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Books for Kids
Suggestions for a Summer of Fun
 Listen to the segment from All Things Considered
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism, by Georgia Byng
Book cover courtesy HarperCollins Children's Books
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Snuggle Puppy, by Sandra Boynton
Book cover courtesy Workman Publishing Company
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Who's Got Game? The Ant or the Grasshopper?, by Toni and Slade Morrison
Book cover courtesy Scribner
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July 18, 2003 -- There are loads of new children's books out this summer, but how to pick which ones your kids should read? All Things Considered host Michele Norris talks with Valerie Lewis, who owns Hicklebee's children's bookstore in San Jose, Calif., about what makes a good children's book. We also asked bookstore owners from around the country to offer their suggestions on best new books for elementary school kids and younger.
Three books that caught our eye this summer are Georgia Byng's Molly Moon (a book for 'tweens); Toni and Slade Morrison's Who's Got Game? The Ant or the Grasshopper? (for four to eight year olds); and Sandra Boynton's Snuggle Puppy (for infants and toddlers). Hear the authors read from their books:
Georgia Byng
Georgia Byng, as the daughter of the Earl of Stafford, carries the royal title Lady Georgia. She grew up outside Winchester, England, with three brothers and a sister. Molly Moon is the first full-fledged book for the London-based artist, who is also a successful comic strip writer.
 Listen as Byng reads from her book, Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism.
Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton started out as a greeting-card illustrator, but eventually began writing books for adults and children. The award-winning, Connecticut-based writer is known for her rhythmic, buoyant style, and books filled with farm animals. Boynton says her all-time favorite book when she was a child was Little Bear by Elsa H. Minarik and Maurice Sendak.
Listen as Boynton reads from her new book, Snuggle Puppy.
Listen as Boynton explains why she writes children's books.
Toni Morrison
A Nobel-prize winning author, Toni Morrison is most known for her books for adults. She describes her work as "village" or "peasant" literature that delves into the American black experience and culture. But she also collaborates with her son Slade on children's books.
Listen as Morrison reads from her book, Who's Got Game? The Ant or the Grasshopper?
Listen as Toni and Slade Morrison talk about why they wrote Who's Got Game?
Recommendations
All Things Considered also checked in with independent bookstore owners around the country to get their recommendations on new children's books. Here are some of their suggestions:
Valerie Lewis' of Hicklebee's Bookstore in San Jose, Calif., recommends:
Hairy Maclary's Scattercat, by Lynley Dodd
Big Momma Makes the World, by Phyllis Root
The Three Questions, by Jon J. Muth
Judy Moody, by Megan McDonald
Wing Walker, by Rosemary Wells
John Coltrane's Giant Steps, by Chris Raschka
Tell Me a Picture, by Quentin Blake
Sahara Special, by Esme Raji Codell
Next Please, by Ernst Jandl
Becky Anderson of Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Ill., recommends:
Flora's Surprise, by Debi Gliori
Read Any Good Books Lately?, by Susan Allen
Imagine a Night, by Rob Gonsalves
In the Blink of an Eye, by Dieter Wiesmuller
Tadpole, by Ruth White
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism, by Georgia Byng
Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett
Alice I Think, by Susan Juby
A Northern Light, by Jennifer Donnelly
Jewell Stoddard of Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C., recommends:
The Happy Hockey Family Moves to the Country, by Lane Smith
We all Went on Safari, by Laurie Krebs
When Everybody Wore a Hat, by William Steig
Hear the Wind Blow: A Novel of the Civil War, by Mary Downing Hahn
Varjak Paw, by S.F. Said
Mount Olympus Basketball, by Kevin O'Malley
Beth Puffer of Bank Street Bookstore in New York, N.Y., recommends:
Arnie the Doughnut, by Laurie Keller
The Kingfisher Book of Family Poems, selected by Belinda Hollyer
A Mango-Shaped Space, by Wendy Mass
Moon, Have You Met My Mother?, by Karla Kuskin
Leonard Marcus, reviewer for Parenting magazine, recommends:
I Kissed the Baby, by Mary Murphy
Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star, by Kevin Henkes
The Great Big Engine Fire Book, by Tibor Gergely
Corn Chowder: Poems, by James Stevenson
Only You, by Rosemary Wells
Minnie and her Baby Brother, by Melanie Walsh
Olivia Kidney, by Ellen Potter
Pumpkinhead, by Eric Rohmann
In Depth
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