As a parent, you need to save money and spend it wisely, in order to get more book for your buck.
It's far from easy, as every parent knows.
Throughout my read aloud career, I've also been trying to keep picture book expenses under control.
To keep in tune with my readers, I review only what I buy. No free books from publishers for Read Aloud Dad - not that there is anything wrong with getting sample books for an honest review, mind you.
But there is a magnificent way that you can keep your expenses down as a parent, while providing your kids with dozens and dozens of new picture book classics. (And no, I'm not talking used books here)
I've got a treasure tip for you.
Take a look at these two incredible anthologies.
You should be amazed that these two fantastic books are still on sale.
They are a steal !!
Parents usually don't get an opportunity to save money on children's books - ever.
With such a wide range of authors and picture books for young listeners - saving money is exactly what you can hope for with this pair!
HarperCollins Treasury: For the price of two hardcover picture books you get 12 fully illustrated picture books
Not good enough?
20th Century Treasury: For roughly the same price get 46 picture books rolled into one (with somewhat smaller and fewer illustrations)
Take your pick. I did.
The good news is that whichever treasury you choose ... you win.
In the case of this pair, I agonized because I wanted both.
I was torn.
I was a click or two away from ordering some of the 58 smashing children's picture books offered in the form of two separate books.
I couldn't make up my mind which treasury to buy!
Should I take the The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud (with its massive 46 children's books and excerpts) although it did not carry all the illustrations from the original books and the ones included were often reduced in size?
It includes four Caldecott medal winners and many other award-winning books in its 308 pages (scroll down for full list of the included picture books)
Or should I remain a children's book "purist", by insisting on the dozen untouched versions of children's books with full-size pictures in the
HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection?
It contains 12 complete read-aloud classics included on its 450 pages, but with ALL original full-size illustrations from the included books. This treasury is even heavier than the preceding one. (scroll down for full list of included picture books)
In the end - I took the plunge and ordered BOTH (in January 2010, one year ago).
Brace yourself - I'm ready to spill the beans on both of my purchases.
1. The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud
Before I go into the details - let me tell you the most important thing.
I forgot to include this book in my "5 ways to find the best read-aloud books". This treasury almost deserves a place of its own.
I can't review here all the 46 picture books, due to its sheer size, what I want to do is to share my thoughts on the treasury.
This anthology is a hot bed of ideas for a new read-aloud parent, it will help you discover new authors and new illustrators - it's richness and breadth is simply infectious.
Instead of making costly mistakes (buying books your kids will not like), the treasury will allow you to identify what your kids love ... and then you can build on this.
Let me give you an example.
This treasury introduced my twins and me to Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings - it resonated with all of us.
Since then we ordered ALL (yes all!) of McCloskey's books as stand-alone edictions.
Oh yes - and Harry the Dirty Dog! After he charmed my daughter, I decided to look for Harry's own treasury of stories to keep the love affair between my kids and Harry going.
This 20-th Century Treasury is not a mere collection of children's books - it is a wealth of ideas for parents who wish to expand their knowledge of children's books.
Keep in mind though that some of the illustrations have been omitted in this anthology, while others have been reduced in size.
Still, it is an incredible feat.
With two exceptions (Amelia Bedelia and Petunia, which were slighly abridged), all selections include the entire original text. Although a year has passed, we still have not read all the stories in this Treasury. It is so comprehensive.
There are stories for different age levels - which is a fantastic concept.
Selector Janet Schulman even included color-coded symbols with each story in order to indicate the approximate age level.
There are stories for the yougest child (red symbols), through blue-coded stories (intermediate) all the way to longer stories that are told primarily with words (green
symbol) and which require a greater attention span or range of experience.
To say that the list of picture books included in this treasury is extensive - is an understatement.
Check out its contents:
35. I See (1986)
2. HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection
And the pictures in this anthology are huge! You are sure to win over any toddler.
It's sheer size does not prevent my small daughter from hauling this book around wherever she goes. I still can't believe that she can carry and "read it" on her own, but she never complains.
For small children, this book may be the more approachable of the two treasuries - because as a read-aloud it is geared primarily to the younger ages.
This treasury will also have great value as a source of reading material for kids when learning to read - so it will be useful later on as well.
This anthology introduced us to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - a story that was so
important to my twins that there was a period when we had to read it practically every day for almost a month and I ordered the other books by the same author (Laura Joffe Numeroff) - such as If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, etc.).
Two-year olds and three-year olds need a lot of visual stimulus - and here lies the success of this treasury. It has 12 unabridged picture books with full-size illustrations.
Contents include:
11. From Head to Toe
Author: Eric Carle
Comparing them I can only conclude that these anthologies are complementary - not rivals.
I see the HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics
as the best option for youngest listeners (because of its fantastic visuals with full color illustrations), while the 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury has four times as many stories and a greater potential to satisfy kids of different ages, despite sacrificing a significant number of illustrations (in terms of number and size).
These two anthologies do not compete in my household - both are equally loved and enjoyed.
If you are wondering, there is no overlap between the two - except for Goodnight Moon.
Looking back, I can say that The HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics helped my twins to get hooked on picture books, while the 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury helped them get hooked on read alouds.
Sounds similar, but they achieved different things. So both books were instrumental in their development.
Get the best of both worlds.
Buy a treasury, save money and shower your kids with new picture books and read-aloud material.
A win-win solution for any read-aloud family!
|
| "HarperCollins Treasury" |
Throughout my read aloud career, I've also been trying to keep picture book expenses under control.
To keep in tune with my readers, I review only what I buy. No free books from publishers for Read Aloud Dad - not that there is anything wrong with getting sample books for an honest review, mind you.
But there is a magnificent way that you can keep your expenses down as a parent, while providing your kids with dozens and dozens of new picture book classics. (And no, I'm not talking used books here)
I've got a treasure tip for you.
Take a look at these two incredible anthologies.
You should be amazed that these two fantastic books are still on sale.
|
| "20th Century Treasury" |
Parents usually don't get an opportunity to save money on children's books - ever.
With such a wide range of authors and picture books for young listeners - saving money is exactly what you can hope for with this pair!
HarperCollins Treasury: For the price of two hardcover picture books you get 12 fully illustrated picture books
Not good enough?
20th Century Treasury: For roughly the same price get 46 picture books rolled into one (with somewhat smaller and fewer illustrations)
Take your pick. I did.
The good news is that whichever treasury you choose ... you win.
In the case of this pair, I agonized because I wanted both.
I was a click or two away from ordering some of the 58 smashing children's picture books offered in the form of two separate books.
I couldn't make up my mind which treasury to buy!
Should I take the The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud (with its massive 46 children's books and excerpts) although it did not carry all the illustrations from the original books and the ones included were often reduced in size?
It includes four Caldecott medal winners and many other award-winning books in its 308 pages (scroll down for full list of the included picture books)
Or should I remain a children's book "purist", by insisting on the dozen untouched versions of children's books with full-size pictures in the
HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection?
It contains 12 complete read-aloud classics included on its 450 pages, but with ALL original full-size illustrations from the included books. This treasury is even heavier than the preceding one. (scroll down for full list of included picture books)
In the end - I took the plunge and ordered BOTH (in January 2010, one year ago).
Brace yourself - I'm ready to spill the beans on both of my purchases.
1. The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud
I forgot to include this book in my "5 ways to find the best read-aloud books". This treasury almost deserves a place of its own.
I can't review here all the 46 picture books, due to its sheer size, what I want to do is to share my thoughts on the treasury.
This anthology is a hot bed of ideas for a new read-aloud parent, it will help you discover new authors and new illustrators - it's richness and breadth is simply infectious.
Instead of making costly mistakes (buying books your kids will not like), the treasury will allow you to identify what your kids love ... and then you can build on this.
Let me give you an example.
This treasury introduced my twins and me to Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings - it resonated with all of us.
Since then we ordered ALL (yes all!) of McCloskey's books as stand-alone edictions.
Oh yes - and Harry the Dirty Dog! After he charmed my daughter, I decided to look for Harry's own treasury of stories to keep the love affair between my kids and Harry going.
This 20-th Century Treasury is not a mere collection of children's books - it is a wealth of ideas for parents who wish to expand their knowledge of children's books.
Keep in mind though that some of the illustrations have been omitted in this anthology, while others have been reduced in size.
Still, it is an incredible feat.
With two exceptions (Amelia Bedelia and Petunia, which were slighly abridged), all selections include the entire original text. Although a year has passed, we still have not read all the stories in this Treasury. It is so comprehensive.
There are stories for different age levels - which is a fantastic concept.
Selector Janet Schulman even included color-coded symbols with each story in order to indicate the approximate age level.
There are stories for the yougest child (red symbols), through blue-coded stories (intermediate) all the way to longer stories that are told primarily with words (green
symbol) and which require a greater attention span or range of experience.
To say that the list of picture books included in this treasury is extensive - is an understatement.
Check out its contents:
1. excerpt from Winnie-The-Pooh (1926)
Author: A.A. Milne
2. Millions of Cats (1928)
Author: Wanda Gág
Author: Wanda Gág
3. The Story of Babar: the Little Elephant (1931)
Author: Jean de Brunhoff
Author: Jean de Brunhoff
4. The Story of Ferdinand (1936)
Author: Munro Leaf
5. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (1939)
Author: Virginia Lee Burton
6. Madeline (1939)
Author: Ludwig Bemelmans
7. Curious George (1941)
Authors: H.A. Rey , Margret Rey
8. Make Way for Ducklings (1941)
Author: Robert McCloskey
9. story from The Cat Club (1944)
Author: Esther Averill
10. Goodnight Moon (1947)
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
11. Petunia (1950)
Author: Ruger Duvoisin
Author: Ruger Duvoisin
12. Harry the Dirty Dog (1956)
Author: Gene Zion
13. Bedtime For Frances (1960)
Author: Russell Hoban
Author: Russell Hoban
14. The Sneetches from The Sneetches And Other Stories (1961)
Author: Dr. Seuss
15. The Snowy Day (1962)
Author: Ezra Jack Keats
16. Amelia Bedelia (1963)
Author: Peggy Parish
17. I Am a Bunny (1963)
Author: Ole Risom
18. Where the Wild Things Are (1963)
Author: Maurice Sendak
19. Swimmy (1963)
Author: Leo Lionni
20. A Boy, a Dog and a Frog (1967)
Author: Mercer Mayer
21. The Elves In The Shelves
from A Necklace of Raindrops (1968)
Author: Joan Aiken
22. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969)
Author: William Steig
23. Stevie (1969)
Author: John Steptoe
24. The Letter from Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970)
Author: Arnold Lobel
25. Whose Mouse Are You? (1970)
Author: Robert Kraus
26. Titch (1971)
Author: Pat Hutchins
27. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972)
Author: Judith Viorst
28. Miss Nelson Is Missing! (1977)
Author: Harry Allard
29. The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree (1978)
Authors: Stan Berenstain , Jan Berenstain
30. Freight Train (1979)
Author: Donald Crews
31. A Chair for My Mother (1982)
Author: Vera B. Williams
32. Ten, Nine, Eight (1983)
Author: Molly Bang
33. I Touch (1986)
Author: Helen Oxenbury
34. I Hear (1986)
Author: Helen Oxenbury
Author: Helen Oxenbury
35. I See (1986)
Author: Helen Oxenbury
36. The Tub People (1989)
Author: Pam Conrad
37. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989)
Authors: Bill Martin, Jr. , John Archambault
38. First Tomato (1992)
Author: Rosemary Wells
39. The Stinky Cheese Man
from The Stinky Cheese Man And Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992),
Author: Jon Scieszka
40. A Million Fish...More or Less (1992)
Author: Patricia C. McKissack
41. Owen (1993)
Author: Kevin Henkes
42. Stellaluna (1993)
Author: Janell Cannon
43. Good Night, Gorilla (1994)
Author: Peggy Rathmann
44. D.W. the Picky Eater (1995)
Author: Marc Brown
45. Guess How Much I Love You (1995)
Author: Sam McBratney
46. The Story of Little Babaji (1996)
Authors: Helen Bannerman , Fred Marcellino
It's sheer size does not prevent my small daughter from hauling this book around wherever she goes. I still can't believe that she can carry and "read it" on her own, but she never complains.
For small children, this book may be the more approachable of the two treasuries - because as a read-aloud it is geared primarily to the younger ages.
This treasury will also have great value as a source of reading material for kids when learning to read - so it will be useful later on as well.
This anthology introduced us to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - a story that was so
important to my twins that there was a period when we had to read it practically every day for almost a month and I ordered the other books by the same author (Laura Joffe Numeroff) - such as If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, etc.).
Two-year olds and three-year olds need a lot of visual stimulus - and here lies the success of this treasury. It has 12 unabridged picture books with full-size illustrations.
Contents include:
1. Goodnight Moon
Author: Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
Author: Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
2. Caps for Sale
Author: Esphyr Slobodkina
Author: Esphyr Slobodkina
3. Harold and the Purple Crayon
Author: Crockett Johnson
Author: Crockett Johnson
4. Crictor
Author: Tomi Ungerer
Author: Tomi Ungerer
5. A Baby Sister for Frances
Author: Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban
Author: Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban
6. Leo the Late Bloomer
Author: Robert Kraus, illustrated by Jose Aruego
Author: Robert Kraus, illustrated by Jose Aruego
7. William's Doll
Author: Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by William Pène Du Bois
Author: Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by William Pène Du Bois
9. George Shrinks
Author: William Joyce
Author: William Joyce
10. Baby Says
Author: John Steptoe
11. From Head to Toe
Author: Eric Carle
12. Pete's a Pizza
Author: William Steig
Author: William Steig
I see the HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics
as the best option for youngest listeners (because of its fantastic visuals with full color illustrations), while the 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury has four times as many stories and a greater potential to satisfy kids of different ages, despite sacrificing a significant number of illustrations (in terms of number and size). These two anthologies do not compete in my household - both are equally loved and enjoyed.
If you are wondering, there is no overlap between the two - except for Goodnight Moon.
Looking back, I can say that The HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics helped my twins to get hooked on picture books, while the 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury helped them get hooked on read alouds.
Sounds similar, but they achieved different things. So both books were instrumental in their development.
Get the best of both worlds.
Buy a treasury, save money and shower your kids with new picture books and read-aloud material.
A win-win solution for any read-aloud family!
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