BACK<<<to the CLASSICS discussion

World Book Day is celebrated in March in the UK & in April in most other countries. In this group we will start the celebrations in March, making it a month to celebrate children’s books & perhaps remind ourselves of treasured memories. The challenge is to read classic books written for children or those where at least one child is an important character in the story.

For example

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams Bianco
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

Many thanks, Trisha! Always a pleasure having you on the show.



Here is the template

This Is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)
1/3/23 - 31/3/23
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Title, year of publication, author and bookcovers please!



This Is Your Life...!

Annette
Cosmic
Jazzy
Kathy
Lynn
Nidhi
Nike
Rosemarie
Trisha
Vit

This Is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)
1/3/23 - 31/3/23
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✅ 1 : Eloise (1955) - Kay Thompson
✅ 2 : Eloise in Paris (1958) - Kay Thompson
✅ 3 : Angus and the Ducks (1930) - Marjorie Flack
✅ 4 : Angus and the Cat (1931) - Marjorie Flack
✅ 5 : The Story About Ping (1933) - Marjorie Flack
✅ 6 : Little Black, a Pony (1961) - Walter Farley
✅ 7 : Little Pear (1931) - Eleanor Frances Lattimore
8 : King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian (1948) - Marguerite Henry
✅ 9 : The Heart of a Dog (1924) - Albert Payson Terhune
✅ 10 : Brighty Of The Grand Canyon (1953) - Marguerite Henry

This Is Your Life!
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🌸1 Hard Times - Charles Dickens
🌸2 The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams Bianco

This Is Your Life!
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✅1. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1903)
2. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild (1936)

Wonderful! Yesterday I thought to myself "I wonder if the Back to Classics challenge for March will be suitable for reading Charlotte's Web by E.B. White " (it fits in a yearly challenge in another group) and you must have read my mind!!! 😄

This Is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)

1/3/2023 - 31/3/2023

1. Charlotte's Web publ 1952 by E.B. White

2. The Moomins and the Great Flood publ 1945 by Tove Jansson

3. The Story of Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman publ 1899

4. The Story of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting published 1920

5. Mio, My Son by Astrid Lindgren publ 1954

6. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

This is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)

1. Betsy Was a Junior byMaud Hart Lovelace (1947)✅
2. Betsy and Joe by Maud Hart Lovelace✅ (1948)

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This Is Your Life!
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Possible Reads

1 - The Railway Children by E. Nesbit Finished 5 stars
2 - What Maise Knew by Henry James
( Maise is a child around whom the plot revolves)
3. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

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Trisha, do you think The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien will qualify for this category? The Hobbit does but The Fellowship .... is categorized as Young Adult.

This Is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)
1/3/23 - 31/3/23
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1. Hard Times Cecilia (nicknamed Sissy) is one of the characters the story revolves around. She is significant as are a couple other children. Finished March 6
2. D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
3. The Story of Little Black Sambo Finished March 7 th.

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Title, year of publication, author and bookcovers please!

Nidhi wrote: "Trisha, do you think The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien will qualify for this category? The Hobbit does but The Fellowship .... is categorized as Young Adult."

I don’t know, Nidhi - it’s probably a personal choice. I know one of my close friends read it with their children when they were quite young. If it’s a book you want to read then include it.

I think I will choose it, in January I read The Hobbit to my daughter, now she is insisting on The Fellowship.... Children like the movies based on The Lord of the Rings.

You're all linked to here!

Nidhi wrote: "I think I will choose it, in January I read The Hobbit to my daughter, now she is insisting on The Fellowship.... Children like the movies based on The Lord of the Rings."

This is perfect, Nidhi - I hoped some people would be able to share books with their children or grandchildren. I hope you both enjoy the book.

“Sweet child in time
You’ll see the line
The line that’s drawn between
Good and bad…”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince 1943

This Is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)
1/3/23 - 31/3/23
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1 Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss (1954) 3/2/2023 5*
2 I read three stories by Beatrix Potter when my grandchildren visited: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, and The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. 3/19/2023 4*





My first book was read in the classroom with the students. Yesterday was Dr. Suess's birthday and it always coincides with Read Across America Week. "A person's a person no matter how small."

I was not quite sure how to count the Beatrix Potter books. Each was a small square hardback book with full illustrations. These stories though are often found collected.

For once I started early instead of late and I'm done with my first book! Normally I only read one book per month of the monthly challenges here (due to all other challenges in other groups I'm trying to pursue) but this month I just might read one or two more children's books. This was fun.
I didn't remember ever reading this story about the pig Wilbur and the spider Charlotte but as the story went along I understood that I must have at least heard it (probably on the radio during summer) because I remembered the words in the web. Nice story about friendship.

Nike wrote: "For once I started early instead of late and I'm done with my first book! Normally I only read one book per month of the monthly challenges here (due to all other challenges in other groups I'm try..."

Oh yes, Charlotte's Web is one of my sentimental favorites from childhood.

As a child, Templeton was my favourite character in Charlotte's Web.

I just finished Hard Times. Really good...about raising children on facts and raising them on imagination. I think I was raised on facts. If you were raised on imagination I would love to hear how your parents cultivated this?

I definitely raised my children more freely and let them experiment a lot. Our home was more like a science lab. We bought them tape players for Christmas and visited the library for books on tapes.

I had a friend that lived on a farm and labeled different places on the farm after places in loved stories.

Children of the Forest that reminds me of this book. If i had it here I would read it! I tried to make this story be a part of our family because we enjoyed hunting mushrooms.

Cosmic wrote: "I just finished Hard Times. Really good...about raising children on facts and raising them on imagination. I think I was raised on facts. If you were raised on imagination I would love ..."

Cosmic, perhaps you should also post this in the buddy read discussion in another group?

Although I was part of an intellectual household as a small child, we were often left to our own devices and rainy days indoors were filled with writing adventure stories and play acting. Turned out of the house from breakfast til dinner also created time for imagination where we were pirates or explorers and we would cycle miles from home to invent new personas - I was Jack, my brother was Sally - and sometimes we spoke other languages that we made up. Ah, I miss those days sometimes.

Jazzy wrote: "Although I was part of an intellectual household as a small child, we were often left to our own devices and rainy days indoors were filled with writing adventure stories and play acting. Turned ou..."

That sounds fun, Jazzy.

Jazzy wrote: "Although I was part of an intellectual household as a small child, we were often left to our own devices and rainy days indoors were filled with writing adventure stories and play acting. Turned ou..."

This does sound like what childhood should look like. You did remind me more of this kind of imagination building. I used to play with my Barbie the same way, but mostly building worlds rather than dialogues and plots. (Dresses, cardboard cars, "rooms", etc.)

I didn't read, and I think this created a deficit. But I read plenty now and I think that revisiting the world of childhood is very positive!! (I read that fairy tales/folk tales is positive literature.)

I think I'll go for a third book 🙂.

Cosmic wrote: "This Is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)
1/3/23 - 31/3/23
0/?

1. Hard Times Cecilia (nicknamed Sissy) is one of the characters the story revolves around. She is significant as are a c..."

Oh, you reminded me of a favourite story when I was very little - Little Black Sambo! How I loved it! I might follow your initiative 🙂

Nike wrote: "Cosmic wrote: "This Is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)
1/3/23 - 31/3/23
0/?

1. Hard Times Cecilia (nicknamed Sissy) is one of the characters the story revolves around. She is signifi..."

My favorite too!

Cosmic wrote: "This Is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)
1/3/23 - 31/3/23
0/?

1. Hard Times Cecilia (nicknamed Sissy) is one of the characters the story revolves around. She is significant as are a c..."

Changing my second choice to (hope 1962 is within the range of dates for a classic here).

Cosmic wrote: "Cosmic wrote: "This Is Your Life!
(March 2023 Challenge)
1/3/23 - 31/3/23
0/?

1. Hard Times Cecilia (nicknamed Sissy) is one of the characters the story revolves around. She is signifi..."


Yes, the year (this year!) that marks the breaking point is 1973. They count as classics - in this group - when they are 50 years or older. 🙂

Speaking of children's classics and sentimental favorites, I remember how much I loved the Beatrix Potter books when I was a child, but my granddaughters age 5 and almost 7 just didn't seem very interested. What a shame! For my personal preference I would have given then 5* but dropped it to 4* on account of the lack of interest by the children. They much preferred a modern flashy book about insects.

Magic tales… Fairy tales…
Feeling like a kid again…
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Wilhelm Hauff - Little Long-Nose 1826
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince 1943

Oh, I've finished the fifth and it's the best of them all. One of my favourites by Astrid Lindgren: Mio, My Son! I'm so happy to discover that it's as good as I remember it! I don't know how well-known this book by her us abroad. I guess that most of you know about Pippi Longstocking (Långstrump in Swedish).
The one I reread know is a wonderful fantasy saga about a little boy who lives with cold foster parents but then finds his father in a far away country and saves this world from evil.

Nike wrote: "Oh, I've finished the fifth and it's the best of them all. One of my favourites by Astrid Lindgren: Mio, My Son! I'm so happy to discover that it's as good as I rememb..."

I love Mio min mio! xxx

Vit wrote: "Magic tales… Fairy tales…
Feeling like a kid again…
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Wilhelm Hauff - Little Long-Nose 1826
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - [book:The Little Pri..."
mmmm! love xx

I read 9 of 10 books I chose but may not read the 10th. :)

I haven't received any notifications from this thread and totally missed this challenge. I guess I can fit in one book for now.

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✅1. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

Finished! I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of reading the good old Famous Five and Secret Seven series in school.

I've finished my three books for the challenge and enjoyed everyone.

I've finished my two books and enjoyed them also.

Congratulations to all who have finished.

Congrats to everyone on their challenges! I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Thank you and Congratulations!!

If you read a single book you got a star! Well done all what a marvel it was revisiting the books of my childhood xxx

And I actually finished six books for this challenge which is a record since I usually only read one! 🙂

Way to go, Nike!

That's impressive, Nike!

Super Nike! x