I teach fourth grade and have elementary school aged children, so I have a legitimate reason for reading children’s books. The truth is– I just like them. They are (usually) fabulous stories; they are fast reads, and it is an activity I can share with my children.
Many of the stories my children and I have been reading lately have a familiar ring to them. Authors are recycling the same plot details and character types from the best books I read growing up. I was so struck by the similarities between Phantom Tollbooth and Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes that I wrote the Peter Nimble author to ask about it. He responded! The Just Deserts section of the book is a small tribute to Jester and his play on words. Jody Feldman credits Dahl as a source of inspiration for her book, The Gollywhopper Games (See the Author Letters post about contacting authors).
Below is a list of some new and old favorites. Is there something on the list that brings back memories of your favorite childhood book? Is there a recent version that is almost as good?
| The Classic | The Re-Make |
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Reblogged this on Book Smart - A Parents' Guide to What Kids are Reading and commented:
Here's a great post about "re-makes" of some old favorites!
Great post. I hope you don't mind that I reblogged it.
I am thrilled that you reblogged! Thank you so much for reading and liking. Happy Holidays!
What a great post! Your chart made some really fabulous connections. I just wrote a post about similar connections between two of my favorites, so I was really struck by the connected books you chose. The Phantom Tollbooth is one of my favorite books, but I've never read Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes - I'll have to check it out. Thanks!
I would be interested to know if you get the Tollbooth vibe from Peter Nimble. Not all of my matches are an exact re-do of the plot. Sometimes there is a feeling from the characters that makes me think the author is re-using a classic. The Sherlock Files books have a brother/sister team who are really considerate of each other and rely on the others' strengths. That is the part that reminds me of the Boxcar children. I wrote the Sherlock Files author too, and she agreed!
The Clementine series remind me a lot do the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. A curious little girl who means well, but always finds herself in trouble. The parents have that Quimby sensibility when dealing with her crazy antics. There's even a Henry Huggins-type. One of my favorite new(ish) series for middle grades.
Loved "Charlotte's Web" as a child. It was read to my class when I was in the third grade. I read it to my children and they are reading it to their children. My grandsons and I have read "The One and Only Ivan". Like Charlotte and Wilber, I won't soon forget Ivan, Stella and Ruby. Thanks for this list. The boys and I will have fun checking out some of the pairings. I too will be reposting this on my grade school reading blog.
Thanks for reading, commenting, and reposting!
My daughter will be in 4th grade next year. It's wonderful to have this list of books for her age.
I think the Fairy Tale book list is a great one for 4th grade girls too! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.