Once Upon a Pen

Reader’s Nook

Reader’s Nook:

a cozy corner for those who love books and the literary life

“The world is so full of a number of things!”

Robert Louis Stevenson wasn’t kidding.  Our world is so chock-full of wonderful, marvelous things that we all find our heads spinning a little sometimes.  The riches you’ll find here are all about the delightful abundance of books, supplements, tools, supplies, and fun stuff whittled down to my favorites. 

Like podcasts? Here are a few I recorded with Lisa Mladinich at Homschool Connections!

Check out my Pinterest pages!

Great Literature Resources: https://www.pinterest.com/elvenfoot/great-literature-resources/

Children’s Literature: https://www.pinterest.com/elvenfoot/childrens-literature/

What’s In It Recommends: https://www.pinterest.com/elvenfoot/whats-in-it-recommends/

What’s In It: The Concerned Parent’s Guide to Young Adult Literature

From 2011-2024, What’s In It sought to help parents guide their teens to good books without compromising their family values. Now the 300+ reviews are available to you in a free, downloadable, PDF document that you can access here!

WhatsInItPDFDownload
Want to learn the basic skills for a lifetime of great reading?

Try my preparatory literature course, Before Great Books Comes Groundwork — based on my book Before Austen Comes Aesop: The Children’s Great Books and How to Experience Them

Are you looking for literature study/discussion guides? These are some I admire!
There are lots of reading instruction programs on the market these days. This is what worked best for all five of my children.
  • Begin with extremely basic stories with pictures to build a beginning whole-word bank. My mother, a retired elementary teacher, created little booklets on 8.5×11″ blank paper with sketches and very simple captions that told a little story about my child-reader. This immediately captured my child’s interest. For example, a picture of my daughter running might have a caption of “See Ruby run!”
  • Advance to the old-fashioned Alice & Jerry or Dick & Jane primers, and begin progressing through them methodically. You may find reprints or vintage editions.
  • At the same time, begin a simple phonics program. I swear by Hooked on Phonics, but I used the original, non-digital edition. I can’t comment on the newer versions. I loved this program because it had a pick up-and-go design that required zero preparation. It had lots of white space and clear, black print, and it was extremely simple and non-intimidating to use; yet, it was very effective.
    • A similar alternative is Classical Phonics by Memoria Press.
    • I used Hooked on Phonics in tandem with the Alice & Jerry series.
  • As the child advances, progress with a basal reader series that has more interesting stories. I wasn’t consistent through the years, but any series might do.
    • I did like the Faith and Freedom Reader series, but it is best for Catholic families.
    • I continued with phonics in both reading and spelling until it was no longer needed.
  • Add real literature as soon as possible (picture books, chapter books, audio books w/paper copies, etc.) and encourage silent reading at times, sometimes requiring it for 30 minutes on a regular basis. I was cautious with too much of that, though, because I discovered that it often reduced my children’s interest in reading as a whole.
    • Adding a paper copy to an audio book, so that your child can follow along, can be very effective. This is basically how I learned to read myself!
Sometimes a few extras are nice to have on hand as we build up our emerging readers. Here are some of my favorites!
  • Reader’s Handbook (GreatSource) — Although this is a classroom resource that is possibly out of print by now, it’s a fantastic learning aid for students to have on hand at home. Available in elementary, middle school and high school editions, this is a rich resource for helping your improve in reading and study skills.
  • Book weights — Great for hands-free reading! I like the Levenger brand.
  • Mark My Time bookmark–This great for timing reading practice.
  • Superscope Storyteller books/cassette tapes– Yes, these are vintage, and yes, the acting is “cringey” at times, but I loved them so much as a child that I had share.  In fact, they helped me learn to read! But really, audio books in general are wonderful. Along with supporting literacy when paired with a paper copy, they provide listening comprehension practice and entertainment when paper copies aren’t practical.
Even the simplest books can become classics! Here are some of my favorite beginning reader books.
  • Mercy Watson series, by Kate DiCamillo
  • P.D. Eastman books
  • Dr. Seuss books (Beware of the recently edited versions, if you’re a purist like me!)
  • Syd Hoff books
  • Judy Moody series, by Megan McDonald
  • Henry and Mudge series, by Cynthia Rylant
Need more strategies for instilling a love of reading in your young children?
  • How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, by Esme Raji Codell
  • Picture Book Activities: Fun and Games for Preschoolers Based on 50 Favorite Children’s Books, by Trish Kuffner
Books are great, but what about special accessories for your literary life?
  • book plates — These are usually lovely, rectangular stickers that you paste on the inside front cover of your books; then you write your name on the bookplate to show that the book belongs to you.  Lots of places sell them, but here’s a specialist:  www.bookplateink.com/
  • book lights — These are great for reading in bed or in the car at night! See this article for some high-rated possibilities: https://www.thespruce.com/best-book-lights-7485594
  • handmade books — If you are crafty, these can be fun to make for yourself or for others! Here is a website to get you started, but there are books about it, too, like Handmade Books for Everyday Adventures, by Erin Zamrzla
  • t-shirts, fingerless gloves, candles, totes, and lots more! –There are many great companies that offer a bounty of literary accessories, but unfortunately I can’t list them all. Here’s one to get you started, though! https://storiarts.com/
  • book box subscriptions! These are on the rise, so I can’t list them all, but here is one for young readers: Literati Book Club– https://literati.com/
Who are your favorite literary friends? Let me introduce you to mine!
  • Francie: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn — by Betty Smith
  • Anne: Anne of Green Gables — by L.M. Montgomery  
  • Peter-Susan-Edmund-and-Lucy: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe — C.S. Lewis
  • Christy: Christy — Catherine Marshall
  • Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie: the All-of-a-Kind-Family series — Sydney Taylor
  • Ramona: Ramona Quimby series — Beverly Cleary
  • Not single characters, just the whole thing! The Moonstone — by Wilkie Collins
  • Betsy, Tacy, and Tib: Betsy-Tacy series — Maud Hart Lovelace
  • Romeo and Juliet: Romeo and Juliet — William Shakespeare
  • Gabriel and Evangeline: Evangeline — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (poem)
  • Bastian and Atreyu: The Neverending Story — by Michael Ende
I love non-fiction, too! Here are just a few of my favorites:
  • anything by Bill Bryson (watch for vulgar language in his memoirs, however)
  • I Love the Word Impossible–Ann Kiemel
  • O Ye Jigs and Juleps–Virginia Cary Hudson
  • The Lessons of St. Francis–John Michael Talbot
  • History of the Church–Eusebius
  • The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, by Jonny Bowden
  • Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg
  • Zero Waste Home, by Bea Johnson
  • anything by Erik Larson
So what do you do if you want to spend your life around books? Choose a literary career!
  • book or magazine writer (of course!)
  • journalist
  • librarian (school or public)
  • book or periodical editor
  • English professor or teacher (like me!)
  • bookseller or bookstore owner
  • storyteller (Yes, you can get paid for this–ever hear of Jim Weiss?)
  • book reviewer (this, too!)
  • advertising copywriter (You know all those billboards and ads in the newspaper?  Someone actually got paid for writing those!)
  • copyeditor or proofreader (If you are a grammar buff, these are the jobs for you!)
  • researcher
Did you know there are even games for booklovers? Try these!
  • Literary Charades–act out the books of famous authors (Levenger)
  • Bookchase–similar to Trivial Pursuit (Cricket catalog)
  • Book-opoly–“Monopoly”-style Board Game
  • Authors–a classic card game that connects literature titles to their authors in a Go-Fish format
Looking for some good websites about children’s and young adult literature?
How about some good books and magazines about children’s and young adult literature (other than mine, of course)?
  • Honey for a Child’s Heart, by Gladys Hunt
  • The Ultimate Teen Book Guide, by Daniel Hahn and Leonie Flynn (may be out of print)
  • How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, by  Esme Raji Codell (mostly about middle-grade and younger, but still worth a look)
  • Books Children Love:  A Guide to the Best Children’s Literature, by Elizabeth Laraway Wilson
  • The Horn Book Magazine 
  • Kirkus Reviews
  • The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
  • Publishers Weekly 
  • By Teens, For Teens
  • Teen Ink:  http://www.teenink.com/
Looking for some good classic fiction that teens may enjoy? Try these!
  • ADVENTURE (realistic)
  • Call of the Wild–Jack London
  • White Fang–Jack London
  • Island of the Blue Dolphin — Scott O’Dell
  • Julie of the Wolves — Jean Craighead George
  • Treasure Island — Robert Louis Stevenson
  • FANTASY
  • Chronicles of Narnia — C.S. Lewis
  • The Hobbit — J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Lord of the Rings — J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Once and Future King — T.H. White
  • Redwall — Brian Jacques
  • The Neverending Story — Michael Ende
  • The Princess Bride–William Goldman
  • The Princess and the Goblin/The Princess and the Curdie–George MacDonald
  • MYSTERY
  • any Sherlock Holmes
  • any Agatha Christie (i.e., And Then There were None, Murder on the Orient Express)
  • short stories by Edgar Allen Poe
  • The Moonstone — Wilkie Collins
  • The Woman in White — Wilkie Collins
  • The Westing Game — Ellen Raskin
  • REALISTIC DRAMA (C=contemporary / H=historical)
  • Cheaper by the Dozen — Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (and sequels)
  • The Outsiders–S.E. Hinton
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn — Mark Twain (H)
  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer — Mark Twain (H)
  • The Black Stallion series — Walter Farley (C)
  • The Endless Steppe: A Girl in Exile — Esther Hautzig (H)
  • Homecoming — Cynthia Voigt (C)
  • Lord of the Flies –- William Golding (C)
  • The Pigman — Paul Zindel (C)
  • Summer of My German Soldier — Bette Greene (H)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird — Harper Lee (H)
  • Understood Betsy — Dorothy Canfield Fisher (H)
  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond — Elizabeth George Speare (H)
  • ROMANCE/COMING-OF-AGE
  • Little House on the Prairie series– Laura Ingalls Wilder (specifically last 5)
  • An Old-Fashioned Girl — Louisa May Alcott
  • Anne of Green Gables series — L.M. Montgomery
  • The Chosen — Chaim Potok
  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn — Betty Smith
  • Betsy Tacy series –- Maud Hart Lovelace (all books in second half of series, starting with Heaven to Betsy)
  • Brideshead Revisited –- Evelyn Waugh
  • Christy — Catherine Marshall
  • Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen 
  • Sense and Sensibility–Jane Austen
  • Fifteen -– Beverly Cleary
  • Jacob Have I Loved — Katherine Paterson
  • Jane Eyre — Charlotte Bronte 
  • Julie — Catherine Marshall
  • Little Women — Louisa May Alcott
  • Seventeenth Summer — Maureen Daly
  • Sister of the Bride — Beverly Cleary
  • SCIENCE FICTION
  • Frankenstein –- Mary Shelley
  • The Invisible Man — H.G. Wells
  • Journey to the Center of the Earth –- Jules Verne
  • Mysterious Island –Jules Verne
  • Science Fiction Trilogy –- C.S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength)
  • The Time Machine — H.G. Wells
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea — Jules Verne
  • War of the Worlds –- H.G. Wells
  • A Wrinkle in Time series — Madeleine L’Engle 
What about some great contemporary fiction for teens, too? Check these out!
  • NOTE: These are not necessarily books that parents might approve of.  They are only some of the ones I have enjoyed, and the list leaves out many other worthwhile options.  Some of these are best for young teens or pre-teens, and others are best for older teens.
  • The Fountains of Silence
  • ​Wolf Hollow
  • Rifles for Watie
  • ​Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
  • Pride and Premeditation
  • ​​Greenglass House
  • ​Out of My Mind
  • The Thing about Jellyfish
  • ​The Unteachables
  • The Giver
  • ​The Button War
  • ​Meet the Sky
  • ​Book Scavenger
  • ​Alex and Eliza:  A Love Story
  • The Glass Sentence
  • ​The Lunar Chronicles
  • ​You Bring the Distant Near
  • ​The Librarian of Auschwitz
  • ​Love, Life, and the List
  • Invictus
  • Dear Martin
  • The Lost Property Office
  • The Duke of Bannerman Prep
  • Echo
  • ​Full Cicada Moon 
  • The Selection series
  • The Gilded Cage
  • Every Falling Star
  • Up to this Pointe
  • Audacity
  • Esperanza Rising
  • Like Water on Stone
  • Catch You Later, Traitor
  • So B. It
  • Better Off Friends
  • Smile
  • Eleanor’s Story
  • Downriver
  • Girls Like Us
  • Chinese Cinderella
  • The Fault in Our Stars
  • The Grimm Legacy
  • Goodbye, Rebel Blue
  • The Year We Were Famous
  • The Good Braider
  • The Books of Ember series
  • Timebound
  • Bluefish
  • A Long Walk to Water
  • The Book Thief
  • The Family Romanov:  Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia
  • Warriors in the Crossfire
  • The Summer I Turned Pretty
  • Between Shades of Grey
  • Every Soul a Star
  • Flipped
  • Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
  • Hope Was Here
  • The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

Keep checking back! More is on the way!