wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

To Thomas, #25: I think you need to re-examine how 'you' perceive cool.

Yes, the cool kids are coming to the library. EVERYBODY is coming to the library. They have Wii. The have Facebook. They have manga. They have vampire-romances. They even a way back for the ones who have dropped out of school.

Have you been to the library lately?

Boy Who Cried Fabulous

(background link:
http://www.lesleakids.com/boy_cried_fabulous_ex.html

Favorite books to read as a kid:
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
All the Roald Dahl books - Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Great Glass Elevator, James & the Giant Peach

Favorite book to hear being read even though I could already read: The Velveteen Rabbit

My six-year-old son's favs right now: The Captain Underpants series (by Dav Pilkey), Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot series (by Dav Pilkey), Junie B. Jones series (Barbara Parks), Horrible Harry series (by Suzy Kline), Magic Tree House series (by Mary Pope Osborne). My three-year-old daughter's favs: Beatrix Potter books, Madeline series (by Ludwig Bemelmans) Eloise (by Kay Thompson). Similar to the Museum experience one listener mentioned (From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler), I've been told that the Plaza Hotel gives a similar experience for Eloise fans. My favs right now are the Brer Rabbit books as told by Julius Lester -- they're a real hoot.

BTW, the correct title is The Crazy Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. As Manhattan kids, my family and I loved it and my now grown up children still make reference to it.
But as a died in the wool Little Prince lover, I want to recommmend a more recent book that
also appeals to very young children up thru adults, A Circle of Friends. Incredibly it is a wonderful and inspiring story WITHOUT words.

My fourteen year old is not looking for reading suggestions from his mom or the librarian. He wants to be left alone or hear from his friends. That being said he did recently read Johnathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" I was surprised!
Also, a lot of his screen time is spent reading & writing. I might prefer to see him with a book in his hands, but reading is reading and should be an act of free will.

THE NIGHT I FREED JOHN BROWN by John Michael Cummings is a real corker of an adventure tale for teens, which adults will also enjoy.

For kids who don't have the reading bug--and even those who do--comic books can be great. There are comics for all levels, from the Tintin series to graphic novels such as "The Dark Knight" which is the Batman story. It's fascinating. These are gender neutral, btw.

As a kid, one of my favorites was "Harriet the Spy." (Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little go without saying.)

Also, "The Read-Aloud Handbook" by Jim Trelease offers suggestions for books appropriate for kids up to the 6th grade.

I loved reading Nancy Drew during the summer when I was young. My daughter HATES to read, BUT has recently Enjoyed the Royal Diaries. Had her write down her interests/genres and librarian helped pick out good books for her.

To Mom of 14 year old kid: 1. Lay off him to like reading or he'll always hate it. 2. He's going to be a big jerk from 14-18 but will expect you to be the same, so be patient, he'll come around soon. 3. Read books in his presence and ignore him while you engross yourself into the book 4. Keep the suggested books mentioned here around in a special spot but when he gets curious act like you've had them forever,and you think it's amazing he didn't know about these things. 5. Rule #1 for too cool for anything kids, the look for authenticity, underground books on graffati and shoot let him read a Playboy article, let him know you're not sure it's ok to let him read this, but since he's a mature for his age, you'll let him.

good luck...

For girls pre-teen and older:
the "Weetzie Bat" books.

For anyone 6-8 and up:
Any of Roald Dahl's kids' books, especially "Matilda."

I also loved "The Little Red Lighthouse," "Ferdinand the Bull" and "Phantom Tollbooth."

The book set in the Met is From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler. Old-fashioned, but good fun. Turns into excellent fun when you visit the museum afterwards to 1) see the red velvet poster bed the girl slept in and 2) to wander the museum and try to decide where you would stay, and why.

"The Door In The Wall"--awesome historical fiction, fantastic language-craft, with profound lessons for children. I can't wait to read the author's other works.

I fear your guest is a touch too optimistic. The "cool kids are coming to the library?" No, they're not. The kids that the librarian thinks are cool are coming to the library. The cool kids are doing drugs. You need to actually trick teenage boys into reading. Hide the book you want him to read conspicuously and frantically as he walks in the room then don't mention your strange antics--works every time.

My 11 year old son has LOVED The Last Olympian series by Rick Riordan. Very clever, very engaging, and good to read aloud too.

Terry Pratchett is excellent for older kids (tween and up).

My 8 year old daughter has been engaged by Amelia Bedelia, and has loved listening to Ramona Quimby on discs.

I can't recommend books on tape enough. I've found that when my kids listen to books, rather than watch TV, they're calmer & more focused.

When I was a kid, I loved Walter Farley's Black Stallion series, and any dog book by Jim Kjelgaard.

Listeners: please write here the title that has been called-in, about a mystery at the Met Museum. Thanks.

Oh, and all of Enid Blyton. I was obsessed with the rogue children solving mysteries, though in retrospect the presence of that guy Bill is kind of mystifying.

My daughters and their grandmother loved to read Boy by Roald Dahl. This book was filled with funny (and painful) stories about Dahl's childhood. Often after reading a chapter, this would get everyone talking about my and my mother's childhood.

To the person who can't interest her child (visiting from Spain) in any book - try graphic novels. Many kids who profess no interest in reading love graphic novels.

a science fiction author my son loves is Ursula K. Le Guin. Also, short stories are wonderful- Checkov...Gogol's The Nose- very humorous and will be appreciated by "too cool" teens!

My favorite series as a kid is Swallows and Amazons. It's little know here in the US, but a favorite in the UK. It is a remarkable portrait of childhood in interwar Britain, and the remarkable freedoms and trust given to children in those days. It charts the adventures of a family of children (and their friends) during the school holidays sailing, camping on an island and exploring for weeks at a time with out adult supervision. I Highly recommend it.

For a 14-year old boy: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and The Contender by Robert Lipsyte.

My favorites as a kid were Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby books. I read them all!

With the great printing technologies now available, there are some fantastic kids books out there -- ones that adults will like also.

And there is a great great independent children's bookstore in Manhattan -- Books of Wonder on W18th St between 5th and 6th Aves. (And I have no connection to the store).

A few lesser known authors - Alexis Deacon (Slow Loris), Mo Willems (pretty well known, author of the classic Knuffle Bunny); David Wiesner (an fantastic fantastic The Three Pigs); David Shannon (David series, and Pirates Don't Change Diapers!).

So many great books.

I always loved Lynn Reid Banks -- "The Fairy Rebel" was one of my favorites as a kid -- a really fascinating story about power and greed and individual freedom, but with fairies!

My favotite book as a kid:
"Ferdinand the Bull"

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Bored Nothing to Do... But for NY kids, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge is a must read. I'm 34 years old and I still crook my head to find the Jeffries point lighthouse under the GWB every time I drive by on the Henry Hudson parkway.

I recently re-read, just for the fun of it, A Bear Called Paddington, by Michael Bond, which I hadn't so much as thought of for at least a quarter of a century. It is in fact incredibly charming and endearing, and it's probably among the top five best books I've read in the past few years.

Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad books are the greatest things ever written in the English language, as far as I'm concerned. So much character, warmth, humor & nuance packed into so few words!

The phantom tollbooth. I recently read it again. Even better 15 years later.

My Side of the Mountain was always a particular favorite of mine, perhaps slightly controversial because it could be argued it encourages kids to run away from home, but I would say it promotes independence and self-reliance! I always dreamed of having a tree and falcon of my own.

One of my favorites for kids was "House with a Clock in its Walls" by John Bellairs. Great mystery for kids.

The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein

I recently read Steinbeck's modernized re-telling of The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Nights. It is wonderful and I believe Steinbeck was writing this for children specifically.

Anything by Shel Silverstein :)

When I was ten, I read George Orwell's 1984.

It's my favorite book to this day.

The Great Brain series, set in Utah I think at the turn of the last century. As an urban kid, I used to be fascinated by the west -- which is why I was also obsessed with the The Little House on the Prairie series. And yet...I still live in NYC. Go figure.

The Little Prince, hands down. I haven't really looked at the book for years, but can still recall the strange, serious drawings.