Two...No, Three...OK, Four Indispensable Anthologies

Janet Schulman had a great idea when she compiled many favorite and soon-to-be-favorite children's stories into two wonderful read-aloud anthologies. These are great books to have, whether at home, at grandma's, or especially while on the road: during your next trip, rather than pack a trunkful of books weighing twice your toddler, just make sure to bring one of these. It's like tossing a whole shelf full of books into the car.

"The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury," selected by Janet Schulman. This volume has 44 stories, from wordless books to picture books to short read-aloud stories, conveniently color-coded and indexed, making it easy to find something age-appropriate and the length you desire. The stories are complete with only a few illustrations omitted, and the large format is a comfortable size to prop in your lap while a giggle of little ones cuddle close by. It includes many of our favorite stories and undoubtedly some most children will recognize:

"Where the Wild Things Are,"
"Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,"
"Good Night, Gorilla,"
"Guess How Much I Love You,"
"Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,"
"Make Way for Ducklings,"
"Goodnight Moon,"
"Curious George,"
"Miss Nelson is Missing,"
"The Tub People,"
"Amelia Bedelia,"
"The Sneetches," and many more.

It's a must-have for parents of little ones.

"You Read to Me & I'll Read to You," selected by Janet Schulman. This anthology is the next step up from the previous book, containing 26 stories for beginning readers. Once again, it includes many of our favorites and others that probably are familiar:

"Flat Stanley,"
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,"
"Horton Hatches the Egg,"
"Catwings,"
"The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs,"
"Mrs. Gorf" (the first chapter from "Sideways Stories from Wayside School),
"Freckle Juice," and others.

I've discovered that a story that may not interest a child one day, may become a favorite a few months later.

And the price of this book was easily recovered the first time I read "Flat Stanley" to the boys. Someone once confessed to me that this odd little story with a twisted sense of humor had been a childhood favorite, but I hadn't been able to locate it because he had mis-recalled the title. So imagine my surprise when I discovered I already owned it in this anthology. And imagine my even greater delight while reading it to my boys (about four years old at the time) when they began laughing so uncontrollably that tears rolled down their cheeks and they begged me to reread favorite passages until I finally insisted they go to bed.

OK, so you have older children and are looking for something a bit more mature?

No problem, Jim Trelease has you covered with "Hey! Listen to This: Stories to Read Aloud." A fanatical promoter of the benefits of reading aloud to children (see The Read-Aloud Handbook) Trelease here collects about 50 excerpts from many classics and other lesser-known books for older children. You'll find plenty to choose from, arranged by theme, and as you sample them, it will help you prepare a list of books to get at the library and will help inspire a love of reading together with your child. Selections include:

"Homer Price,"
"Charlotte's Web,"
"Ozma of Oz,"
"Ramona the Pest,"
"Where the Red Fern Grows,"
"James and the Giant Peach,"
"Gentle Ben,"
"Black Beauty,"
"The Emperor's New Clothes,"
"The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,"
"Mr. Popper's Penguins," and dozens more.

Finally, I have one last recommendation, a much more challenging and less accessible book with arguably the worst title of any on my bookshelves: "Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages," selected by Harold Bloom.

That's right: literary genius, celebrated Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale, and indefatigable author of such books as "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human," "The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry," "Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds," and "How to Read and Why," has set his sights on anthologizing stories and poems from the nineteenth century (and earlier) with the goal of inspiring a lifelong love of reading.

According to Bloom, who decries the term "Children's Literature" and fears the "dumbing-down that is destroying our literary culture:"

If readers are to come to Shakespeare and to Chekhov, to Henry James and to Jane Austen, then they are best prepared if they have read Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, Robert Louis Stevenson and Rudyard Kipling.

So here you'll find samplings of works by Melville, Tolstoy, Whitman, Twain, Wilde, Emerson, Hawthorne, Poe, and Shakespeare himself. Don't tell your kids you're advancing their cultural literacy or saving them from the lures of television, video games, DVD's, and the internet. Just open to a verse or story that looks interesting and dive in.

And good luck explaining the title to your friends who spot this volume on your coffee table.