The Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge is another challenge that relates to my professional reading interests. In addition to keeping up with the latest trends in children’s literature, it’s good to go back and check out some classic books. The rules are pretty simple: set a goal number of children’s books published in the decade of your birth or earlier. I decided on 12 books as my goal, with this tentative list in mind:
- Sounder by William H. Armstrong
- My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier
- Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
- The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
- My Father’s Dragon by Ruth S. Gannett
- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
- M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton
- To Be a Slave by Julius Lester
- It’s Like This, Cat by Emily Neville
- The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois
- Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer
- The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
They’re all Newbery winners or honor books, because I’m doubling-up for these with the Newbery Reading Challenge.
Glad to have you on board for the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge! I see a few of my favorites on your list (Roller Skates, Ginger Pye, The Egypt Game, The Slave Dancer) – I hope you enjoy them!