Eccleshare, Julia "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up"

Eccleshare, Julia "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up" - 2009

While reviewing a children's book, I found this list on Wikipedia: 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. And discovered, that there is a book with all the descriptions.

I wish this would have existed when my kids were little but I think we still did quite well. I have listed all the books I can remember reading with my boys thoug I have not reviewe all of them. I also sorted them in chronological order rather than by age as on the list. This means, if you are looking for a book for a certain age-group, you better consult the original list. Some of those books are not for 3-year-olds. Or - even better, get the book.

Defoe, Daniel "Robinson Crusoe" - 1719

Defoe, Daniel "Gulliver's Travels" - 1726

Bürger, Gottfried August "The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen" (GE: Wunderbare Reisen zu Wasser und zu Lande – Feldzüge und lustige Abenteuer des Freiherrn von Münchhausen) - 1786

Lamb, Charles and Mary "Tales from Shakespeare" - 1807

Grimm, Jacob und Wilhelm "Grimm's Fairy Tales" - 1812
(Jorinda and Joringel. Eight Fairy Tales/GE: Jorinde und Joringel. Acht Märchen der Brüder Grimm) - 1812

Hawthorne, Nathaniel "The Scarlet Letter" - 1815

Moore, Clement Clarke "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) - 1822

Andersen, Hans Christian "Fairy Tales" - 1837

Dickens, Charles "A Christmas Carol" - 1843 

Dumas, Alexandre "The Three Musketeers" (F: Les Trois Mousquetaires) - 1844

Hoffmann, Heinrich "Struwwelpeter" (GE: Der Struwwelpeter) - 1845

Busch, Wilhelm "Max and Moritz" (GE: Max und Moritz) - 1865

Carroll, Lewis "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" - 1865

Alcott, Louisa May "Little Women Series" - 1868-86

Twain, Mark "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" - 1876

Spyri, Johanna "Heidi" (GE: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre + Heidi kann brauchen, was es gelernt hat) - 1880/81

Stevenson, Robert Louis "Treasure Island" - 1881/82  

Twain, Mark "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" - 1884

Burnett, Frances Hodgson "Little Lord Fauntleroy" - 1886

Baum, L. Frank "The Wizard of Oz" - 1900 

Potter, Beatrix "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" - 1902

Molnár, Ferenc "The Paul Street Boys" (H: A Pál-utcai Fiúk) - 1907

Montgomery, L. M. "Anne of Green Gables" - 1908

Burnett, Frances Hodgson "The Secret Garden" - 1911

Milne, AA "Winnie the Pooh" - 1926

Hergé "Tintin" (F: Tintin) - 1929

Kästner, Erich "Emil and the Detectives" (GE: Emil und die Detektive) - 1929

Ingalls Wilder, Laura "Little House Books" - 1932-71

de Brunhoff, Jean "The Story of Babar" (F: Histoire de Babar le petit éléphant) - 1934

Leaf, Munro "The Story of Ferdinand" - 1936

Streatfeild, Noel "Ballet Shoes" - 1936

Tolkien, J.R.R. "The Hobbit" - 1937

Bemelmans, Ludwig "Madeline" - 1939

Rey, H.A. "Curious George" - 1941-1966 

Blyton, Edit "Five on a Treasure Island" - 1942

Forbes, Ester "Johnny Tremain" - 1943

Estes, Eleanor "The Hundred Dresses" - 1944

White, E.B. "Stuart Little" - 1945

Smith, Dodie "I Capture the Castle" - 1948

Lewis, C.S. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" - 1950

Schulz, Charles M. "Peanuts" - 1950
(Advent with the Peanuts"/Advent mit den Peanuts) - 1979/80

Salinger, J.D. "Catcher in the Rye" - 1951

White, E.B. "Charlotte's Web" - 1952

Bradbury, Ray "Fahrenheit 451" - 1953

Saint-Exupéry, Antoine "The Little Prince" (F: Le Petit Prince) - 1953

Golding, William "Lord of the Flies" - 1954

Jansson, Tove "Moominsummer Madness" (FIN: Vaarallinen juhannus/Farlig midsommar) - 1954 

Zion, Gene "Harry, the Dirty Dog" - 1956

Awdry, Rev. Wilbert "Thomas the Tank Engine" - 1956-2011

LeSieg, Theo (=Dr. Seuss) "The Cat in the Hat" - 1957

Ryan, John "Captain Pugwash" - 1957

Bond, Michael "A Bear Called Paddington" - 1958

Goscinny, René "Little Nicholas" (F: Le Petit Nicolas) - 1959

Goscinny, René; Uderzo, Albert "Asterix the Gaul" (F: Astérix le Gaulois) - 1959

Eastman, P.D. "Go, Dog, Go!" - 1960

Lee, Harper "To Kill a Mockingbird" - 1960 

LeSieg, Theo (=Dr. Seuss) "Green Eggs and Ham" - 1960

Dahl, Roald "James and the Giant Peach" - 1961

Juster, Norton "The Phantom Tollbooth" - 1961

Rawls, Wilson "Where the Red Fern Grows" - 1961

Berenstain, Stan and Jan "The Berenstain Bears" - 1962ff.

L’Engle, Madeleine "A Wrinkle in Time" - 1962

Preußler, Otfried "The Robber Hotzenplotz" (GE: Der Räuber Hotzenplotz) - 1962

Bridwell, Norman "Clifford" - 1963-2015

Bruna, Dick "Miffy" (NL: Nijntje) - 1963

Peyo "The Black Smurfs" (F: Les Schtroumpfs Noir) - 1963

Sendak, Maurice "Where The Wild Things Are" - 1963

Brown, Jeff "Flat Stanley" - 1964

Dahl, Roald "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - 1964

Silverstein, Shel "The Giving Tree" - 1964

Biro, Val "Gumdrop" - 1966

Lionni, Leo "Frederick" - 1967

Freeman, Don "Corduroy" - 1968

Kerr, Judith "The Tiger Who Came to Tea" - 1968

Scarry, Richard "What Do People Do All Day" - 1968 et al.

Carle, Eric "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" - 1969

O'Dell, Scott "Island of the Blue Dolphins" - 1969

Tison, Annette; Taylor, Talus "Barbapapa" - 1970

Hargreaves, Roger "Mr. Men" - 1971ff.

Adams, Richard "Watership Down" - 1972

Briggs, Raymond "Father Christmas" - 1973

Silverstein, Shel "Where the Sidewalk Ends - 1974

dePaola, Tomie "Strega Nona" - 1975

Smucker, Barbara "Underground to Canada" - 1977

Ahlberg, Janet & Allen "Each Peach Pear Plum" - 1978

Barrett, Judi "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" - 1978

Briggs, Raymond "The Snowman" - 1978

Ende, Michael "The Never Ending Story" (GE: Die unendliche Geschichte) - 1979

Hill, Eric "Where's Spot?" - 1980

Cunliffe, John Arthur "Postman Pat" - 1981

Browne, Anthony "Gorilla" - 1983

Dodd, Lynley "Hairy Maclairy from Donaldsons's Dairy" - 1983

Holabird, Catherine/Craig, Helen "Angelina Ballerina" - 1983

Pausewang, Gudrun "The Cloud" (GE: Die Wolke) - 1987
- "The Last Children" (GE: Die letzten Kinder von Schewenborn oder … sieht so unsere Zukunft aus?) - 1983

Numeroff, Laura "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" - 1985

Ahlberg, Janet & Allan "The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters" - 1986

Jacques, Brian "Redwall" - 1986

MacLachlan, Patricia - Sarah, Plain & Tall Series - 1986-2004

Munsch, Robert "Love You Forever" - 1986

Murphy, Jill "Peace at Last" (Five Minutes Peace) - 1986

Paulsen, Gary "Hatchet" - 1986

Ihimaera, Witi "The Whale Rider" - 1987

King-Smith, Dick "The Hodgeheg" - 1987

Waddell, Martin "Can't You Sleep, Little Bear" - 1988

McKee, David "Elmer" - 1989

Rosen, Michael "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" - 1989

Scieszka, Jon; Smith, Lane "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" - 1989

LeSieg, Theo (=Dr. Seuss) "Oh, the Places You'll Go" - 1990

Inkpen, Mick "Kipper" - 1991

Scieszka, Jon; Smith, Lane "The Stinky Cheeseman" - 1992

Buchholz, Quint "Sleep Well, Little Bear" (GE: Schlaf gut, kleiner Bär) - 1993

Cannon, Janell "Stellaluna" - 1993

McBratney, Sam "Guess How Much I Love You" - 1994 

Pullman, Philip "Northern Lights" - 1995

Hesse, Karen "Out of the Dust" - 1997

Rowling, J.K. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" - 1997 

Sachar, Louis "Holes" - 1998

Curtis, Christopher Paul "Bud, Not Buddy" - 1999

Donaldson, Julia "The Gruffalo" - 1999

Colver, Eoin "Artemis Fowl" - 2001

Allende, Isabel "City of the Beasts" (E: La ciudad de las bestias) - 2002

Hartnett, Sonya "Thursday’s Child" - 2002

Zusak, Markus "The Messenger" - 2002

Funke, Cornelia "Inkheart" (GE: Tintenherz) - 2003 

Haddon, Mark "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" - 2003

Cottrell Boyce, Frank "Millions" - 2004

Boyne, John "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" - 2006

From the back cover:

"This is the best and most authoritative guide to classic and contemporary children’s literature today. It is the latest in the best-selling 1001 series, and its informative reviews are the key to differentiating the "must-read" books from all the rest in the realm of children’s books. Whether you are a parent seeking to instill a love of reading in your child, an educator or counselor looking for inspiration, or a young reader with a voracious appetite, this guide to the best writing for children and young adults covers the spectrum of children’s literature. It is organized by age group—from board books to YA novels and all the gradiations in between. Each entry features evaluations by a team of international critics complete with beautifully reproduced artwork from the featured title. The beloved classics are here, but the guide also takes a global perspective and includes the increasingly diverse contributions from African American and Latino authors and illustrators—not to mention important books from around the world."

Dorling Kindersley "Brussels"

Dorling Kindersley (Hewetson, Zöe) "Brussels. Bruges, Ghent & Antwerp" - 2000
A Dorling Kindersley Travel Guide

One of the DK Travel Guides I have used frequently. Brussels is my favourite city. I have lived there. I have met my husband there. We have been going more than once every year since we moved away and now our youngest son lives there, right in the area where my husband and I met.

I love the Eyewitness Guides and also their little sister, The Travel Guides. Even if you are not able to visit a city (or a country), you can see exactly what it looks like and get a lot of information about the town, the people, the buildings, the parks, the museums, the food, just about everything you would like to know about a certain place.

The guide is divided into the areas of the city: the Lower Town, the Upper Town, Greater Brussels, Beyond Brussels, it gives you all the information a traveller needs: Where to stay, restaurants, cafés and bars, Shopping in Brussels, there is a survival guide with practical and travel information, everything you need to know.

Brussels is such a beautiful city with so many historic places, it's hard to know where to begin. A must is definitely the Grand Place with all its picturesque guild houses. You certainly can't miss this. It's beautiful to sit in one of the restaurants and observe the bustling life around you. But we usually just have a coffee there and go for dinner in one of the cheaper places just off the market or in another quarter, the food is so much better, as well.

In every even year, there is a flower carpet on the Grand Place, always around Assumption Day (of Mary, 15 August), a national holiday in Belgium.

One place we visit almost every time is the Cinquantenaire which is close by my old living place. There's a beautiful parc and a palace built by Leopold II on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary (cinquantenaire) of Belgium. Him being German, he based the memorial arcade on the Brandenburg Gate but it also looks like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Then there's the Quartier Royal with its Royal Palace and the Parc de Bruxelles, one of the most beautiful parcs you can imagine. And, of course, lots of wonderful museums for anyone interested in art and history. The palace is open to the public in the summer. Definitely worth another visit.

And there are places you should visit, if you happen to be in Brussels for longer or at a certain time. First of all, the symbol of Brussels, the Atomium, originally constructed as the centrepiece of the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58). Definitely worth it, especially since its renovation about two decades ago. Six of the spheres are accessible to the public and they show permanent as well as temporary exhibitions on the 50s, the Expo, the construction as well as modern art or anything of current interest.

Then there are the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken which are open to the public once a year for two weeks in April/May.

You can also do tours around Brussels to admire the Art Nouveau houses, doors, windows, entrances (you can get a cheap map at the info centre at the Grand Place). There is also such a map for all the comic related street art. Tintin and his friends are all over the place. And if you arrive at the Gare Central (central station) and leave the place, don't forget to look up when you pass under the passage of the Putterie.

Brussels also has beautiful metro stations, a ride on the metro is always interesting.

There is so much more to see that it is impossible to write in just one post. You will have to go and see for yourself why I love this town so much.

Of course, all the other cities mentioned in the title and the book are also very much worth visiting.

Book description:

"Highlights Lower Town, Upper Town, Greater Brussels, as well as sited beyond the city.

Recognized the world over by frequent flyers and armchair travelers alike, Eyewitness Travel Guides are the most colorful and comprehensive guides on the market. With beautiful commissioned photographs and spectacular 3-D aerial views revealing the charm of each destination, these amazing travel guides show what others only tell.

'DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Brussels, Bruges, Ghent & Antwerp' is your indispensable guide to this beautiful part of the world. The fully updated guide includes unique cutaways, floor plans and reconstructions of the must-see sights, plus street-by-street maps. The also is packed with photographs and illustrations leading you straight to the best attractions these cities offer.

With insider tips and essential local information, this uniquely visual DK Eyewitness Travel guide highlights everything you'll need to know to make your vacation special, from local festivals and markets to day trips around the countryside. Detailed listings will guide you to the best hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops for all budgets, while practical information will help you to get around by train, bus, or car.

'DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Brussels, Bruges, Ghent & Antwerp' will help you effortlessly explore every corner of Brussels, Bruges, Ghent & Antwerp."

Eyewitness Guide Paris

Eyewitness Guide Paris
Top 10 Paris (DK Eyewitness Travel Guides)

It's Paris in July month. Since we can't travel there in real life, we travel online.

What do we need for any trip? That's right, a map and a guide book. So, that's where I begin my month of travelling to and through Paris.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Dorling Kindersley? Probably about a hundred times. They publish wonderful books and we have lots of them in the house and one of their Eyewitness Guide on every town and country we have visited since we discovered them about thirty years ago.

Now, with a big city like Paris, we have two choices. First, there is the big "Eyewitness Guide" (*), a beautiful book with pretty illustrations that make you believe you stand in the middle of a street and can start admiring the places already (see left picture and picture in the middle - the oldest and the newest edition). It shows so many details, gives wonderful explanations and doesn't let you miss a thing you might want to see.

It is also a brilliant non-fiction book to read, at least the first half. They give you so much information about the city itself, its history and many more interesting little tidbits. The very first edition was even advertised for "frequent flyers and armchair travelers alike".

(*) Eyewitness Guide by Alan Tillier, Anna Brooke (1993) and by DK Publishing (2020).

Top Ten
by Anna Brooke, Mike Gerrard, Donna Dailey, Paul Hines

At one point, they started the "Top 10" books. They are a lot smaller than the other ones and easy to put into your bag while walking through the city. It doesn't have the nice drawings for every single "quartier" as the original big one has but it's the best guide to the city. If you can afford it, get both, leave the large one in the hotel and take the small on your excursions. (see right picture)

From the back covers:

Eyewitness Guide:

"Discover Paris - a city synonymous with art, fashion, gastronomy, and culture.

Whether you want to be awed by iconic landmarks, lose yourself in the Louvre, or shop till you drop, your DK Eyewitness travel guide makes sure you experience all that Paris has to offer.

Paris is a treasure trove of things to see and do. Packed full of world-famous palaces, museums, and galleries, the city shines with opulence and elegance. But Parisians know that there is more to life than glitz and glamour. Simpler pleasures are offered in abundance - think tiny winding streets, quirky old bookshops, and centuries-old cafés.

Our annually updated guide brings Paris to life, transporting you there like no other travel guide does with expert-led insights and advice, detailed breakdowns of all the must-see sights, photographs on practically every page, and our hand-drawn illustrations which place you inside the city's iconic buildings and neighbourhoods.

You'll discover:

- our pick of Paris' must-sees, top experiences, and hidden gems
- the best spots to eat, drink, shop, and stay
- detailed maps and walks which make navigating the country easy
- easy-to-follow itineraries
- expert advice: get ready, get around, and stay safe
- colour-coded chapters to every part of Paris, from Champs-Élysées to Belleville, Montmartre to Montparnasse
- our new lightweight format, so you can take it with you wherever you go

Want the best of Paris in your pocket? Try our Top 10 Paris for top 10 lists to all-things Paris."

Top Ten:

"With a new design and unbeatable price, DK raises the bar on travel guides with its new Top 10 Travel Guide series. Whether on business or vacation, take the work out of planning any trip with DK's Top 10 Travel Guides. Building on the success of the Eyewitness Travel Guides, DK has created a new series that makes finding the best every destination has to offer even easier than before. Whether searching for the finest cuisine or cheapest places to eat, the most luxurious hotels or best deals on places to stay, the coolest family destination or hottest nightspot, the Top 10 format allows travelers to use the insights of experts to make the most of their vacation. Accompanied by a companion website, readers can share their experiences and vote for their own personal Top 10s."

For those, who don't read through all the comments, my blogger friend Lectrice just added a link to the Dorling Kindersley page where you can get a closer look into the book.

Piercy, Joseph "The Story of English"

Piercy, Joseph "The Story of English: How an Obscure Dialect became the World's Most-Spoken Language" - 2012

I love languages. I love to know everything about them, so I can't really pass over a book that says "The Story of English: How an Obscure Dialect became the World's Most-Spoken Language". Obscure dialect. That sounds interesting.

I have read a lot about how the English language developed, I know about the Celts and the Romans, the Angles and the Saxons, the Vikings and the Normans and you can tell which words come from which language and why English has such a weird spelling. We know about Chaucer, Shakespeare and many other important writers and what they have done to shape the language.

This book reads like a novel about some people who inhabited a small island, were invaded and then started to invade others, as well. Totally interesting. There is a lot of history in this book but you can't understand the English language without getting into their history.

It's a quick story about the evolution of the language (less than 200 pages), not as funny as those by Bill Bryson ("Mother Tongue", "Troublesome Words" and "Made in America") but still not a bad read.

My favourite quotes:

"To write or even speak English is not a science but an art. There are no reliable words. Whoever writes English is involved in a struggle that never lets up even for a sentence. He is struggling against vagueness, against obscurity, against the lure of the decorative adjective, against the encroachment of Latin and Greek, and, above all, against the worn-out phrases and dead metaphors with which the language is cluttered up."
George Orwell, English Novelist (1903-59)

and

"If you describe things as better than they are, you are thought a romantic; if you describe things as worse than they are, you are thought a realist; if you describe things exactly as they are, you will be thought a satirist."
Quentin Crisp, English Writer and Raconteur (1908-99)

From the back cover:

"This is the compelling account of how the obscure dialects spoken by tribes from what are now Denmark, the Low Countries, and northern Germany became the most widely spoken language in the world.

English may have originated with just one country, but it is actually built upon influences from many different languages. From the Anglo-Saxons in the fifth century to the Normans in the eleventh, and on to present-day America, The Story of English shows how our language has evolved during the last two millenia.

Divided chronologically into sections ranging from pre-Roman and Latin influences to today's global language, this fascinating book also explores, among much else, the history of the printing press, the works of Chaucer, the evolution of The American Dictionary of the English Language - better known as Webster's - and the magisterial Oxford English Dictionary, to the use of slang in today's speech and the coming of electronic messaging: language for a postmodern world. 

The Story of English is the perfect gift for any lover not just of English, but of the history and development of language."

Bryson, Bill "Troublesome Words"

Bryson, Bill "Troublesome Words" - 1997

Somewhere I read that this book was an amalgam of reference and humour. I can't think of any other author who fits this description better than Bill Bryson. Let's just look at “Troublesome Words”. A great reference book for any questions you might have about the English language, even if it is your mother tongue.

This book is almost a dictionary that gives you so much to look at - on any questions you might have about written English. Bill Bryson is well-known as a travel book author but he is just as great with his language books. He quotes both British and American newspapers - as an American lived in Britain and married to a Brit, he is certainly an expert on the differences between those two "languages". You can also find a glossary on grammar and punctuation. But, even if you're not interested in that part, this book is worth reading in any case, it's hilarious.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

From the back cover:

"Why should I avoid discussing the 'weather conditions'?

Can a woman be 'celibate'?

When can I use 'due to', or should I play safe and always use 'because of'?

What's wrong with the way I'm using 'crescendo'?

This book provides a simple guide to the more perplexing and contentious issues of standard written English. The entries are discussed with wit and common sense, and are illustrated with examples of questionable usage taken from leading British and American newspapers.

No familiarity with English grammar is needed to learn from this book, although a glossary of grammatical terms is included and there us also an appendix on punctuation.

Journalists, copy-writers and secretaries will find this an invaluable handbook, and it will also be a highly enjoyable book for the word-buff."

I love all of Bill Bryson's books. Find a link to my reviews here.