Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Over-the-Moon for Books!

Here’s a link to the list of the 100 "Greatest Books for Kids," ranked by Scholastic Parent & Child magazine, as published in USA Today last month:


Now we all might have strong opinions about books included or left off this top 100. Isn’t that the fun of lists? But there are definitely some terrific titles here! As a book lover and also a moon watcher, several moon-inspired titles on the top-100 list caught my eye.

For toddlers, some of whom love to talk to the moon and other inanimate things, there’s that ever-favorite soothing bedtime story, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.  (We even have Buenas Noches, Luna, the Spanish translation!)

Your young children might like to hear you read the beautiful picture book, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. In lyrical style, accompanied by ink and watercolor illustrations, it tells the quiet adventure of a father and child going out into the wintry night to spy on nature. It’s number 74 on the list and it is a Caldecott medal winner.

“And the moon was so bright the sky seemed to shine.”
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Upper Elementary students might enjoy the Newberry Honor Book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.  The author herself calls her book “a fantasy inspired by the Chinese folktales that enchanted me in my youth…” It is the tale of a brave and brilliant girl who seeks to help her family by following her heart all the way to the moon and back to bring them wisdom. The title is number 26 on the linked list and it is a Newbery Honor Book.

And for a blast of science, non-fiction readers will enjoy the number 91 title on the list. It reveals facts from NASA transcripts, reports quotes from the astronauts, and shows marvelous photographs to tell the story Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon.

These four moon explorations are all in The Montessori Academy Library collection. In fact, we have the majority of the listed "Greatest Books for Kids" amongst the thousands of books on the shelves of the Library. Stop in before the next full moon and borrow an old favorite--or discover a new book--for your child.


Submitted by: Meg Rooney, Library Assistant at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes

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