Anthologies (3) Primary, Elementary

Anthologies (3) Primary, Elementary

This is the last in a series of three posts in the anthology category of literature that builds character. I will return to this category in the future since there are so many good anthologies. I invite your comments and suggestions for those future reviews in this blog. In the next month I will review anthologies for the upper grade levels.

Ordinary Splendors: Tales of Virtue and Wisdom. Toni Knapp.
Animals from 15 legends and folktales around the world display characteristics of courage, responsibility, honor, and love.

Oxford Book of Children's Stories, The. Jan Mark.
An historical anthology of many of the best children's short stories from the past 250 years, this book offers an array of suitable character building choices.

People Could Fly, The. Virginia Hamilton.
The awards and reviews as presented by the Scholastic website.

"The well-known author retells 24 black American folk tales in sure storytelling voice: animal tales, supernatural tales, fanciful and cautionary tales, and slave tales of freedom. All are beautifully readable. With the added attraction of 40 wonderfully expressive paintings by the Dillons, this collection should be snapped up."—School Library Journal 

A Coretta Scott King Award
A Booklist Children's Editors' Choice
A School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
A Horn Book Fanfare
An ALA Notable Book
An NCTE Teachers' Choice
A The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year

Scholastic has much to offer on their website for teachers and parents. Here is the link. You can browse their reading lists, teacher resources, and tips for parents. I follow them on twitter and find the tweets useful. I find myself clicking the links to view helpful book lists on current topics such as Thanksgiving or M.L.King Day.    http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/people-could-fly#cart/cleanup

Tomie de Paola's Favorite Nursery Tales. Aesop, retold by Tomie de Paola.
This book includes fables such as "The Tortoise and the Hare," a story in which the reader learns that "slow and steady wins the race."

True Valor. Mildred. A. Martin.
Ordinary people perform extraordinary feats of courage during wartime. This book has nine such stories.

Witch of Fourth Street and Other Stories, The. Myron Levoy.
This book contains eight touching stories about various immigrant groups that live on New York's Lower East Side in the 1920's.

Refer back to blog posts for October 4 and October 23 for longer descriptions of two wonderful anthologies not listed in the three "series" posts. The Book of Home and Family and The Book of Virtue.

Anthologies (2) Primary, Elementary

This post continues a listing of anthologies. You may or may not find all of these titles in your library, but the selections here illustrate the fact that you may have find books on your own shelves or that of your parents and grandparents. Become a browser of shelves! You may find good old collections, folk tales representative of your family background, or a favorite from your own childhood. Don't forget to ask living relatives for the tales that were read or told to them - this is a rich source!

Fairy Tale Treasury, The. Collected by Virginia Haviland.
Folk and fairy tales in this treasury are stories from the oral tradition told by people of many cultures to pass on their values, fears, hopes, and dreams. With this understanding, tales can be selected and read for the ideals that are transferred through the story. In this way, many other readily available anthologies and picture books become useful as literature to build character. The collector, Virginia Haviland, was a respected authority on children's literature, chairing the Children's Literature Services Division of the American Library Association and numerous awards committees e.g. Newbery-Caldecott, National Book Award, Hans Christian Anderson. She founded the Center for Children's Literature at the Library of Congress. She was particularly noted for her knowledge of folklore so we would all do well to check out her Favorite Fairy Tale series - tales collected from sixteen different countries.

In Grandma's Attic. Arleta Richardson.
This is a classic series of books that has gone through several reprints due to clear character messages conveyed humorously through anecdotes from Grandma's childhood. Parents and teachers should note that there is Christian messaging in some of the stories and gauge whether this fits your audience. It is more moral in tone than religious.

Kids Random Acts of Kindness. Conari Press, Ed.
Children from around the world tell how good it feels to do something kind for someone else.

Little People Who Became Great. Laura Anoinette Lurge.
Printed in 1935, these stories were written at that time as "Stories of the Lives of those Whom Every Child Should Know."

Manners. Aliki.
The author employs a humorous style to teach good manners.