I love children's books!

One of my very favorite things to do and the thing I miss most from my teaching days is reading good literature to children and to  adults for that matter.  There are  wonderful classics and outstanding newcomers to children's literature.  I just put "Martha Doesn't Say Sorry" on the shelf.  It is a good story, and a  great lesson for children and adults too can be learned from Martha, the main character in the story.   It was fun to see that the author's (Samantha Berger)and illustrator's( Bruce Whatley) picture on the back jacket were of them as children.

Now for a few of my favorite oldies.  "Billy and Blaze" written by C.W. Anderson might not grab your attention because of the pencil drawings but remember "don't judge a book by it's cover".  It is a series  about a boy Billy and his horse Blaze.  The first book deals with how Billy gets Blaze and other books are about various adventures they have.  The children in my 1st grade classroom loved these stories.  Many of the new media specialists are throwing the book out because of the cover but fortunately they are being reprinted so future generations can enjoy this delightful story.  Another wonderful series   is  "The Boxcar Children" by Gertrude Chandler Warner.

This series is getting a whole new face lift.  The resourcefulness of the 4 main characters is as amazing today as it was when first introduced.

Stop in and pick out a book for your child, grandchild or yourself.  Have fun reading!

 

Dan Van Tassel

Dan Van Tassel author of the book "Back to Barron" came to Annz Boutique & Books June 9. .  He was greeted by old friends he hadn't seen in a long while and made some new friends.  Everyone sat around the table getting their books signed and sharing their own stories about Barron, Wi.

Dan's sister, Chris from Calif. joined us, both Dan, his wife and his sister live in Calif. now but their roots and heart are in Barron Wi. where they grew up.  A big thank you to Carol Burnham from the Calhoun Public library for helping to sponsor Dan's visit.

The conversation continued over dinner at Gilligan's on the lake.