Classic children’s books of the month

Each month, WORLD’s print magazine highlights recent children’s book releases that we hope will help families navigate selections at the library while also giving parents and grandparents suggestions of books to add to their own home bookshelves. Sadly, many of the review copies that have crossed my desk over the past few years are what I would term eye candy: books lacking substance or engaging storytelling, and all too often reeking of an agenda. As libraries continue to add new selections to their catalogs, it’s important to remember timeless picture books and middle grade reads so they won’t be overshadowed by fleeting trends. This new online series of book reviews will invite a variety of reviewers sharing good stories that they enjoyed either as children themselves or as parents reading aloud to their children.

The Sword in the Stone

T.H. White
First Published 1938

My sister, the cultural influencer of my early life, recommended this book about the young King Arthur and his tutor Merlin. Although I didn’t necessarily follow all of her recommendations, it sounded intriguing, especially the parts in which Merlin turns Arthur (nicknamed Wart) into various animals. The boy doesn’t know his destiny yet—he’ll encounter it in a castle courtyard where a sword is stuck in a stone. But the wizard does, owing to his peculiar gift (or curse) of living backward. The purpose of the animal sojourns, from militaristic falcons to communist ants, is to teach Arthur lessons he’ll need to rule wisely and well. The narrative is winsome, often laugh-out-loud funny, and poignant at the climactic scene. It’s also densely packed with medieval minutia: castle layouts, armor maintenance, tournament training, and even a description of the contents of Merlin’s forest cottage, which comprises one sentence that’s two pages long. I loved it all. Ages 10-13

The Silver Sword

Ian Sarraillier 
First Published 1956

This World War II novel (also published under the title Escape From Warsaw) breaks a basic rule for children’s literature: The narrative in the first chapters is carried by an adult. This is Josef Baliki, a Polish schoolteacher, concerning his escape from a German prison camp. Returning to Warsaw, Josef finds his street reduced to rubble. The only scrap of his former life is a letter opener in the shape of a sword, which he passes along to a scruffy orphan named Jan in hopes that Jan might encounter his children. The story then shifts to those children, Ruth, Edek, and Bronia, on the night their street was bombed. Over the next few years they survive both Nazi occupation and Red Army liberation, meanwhile picking up an unruly orphan named Jan, who owns a letter opener in the shape of a sword. Surprising twists, narrow escapes, and moving reunions make this the most memorable book of my childhood. Ages 9-12

The Cricket in Times Square

George Selden
First Published 1960

One advantage of continuing to read to my children long past the point when they could read for themselves was discovering modern classics I’d missed. This story about a talented insect, who could halt traffic in the world’s greatest city with his beautiful opera renditions, was one of those books. Chester Cricket finds himself in a subway newsstand by mistake—carried there from his native Connecticut in a picnic basket. The little boy whose parents own the newsstand adopts Chester as a pet, even though Mama disapproves. But Chester’s singing wins her over once he’s learned a few signature Puccini arias from the radio. His friendship with Tucker the mouse and Harry the cat not only aids his efforts to get back home but carries over into Tucker’s Countryside, the follow-up book, which we liked even more. Warm relationships, gentle humor, and a generous dash of opera make these books ideal for reading aloud. Ages 7-10

The Church Mice Spread Their Wings

Graham Oakley
First Published 1975

The Church Mice series of picture books was a happy find during our early homeschool years. When a lone mouse named Arthur takes refuge in the parsonage of an English country church, he’s lucky enough to encounter the one cat who’s taken a vow of mouse-abstinence. Samson the cat is so welcoming that Arthur invites his friend Humphrey to take up residence, and soon—as might be expected—the parsonage is swarming with whole families of little rodents, which Samson feels obliged to protect. All of the books are hilarious, but this one is a particular favorite. The mice find an almanac page showing worldwide turnip distribution, which know-it-all Humphrey takes as a guide to their next expedition. A delegation of mice (and Samson) embarks on a globe-trotting adventure full of perils and misapprehensions, including a narrow escape from a hungry barn owl. Riotously detailed pictures complement the tongue-in-cheek text. Ages 4-8