WRB—Children’s Literature Supplement, Apr. 2024

“going outside has addictive qualities”

Spring is here, as evidenced by the flood warnings in Sarah’s vicinity and the carpets of violets on all the lawns she sees. Bird migration is picking up (you can watch it here, if you’re interested), and warblers will soon be skimming around the northern parts of the U.S. With a nod to these themes, this month’s CLS brings you a book by Robert McCloskey, three looks at Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s life and famous book, and more.

Hop, skip, and . . . 

Jumping rope, which many of us probably haven’t done in years, is good old-fashioned fun. In the American Girl Addy books, the titular character starts to make friends in her new home by learning double-dutch. As the weather warms up around the country, find a sturdy rope and head for the driveway, where you certainly can jump alone, but it’s much more enjoyable to have two others turn said rope while you learn to run in without getting caught. To heighten the experience, grab The Jump Rope Book by Elizabeth Loredo (1996). It’s chock-full of funny rhymes to chant while you jump. Don’t forget that rope weight matters. It might be worth a trip to your local hardware store to buy rope with a bit of heft to it.

That entrepreneurial spirit

School is winding down, and with it comes the anticipation of summer. But it can’t be all play and no work: Summer jobs are an important part of growing up. Besides their historical fiction publications and the (alas) now-defunct American Girl Magazine, AG also put out various books and series helping girls learn basic life skills and navigate all manner of situations. One of these, Moneymakers (1998), is perfect for the budding entrepreneur. Here’s a selection from the intro:

To begin, decide what you’re good at, what you love, and what you have fun doing. Do you love animals or little kids? Try a dog-walking service or run a children’s story hour. Like to get organized and keep things tidy? Try a silver-polishing service or offer to straighten people’s cupboards. These are the skills you can put to work in a business of your own.

Racing, and flying, across Alaska

The Iditarod race finished up recently, and despite her general dislike of events that reminder her of Jack London’s Call of the Wild (1903), Sarah found this little video and history on the race’s “eyes in the sky” fascinating. 

Ambulatory fortresses 

Last month, Sarah discovered Howl’s Moving Castle in both book and movie form. She hasn’t stopped listening to the movie’s soundtrack yet, and she finds herself in the rare position of loving both book and movie — despite many differences between the two. She wrote about them both for National Review:

Let’s begin with the book’s premise. Sophie Hatter, the eldest of three sisters, is resigned to her fate. In fairy tales, nothing good ever happens to eldest siblings, so she is squirreled away in her father’s milliner shop, creating popular hats for the town’s ladies. The town of Market Chipping, where she lives, is currently in an uproar over the arrival of a wizard named Howl, whose frightening-looking castle recently appeared on a nearby hillside. He is said to suck the souls out of girls and is to be avoided at all costs.

Sophie seems destined for a dull life full of ugly hats, but a chance encounter with an elegantly dressed young man (Howl, of course) throws her world into turmoil. The book’s villainess, aptly named “The Witch of the Waste,” decides that Sophie’s run-in with the wizard makes her a threat and transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. Our plucky heroine calmly packs her bags and sets off from town, unsure exactly what to do but not wanting to worry her family with this sudden change of countenance.

Le petit prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved story has received a lot of attention over the years. Here are three of Sarah’s favorite adaptations and histories:

The Little Prince Deluxe Pop-Up Book

The Little Prince (2015 movie)

The Pilot and the Little Prince by Peter Sís (2014)

What the kids are reading