"L" Authors That Can Do No Wrong: Lyon, Lithgow, and Lasky

Katherine Lasky

Barbara Lehman

Helen Lester

John Lithgow

Susan Lowell

George Ella Lyon

First of all, this week I read two great books about brave children. Marven of the Great North Woods (by Lasky) is about a ten year old boy sent to a lumber camp to avoid the Spanish Flu of 1917. Cecil's Story (by Lyon) is about a boy who learns to run the farm when his father goes to war.

Barbara Lehman's wordless books are great conversation starters, perfect to "read" with all ages of readers. They contain a subtle visual puzzle of sorts. The Red Book won the Caldecott, I believe.

Katherine Lasky's stories She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head is a great piece of historical fiction telling the story of the origin of the Audobon Society. Her book about a girl named Sofie and her hand-me-down doll named Rose is a keeper, too. 

Helen Lester's book Hooway for Wodney Wat, about a lovable rat with a speech impediment, still has my kids giggling. I can quote lines from it and they bust up into laughter. It took two times for them to understand the story, but then it became hilarious.

John Lithgow's books about a artsy squirrel, a kangaroo with an identity crisis, and a multi-musically talented boy all came with a CD of the story, with Lithgow telling the stories himself. These are three stories for any family's libraries--they have wonderful illustrations and good messages. I think we loved Marsupial Sue just a little more than the others, but not by much.

Susan Lowell's two books The Three Javelinas (a clever southwestern retelling of the three little pigs) and The Elephant Quilt (about a girl going west on the Santa Fe trail to California) are so valuable in learning about regional history. Pictures books about the westward migration are emerging as a new favorite genre.

Finally, George Ella Lyon is undoubtedly a new favorite author because her stories encourage family love, relationships, and a more agrarian lifestyle. When I think of Come A Tide I will always think about Appalachia and wise fore bearers and close-knit communities--it's about a rainy period that leads to flooding and a calm grandma who invites everyone into her house. The other three books are for older readers--they deal with sentimental themes.

*This school year I'm going on a Big (Picture) Book Tour. It's not a book tour to show off a book I've written. It's a trip through the children's section of our library. Here's how it works:

• Each week I give myself about ten minutes at the library to choose over a dozen books from one alphabetic section of the children's picture books, usually several of the same author. 
• This is not a comprehensive review of each artist. I limit myself to what is in the library that day.
• The objective is to share these with my kids and then I'll briefly review the authors here. 
• I don't give equal attention to the artists because the books aren't categorized that way, but I'll try to do that, too. 
• I'll highlight my favorites in case you're looking for recommendations.