Bookshelf: VIRGINIA LEE BURTON

There are some classics that never get old (which is what I hope my kids will say about me some day!).  At eleven, eight, and seven, my children are reading a myriad of different books these days.  My eleven year-old is reading some advanced books on tough topics like the Holocaust.  My eight year-old son is finally loving Percy Jackson, and my seven year-old is loving both the Ivy & Bean and Stella Batts series.

Last night, my eleven year-old pulled out Katy And The Big Snow, and the 4 of us snuggled up on my bed to read it.  As everyone’s legs are longer now, it’s not quite as easy as it used to be to snuggle on a queen size bed, but we made it work.

I was delighted at how much they enjoyed re-reading Katy.  We spent a few minutes looking at each of the detailed pictures, which include all of the types of trucks the DPW owned and a very cool map of the town.  Each building was numbered, and we found every single one before turning the page.

Even better?  We looked up Burton after, and I read them her biography.  The flip side of the heartache that sometimes comes with watching my kids growing up so quickly is the opportunity to have more meaningful conversations with them.  She had a very interesting life, and her connections to Boston shine through in her work.  Popperville, the town in Mike Mulligan, was created based on West Newbury.  In The Little House, you can see illustrations of downtown Boston. When I told them Burton died of lung cancer at 59, my oldest immediately chimed in, “That’s young!  She must have smoked.”  Proof positive that perhaps my kids are listening to me more than I think they sometimes are!

Burton’s other favorites include:

And perhaps her most famous:

I would give these books as gifts for ages 2-10, or just enjoy them with your kids.  Don’t assume they are too old for these classics!

Happy reading.