Five In a Row

When I was little I took a Five In A Row class, which involves lots of great children's books, and is where my love of books began.  If you are thinking about getting books for children (or yourself), these are classic. 

Volume 1.

My Childhood Favorites:

Then and Now

1. Ping

The story of a naughty duckling on the Yangtze River.  As a child I was mortified that someone would eat a duck!  Why don't they eat chicken like everyone else? (Obviously I had never read about chickens)  Rice cakes, even then didn't sound appealing, and wouldn't they get soggy?

 I live on a lake now, with water foul (in above photo).  I say not even they would eat rice cakes, they would just honk/quack for more Sara Lee® sandwich bread.

2. A Pair of Red Clogs

This tale of a young girl and her shoes was always strange and forgotten to me.  But I fondly remember coloring red clogs and wishing I had a pair of my own.  Although I would never lie.  :)

This story I believe is out of print, and sadly we have lost our copy while moving.


3. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

My brothers loved this book, and I enjoyed reading it more then having it read to me.  The movie which came out later, is cute and while the animation isn't great the songs make up for it.

"No STEAM shovels wanted!"  -sorry I got carried away!


4. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

I love Apple Pie, and I love baking, and that girl looks like me, and I want to see the world.  Can you tell this is a favorite book?

My favorite part is still the last page.   :)

5. Cranberry Thanksgiving

This story is sweet, and I remember making Cranberry Bread after, of course it wasn't with Grandma's recipe I'm no thief!

I think I have a fondness for grumpy old men in movies because of this.  Like Lauren from the Dr. Quinn series, who couldn't like him?  I guess that means I'm on guard against handsome young men who smell nice??? Not sure if that follows...

6.  The Clown of God

A bit scary as a child, but I remember clearly that the pictures in the book were works of art, and I would stare at them for hours.

I think this story holds a lot of truth now, and how others might view your carrier or looks isn't necessarily the real you.  (shout out to all my circus friends)

7.  Katy and the Big Snow

Living in L.A. I didn't see much snow (with the exception of visiting Grandma in Kansas) so this story would unleash my imagination and off I'd go a little snowflake

I read it to my youngest brother now, and he likes it "ok" but not the same as I had.  And the movie about it isn't great unless you close your eyes and listen to the narration.

These were my favorites from my FIVE IN A ROW class (volume 1.) other books in this class include:

Lentil - My brother's favorite.

Madeline - Would have mentioned, but I had read it before the series.

The Rag Coat - I would literally cry when this was read to me.

Who Owns the Sun? - I don't remember reading this one.  (but we did loose books in a move)

The Glorious Flight - Don't remember either.

Grandfather's Journey - I remember reading this to my siblings when I was older, not the unit study.

Another Celebrated Dancing Bear - This one escapes my memory too.

Papa Piccolo - I loved this story and the illustrations are amazing.

Very Last First Time - A chilling story, and it quite confused me.

Storm in the  Night - A wisp of a memory here, I think it is more of a poem then a story.

Night of the Moonjellies - I didn't remember this until I looked it up, and I saw the cover.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening - Robert FROST wrote this. :)

What were your favorite books as a small child?