A Century of Children's Books Part II

Part II — 1931-1943

This annotated list of classics and favorites was compiled by Sally Epp, children's librarian at the Belle Isle Library (part of the Metropolitan Library System).

Every book listed is still in print and available for check out through Interlibrary Loan.

Please choose books for your children thoughtfully, as books for a wide range of ages, interests, and developmental levels have been included.

Key— E=Easy Reader - T=Tween - JF=Juvenile Fiction - YA=Young Adult - TNF=Tween Nonfiction - JNF=Juvenile Nonfiction

1939	Bemelemans, Ludwig	Madeline	E
	Madeline, the smallest and most mischievous of "twelve little girls in two straight lines", gives Miss Clavel quite a fright when she goes to the hospital with a case of appendicitis.
	Burton, Virginia Lee	Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel	E
	Mike Mulligan and his faithful steam shovel Mary Anne find themselves in a race against time and technological progress as they try to dig the cellar of the Popperville town hall.
	Lawson, Robert	Ben and Me: A New and Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin As Written by His Good Mouse Amos	JF
	Benjamin Franklin was responsible for many amazing discoveries and inventions, but in this story readers learn who was really responsible for many of them — Amos the mouse.
1940	Knight, Eric Mowbray	Lassie Come Home	JF
	When Lassie is sold because Joe’s family has no money to feed her, the loyal collie travels over 1000 miles, from Scotland to Yorkshire, over punishing terrain, to come home to Joe.
	Slobodkina, Esphyr	Caps for Sale	E
	"Caps, caps for sale," calls the peddler, but he’s in for a big surprise when he runs into a tree full of monkeys who steal his caps and then mimic his every action.
	Lovelace, Maud Hart	Betsy-Tacy	JF
	In Deep Valley, Minnesota, at the turn-of-the-century, Betsy and Tacy are two five-year-old girls who are so close that they are often thought of as one little girl — Betsy-Tacy.
1941	Farley, Walter	The Black Stallion	JF
	Alec and the wild Black Stallion are the only survivors of a shipwreck that leaves the two stranded on a desert island, and Alec is determined both to survive and to tame the stallion.
	Rey, H. A.	Curious George	E
	After the man in the yellow hat brings a very curious monkey named George home from the jungle, George manages to get into trouble when his curiosity leads him astray.
	McCloskey, Robert	Make Way for Ducklings	E¨
	Mother and Father Mallard set out across town with their ducklings in tow as they search for a better place in Boston to raise their family.
	Edmonds, Walter Dumaux	The Matchlock Gun	JF¨
	When Edward’s father is called away, Edward is left with an antique matchlock gun to protect Mama, little Trudy and their home in this colonial story set in New York in 1756.
1942	Warner, Gertrude Chandler	The Boxcar Children	JF
	Four orphaned but resourceful children make a home for themselves in an abandoned red boxcar in the first of more than 70 Boxcar Children mysteries.
	Newberry, Clare Turlay	Marshmallow	E
	In this gentle story with softly luminous illustrations, the baby bunny Marshmallow is so convinced that Oliver the cat is his mother that the two become loving companions.
	Brown, Margaret Wise	The Runaway Bunny	E
	In this classic bedtime story, a little bunny decides to run away and is followed by his loving mother in an imaginary game of chase.
	Burton, Virginia Lee	The Little House	E¨
	A beautiful little house on a hill is slowly surrounded by the encroaching city, all the while growing older and more neglected until a loving family rescues her.
1943	McCloskey, Robert	Homer Price	JF
	Each chapter in this book tells a different episode in the life of Homer Price, the most famous of which involves an out of control donut machine.
	Norton, Mary	Bedknob and Broomstick	JF
	Three children discover that Miss Price is a witch, so to ensure their secrecy she gives them a magic bedknob that can take them to anywhere they want to go.

Table Key — Top of Page — Next Time Period