WRB—Children’s Literature Supplement, May 2025

“the Green Meadow”

Poets have surely remarked on this phenomenon, but it is delightful how one day, all your local woods and parks are a hazy green, and then the next, they’re covered in full-blown leaves. Sarah has been reveling in this dramatic shift, along with all the attendant birds sounds and even the occasional croaking frog. Her love for birds, however, does not extend to the starling couple who decided to take up residence in her microwave exhaust vent. A nest is one thing. Bird droppings covering porch, plants, and walls alike is another though, and maintenance was contacted posthaste. Alas, even the ablest of maintenance personnel was no match for these squabbling avians. They were back the next day, intent on rebuilding. Armed with a 40-foot ladder and a plastic screen, in swooped the local wildlife control company to save the day. Sarah is still visited by the unlucky starling pair now and again, but her vent is safe.

Whether you’re dealing with your own pesky nesters or dashing from final soccer games to grad parties to ballet recitals, do take a moment to stop and admire the lilacs. They truly are stunning this time of year. And if you do find a brief moment to read, here are some books about storms (’tis the season, after all) and parties (since we’re all attending so many right now), and a special announcement from Grace.

Party time

Tea parties, caroling parties, going-away parties, retirement parties, birthday parties, First Communion parties—we are often blessed with numerous reasons to celebrate throughout each month. Authors love parties, too, and Sarah has collected a list of her favorite literary parties. Which one do you want an invitation to?

• The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien: Bilbo’s Farewell Party.

• Little Women: The March sisters’ post-theatrical dinner party.

• Any of Brian Jacques’s Redwall books—those mice, hares, and hedgehogs know how to do it right.

• First Farm in the Valley: Anna’s Story by Anne Pellowski—chapter 13, “Name Day.”

• Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy from the Betsy-Tacy books is always up for a good time, especially in her high school years.

• A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck contains a few wildly amusing shindigs.

Don’t forget Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle! (The old, original stories, mind you.) This wonderful woman is always throwing the perfect party.

Storm season

May can be a wild card when it comes to weather. In Sarah’s neck of the woods, it’s been windy as all get out, with some impressive thunderstorms to boot. It put her in mind of Patricia Polacco’s charming book Thundercake. Enjoy!

Audio enjoyment

We’re closing in on summer, which means adventures and vacations for many families. To while away the long hours in cars or airports, Sarah often recommends a good audio book. Of course, it’s hard to go wrong with the Redwall series, or certain Richard Peck titles (A Long Way from Chicago, Here Lies the Librarian, The Teacher’s Funeral), or even some Hardy Boys mysteries—in moderation. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a fun listen, as are any of Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books—and Henry Huggins! And if you’re ambitious, work your way through all the Little House books. You and your children will be entranced, even if you’ve read them before.

Newbery fever

Sarah did get around to that Newbery book writeup, presenting some reviews of various winners and Honor books.

Newbery winners (and honors books) are a fascinating genre. Well, actually, they’re quite the mix of genres, and winners have included everything from historical fiction to poetry to a nonfiction work on the making of the atomic bomb. Many of the winners on this list (and plenty in the honors section, too) deal with tough topics and do so with varying levels of skill. Johnny Tremain, the 1944 winner by Esther Forbes, covers disability, pride, rejection, and even death. Katherine Paterson’s 1978 winner, Bridge to Terabithia, also focuses on death, as well as bullying and poverty. There are some books that I believe shouldn’t even be in the honors section, such as Stephanie S. Tolan’s Surviving the Applewhites, and I just generally have an aversion to everything written by Scott O’Dell (four of his books appear on this list). For those wondering, I wrote about Tolan’s book in the July 2024 edition of the Washington Review of Books. You can read my whole tirade there, but suffice it to say, “It was a serious letdown from the beginning, unfortunately, as weak characters and absurd plotlines poured across the page.” As for Scott O’Dell, well, I’ve had it out for him ever since I read The Spanish Smile as a teen; it’s ostensibly your typical coming-of-age story — if typical coming-of-age stories involve luxurious private islands, controlling fathers, and gruesome murders. Fair or not, I’ve loathed his books ever since.

What were her least and most favorites? Read to find out!

What the kids are reading