Thursday, July 27, 2017

Not-So-Random New (Used) Books

The other day, I shared a bunch of totally random books that have made their way onto my shelves. I talked about my local used bookstore and two local community garage sale fundraisers where I went treasure-hunting. The rest of the books I found at these places really don't qualify as random, but I still think they were pretty great finds. My TBR has really exploded since I started delving into KidLit over the past year or two. This was an area that was not previously well-represented on my shelves, but I think I have more than made upfor that deficit at this point!

I won't be sharing books from Amazon or Book Outlet (ahh such good deals!) or my local indie bookshop, though I do buy books from all those places. I really do try to buy a lot of my books used -- for various reasons. For one, I love giving a book a new home -- one man's trash is another man's treasure, right? I know it's a more environmentally friendly option than buying new all the time, especially considering the amount of books I own. Secondly, I like supporting my local used bookstore -- it may be a little pricier than the dearly departed used bookstore near my grandmother's house I visited since I was about 10 years old, but I absolutely want this one to stay in business! Third, when the community garage sales roll around, any money spent is going for a good cause. And lastly, looking for used books is just plain fun because I never know what I might find!

So it's that last reason that really has me wanting to share more of my recent(-ish) finds. And once again, all of these are options for my new limited options TBR approach, so I'm trying to sort out which ones I want to read sooner rather than later. Thoughts and opinions on any of these titles are more than welcome!

Community Garage Sale Finds


My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George
A Newbery Honor. And I really like this cover!

The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden & illustrated by Garth Williams
A Newbery Honor. And I also vaguely remember Julie mentioning it, possibly as a book she liked reading aloud to her class?

The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare
A Newbery Honor that sounds familiar from grade school, but I'm not quite sure if I actually ever read it.

The Midnight Fox, by Betsy Byars
This one was specifically recommended by Gretchen Rubin on that WSIRN Kidlit episode I raved about the other day!


Used Bookstore Finds

I went a little further back than I originally intended, but here are a bunch of my favorite finds from the past year (or so).

Newbery Medal Winners
Bridge to Teribithia, by Katherine Paterson
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
The View from Saturday, by E.L. Konigsburg


Newbery Honor Books
Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson
Abel's Island, by William Steig
Surviving the Applewhites, by Stephanie S. Tolan
Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen
The Family Under the Bridge, by Natalie Savage Carlson


More Newbery Honor Books
Annie and the Old One, by Miska Miles
Splendors and Glooms, by Laura Amy Schlitz


Classic/Modern Classic KidLit authors (& part of a series)
Half Magic, by Edward Eager
Pinky Pye, by Eleanor Estes


More Classics
The Family Collection, by Enid Blyton
An Episode of Sparrows, by Rumer Godden
Miracle on 34th Street, by Valentine Davies (& illustrated by Tomie DePaola!)


Newer fiction
100 Cupboards, by N.D. Wilson
M is for Magic, by Neil Gaiman


Poetry


Picture Books!

These have pretty much all been read at least once, so they are not factoring into my TBR deliberations, but I thought I would share anyway!


Rhymes for Annie Rose, by Shirley Hughes
Jill over on Orange Marmalade has recommended this author/illustrator many times and I'm glad to have found one by her I really love!

Jamberry, by Bruce Degen
I knew very little of this popular picture book going in, but now I've read it, I really love it.



We have a few other Prelutsky collections on our shelves and this one turned out to be really excellent too!

Chicka, Chicka, 1, 2, 3, by Bill Martin, Jr.
Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom is a favorite around here, so this was a no-brainer. (Though the original is better.)

The Storm Book, by Charlotte Zolotow
I've read a few other Zolotow books and know the name from the award named in her honor. This one turned out to be a beautifully illustrated book for summer.

The Little House, by Virgina Lee Burton
We had read this Caldecott book previously from the library and enjoyed it.

We had a copy of this when I was a kid! I still don't know how to draw, but it just seems like a great reference to have.

The Snowman, by Raymond Briggs
A classic! Anyone else remember the silent cartoon movie? 

A Kiss for Little Bear, by Else Holmelund Minarik & illustrated by Maurice Sendak
It's Sendak! And the Little Bear TV cartoons are cute, so I thought we should explore some of the originals.



Baby Bug back issues
What a find! I had just subscribed to this magazine for little man and had been looking at the (expensive) individual back issues online and decided I was not going to be spending that kind of money on them. And then one of the community garage sales had 15 back issues for a buck a piece -- or maybe it was 50 cents? -- either way, I snapped them up because they cost a mere fraction of the price on the Cricket website. And thankfully, my little guy really like them. I'll have to do a full review of this magazine one of these days.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, by Bill Martin, Jr. & illustrated by Eric Carle
It's Eric Carle! Though I definitely like Brown Bear, Brown Bear better.

Christmas Mice, by Richard Scarry
A Richard Scarry Christmas book for 50 cents!

Give Me Grace, by Cynthia Rylant
I've really liked everything I read by Rylant so far and had been meaning to try this one from the library anyway when I spotted a copy. It's a rhyming book of children's prayers for each day of the week that I'm very glad we have on our shelves.



Slide and Find: Trucks, by Roger Priddy
I don't care for reading this type of book aloud, but little man LOVES exploring it on his own.

The Little Drummer Boy, by Ezra Jack Keats
It may be a Christmas book, but this is a year-round favorite for my little guy and really beautifully illustrated.

6 comments:

  1. Yes! The Cricket in Times Square was always my first read aloud of the year with my fourth graders. We would talk about Chester and Tucker all year long, and anytime they found a cricket out at recess, it was a classroom event!

    This post is making me jealous of your bookshelves. So many good finds! I remember really liking My Side of the Mountain when I was a kid, but I haven't reread it since then. I loved 100 Cupboards, and I think you will, too. Half Magic is one I somehow missed as a kid but want to read soon. I don't think you can go wrong with putting any of these in your limited options pile! :)

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    1. I knew I remembered you writing about it! Glad to know sleep deprivation has not completely shot my memory :)

      And I agree...I don't think I can go wrong with any of these, which will probably make choosing all the harder! I'll figure something out though :)

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  2. We love Shirley Hughes in our household - we have a poem collection that focuses on the seasons that gets pulled out regularly. Lots of lovely new book purchases.

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    1. I would love to read more of Shirley Hughes now! That poem collection sounds lovely. I may have read it from the library (or something like it -- she has a lot of books!), but I think I didn't take the time to really savor and enjoy it. I will be reading that one (and many more!) again for sure :)

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  3. How fun! Some good memories for me in your picks :) I remember reading Bridge to Teribithia and The Witch of Blackbird Pond, but I'm particularly fond of Half Magic. I find most of Eager's books cute and clever and Half Magic is one of my favorites :)

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    1. I'm so glad to hear that about Half Magic! I heard about it on two different podcasts (which is often where I hear about all the kids books I missed as a kid) and I tend to scoop up those recommendations and then have trouble figuring out how to prioritize them! Of course...I'll have to keep my eye of for the rest of the series :)

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I'd love to hear what you think :)