Number 3000: 1001 Tales to Warm Your Mind

Late last year, I realized that I was creeping up on my 3000th post here on Epinions. Because the vast majority of my Epinions writing has been story-related, whether it’s media reviews or media-inspired poetic ramblings, I thought a fitting way to mark that milestone would be with a review of 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, a guide to some of the greatest kids’ books ever published. Moreover, I would sail on a sea of stories until I reached 3000 by hosting a write-off; hopefully it would motivate me to reach my goal by my 30th birthday and introduce me to some terrific tales in the process.

My Tales to Warm Your Mind Write-Off did motivate me, but instead of writing faster, I seemed to slow down, attempting instead to both write and read more deeply. As my three-month-long write-off stretched into six, I felt a more profound sense of community with some of my fellow members and allowed some of their stories to seep into my soul. My little write-off turned into a far more rewarding experience than I expected, so I certainly don’t mind that I missed my birthday by three months. Instead, I’m happy to be able to share a milestone day with my dear cyber-sister Beth, who celebrates eight years on Epinions today and can attest to the power of stories to bring people together.

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up is an impressive but not unwieldy collection of suggestions for the avid reader and the parent of the avid reader. Each featured book has between half a page and two pages to itself, often with an illustration or two. Julia Eccleshare is listed as the general editor, and she is the one responsible for the Introduction, which comments on the children's book as a work of art and as the realm of fiction to which story is most central. She talks about the different considerations that went into compiling this list and notes how the book's format invites contemplation of the changes in style and substance that can be charted over the years. The book descriptions to be found in the 900+ pages to follow come courtesy of more than a hundred different writers, many of whom have published children's books themselves.

Aside from the preface (a charming reflection by illustrator Quentin Blake, best known for his collaborations with Roald Dahl), introduction, indexes and contributor bios, the book is divided into five sections, each of which includes a small color-coded half-circle on a designated spot on the side of the page. This makes it very easy to glance at the book and open to the desired section: red for ages 0-3, orange for 3+, yellow for 5+, green for 8+ and blue for 12+. Within each section, the books are listed in chronological order, which also makes finding things quite a bit easier. If you want to see if a particular book is included, you can consult the index of titles at the beginning of the book; the index of authors at the end is equally handy.

Each entry includes the title in large bold print, followed by the year of publication in smaller print. Below that is the name of the author, indicated by a tiny pen icon, and, if applicable, the illustrator, indicated by a tiny pencil. Below that is a small section whose contents include such info as Original Title, Nationality, Theme, Publisher and Awards. In many cases, the cover of the featured book is included; sometimes an inside illustration is chosen, and some descriptions are accompanied by a pertinent quote. Many of the pages also include a small box the same color as that section's tab listing related books. These may be suggested by virtue of having the same author or similar components. For instance, Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island has a pull-out box listing “Other Great Stories of the Sea,” and Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories suggests “More Fabulous Folklore”.

The main feature, however, is the book description, which is usually three or four paragraphs in length. Most of the contributors review several books and are identified by their initials at the end of the entry, but about a quarter of the writers are set apart, each reviewing just one book of particular personal significance. In these cases, a small gray tab at the top indicates who the featured reviewer is. These are especially interesting entries, since they delve into the reviewer's personal experience, whereas most books receive a more detached treatment. I love Judy Blume's reflections on Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline, which she adored so deeply as a girl that she hid the copy she had taken out of the library, not wanting to be parted with it. “Some books you never forget,” she says. “Some characters become your friends for life.” This is most assuredly true.

Other authors with reviews of this nature include beloved author-illustrator Eric Carle, most famous for The Very Hungry Caterpillar; Newbery-winning author Jean Craighead George, whose love of nature permeates her work; and Newbery-winning Lois Lowry, whose works offer compelling commentary on the human condition. While these are wonderfully illuminating, especially for fans of that particular author, each entry in the book is well-crafted. Some of them are mostly plot summaries. Others focus upon the unusual characteristics of the illustrations or the way in which certain characters have permeated popular culture. Most entries include some mix of elements, discussing the content of the book, the historical context and the public reaction.

One thing that surprised me about this volume was how many of the books were originally written in a language other than English. This gives the book a very international flavor, and while some recommendations, like Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking and Johanna Spyri's Heidi's Wandering and Learning Years, reside on my bookshelf, I confess that the book highlights many books and authors that are entirely unfamiliar to me. Unfortunately, I have found that translated versions of most of these foreign-language books are difficult to track down, especially the ones for younger readers.

One interesting aspect of this book, which Eccleshare touches on in her introduction, is the way in which its demonstrates how the definition of what constitutes children's literature has changed over the years. Many of the books here, particularly those written prior to the 20th century, were not originally written specifically for children, but they have come to be thought of primarily as children's literature, or at least as appropriate for children as older readers. Examples of this include Aesop's Fables, the oldest entry in the collection; Johann Wyss's The Swiss Family Robinson; Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers and Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. I was a little surprised at some of the books that were designated as children's lit, particularly in the 12+ section; then again, many of these books are staples of high school reading, so they certainly are appropriate for teenagers even if they were written with more of an adult audience in mind.

The smallest section by far is the 0-3 category, which is only about 40 pages long. Selections in this section include Make Way for Ducklings, the Robert McCloskey classic that inspired a whimsical series of statues that I had the pleasure of seeing up-close in Boston, and that perpetually popular tale of encouragement, Watty Piper's The Little Engine That Could. Among the books I sought out as a result of this section are Pat Hutchins' Rosie's Walk, a funny retro tale about an oblivious chicken who unwittingly thwarts a hungry fox, and David McKee's Elmer, a charming story about a multi-colored elephant.

The 3+ section is considerably longer at nearly 120 pages. Here's where we start to meet some of my really formative characters, like Winnie-the-Pooh - though I'll confess I first met the Silly Old Bear through Disney and didn't become well acquainted with the Milne version until years later – and, while we're on the subject of bears, Paddington and the Berenstain Bears. This is also the place to look for the works of childhood staple Dr. Seuss and the brilliantly minimalist Mo Willems. Speaking of minimalism, I have this section to thank for my discovery of Leo Lionni's touching Little Blue and Little Yellow, as well as the urban sprawl saga of Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House.

The 5+ section is longer still at about 200 pages, and some truly wondrous picture books grace this portion of the collection. However, because this is a slightly older age bracket, this is where we start to see chapter books, as well as poetry collections by Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky. Some of the giants of Easy Readerdom are here, including Cynthia Rylant and Arnold Lobel. While I would recommend the irresistible Mr. Putter and Tabby over Henry and Mudge, the latter is probably Rylant's most popular series, so I understand its inclusion. I also agree wholeheartedly with Frog and Toad as Lobel's ideal representatives. Few fictional friendships have amused or moved me more. Irrepressible Ramona Quimby, to whom I'm afraid I related quite a bit as a rambunctious young'un, makes an appearance here too. Meanwhile, this section led me to David Shannon's A Bad Case of Stripes and Jen Wojtowicz's The Boy Who Grew Flowers, both of which deal with the struggles inherent in standing out from the crowd in a classroom setting.

The largest section in the book is the 8+ group, which stretches for more than 400 pages. This is where you will find J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the first novel that was ever read to me and the one that furnished my quote to live by: “You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world, after all!” It's the home of L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, the book whose eloquent heroine I adored as long as she wasn't wrongly reaming out her admiring classmate Gilbert. This book introduced me to the gentle Matthew Cuthbert, the literary character who reminds me most of my late grandpa, and it taught me the term “kindred spirit,” which instantly joined my lexicon as a phrase to denote a cherished friend whose tastes and temperament are remarkably similar to one's own. Then, of course, there is J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, which took me through college and beyond and solidified several friendships. Moreover, up to that point, the publication of the final volume was perhaps the most significant pop cultural milestone of my life. The Chronicles of Narnia, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Bridge to Terabithia, Where the Red Fern Grows and many other novels that riveted me all make the cut here, and many of the books in this section are ones that plenty of adults have read for pleasure on their own.

I'm a little surprised that the 12+ section isn't even longer, since this is essentially the Young Adult portion and so many of the books here are really just adult novels. However, it does seem that as a separate division, the young adult designation is a rather recent phenomenon, so while we're getting plenty of adult crossover, there aren't a lot of books that started out in this niche. Those that do include Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and Louis Sachar's Holes. Considering its length, I didn't expect to find Tolkien's Lord of the Rings listed, but it's here, though the description rather makes me suspect that whoever was assigned this epic never actually read it. (Frodo is described as an “unwilling hero” who saves Middle-earth “by first gaining and then safely returning the magical ring, which makes its bearer all-powerful, to its true home deep in the mountains.” (Ah, yes, that cozy reunion between Sauron and his beloved ring. And oh, the lengths that stubborn scallywag Frodo had to go to in order to gain this treasure in the first place!)

Out of curiosity, before I sat down to write this review, I went through the book and jotted down all of the titles that I had read. Rather to my disgruntlement, it was only one-fifth of the 1001 titles. I still have a lot of catching up to do! Of course, even with all those books, any avid reader will no doubt be able to point out omissions of their own favorites. For instance, the prolific Mercer Mayer, best known for his expansive line of Little Critter books, doesn't show up at all, nor does author-illustrator Jan Brett, notable for her richly artistic folktales with detailed borders around each page. As someone who has happily gobbled up the first 15 books in the Trixie Belden series since January, I'm miffed that while Nancy Drew merits a mention, the Bob-Whites of the Glen do not. However, a majority of the authors whose work I've enjoyed show up somewhere in the book, and if you're stumped for new things to read, this collection can offer some excellent recommendations.

Beloved books come to us in all sorts of different ways, from catching our eye on the shelf of a bookstore or library to being praised by a respected friend. This collection is yet another avenue. If you are looking for some interesting new books for the children in your life, you're sure to find some sterling stories if you peruse the pages of 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. But bear in mind that these books are not exclusively for children. To quote C. S. Lewis, “When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” For readers of all ages who are not embarrassed to get swept away by a powerful story, this guide is a treasure trove.

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I joined Epinions back in January of 2000 while searching for a place to write book reviews online. I was looking for a creative outlet and a bit of cash, and I found both. I wrote eagerly in the beginning, but most of my efforts were rather hurried and haphazard. It took a year or two before I really got the knack of reviewing, and it's a continuing learning process. Gradually coming out of my shell and interacting more with other members beyond just posting my reviews has made Epinions that much more rewarding and motivated me to write more often and more artfully. I've read the work of dozens of talented reviewers and traded comments with many of them; I can't begin to list them all here, but a few members merit a special mention...

Sleeper54 – Thank you, Tom, for all of your considerate comments and emails over the years. The niggles have improved plenty of reviews, and the compliments are deeply appreciated.

Jedikermit – Thank you, Quinn, for being my go-to person for all things Muppet.

Dragonfire88 – Thank you, Marie, for so many great geeky comment exchanges.

GaelKM – Thank you, Gael, for basking with me in the love of all things Irish.

Mql1208 – Thank you, Megan, for your invigorating thoughts on some of my favorite off-beat movies.

Popsrocks – Thank you, Phil, for your omnipresent optimism even in the most challenging circumstances.

Talyseon – Thank you, Mark, for pouring such passion into everything you undertake.

Toiletoctopus – Thank you, Mike, for your inspiring example of how to carry on a loved one's legacy.

Texas-Swede – Thank you, Thomas, fellow Swedish American, for your consistent courtesy and enthusiasm.

Bethesdalily – Thank you, Nicole, for the sense of joy and serenity that envelops me when I read your reviews and comments. With the eyes of your soul, you see the world more clearly than most people I know.

Imagine_Stars – Thank you, Shar, for the feast of words I've come to expect whenever I read your reviews. You write with such conviction and humor, and your comments are among the most thoughtful I've ever received.

Carstairs38 – Thank you, Mark, for just being you. You are a true kindred spirit whose warmth and wit have brightened many a day, and my life is so much richer because I know you.

Befus - Thank you, Beth, for being the best "big sis" a gal could ask for. You bring out the best in me as a writer and a person, and I feel blessed to call you my friend.

Since this review signals the conclusion of my Tales to Warm Your Mind Write-Off, I would also like to take a moment to thank everyone who participated, especially Mark and Thomas, who contributed so prolifically. I am also grateful to the Category Leads, especially Book Leads Dramastef and Pestyside, for being so helpful in adding titles. And since I am, to the best of my knowledge, the fourth person to reach 3000 posts on Epinions, I also have to thank Freak369, Bryan_Carey and Wlswarts for proving to me that it could be done.

Like many people across the country, I have spent the past several months bombarded with billboards announcing that the world will end today. Clearly, I didn't buy it, or I wouldn't be urging you to add several hundred books to your must-read list. So instead, I celebrate an ending of a different kind, concluding my write-off with the thought of how many wonderful stories lie in store for me and the hope that I might write a tale or two to warm someone else's mind. In the words of the enchanting Pushing Daisies, “Endings, as it is known, are where we begin.” Onward to 4000!

Whether You're a Pirate, a Patriot or a Bar-Hopper, Boston Is Tops

I am a Pirate Who Doesn't Do Anything, or so I have been claiming for years. As any die-hard VeggieTales fan will tell you, the most important criterion for being a member of this exclusive club is that one can truthfully state, "I've never been to Boston in the fall." This week, I veered dangerously close to relinquishing my title, but a season stood between me and certain pirate productivity. I have now been to Boston, but not in the fall.

The city of Boston intrigued me long before I became a VeggieTales fan. It's steeped in history and culture; the site of the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere's Ride, the air is thick with patriotism. It's the setting of Cheers, a show I enjoyed, which gave rise to Frasier, a show I adored, and it's the hometown of Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on M*A*S*H, my favorite show of all. Then, of course, there was the Kingston Trio's harrowing tale of the man named Charlie who rode on the MTA and never returned, and the sneaking suspicion that I would never really be able to say I'd eaten clam chowder until I'd gobbled a bowl from Boston.

Yes, there's a lot to see there. And I only dipped my toe in the stream during my visit with my friends Erica and Art, who have worked in Boston and lived in the greater Boston area for two years. Nonetheless, for a short trip, I saw a great deal, starting with the moment when I got off the train and found myself studying the nearby buildings on the sidewalk above, trying to get my bearings. On our way out of town, my hosts pointed out several buildings, but what made the biggest impression was the traffic, which inched along in the aftermath of a game at Fenway Park, though every once in a while a driver got gutsy and tried to do some ill-advised passing, and now and then the guys in the next lane over, all decked out in their Red Sox regalia, bellowed something unintelligible. That was a Wednesday night. When they drove me into town on Sunday morning, the situation was entirely different, as the roads were virtually deserted, leaving me plenty of opportunity to peer out the window to drink in such sights as the college campuses where Art and Erica teach and an array of unique statues and signs. We also stopped at a coffee shop where I got a dose of the creativity of some artsy locals; on the walls were drawings for sale, and the tables themselves were works of art, each decorated with a different theme.

But the main event in terms of Boston sight-seeing occurred on Thursday, the first full day of my trip. This was when we devoted the bulk of one day to wandering around town on foot, soaking in as much as we could before the clouds looming ominously overhead burst and soaked us. Parking in Boston is expensive; we found a garage right near Faneuil Hall Market Place with day rates of $36, which was pretty typical; by comparison, the top rate at our parking garage in the heart of Salem was $12. Speaking of which, if you're in the area for a few days and plan to go to both places, I'd save most of your postcard-buying for Salem. The cheapest ones I found in Boston were 40 cents a piece, whereas in Salem they're readily available for 20 cents each, and you'll find most of the same ones. Ones that I couldn't find in Salem included Cheers postcards, available from the official gift shop, and cards featuring the statues erected in commemoration of Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings. In general, however, if you're planning to buy a big stack, you might want to hold off on all but a couple of specific designs.

Faneuil Hall is a massive shopping area reminding me of Portobello Road, described in the Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks as a place containing "anything and everything a chap can unload." While there were quite a few free-floating vendors, though, most of the shopping was more stationary, with permanent storefronts for every taste. There were the traditional souvenir shops, of course; probably my favorite of these was Best of Boston, which featured a wide array of t-shirts, local confections, bells, shot glasses and anything else you might want to bring home. If you don't mind a few funny looks, I highly recommend purchasing either a crab hat or a lobster hat - or both. They run six dollars a piece and are wonderfully goofy-looking, making fun vacation photos even more memorable. Although I didn't end up buying anything at Newbury Comics - where visitors are greeted by Zoltar, that troublesome magician responsible for the transformation in Big - we probably spent more time in that store than any other, and I found about 50 things I wouldn't have minded getting. I discovered on this trip that comic book stores are my downfall. Whatever yours is, you'll no doubt find plenty of opportunities to empty out your wallet. For an idea of what to expect, you can check out www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com.

In the midst of this bustling marketplace, a distinctive sign jumps out at the casual wanderer: Cheers. This is the eatery that replicates the layout of the famous bar "where everybody knows your name." We arrived in the early afternoon and didn't have to wait to get inside. Not quite ready for lunch - and suspecting that prices at such a novelty restaurant would be steep - we opted to have a drink at the bar. Art, a connoisseur of brews, was impressed by the Samuel Adams Boston Brick Red, which the bartender told us is only available around Boston. Erica and I quenched our thirst with a couple of tasty root beers bearing the Cheers label. My 12-ounce root beer cost $2.50, which I didn't think was too exorbitant, especially since I took the bottle home as a souvenir. Scattered around the bar area as well as the gift shop are several cardboard stand-up characters just screaming "photo op!" You can cozy up to Sam, Diane, Woody and Carla, and Norm twice. I was a little disappointed that my favorite characters, Frasier and Cliff, were not anywhere to be found, but I was happy to ham it up with the rest of the gang. At the gift shop, I purchased a few mementos, including a postcard (as I recall, I only bought one because they were a dollar each) and a Cheers canteen keychain.

Erica had found a map directing us from this Cheers to the one where the exterior shots from the show were filmed, so we decided to continue our journey in that direction. All we had to do was follow the Freedom Trail, a thick red line on the sidewalk leading past several historically significant stops. As we passed numerous gregarious tour guides in 18th-century garb, we saw the State House, Old City Hall and the Granary Burying Ground, where we found the graves of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and Ben Franklin's parents. Among the statues we saw, some of the most interesting were the monuments to the victims of the Potato Famine and the impressive statue of Ben Franklin, though my favorite series of statues commemorated Make Way for Ducklings with a mama duck trailed by eight ducklings. This creation by Nancy Schon is located in Boston Public Garden, a gorgeous park that is the site where the mallards in the book choose to raise their brood. Both before and after Erica snapped some pictures of me with the ducks, we spotted families with young children doing the same. There was even an infant small enough to perch on one of the ducklings. This seems to be a very popular attraction for youngsters. From this point, it didn't take us long to get to "Cheers", which is actually called the Bull & Finch pub. We took a few photos outside but didn't go in; while we'd only covered part of the Freedom Trail, we were tired out from our exertions, and as it started to rain before we got back to the marketplace, we decided to make for my friends' favorite Salem restaurant instead of meandering Faneuil Hall trying to decide where to eat. Technically, then, I didn't eat clam chowder in Boston, but I figure Salem is close enough. It certainly was excellent.

If you want to get an extensive Boston experience, you don't have to spend a lot of money. While there are plenty of attractions - such as the Duck Tours, which show Boston by land and by sea; the guided walking tours; and several museums - that charge admission, nothing we did cost us anything. Of course, parking is an expense for which you must plan, and I defy anybody to escape Faneuil Hall without a few souvenirs. (A word to the wise - though the wise would probably never consider this anyway: Don't bother with the lobster claw harmonica. It was sealed in plastic, so it wasn't until I got back to Erie that I discovered that I could barely get a sound out of it. Oh, well; it was only three bucks, and it will look fun on the piano...) But you don't need to participate in the expensive tourist stuff to get the most out of your trip. As for me, for a Pirate Who Doesn't Do Anything, it seems to me I did a lot.

Robert McCloskey's Quack-tastic Tale a Delight for Duck Lovers

Yesterday was the warmest, brightest, sunshiney-est day we've seen in Erie for quite a while, so when I got a phone call from my brother, who attends college half an hour away, I wasn't surprised to hear that he was outside enjoying the nice weather. His way of drinking in the beauty of the day was to sit by a large pond near his dorm and idle away the minutes watching the ducks. "There are geese here too," he confided, "but I just have a real soft spot for ducks." So much so that his current profile picture on Facebook shows only his outstretched hand and an insistent duck flapping up to snatch the pellets in his palm.

I'm not sure if he ever read Make Way for Ducklings, but I know he'd like it. This Caldecott Award-winning book by Robert McCloskey has been charming children and adults alike for six and a half decades. The sepia-tone drawings are richly detailed, particularly the various landmarks around Boston, the kindly policeman Michael and the feathery Mallard family that starts out as just the Mrs., whose idea of what constitutes a proper nesting ground is more limited than her husband's.

She's very firm on this matter, and rightly so, for she's about to bring a beautiful brood into the world, all downy feathers, stubby wings, waddling feet, bright eyes and smiling beaks. Graceful in flight, cozy while nestling, indignant when vehicles get too near, proud when bystanders compliment her ducklings, the determined mama is the star of the story, the momentum behind the marvelous sequence of events, particularly after her husband goes off for an expedition and requests that she meet him a week later in the park, which is nearby but can't be reached on foot without running into a couple of roads.

I do think, however, that Michael is my favorite character. He's a large enough figure to be imposing as he strolls around with his night-stick with his chest puffed out. But he uses his authority to protect the lives of these small, noisy citizens, bringing traffic to a halt so the nine ducks can cross safely into the park. He looks like such a nice man as he stands there with one hand up and a whistle in his mouth, calmly directing the befuddled drivers. His precautions come at some inconvenience to himself, too, as he rushes along, huffing and puffing to reach the corner where the Mallards are quacking at the cars and then off to call the station for another escort into the park itself.

The text is very readable, with plenty of dialogue to add variety to the narration. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard exchange some words with each other, and later the police and various townspeople comment on the duck promenade. The most memorable "talking", however, comes in the form of quacking, which is done most enthusiastically by Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings, all of whose names end in "ack". I don't think there are many words that will cause consternation, except perhaps for a few place names and the phrase "all of a dither," whose meaning should be clear by the agitation Mrs. Mallard displays in the accompanying sentences and illustration.

Duck lovers of all ages should have a quacking good time with this classic tale that encourages consideration for our fellow creatures. In fact, I think I will recommend it to my brother right now...