Hand That Rocks the Cradle: 400 Classic Books for Children

by Nathaniel Bluedorn

My mother kept this list of the books she and Dad read to us. My brother and sisters and I added books that we read ourselves. My family is conservative; many books didn't make it onto this list. We prefer older books, but we enjoy some newer books, too. Almost every book listed here is fiction. I have summarized the plot for each book. I hope I didn t give away too much! Book descriptions include time the story takes place, geographic setting of the story, and the publication date of the book. Books are divided into three reading levels: (1) Language and plot are easy all ages, (2) Language is more difficult or plot more complex ages 10 and up, and (3) Language is advanced or plot more mature ages 13 and up. Reading levels help many parents. My mother didn't stick to these reading levels; I'll forgive you if you ignore them. This completely revised and expanded edition of Hand That Rocks the Cradle adds over 250 new reviews to your old favorites.

Genres: Nonfiction

112 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Lancelot Schaubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes parents will ask me about books they can recommend their children that are (1) classic, (2) emboldening virtue, (3) expanding reason and that (4) don't have much of the amoral nihilism present in so many books. I asked Dr. John Granger as much and he gave me this book.

I bought a copy immediately and browsed through it and will be consulting it often as we raise kids. Though I agree with Madeline L'Engle that kids will self-censor and though I believe in self-censorship infinitely more than others-imposed censorship, I do think it wise to cull the available books for children as they grow up so that they may be formed in virtue and to make free space available in order for them to really fall in love with books.

My friend and colleague Zach Spiering often says the number one contributor to child success in terms of education and literacy is finding books they fall in love with. I'd add authors, authors whom they can depend on as deep wells and return to over and again, book after book.

This is a good compost heap, a good well, from which your children can draw and once they've explored freely and thoroughly through this list, I think you can feel free to take down the bumpers and let them bowl freely.

—— > I want to add that in my experience, kids listen to things read aloud by their parents because parents aren't friends until about 18. Parents are the first interaction with the moral, imaginative, intellectual, and sensory worlds. So you could do worse than reading these aloud to your kids early, and often. The best nursery rhyme, after all, is just a classic poem.

[F.C. Shultz]

Good little collection with helpful descriptions of each book and age level. Went through it in about an hour and picked out 10-15 books that sound great for a five year old. Will revisit as the kids get older.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to help parents pick good literature for their children. I have used this for years.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference book of 400 classic books to read aloud to your children starting at about age 5-7. I checked out of the library to make it would be a good buy. The books are rated by reading level, but the list is alphabetical by author's last name. I think it would be easier to look up books quickly if it was ordered by Title. There is also a subject directory in the back. Reading aloud non-picture books has not gone over well in our house so far, so I jotted down a few of the suggestions to try in the next year.

Note: This book is out of print so if you find a used copy, grab it!

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is an essay about why you should read to your children as well as what you should read to your children. Some of my favorite childhood memories are the times Dad or Mom would read to us. The books listed are also great for children to read themselves. Thus far, there is only one book I didn't like on the list (Smokey the Cowhorse). I would highly recommend this list to anyone.