Today,
Top Ten Tuesday's theme is a "throwback" freebie. Since I review primarily older children's books, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to highlight some of my favorites. To ensure variety amongst the titles, I have divided the 20th century into decades and chosen one favorite per decade. This is not to say that each book mentioned is my absolute favorite book of its given decade - that would be impossible for me to narrow down! Instead, each book is merely
one favorite of many. (Note: because I haven't read that many books published before 1920, I chose only one title to represent the years 1900-1919. Links are to my reviews.)
1900-1919
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit (1906)
This family story follows the lives of Roberta (Bobbie), Peter, and Phyllis (Phil) while their father is away from home doing something the kids are purposely told nothing about. In their new home, a smaller house in the country than they have previously owned, the three siblings have many adventures: making friends with Perks the porter, waving to a particular old gentleman who rides the train past their station every day, and even saving a train from a very bad accident! For being so old, this book felt really modern to me when I first read it, and though it has been several years, I still think of scenes from it now and then.
1920s
The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly (1928)
This historical fiction novel was the winner of the 1929 Newbery Medal. I read it a couple of years ago when I challenged myself to read 52 children's historical fiction novels in one year. At the time, I never could have guessed that a novel about the Middle Ages in Poland would become such a favorite, but it turned out to be one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. In the story, a new trumpeter, Pan Andrew Charnetski, has come to Krakow to stay with relatives while he waits to deliver a valuable object to the king. When he learns that his relatives have been killed, Pan Andrew and his wife and son, Joseph must conceal their identities. Pan Andrew's role as the night trumpeter is meant to keep him out of harm's way but it is only a matter of time before his enemies catch up to him. The story as a whole is a struggle between good and evil, which favors humility, hard work, and honesty over pride, instant gratification, and deceit. Truly, this is a book with
"authentic value."
1930s
Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome (1933)
This is the fourth of the Swallows & Amazons books, a series of adventure novels by British author Arthur Ransome. I love the entire series, but even after having read all 12 books, this one is still my favorite. Dick and Dorothea Callum arrive in the Lake District for a visit over their winter holiday from school, and they meet the Walkers and the Blacketts, two families of kids who have had several adventures together in the past. As the Walkers and Blacketts reinvent their make-believe world to suit the wintry weather, the Ds, as the Callum kids are called, get their first experience playing independently in the great outdoors. This would be a perfect snow day read.
1940s
The Open Gate by Kate Seredy (1943)
This realistic fiction novel takes place during World War II in the town next to the one I grew up in. Though some of my love for the book is clearly based in my personal connection to the locations named in it, it is also just a wonderfully written story about the Prestons, a family of city slickers who buy a farm and learn to take care of it from their new neighbors, Mr. Van Keuran, and his cold, stern wife, who are raising their artistic grandson, Andy, after the tragic death of his parents, and Mike and his wife, Linka, Slovakian immigrants whose son has gone into the military in anticipation of the United States entering the war. All Kate Seredy books are favorites of mine, but this one is at the top of the list!
1950s
Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce (1958)
Like
The Trumpeter of Krakow, this 1958 Carnegie Medal winning novel is not a book I would ever have imagined myself loving so much until I challenged myself to read more books outside my favorite genres. Described as a "low fantasy novel," this is a time slip story in which Tom, who is visiting his aunt and uncle, discovers that a mysterious clock in the hallway at their house (owned by an elderly woman named Mrs. Bartholomew) stops for an hour each night, during which a garden magically appears outside the back door. In the garden, Tom meets Hatty, who is living at some point in the house's history. The two form a friendship which becomes important to both of them and remains so even as Hatty ages and outgrows Tom as a playmate. The book culminates in the most perfectly emotional ending I have ever read.
1960s
The Moon By Night by Madeleine L'Engle (1963)
I like most of L'Engle's Austins books, but this, the second, is the one I would have enjoyed most if I'd read it as a kid. A family road trip story, it follows Vicky Austin and her family as they travel from their childhood home in Thornhill to Laguna Beach, California, where their aunt and uncle will soon live. On the way, the Austins visit well-known attractions like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, make the acquaintance of a snide and sickly young man named Zachary Gray who does his best to woo Vicky, and share in surprising adventures involving everything from bears to flash floods. Vicky also makes her own internal, spiritual journey, as she begins to come of age. This is the exact kind of book I loved to read when I was in middle school, and it hit a definite sweet spot when I first discovered it five years ago.
1970s
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (1978)
I put off reading this 1979 Newbery Medal book until adulthood, which was probably a mistake, considering how much I enjoyed it. Not only is it a compelling mystery, but each of the characters involved in the strange plot is a believable and interesting individual complete with flaws and quirks. I said in my original review that I wanted to read it again - it may be time to get around to doing that soon!
1980s
The Fledgling by Jane Langton (1980)
This 1981 Newbery Honor book is the fourth in a series that was published over a 40-year timespan. The main character, Georgie, lives in Concord, Massachusetts, not far from Walden Pond, and the aunt and uncle with whom she lives run a transcendentalist school. When Georgie befriends a mysterious bird called the Goose Prince, she attracts the attention of her nosy and vindictive neighbors, who plan to kill the bird during hunting season. This is a multi-layered and sophisticated story with references to many things that ordinarily are not mentioned in children's books. Not all of the books of the series live up to the standard set by this title, but this is a really different and wonderful story.
1990s
Strider by Beverly Cleary (1991)
I remember reading and enjoying
Dear Mr. Henshaw as a kid, but when I read this sequel a few years back, I loved it so much more. Now that Leigh Botts is about to enter high school, he no longer writes to his favorite author, but instead he keeps a diary of the important things that happen to him. As high school begins, these events include finding a running dog named Strider, custody of whom he shares with his best friend, Barry, trying to hide Strider from his landlady whose opinion on pets is unknown, reconnecting with his dad, who has fallen into some bad luck, practicing for the track team, and working up the nerve to speak to Geneva, a fellow runner who has beautiful red hair. What is impressive about this book is how well Cleary writes from the teen male point of view. In my review, I likened this book to contemporary titles by Gary Paulsen and James Patterson, and I think that comparison still holds true.
Do you read vintage children's books? What are some of your favorite titles?
The series stars best friends and roommates Bruno Walton and Melvin "Boots" O'Neal, who are known pranksters on the MacDonald Hall campus. Though the two boys often butt heads with their headmaster, the long-suffering yet fair-minded Mr. Sturgeon, whom they call "The Fish," they also have a fond affection for their school. The boys and their classmates also have many associations with students at Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School for Young Ladies, which is located across the road from MacDonald Hall, and whose high-strung Headmistress frequently overreacts to late-night visits from MacDonald Hall students by wildly wielding a shotgun. 
Each book of the series focuses on a different major scheme involving Bruno and Boots. Sometimes, they seek to make a particular improvement to their school, such as a pool or a recreation center. Other times, they go to war with a particular teacher who is making their lives difficult, or with an outside force that threatens to close the school. In the final two books, they even befriend a Hollywood celebrity and uncover a phantom prankster. 
What I love about these books is their sense of humor. Last spring, I attended a talk by two children's illustrators who insisted that the key to humor in children's books is underwear and toilet jokes. I found this to be a disappointing underestimation of what kids are capable of finding funny, but I was also hard-pressed to think of many examples of funny books, especially funny books targeted at boys, that could make kids laugh without resorting to crude humor. Thankfully, I have been reminded that this series fits that bill exactly. Perhaps because Korman started writing these when he was himself an adolescent, he completely understands what middle school boys find funny, and he delivers it in every single book. Pranks, schemes, disasters, explosions, science experiments, sporting events - these are the backdrops for Korman's jokes, and most of the time, they are clever, respectful and well-executed. Even when the characters disobey their teachers, they often do so in the name of a noble cause that helps their school or their friends.
Also refreshing is the complete lack of serious dating in these books. There are some storylines involving long-distance and unrequited crushes, but none of the preoccupation with having exclusive girlfriends and boyfriends that seems prevalent in more contemporary books. The girls of Miss Scrimmage's (particularly Cathy and Diane) are not presented as potential romantic partners for Bruno, Boots, and their friends, but as partners in crime, good friends, and pranksters in their own right. All the female characters are actually very well-done, including Mrs. Sturgeon, the headmaster's wife, whose affection for Bruno and Boots often keeps her husband from acting rashly in his punishment of them. 
