Day 204: Andrew Henry's Meadow

Before I go on and on about how amazingly fabulous this book is, I have to give a big thank you shout out to my fellow picture book lover and blogger, Read Aloud Dad, who first introduced me to this book a month or two ago when I read his review of it here.  As soon as I read his glowing review, I logged on to my library system's website and set out to find a copy that we could borrow.  Surprisingly, there were only 3 copies of Andrew Henry's Meadow in the whole system.  Only 3!  Why every library in the world doesn't own this book, I have no idea.  It is truly one of the most wonderful stories I have read in a long time, and I'm so happy to have discovered it. Thank you, Read Aloud Dad!

Andrew Henry Thatcher lives with his family in the small town of Stubbsville.  He has two younger brothers who are always playing with each other, and two older sisters who are always with each other, leaving Andrew Henry alone most of the time.  Fortunately, he doesn't much seem to mind, happily passing the time creating clever new inventions.  He makes a helicopter in the kitchen, an eagle cage in the living room, and a merry-go-round from his sisters' sewing machine.  Unfortunately, though, Andrew Henry's inventions aren't exactly appreciate by his family.  

One day, after thinking about it for some time, Andrew Henry packs up his tools and runs away, setting off through the woods to build a house of his own.  He soon finds the perfect place for his house -- a lovely meadow, complete with a stream and a tall, strong fir tree.  "He set to work, and before long the house was finished.  The walls were made of clay and rocks and poles.  The roof was made of fir boughs, and outside one window there was a fine landing field for dragonflies.  But Andrew Henry wasn't alone long..."  

Soon, other children from the town, with unique qualities and interests of their own, are eager to join him.  Andrew Henry sets to work building the children their own customized houses, perfectly suited to their tastes and talents.  Alice Burdock's house was just right for a person who loved birds, high up in a tree with birdbaths, feeding stations, and "even a hand rest for Alice's binoculars when she wasn't using them."  George Turner's house is perfect for fishing, Joe Polasky's underground quarters are ideal for him and his many pets, and Margot LaPorte's house is well-suited for her music rehearsals.  The children all live quite happily in their meadow for a few days and nights, but back home, their families are frantically searching for them.  Where could they have gone?  Finally, of course, everyone is reunited, and the families are more accepting of their children in the end.  It's sad, in a way, that it took the children running away for this to be the case, but without doing so, we'd have missed out on all of the wonderful magic of that meadow.  

The little details throughout this book are simply perfect, in both the illustrations and the story, itself.  I love Doris Burn's descriptions of the houses, and her black and white sketches are even more wonderful and clever.  My son gets such a kick out of the different houses Andrew Henry builds for the other kids in the meadow, and it's always fun to brainstorm what type of house we would want to live in there.  I love the way this story inspires creativity and imagination, for Andrew Henry's inventions and houses are truly fantastic.  More than anything, though, I love the way this story reminds us all to appreciate our children's unique gifts and talents and love them exactly for who they are. 

Andrew Henry's Meadow was first published in 1965, with its most recent edition coming out last year in 2012.  It's a longer than your average picture book -- more like a chapter book, but without the chapters -- so probably better suited for children ages 4 and up.  That said, though, my 2 1/2 year old is quite content to sit and read this with me and my 5 year old.  This is one book that has certainly made itself on to our "must own" list, and is one that I'm sure we will treasure for years to come.  If you can manage to get your hands on a copy of this amazing book, please do.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

Day 200: The Magic Tree House Series

 

Our 200th book feels like a big milestone, even though we still have many more to go!  In honor of the occasion, I wanted to feature a book that is especially fabulous and amazing and well-loved in our house.  Actually, it's a whole series of books:  The Magic Treehouse by Mary Pope Osborne.

This is our first foray into the world of what I will call "real" chapter books with our 5 year old son.  Not the early reader kind like Henry and Mudge that we love so much, but paperbacks with illustrations only every few pages.  I can't imagine a better series of books with which to start this grand adventure.  They are amazing!!  Creative, educational, historical, entertaining, and all-around fantastic!  We still read plenty of picture books and will for some time, but if you're looking to start introducing your young reader to chapter books, this series is the perfect place to start. 

In these stories, brother and sister duo Jack and Annie travel through time in a magical treehouse (filled with books!), visiting famous places and people, solving riddles, and going on incredible adventures.   Whether it's to the moon, ancient Egypt, the Great Wall of China, Ancient Greece, or to meet William Shakespeare, each story takes us to a new time and place, and I just love the way history is brought alive along the way. 

I have to say, though, that while I've had the pleasure of reading a few of these wonderful books with my son, they have been in daddy's domain from the beginning.  My husband is usually the one who reads our little guy at bedtime, and I absolutely love that they have this tradition now.  It makes me so happy to know that someday they will both look back so fondly on reading these stories together.  

To say that my son loves these books is an understatement.  He can't get enough of them! We've been flying through the series incredibly quickly, taking 5 or 6 books out from the library at a time and reading one almost every night.  Thank goodness there are 49 books in the series! (with a 50th slated to come out this July.)  Most local libraries seem to have the whole series, though we've had to make the rounds a bit to get the exact one we need.  (Although there is a prologue at the beginning of each book to explain the background of the story, the series is most enjoyable if read in order.)  Each book has 10 chapters, is about 75 pages, and takes us about 45 minutes to read aloud.  It makes for longer bedtime reading than usual, but the books are simply too exciting to be read over multiple nights!  

Here's what my little guy has to say about the Magic Treehouse books:  

"My favorite thing about the Magic Tree House books is that we get to read new ones all the time!  Annie is silly and can make friends with animals.  Jack loves notebooks and writes about animals and other things that they see.  There is Morgan La Fey living in the treehouse.  She is an enchanted librarian.  Jack and Annie take the treehouse to all kinds of places -- like under the sea, to see the dinosaurs, on ships, and to visit the moon.  They also get to go on the Titanic!  Jack and Annie have to get a gift from someone or something and they free Morgan and Teddy from spells.  There's a dog named Teddy.  The dinosaur one is my favorite because I love dinosaurs.  But I love all of them!"

We hope you do, too!