100 Best Books for Children

Scholastic Parent & Child has named its 100 best books for children.  How many have you read?  What would you add (or remove) from this list?

Harris Burdick … the mysteries continue

More than 25 years ago, Chris Van Allsburg wrote a book that captured imaginations and got kids writing stories.

Van Allsburg, Chris (1984). The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (Ages 5+).

Mr. Harris Burdick brought 14 pictures (complete with titles and captions) to a publisher, promising to bring the accompanying stories and some more pictures the next day.  He never returned.  Chris Van Allsburg, a friend of the publisher, saw the pictures and decided to put them all together in a book.  (That’s the story, at least, and Chris is sticking to it.)  This book has inspired creative writing assignments ever since.

It’s not only children who have found the pictures irresistible fodder for new stories.  Famous authors also think the pictures are intriguing.

Van Allsburg, Chris (2011). The Chronicles of Harris Burdick (Gr. 4-8).

That’s where this book comes in.  Take the 14 pictures from Mysteries, then add short stories from 14 well-known authors.  The stories are sometimes eerie, sometimes funny, and always just as mysterious as the original pictures.  Of course, no one knows what the real stories were, and even famous authors can only take their best guesses.  Would your stories turn out the same way?

The authors included in this compilation:
Lemony Snicket
Tabitha King
Jon Scieszka
Sherman Alexie
Gregory Maguire
Cory Doctorow
Jules Feiffer
Linda Sue Park
Walter Dean Myers
Lois Lowry
Kate DiCamillo
M. T. Anderson
Louis Sachar
Chris Van Allsburg
Stephen King

Possible Newbery Winner?

Mass, Wendy (2010). The Candymakers (Gr. 4-8)

Each year, a one-hundred-year-old international candymaking competition is held. 12-year-olds try to make a tasty candy that hasn’t been created. The winner’s candy is produced nationwide, and he or she receives one thousand dollars. Follow Logan Sweet, Miles O’Leary, Daisy Carpenter, and Philip Ransford III, four of the 32 contestants, as they each try to develop a winning recipe. All four are going to spend two days at the Life Is Sweet candy factory. Logan already lives there because he is son of Mr. and Mrs. Sweet who are the owners of the factory. Logan is a very personable boy who is friends with everyone in the factory, and they all watch out for him. He has the talent of determining the ingredients of candy by taste. He has a bit of pressure on him because both his father and grandfather are past competition winners. Miles is a boy who loves to read books and who speaks backwards. He has strange allergies. Miles is allergic to rowboats, merry-go-rounds, the color pink, and pancakes. He knows a lot about the afterlife, and says things like, “In the afterlife, everyone is friends with everyone else,” or, “In the afterlife, all the doors are always open.”  Miles always carries a backpack with him. Daisy is a girl who is perky, cheerful, and really strong. At least, that is how she seems. Philip is an annoying boy who rolls his eyes at everything, doesn’t eat candy, and is always dressed in a suit. He constantly writes in a notebook he carries. The story consists of multiple mysteries based on these four contestants and their individual personalities. As the characters develop, the author cleverly inserts hints and clues revealing personal secrets.

The Candymakers is a wonderful book that I couldn’t put down. Each contestant has a secret, not shared until the very end. There are five parts to this book, each one featuring a point of view from each character. I recommend this book to 5^th and 6^th graders. I give this book an “A”.

Reviewed by Amariah

Age 11

---

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts? Saugus children of all ages are encouraged to submit reviews for books they’ve enjoyed! If you’re interested, talk to Bethany.