Classic Treats That Never Grow Old
By Bianca Schulze & Phoebe Vreeland, The Children’s Book Review
Published: November 6, 2010
You love to give books as gifts, but you want to give a book that will be cherished and kept to be shared with future generations. Right? What you’re looking for is a classic. Something well-written, tried and tested, but perhaps with updated illustrations that will tantalize any young mind. Feast your eyes on the following delights …
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Author), Charles Santore (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 6-9
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Sterling (October 5, 2010)
Source: Publisher
Complete with a beautifully patterned ribbon marker, this is a nice retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale, Snow White, illustrated by award-winning artist Charles Santore. Santore has also illustrated an Aesop’s Fables, The Wizard of Oz and The Little Mermaid.
Add this book to your collection: Snow White: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Authors), Dorothée Duntze (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: North-South Books (September 1, 2005)
Source: Publisher
A softer version of the original Grimm tale. The illustrations are happy and sunny.
Add this book to your collection: Rapunzel
Selected and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: North-South Books; illustrated edition edition (April 1, 2006)
Source: Publisher
This is not the ultimate collection of Aesop’s Fables, however, it is a cleanly illustrated compendium carefully selected by the uber-award-winning artist Lisbeth Zwerger.
Add this book to your collection: Aesop’s Fables
by Mark Twain (Author), Robert Ingpen (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 12 and up
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Sterling (March 2, 2010)
Source: Publisher
This beautiful gift book edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer combines the complete text with more than 70 alluring illustrations by Australian artist Robert Ingpen. Ingpen was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1986 and was recently honored with Membership in the Order of Australia.
Add this book to your collection: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by J. M. Barrie (Author), Robert Ingpen (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 216 pages
Publisher: Sterling (August 3, 2010)
Source: Publisher
A delightful celebration of the upcoming 100th anniversary of everyone’s favorite flying boy, Peter Pan. In true Robert Ingpen style, Peter Pan and Wendy contains unabridged original text and boasts 70 luminous illustrations.
Add this book to your collection: Peter Pan and Wendy: Centenary Edition
by Sylvia Long
Reading level: Ages 7-11
Hardcover: 58 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (February 24, 2010)
Source: Library
Anything by Sylvia Long is a gift in itself. Her artistic talent lies in illustrating the natural world, which lends itself perfectly to this delightful story, Thumbelina—Long’s own exquisite version of Hans Christian Andersen’s Thumbaline.
Add this book to your collection: Thumbelina
by Brothers Grimm (Authors), Bernadette Watts (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 5-12
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: NorthSouth (October 1, 2009)
Source: Publisher
This is the true Brothers Grimm telling of Little Red Riding Hood. It’s not for the faint-at-heart; but the illustrations are soft, inviting, and allow for individual interpretation. The real story with lovely pictures.
Add this book to your collection: Little Red Riding Hood
by Charles Dickens (Author), Deanna McFadden (Editor), Eric Freeberg (Illustrator), Arthur Pober Ed.D (Afterword)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Sterling (February 2, 2010)
Source: Publisher
If you just can’t wait to share this classic with your child, you’ll like this retelling—it’s a good one.
Add this book to your collection: Classic Starts: Great Expectations
by Lewis Carroll (Author), Alison Jay (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-12
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Dial (September 7, 2006)
Source: Personal collection
This is one of my favorites! Alison Jay’s alluring, color illustrations are showcased on almost every page of this complete, unabridged edition of Lewis Carroll’s famous story.
Add this book to your collection: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
by Astrid Lindgren (Author), Lauren Child (Illustrator), Tina Nunally (Translator)
Reading level: Ages 5-12
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (October 4, 2007)
Source: Personal collection
What a great stepping stone towards chapter books. Children that are familiar with Lauren Child’s Charlie and Lola characters will be utterly delighted with this extra-charismatic version of Pippi Longstocking. So much fun!
Add this book to your collection: Pippi Longstocking
by Mary Engelbreit
Reading level: Ages 3-6
Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (October 12, 2010)
Source: Publisher
A nice compendium of childhood favorites, such as: Cinderella, The princess and the Pea, Aladdin, and Sleeping beauty. A nice choice for those that enjoyed Engelbreit’s Mother Goose book.
Add this book to your collection: Mary Engelbreit’s Fairy Tales: Twelve Timeless Treasures
In the event that you like to pair books up with an extra gift, I think this Kings and Castles building kit works nicely with the “classic” and “fairy tale” themes:
Company description: Children can make the majesty of medieval architecture come to life by creating hundreds of different architectural designs with heirloom-quality wooden blocks. Each block is hand-painted with original artwork inspired by real-life structures. This challenging building system promises hours of fun and discovery! Comes with an educational book to inspire young architects with history, insight into ancient cultures, building ideas, and more. 68-piece set. Comes in a wooden keepsake box: 15 x 12. Ages 5 and up.
Add this toy to your collection: ArchiQuest Building Kit: Kings and Castles