- MacLachlan
Fancy That- Hershenhorn
If You Lived with the Sioux Indians- McGovern
My Heart Glow- McCulley
Buffalo Bill- D'Aulaire
The Erie Canal- Spier
Trouble for Lucy- Stevens
The Cabin Faced West- Fritz
Little House Series- Wilder
American Girl Doll Kirsten Series-Shaw
Dear Benjamin Banneker- Pinkney

Civil War Era 1860-1870

Lincoln and His Boys- Wells
Wagon Wheels- Brenner
Abe Lincoln- The Boy Who Loved Books-Winters
Abraham Lincoln- D'Aulaire
Moses- Weatherford
A Man for All Seasons: The Life of George Washington Carver- Krensky
If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad-Levine
Friend on Freedom River- Whelan
The Drinking Gourd-Monjo
Runaway Slave: The Story of Harriet Tubman- McGovern
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie-Roop
River Boy: The Story of Mark Twain- Anderson
Henry’s Freedom Box- Levine
Minty: The Story of Young Harriet Tubman- Schroder
Thee, Hannah!- de Angeli
Cassie’s Journey: Going West in the 1860’s- Harvey
Apple to Oregon- Hopkinson and Carpenter
A Picture Book of Sojourner Truth- Adler
The Blue and the Gray- Bunting

Progressive Era 1870’s- Early 1900’s

The Princess and the Peacock- Merrill and Ridley
Sailing Home:  A Story of a Childhood at Sea- Rand
Julia Morgan Built a Castle- Mannis
The Real McCoy - Towle
The Town that Moved-Finsand
The Heroine of the Titanic- Blos
The Pig on the Titanic- Crew
At Ellis Island- Peacock
Journey to Ellis Island: How my father came to America- Bierman
Helen Keller- Davidson
Helen Keller- Adler (a reader)
Helen Keller: The World in Her Heart-Cline-Ransom
Click, A Story of George Eastman- Mitchell
The Story of Nan Harper- Leininger
One Bad Thing About Father- Monjo
Naming Liberty- Yolen
Shoes for Everyone (Jan Matzeliger)- Mitchell
The Story of the Statue of Liberty-Maestro
Lady Liberty: A Biography- Rappaport
We'll Race You, Henry- Mitchell
All Stations Distress! : April 15, 1912, The Day the Titanic Sank - Brown
The Wright Brothers
Nobody Owns the Sky: The story of "Brave Bessie" Coleman- Lindbergh
Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express- Wetterer
Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder- Anderson
Laura's Album- Anderson
House in the Mail- Wells
What To Do About Alice?- Kerley
Ride on the Wind (Charles Lindberg)- Dalgliesh
The Wizard of Sound: Thomas Edison- Mitchell
The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot- Provenson
Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy-Pinkney
American Girl Doll Samantha Series- Tripp
Books by Louisa May Alcott
All of Kind Family Series - Sydney Taylor
Grandma's Attic Series- Arleta Richardson
Marvelous Mattie- McCulley
The Memory Coat- Woodruff
(There are boo-koodles of wonderful books in this time period!!! I only list the ones we have read so I hope this list gets MUCH longer in the next couple of years!)

Depression:
When Jessie Came Across the Sea- Hest
The Gardener- Stewart
Leah’s Pony- Friedrich
Pictures for Miss Josie- Belton
Saving Strawberry Farm- Hopkinson

World War II- 1939-1945

Butterfly- Polacco
Secret Seder- Rappaport
The Story of Anne Frank - Lewis (a DK Reader)
The Bicycle Man- Say
One Thousand Tracings- Judge
A New Coat for Anna- Ziefert
Grandfather’s Journey- Say
Across the Blue Pacific- Borden
My Daddy was a Soldier- Ray
American Girl Doll Molly Series
Eleanor- Cooney
Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride- Munoz Ryan
One Thousand Tracings:  Healing the Wounds of World War II- Judge

Other issues during this time and beyond:
The Hallelujah Flight- Bildner
Satchel Paige: Don' t Look Back- Adler
When Marian Sang- Ryan
A Bus of Our Own- Evans
Champions on the Bench- Weatherford
Across the Alley- Michelson
The School is Not White- Rappaport
Testing the Ice- A True Story About Jackie Robinson- Robinson
Rachel Carson- Preserving a Sense of Wonder- Bruchac- illustrated by Thomas Locker
Jack’s Path of Courage:  The Life of John F. Kennedy- Rappaport

Children's Chapter Books- Historical Fiction

A Lion to Guard Us- Bulla
The Cabin Faced West- Fritz
The Courage of Sarah Noble- Dalgliesh
The Apple and the Arrow- Buff
The Sword and the Tree- Bulla
Viking Adventure- Bulla
The Little House in the Big Woods- Wilder
Farmer Boy- Wilder
Trouble for Lucy- Stevens/Himler
Skippack School, Yonie Wondernose, Thee, Hannah!- de Angeli
King of the Wind- Henry
The Good Master- Kate Seredy

Favorite Children Biographies

Some of these are picture books and some are chapter books.

Fanny Crosby, Queen of Gospel Songs- Davis
Joseph Haydn “The Merry Little Peasant”- Wheeler, Deucher
Sebastian Bach "The Boy from Thuringia"- Wheeler, Deucher
Helen Keller- Davidson
Helen Keller- Adler (reader)
Helen Keller: The World in Her Heart-Cline-Ransom
A Man for All Seasons: The Life of George Washington Carver- Krensky
Jack’s Path of Courage:  The Life of John F. Kennedy- Rappaport
River Boy: The Story of Mark Twain- Anderson
Leif the Lucky, Columbus, Pocahontas, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Buffalo Bill- D'Aulaire
Daniel Boone- Averill
Ferdinand Magellan- Groh
Squanto, Friend of the White Men, Pocahontas and the Strangers- Bulla
Carl Sandburg: Adventures of a Poet- Niven, Sandburg, Nadel
Satchel Paige: Don't Look Back- Adler
Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder- Anderson
Laura's Album- Anderson
What to Do About Alice? (Theodore Roosevelt's daughter)- Kerley

A Story Full of Books

A couple of days ago I started making up a story using children’s book titles and found myself addicted. For two days scattered in my path were pieces of paper with sentences and titles of books I wanted to use and once I was able to sit down and type, it all came together. When I read it to Jeff and the kids last night, I had them make tally marks for all the book titles—something I had not done yet. If you don’t read it for any other reason, read it for the 147 book titles included- each one worth reading. (Only a couple may be out of print or re-named.) It includes everything from a few simple toddler books, to picture books, to “readers” and children’s chapter books. In true Krista from, it is long and could have easily been longer. I had to make myself stop. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

A Story Full of Books

Many Moons ago When I Was Young in the Mountains, I lived in The Cabin That Faced West, as my Daddy liked to call it. I loved The Little House in which my brother, Simeon, and I grew up. It reminded me of a little Bunny Bungalow Mama would describe to us from a book When We Were Very Young. For a "cabin", it was Just Plain Fancy with a stone chimney that I always thought looked Too Big for the house. In and around that home, my childhood was a Time of Wonder so here’s The Memory String that winds it way around my heart.



One year, Nine Days to Christmas, The Big Snow came. It covered the mountains like The Keeping Quilt that covered Simeon’s big bed. It was The Quiltmaker’s Gift to Mama when he was born. Officer Buckle and Gloria, who once was The Dog That Belonged to No one, had braved their way up the mountain to check on Miss Hitty, The Old Woman who Named Things. Everything. She even named her rocking chair Emily. The officer and his faithful canine companion became our house guests for the evening when The Snowy Day turned into One Wintry Night with hidden danger underneath the massive quilt of white.That was the same Christmas in the Country Daddy made A Chair for My Mother. On Christmas Eve, he carried it in as proud as the Drummer Hoff. The carvings were exquisite and the cushion just had to be as soft as The Velveteen Rabbit. It was fit for A Little Princess which is precisely what my Mama was. On the bottom, Daddy had carefully carved the words, You are Special and You Are Mine. Through tears she said, like I'd heard her say many times, "You know how to make My Heart Glow." For the rest of the evening, My Mama Had a Dancing Heart. That night I fell asleep to the sounds of Verdi and pictures of my Mama in her Dancing Shoes being twirled around the tree by Daddy.





I had a friend, Leah, who lived a mile or so east of The Bee Tree right behind The Animal Hedge, as we liked to call it. To my delight, she would come to visit Around the Year. Once On a Summer Day, we took a ride on Leah’s Pony. We passed Two Cars on a dirt road and then rode right by our teacher from the Skippack School, Miss Rumphius, who was planting lupines on the shallow mountainside by her home. She looked like the Queen of May in one of The Hundred Dresses that must have hung in her wardrobe. On that particular day she invited us in for a piece of her famous Thundercake. Simply Delicious!





Simeon and I never dreaded the words, “Time for Bed”! Before Daddy prayed with us, he read us stories from God’s Word that made it hard to become a Sleepyhead. He read from other books as well, but Daddy was always quick to tell us that only one book, the Bible, had the power to truly change our lives and change us, it did. My brother and I would lie awake thinking of the incredible stories from the Bible and the God who wrote them. We would close our eyes rehashing the bravery of David, the shepherd boy and Esther, the Queen of Persia, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the unfathomable trip in Henry’s Freedom Box, the mysteries of The Secret Garden, the ingenuity of Robinson Crusoe, the details of Christ’s birth, the drama of The Little Women, the antics of Anne of Green Gables and the bravery of The Heroine on the Titanic. When sleep finally did come, Dreams took over as we found ourselves helping The Boy Who Held Back the Sea, or riding in Grandma Essie’s Covered Wagon, or watching Degas and the Little Dancer create a masterpiece, or sailing on Noah’s Ark, or walking with Mirette on the High Wire, or getting to see for ourselves that Julia Morgan Built a Castle, or helping with The Escape of Oney Judge. Books invaded our lives and took our imaginations to thrilling far away places, but the stories we knew to be true were the ones that impacted us the most.We had a tree house that Daddy let us paint Yellow and Pink and every Saturday The Lemonade Club met at 2:00 sharp. We served Stone Soup and creek water to all sorts of dolls and stuffed animals with names like Betsy-Tacy, Little Toot, Knuffle Bunny, and Ginger Pye. We always served the leftovers to the citizens of our imaginary town, Roxaboxen which was full of families like The Rumpoles and The Barleys and places like Rabbit Inn, The Snail House, the office of Dr. DeSoto, and The Treasure Tree.

While Daddy tended to business in town, Mama, The Gardener, worked from Dawn till Dusk filling the land around us with beauty. She would always tell us, A Seed is Sleepy but When Spring Comes, it wakes up in a glorious mood. She was always right. Mama never saw a Petunia or a Chrysanthemum that she didn’t think was “the most lovely flower ever”. For Mama, when it came to flowers, there was Always Room for One More.

Speaking of room for more, when The Relatives Came, life only got better. My Great Aunt Arizona reminded me of the character Sarah, Plain and Tall except there wasn’t anything “plain” about her. She was known as The Lady Who Put Salt in her Coffee but always made Tea with Milk and Sugar. She had hair like Rapunzel, her laugh was more like a Giggle, Giggle, Quack, and one of her favorite expressions was “Fancy That”! Secretly, she was by far my most adored aunt and only to myself did I call her Pollyanna. Just sitting with her and listening to her stories made for a perfect Night in the Country. Her children, Rachel and Obadiah, were our only cousins. They were twins and Rachel had always been content to let Obadiah do all the talking. However, I remember one visit when as soon as they jumped out of the car Rachel announced, “Now We are Six”! After only an hour into the visit, it was official. She had A Voice of Her Own asking me questions like, “Does God Know How to Tie His Shoes?” and “Why is it that An Egg is Quiet?”. Obadiah seemed the most proud of “finally” being six even though The Teddy Bear was still clinched under his arm.

That was the same visit that Rachel took The Best Loved Doll from my collection for a picnic By the Shores of Silver Lake. She was special for she had been Simeon’s Gift to me on my fourth birthday. On The Way Home, Rachel dropped my doll without knowing. That afternoon, looking for Dahlia was like trying to find The Cricket in Times Square. As the day wore on, I felt like the last Shrinking Violet in the April sunshine. Once I found my doll, darkness seemed to come quickly and I found myself feeling like I was Where the Wild Things Are. I quickly began wishing for The Courage of Sarah Noble or the steel nerves of Brave Irene. With each step I would tell myself, “Now One Foot, Now the Other”. Every shadow I saw looked like The Biggest Bear I had ever imagined. It never occurred to me that one of those shadows could have been one that was kind like The Bear Who Heard Crying. How relieved I was when I saw a familiar sight just beyond The Blue Hill Meadows. When I could see A Light in the Attic window I knew I was almost home.

When my cousins visited, I remember waking up with the chickens lying there Wishing Dawn at Summer. How it seemed to tarry! On our way out in the mornings, we would always stop on the porch to see the intricate work The Very Busy Spider had woven Under the Quilt of Night. As we crossed the path to the pond, many mornings we had to Make Way for Ducklings headed to get their breakfast or go for their morning swim. Once At the Smiling Pool, as my brother had named it, we loved to watch the Otters Under Water. Before lunchtime, we would lie in the grass to listen to The Wind in the Willows and to watch clouds roll over forming curious shapes like a Duck on a Bike, a Fox in Socks, an Umbrella or a Turtle in the Sea of blue.

On Indian Summer nights, we would put on a Shadow Play by the Long Night Moon for our parents. Afterwards we would try to show our cousins When Lightening Comes in a Jar because they didn’t have "flashing bugs" like we did. However, the highlight of our long Summer Story was to hear The Nightingale sing. Her sound was more beautiful than all The Musicians of Bremen.

After one of my Grandfather’s Journeys, he brought Simeon and me a gift-- our very first puppy. We gave him the distinct name of Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge but called him “Willie” for short. Originally, the puppy had been "The Wednesday Surprise" for my Nana (and that's a whole other story), but Grandfather said all Willie did was chase Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs! Once settled in with us, he strutted around these parts like The King of Capri. We had A Whistle for Willie so however far he chose to roam in the mountains, all we had to do was blow the whistle and home he came. Thanks to his ferocious bark, Willie made us feel quite comfortable at night as though we had A Lion to Guard Us.

Living in the mountains far away from the sea always left my imagination to wonder what One Morning in Maine would be like. I always wished for a day on The Little Sailboat our friends from the east described to us in their letters. What was it like to See the Ocean to or to watch a Seabird fly over the water and secure its breakfast? On the other hand, my brother had secret wishes of being The Paperboy in a suburb somewhere wondering what it would feel like being the Boy on the Brink of morning delivering the news that no one had heard quite yet and actually riding his bike to Where the Sidewalk Ends.

The Seasons Sewn by our family in and around our Little House in the Big Woods were purely magical. One wall of our home saw more sweet moments than some people see in a lifetime. We loved each other and for this I will forever be grateful. Ever so often, we took short trips away from home, but No Matter What we did or where we traveled, the sweetest words I ever heard were, “Let’s Go Home!”