Carolyn
Piper
Copyright 2000
Once more it is holiday time and as in years past rather than picking out one book to share with you, I have made up a list of books that have caught my eye in the past year in hopes that you will find something here that will assist you in your gift selections. Old time members will recognize some of these suggestions from previous years, especially those recommended for children. I hope that all of you will find something for you or yours to enjoy this holiday season.
"Good Night Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown. A charming tale that is sleep inducing in the very best possible way, no matter what your age.
"Mother Goose" An old edition is worth it's weight in gold for there you will find the original poems before the PC police arrived.
"Ferdinand the Bull" by Munro Leaf. I recently bought a copy of this for a 7 year old. Hardly had he unwrapped it but his 24 year twin old sisters grabbed it out of his hands fairly screaming with excitement at meeting an old friend once more. First published in the 30s this short story with simple ink drawings has never been out of print since. There are deep life lessons buried in this simple story of a young bull discovering and following his own path in life.
"Winnie the Pooh" and "When We were Very Young" by Milne. Dorothy Parker once reviewed Milne in a single sentence for the her New Yorker column "Constant Reader." The review, in total, was as follows: "Tonstant weader frowd up." I disagree. This is a timeless classic that will delight your child as much as it delights you reading it aloud.
All the Chris Van Allsburg books especially "The Polar Express." Pure visual and literary magic that make the world seem an enchanted and rather mysterious place.
All four Harry Potter books which will enrapture the whole family. I would caution parents that the books become far more more seriously centered on the meaning of good and evil as they go on--especially number 3 and 4. They are not, in my opinion, appropriate for the very young child.
"My Friend Flicka" series by Mary O'Hara. A classic for a good reason. It is still capable of bringing me to tears.
"The Little House on the Prairie" series by Laura Ingalls. For girls AND boys.
Shel Silverstein poetry and books. Life lessons and tongue twisters galore.
Fairy tales of all kinds- especially the brothers Grimm.
Jack London's stories are too well known to need comment and too good to miss. Look for a collection for your older child.
Anything by E.B. White. A master wordsmith that will have you and your child appreciating the joys of simple well written English.
Ray Bradbury- short stories and novels. A master of suspense, horror and science fiction for the older child and adults of all ages.
Splurge on a good encyclopedia set, for the bookshelf, not the CD ROM. Yes I know the Encyclopedia Britannica is now on the web free of charge, but there is nothing like going to the bookshelf to look up a fact to impress the value of books on a child.
For the inquiring mind on your list who doesn't object to having that mind stretched in odd directions and enjoys science:
"The Holographic Universe" by Michael Talbot. Is the universe itself a halogram? Follow a skilled and brilliant writer as he seeks answers to what really makes reality tick.
Interested in all manner of odd happenings from ghosts to crop circles? Try Colin Wilson's book "Alien Dawn" on for size; mind stretching in the extreme whether you are a believer or not.
"Travels" by Michael Crichton. Forget his fiction, this book, his only non-fiction attempt, is head and shoulders over his other efforts. Non other than John Updike called "Travels" "vastly underrated."
"The Dancing Wu Li Masters" by Gary Zukav. Not easy reading but well worth the effort for the scientifically inclined.
"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman. This book explores the culture clash between a small California hospital and a refugee family from Laos who give birth to a child with multiple medical problems. A winner of the National Book Critics Award for non-fiction, this book is literary journalism at its finest, leaving the reader stunned at the implications, and consequences, of our everyday assumptions of what constitutes reality.
"The Tipping Point; How Little Things Make a Big Difference" by Malcom Gladwell is a book that will appeal to those who are prone to asking the question "why?" Why do some things--movies, books, fad clothing and the like spread like wildfire while others lie neglected? Why was Paul Revere's ride so successful? In clear and readily understandable prose, the author explores the complex set of rules that serve to create the world that we live in.
"Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa" by Keith B Richburg. This is a powerful and stunningly honest book by an American reporter of African-American descent detailing the time he spent covering Africa for The Washington Post. Eager on arrival to explore his heritage, by the end of his assignment his feelings have changed to those of huge relief that past events, including the compulary exodus called slavery worked out so as to enable him to be born American. Not an easy read emotionally, the book looks at both past and present events, here and in Africa, with new eyes and comes to some startling and uncomfortable conclusions about both cultural identity and personal responsibility.
"Confederates in the Attic" by Anthony Horowitz. A tour through the modern day south with Civil War re-enactors which manages to be both hilarious and very very disturbing.
"The Sign and The Seal" by Graham Hancock. Does the Ark of The Covenant still exist? In this book the author shares with us the means by which he became convinced that it does indeed, and presently resides in Ethiopia under constant guard of Falasha Jews. The material presented is both intriguing scholarship and entertaining adventure that will delight anyone given to asking questions that begin: "whatever happened to...?"... and are prone to trying to figure it out.
"Slaves in The Family" by Edward Ball. A descendent of slave owners confronts the past of his ancestors. A National Book Award finalist.
"The Search for the Panchen Lama" by Isabel Hilton. Most of us have heard of this controversy-- how the child chosen by the Dalai Lama as the successor to the deceased Panchen Lama was seized by the Chinese government and replaced by one of their own choosing. Most of us also have little understanding of the implications of this situation either politically or for the Buddhist faith. Here is a book that will explain, even as it entertains, what is for most Americans a very confusing and murky situation.
"Lincoln; A Foreigner's Quest" by Jan Morris. For Lincoln lovers of all ages. Veteran travel writer Morris has tackled an icon and unearthed a very human man.
The Griffin and Sabine books by Nick Bantock. A set of three slim books which delight the eye, even as they mystify the mind.
"A Fine and Private Place" by Peter S Beagle. Read it and believe. And keep in mind as you go that this book was written by a 19 year old. That alone is magic indeed.
"Operating Instructions" by Anne Lamott. Many of you may be familiar with Lamott from her other writings (see below). "Operating Instructions" was one of her first publications and is a diary of the first year of her son's life. Funny, insightful and always, Lamott being Lamott, painfully honest, it is good company for anyone who has ever either experienced or contemplated parenthood.
"Drowning Ruth" by Christina Schwarz. An old mystery of passion and intrigue is solved. this book was an Oprah book selection and is an entertaining and suspenseful read.
"Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier. A civil war yarn that won the National Book Award last year for a very good reason.
"Driving Mr. Albert" by Michael Paterniti is a book rather difficult to describe. It details the cross country adventures of the author and an aged pathologist who performed the autopsy on Albert Einstein. Also present on this Odyssey are the worldly remains of the famous scientist--his brain, along for the ride-- in the trunk. Witty, irreverent, insightful, strange and provocative are all words one might apply to this book. It also produced my favorite quote of the year: "(Life) has a way of changing a simple outing to the store to buy milk into a lifelong, shoeless quest through the Himalayas for enlightenment."
"In the Land of White Death" by Valerian Albanov, preface by Jon Krakauer. A recently discovered first-hand account of a tragic artic exhibition which Jon Krakauer in his preface calls "..a spare, astounding, utterly compelling book."
"Fate is the Hunter" by Ernest K. Gann. SWC member Bill Derry recently reminded me of this book. I first read it when I was a teenage some 40 years ago. It is still in print and still as funny, interesting and intriguing as it was all those years ago. Gann was a pilot and this is his story. Aviation buffs will love this golden oldie.
"Tracks" By Robyn Davidson. The tale of an English woman who crosses the Australian outback alone by camel. Robyn is an original, and this is no run of the mill travel book.
"Into thin Air" and "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. A travel writer who wonders why and not just how.
"Alive" by Piers Paul Read. A story of the triumph of the human spirit- as well as a question for us all: What would I have done?
Betty MacDonald. Her two best books are long out of print. But if you happen upon "Onions in the Stew" or "The Egg and I" grab them, read them and see why those humor writers of the 30s, 40s and 50s have yet to be surpassed in our modern times.
"Travels" by Crichton. I already mentioned this. Read it. It is a laugh out loud book as well as a mind bending one.
"Stillmeadow" by Gladys Taber. A collection of essays, about country living, now out of print, but worth looking for. The pieces were originally published in a woman's magazine, and will make you laugh and recognize life for what it really is- an adventure unparalleled.
"The Lives behind the Lines; 20 Years of For better or Worse" by Lynn Johnston. While Bloom country, Calvin and Hobbs and Doonesbury have gotten the lion's share of attention this funny and poignant portrayal of family life has quietly made its way into many of our hearts. In this collection Johnston takes us behind the scenes and shares with us the full story of the Patterson family. Picking it up and reading it with coffee cup in hand at Barnes and Noble I was hooked, and decided that this was to be an early holiday gift for myself. Johnston will tug your heartstrings, make you laugh and lift your spirit.
"How To Want What You Have" by Timothy Miller. A road map, at least for me, out of our time-rushed egocentric culture.
"Tuesdays With Morrie" by Mitch Albom. For once the best seller list is right. Don't miss it.
"Travelling Mercies" by Anne Lamott. Those of you who have read Ms Lamott's earlier book "Bird by Bird" will not be disappointed. Those of you who have yet to make her acquaintance will enjoy doing so. Original, perceptive and honest to a painful degree, the author offers us in this newest book the story of her journey to faith.
"Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to The Amish" by Sue Bender. In this small but magically effective book, the author asks one of the most important questions in life: "what really matters?" To find out she spends several months with an Amish community, emerging with an appreciation of the ordinary that weaves a spell around both her life and ours.
"Expecting Adam; A True Story of Everyday Magic" by Martha Beck. With this book I lose all claim to being unbiased. Listed last year, it remains my favorite, and most influential, read of the past two years. I devoted a column to it some months ago and those interested in more details can refer to the SWC Online Voices June 2000 issue. For now, I can but say: this book has the potential to change lives-- as it did mine.
"Tasha Tudor's Garden" text by Tovah Martin, photos by Richard W. Brown. Tasha Tudor is an artist of renown. Now in her late 80's she lives a life style straight out of the 18th century. This visually stunning book, with artfully accentuated text is enough to make one yearn to follow her example. The book is a sublimely beautiful hymn to both an individual of stubborn originality, and a way of life long gone.
"Why is Cancer Killing Our Pets? How You Can Protect and Treat Your Animal Companion," by Deborah Straw, Healing Arts Press, Nov. 2000. This book was written by a Vermont friend of mine whose passion is animals and talent is writing. Having lost several beloved pets to cancer, Deborah set out to investigate both the problem and the solutions. The book is clear, concise and ultimately somewhat alarming-- the chapter on commercial animal foods alone making it well worth the purchase price.
"Planet of the Blind" by Stephen Kuusisto. If you ever wondered if denial was good for the soul, read this book and wonder no more. The subject is blindness, but the lesson is universal for anyone dealing with a disability.
"A Loss for Words" by Lou Ann Walker. Ms Walker has written a stunning and beautiful tribute to her deafened parents, and the result is a stunningly painful, yet loving, look at what being deaf in a hearing world means.
And don't forget gift certificates from your local book store also make dandy gifts, as do magazine subscriptions.
And the best gift of all for your children: READ to them; all year round. It is the gift that will keep on giving, as you watch them learn to love the written word, and puff with pride as their skills and interests change over the years.
Happy reading and Happy Holidays to all.
Carolyn Piper can be reached at wicwas@wcvt.com
BACK to Table of Contents