My friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) and I decided to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and find out! Basically, we’ve done 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week had its own theme. All you had to do was choose a vintage/classic book that fit that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! (Especially on Instagram, using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer.) And we compiled our recommendations in this blog post!

Our Vintage Kidlit Summer has been amazing. I have loved all the wonderful comments of what you’ve been reading, and other Instagram and blog posts detailing different reader’s picks.

Our twelfth week’s theme was A New Book with a Vintage Feel, and for this theme I re-read The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. It’s not really very new, I suppose—it was published in 2005—but it’s certainly much newer than our vintage books. 🙂

Here is what I said about the book on Instagram some time ago:

I remember the first time I read this book so distinctly. I was 14, it was a perfectly breezy day at the height of summer, and we stopped at a cute local bookstore. From the jam-packed shelves, I selected this book to buy, and spent the ride home drinking a milkshake and immersing myself in the appropriately breezy summer story!

I’ve read it all the way through three times now, listened to it on audio twice, and reread my favorite sections approximately zillions of times. 😊

I’m actually listening to the second Penderwicks book (also a huge favorite) on audio right now. As always, I pick up on different details listening to a story for the first time, and I’m enjoying the experience a lot.

Of all the Penderwick sisters, I’m especially partial to Batty, whose love of animals and tenderness makes my heart happy! The parallels between Batty Penderwick and Beth March are also fabulous, as this is a loose Little Women retelling.

I have discussed before (in detail) my love of the Penderwicks series, particularly its connections to Little Women. But even if you discover The Penderwicks before Little Women (as I did), there is still so much to enjoy.

Instead of a plot description, which I’m sure you’ve read elsewhere, I’ll highlight some of the things I love in this book: Batty. Hound. The butterfly wings. The Arundel attic. (MY FAVORITE SCENE.) Churchie’s kitchen. Jane thinking that a writer must have visited the cottage. The banter between Skye, Jeffrey, and Jane. Rosalind’s sudden interest in the Civil War. 😉 The Fimbriata rosebush. The awkward birthday party. The wistful ending.

If you’ve never read this book … go read it!

What did you read for the Vintage Kidlit Summer this week? Let me know in the comments!

My friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) and I decided to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up! Basically, we’re doing 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer. And if you’re in need of recommendations for each week’s theme, check out this blog post! 

I can’t believe we’ve reached our last week of the challenge, though! There obviously is still time to catch up (for example, you can do this challenge on your own whenever you like!) and then enjoy the archive of blog posts afterward.

Our eleventh week’s theme was Little-Known Newbery, and for this theme I re-read The Golden Name Day by Jennie D. Lindquist. What a wonderful novel! It won a Newbery Honor in 1956, and actually was out of print for some time. I believe that Purple House Press recently brought it back into print, though! My copy is an ex-library edition.

Here’s what I wrote about this book on Instagram a while ago: 

This is such a darling book! Set at the turn of the 20th century, it follows the adventures of a little girl named Nancy, who goes to live with a big Swedish family when her mother is ill. It’s one of the few children’s books I’ve read that explores Swedish culture/traditions (which I love because I’m of Swedish descent). I recently read the sequel, THE LITTLE SILVER HOUSE, which was also a lovely book.

My name day is December 9!

I’ve been reading the lovely Cobble Street Cousins chapter books by Cynthia Rylant lately, and I was struck by how the style of those books reminds me of The Golden Name Day. The elegant yet down-to-earth prose, the sweet adventures of a group of girls, the flowers and the parties … I love the similarities!

Much of the book revolves around Nancy’s wish to have her own Name Day celebration, but she can’t have one because the name Nancy doesn’t appear in the Swedish almanac. Eventually Grandma Benson has to remind Nancy to think about other people’s problems instead of focusing so much on her own small dilemma. By doing this, Nancy discovers new friends and learns an important lesson.

The thing I love most about this book–even more than the gentle humor, the Swedish culture, and the happy ending–is that this is one of the few stories that (for me) truly captures what it feels like to be a child, in such a vivid way. For example, there is a scene where Nancy is reading a mysterious fairy-tale on the staircase, and when the sun shines through the stained-glass window above the stairs, it reflects a rainbow onto the pages of her book, creating an enchanting moment that she remembers forever. (And tries to recreate over and over again.) This small vignette feels so extraordinarily real to me.

What did you read for the Vintage Kidlit Summer this week? Let me know in the comments!

My friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) and I decided to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up! Basically, we’re doing 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer. And if you’re in need of recommendations for each week’s theme, check out this blog post!

Our tenth week’s theme was Adventures of Longer Ago, and for this theme I got a little creative and chose to re-read Magic Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer. I hadn’t read it since the first time I discovered this story in 2018, and I was in the mood to read it this past week. It’s a bit of a time-travel story, where our heroine gets to experience the adventures lived by another little girl in 1899.

Magic Elizabeth opens with a great atmospheric scene where Sally is sent to stay with her great-aunt until her parents can return from a business trip. It’s pouring rain, and Sally isn’t at all sure about going to stay in the grand old house. But she is soon fascinated by a picture of a girl who used to live in the house back at the turn of the century, and most of all, she’s interested in the lovely doll that the girl used to have. She soon learns that the doll  went missing back in 1899 and sets out to try to find her. But then the strangest things begin to happen …

It’s a wonderful, gentle story for those who like time travel stories but want something non-scary. The best part of all is how Sally overcomes her initial fears of the house and grows to care about her aunt, who seems gruff at first but soon grows interested in Sally’s adventure.

(P.S. The illustrations by Joe Krush are an added bonus!)

What did you read for the Vintage Kidlit Summer this week? Let me know in the comments!

My friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) and I decided to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up! Basically, we’re doing 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer. And if you’re in need of recommendations for each week’s theme, check out this blog post!

Our ninth week’s theme was Picture Book, and for this theme I chose to read Andrew Henry’s Meadow by Doris Burn. I had never read it before, but because Faith included it as one of her picture book recommendations—and because I already had a copy!—I decided to read it for this week’s theme. 

What a joy! I can definitely see why Faith recommended it. Doris Burn was both the writer and illustrator of this summer story, and she did a wonderful job. This is the story of Andrew Henry, who loves building things but whose inventions aren’t appreciated by his family. He goes off to build himself a little house in a meadow, where he is soon joined by other children from the neighborhood who want special places of their own.

I am so glad I read this one, and I wish I had read this book as a child because I know I would have loved it! The illustrations are lovely, and the final line is fabulous. (A bit of a spoiler, but … And his family was always curious to see what Andrew Henry would build next.)

Off to find more Doris Burn books …

What did you read for the Vintage Kidlit Summer this week? Let me know in the comments!

My friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) and I decided to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up! Basically, we’re doing 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer. And if you’re in need of recommendations for each week’s theme, check out this blog post!

Our eighth week’s theme was Talking Animals, and for this theme I chose to re-read Tucker’s Countryside by George Selden. It’s the sequel to The Cricket in Times Square, but I read Tucker’s Countryside before Cricket so I don’t really feel that you need to read them in order! This book is actually one of the first longer books I read as a child (I was maybe seven or eight?), so it was fun to revisit. (I was a very choosy reader as a child. I read slowly, so a book needed to be *amazing* for me to even consider finishing it.)

I can totally see why I enjoyed this one so much. It’s a quick, fun, engaging read centering on the characters from Cricket (Chester, Tucker, and Harry) as they attempt to save an endangered meadow full of animals from certain destruction (an apartment building is going to be erected soon). The climax is wonderful: Tucker, a very clever mouse, gets the idea to make it look as if the meadow is a site of “historical significance”—in other words, the original homestead of the town founder—and how the animals accomplish this feat and get away with the “deception” is quite hilarious and well-written.

One of things I like best about Cricket and what I also love here is the juxtaposition of animals and people. They are books that keep you equally invested in the human and animal characters, and they don’t feel like fantasies at all. They’re extremely realistic—well, except for the town making such a big assumption about a certain historical site … 😉

This was a delightful reread, and now I want to revisit the other books in the series!

What did you read for the Vintage Kidlit Summer this week? Let me know in the comments!

My friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) and I decided to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up! Basically, we’re doing 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer. And if you’re in need of recommendations for each week’s theme, check out this blog post!

Our fifth week’s theme was A Book in a Series, and for this theme I chose to read Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin, which was recommended by Faith for this category. I had never read it before, but I enjoyed it so much and I’m looking forward to checking out the other books in the series (Homework Machine appears to be the third book in the series).

This book follows Danny Dunn and his two best friends, Irene and Joe, as they try to use a sophisticated new computer to help them with their homework. They give all the information from their textbooks to the computer and program it to understand their homework test questions, and then the computer provides them with perfectly typed homework pages. Their teacher isn’t quite sure what to think at first, but after some brainstorming with Danny’s mother, she assigns them more advanced homework. But of course, this doesn’t stop them either—until an act of sabotage does!

What a fun book! I loved the conversation that Danny has with his teacher about whether or not the computer is merely a tool like a typewriter.

It’s interesting to think about how different technology was in the 1950s, when this book was published. The amazing computer in the story is enormous, not small and compact! The whole premise reminds me of 1960s-70s Kurt Russell movies, only a bit less fantastical. 🙂 

So glad I read this one, and I can’t wait to read the other books in the Danny Dunn series!

What did you read for the Vintage Kidlit Summer this week? Let me know in the comments!

My friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) and I decided to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up! Basically, we’re doing 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer. And if you’re in need of recommendations for each week’s theme, check out this blog post!

Our third week’s theme was Magical Adventures, and for this theme I chose to read Half Magic by Edward Eager. First published in 1954, this is the first book in the Tales of Magic series that have been a joy to several generations of readers.

I don’t typically read an entire book in one day—in fact, I’d say that’s extraordinarily rare for me, unless it’s something like a picture book—but when I first read Half Magic, that’s exactly what I did. And I also don’t typically read fantasy—it’s not my favorite genre and it’s hard for me to find books I love that also contain magical elements. But I wouldn’t really categorize Half Magic (or any of the Edward Eager books) as fantasy … they’re more just stories of ordinary children who happen to find some magical object.

Such is the case in Half Magic, when four siblings find an ancient coin that grants their wishes by halves. It takes them a while to discover the coin’s secret, but when they do—well, then the fun can begin!

Of course, in Eager’s stories, the kids never quite get what they bargain for when they’re attempting their extravagant, wild, and sometimes frivolous wishes. But in the end, they always try to do the right thing and use the magic to help someone. I wish I could tell you how this happens in Half Magic, but that would be giving spoilers!

One of my favorite chapters in Half Magic is when one of the children—Jane—loses her temper and wishes that she belonged to another family. The wish is granted, but growing up as someone else isn’t what Jane had hoped it would be. I also love the scene when the children’s mother makes a wish on the coin, not realizing that it’s magical.

The reason why I tried these books in the first place is because my copy of The Penderwicks said that it was perfect for fans of Noel Streatfeild, Elizabeth Enright, and Edward Eager. Having read (and loved!) books by the first two of those authors, I knew I had to try Edward Eager. I vividly remember my delight when I opened the book and realized that it was set in the 1920s. A historical book with gentle, humorous magic! What a delight!

And then of course, I had to go read Magic by the Lake when I was finished re-reading Half Magic. I couldn’t resist!

What did you read for the Vintage Kidlit Summer this week? Let me know in the comments!

My friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) and I decided to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up! Basically, we’re doing 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer. And if you’re in need of recommendations for each week’s theme, check out this blog post!

Our second week’s theme was Moody and Mysterious, and for this theme I chose to read The Secret of Tate’s Beach (1926) by Augusta Huiell Seaman. I’ve read several Seaman books and loved each one. Her stories are very mysterious, engaging, and often feature immersive settings, and this novel was no different.

The book’s opening will give you an idea of what the story is like:

A long, level line of surf fretting the coast as far as the eye could see. Back of the beach the dunes, shaggy, irregular, odorous of glossy bay and rank seagrass. Nestling behind one of the highest dunes, sheltered from the east winds, one low, rambling two-storied house … 

While the pleasure of last week’s selection (Thimble Summer) was all about the small realistic details, this book is all about the joys of things that probably would never happen! The story follows two girls, Merwin and Peggy, on a quest to unravel an old mystery concerning multiple shipwrecks, an unusual diary, and (could it be?) hidden treasure.

If I say any more about the plot, I might be giving spoilers. 😉

I’ve often heard the advice that if you’re writing for children, you should let the kids of the story take center stage and not allow adult characters to solve their problems for them and take over the plot. I always thought this advice was interesting because I have rarely ever seen that happen in a book. But it happens in this one! I was surprised and amused by the fact that halfway through the book, Merwin’s father essentially takes over the solving of the mystery and discovers everything before the girls do. It’s a bit disappointing when you’re used to following the child characters and then it switches, but it was still a very entertaining ending.

I realize that one of the reasons I couldn’t put this book down is because the reader’s attention is never strayed from the mystery. There are no subplots to follow between the action, and the characters never forget about the mystery in order to do something else. While this approach may not be as realistic, it’s definitely more compelling!

What did you read for the Vintage Kidlit Summer this week?

Recently, I announced that I teamed up with my friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up! Basically, we’re doing 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer. And if you’re in need of recommendations for each week’s theme, check out this blog post!

Our first week’s theme was Summer Vibes, and I decided to read Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright. Her books are absolutely perfect for summer! And if you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you know what a major Enright fan I am. I previously blogged about all of her novels here (I’ve read every single one), and I even discovered what appears to be the beginning of an unfinished third Gone-Away Lake book.

Here’s what I had to say about Thimble Summer on my blog a few years ago:

A Newbery medal winner, this slim book is perhaps the most well-known of Enright’s works. There are delicious moments like when Garnet and her best friend get accidentally locked in the library, and when Garnet goes to the county fair. A fresh breeze of a book! This is also her first novel for children.

The fun of this book (and Enright’s writing in general) is in the delightful details. The book opens during the drought that has come to the Wisconsin farm where Garnet lives with her family, so the moment when the rain finally arrives, “heavy and silver as a waterfall,” is a wonderful one. The section that takes place at the fair reminds me of my own experiences attending a Wisconsin county fair, of entering the “barnlike building” to look at “hundreds of jars of jelly and pickles on the shelves … cut flowers in vases and growing plants in pots … dozens of different kinds of cakes … Each had a little card beside it with the name of the lady who’d made it.” These details are so real to me.

Many trademark Elizabeth Enright motifs appear in Thimble Summer: stories-within-stories (where an older person recounts a tale from their childhood), a big local event that takes place at the book’s climax, a newcomer who joins the family, and all the small joys of childhood.

There isn’t much plot in Thimble Summer. Enright books tend to be light on plot, but her well-written characterizations tend to make up for that. The title of the story comes from the fact that Garnet finds a silver thimble right before the rain that ends the drought, and she realizes by the novel’s conclusion that the thimble must be the reason for her glorious, adventure-filled summer. Like other vintage children’s books, most of the chapters follow their own mini plot in an episodic style that I’m quite fond of.

If you haven’t read this book yet, please give it a try! Read all of Elizabeth Enright’s books! You will love them too. 🙂

Have you started your Vintage Kidlit Summer reading? If so, please leave a comment so we can chat!

Recently, I announced that I teamed up with my friend Faith Elizabeth Hough (who blogs HERE) to create a fun reading challenge called Vintage Kidlit Summer. If you missed any of the details on how this challenge works, just go here and you can catch up!

Basically, we will have 12 categories over 12 weeks, and each week has its own theme. All you have to do is choose a vintage/classic book that fits that week’s theme, read it, and share about it! You can write about it on your blog, or you can post your thoughts on Instagram (or Twitter) as well, by using the hashtag #vintagekidlitsummer.

And guess what? Faith and I compiled a list of recommendations to get you inspired to build your own booklist for this challenge. (I just finished making mine the other day, using some of our suggestions and then other books I’ve been wanting to read!) Without further ado, here are our suggested titles for each week of the challenge:

If you haven’t already, please leave a comment if you hope to join in on the Vintage Kidlit Summer!