Editor’s Note: Each month, the children’s librarians at Bangor Public Library offer a selection of old classics and new favorites designed to encourage reading and provoke thought in young readers. The books may be bought at local bookstores or borrowed from your public library.

Preschool to kindergarten

THE CAT IN THE HAT, by Dr. Suess, Houghton Mifflin Co., 61 pages, 1957, $5.99.

This wonderfully told tale of young children left home alone on a dreary rainy day will surely bring giggles and smiles. Bored with nothing to do except stare out the window, the children creatively make “The Cat in the Hat” appear to delight them with all sorts of tricks and games of the imagination. And remember, the magic of Seuss’ classic is reached by reading it aloud to someone.

IN GOD’S NAME, by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, illustrated by Phoebe Stone, Jewish Lights Publishing, 1994, 32 pages, $16.95.

This heartwarming picture book explores the different and unique beliefs we hold about God. Focusing on the idea that everyone’s beliefs have a place, simple text and vivid colors explore the richness, variations and beauty around us. The shapes in the drawings suggest a perfect fit for everyone and everything, and that each has equal importance.

Grades 1 to 3

THE LIBRARY DRAGON, by Carmen Agra Deedy, Peachtree Publishers, 1994, $16.95.

Can you imagine going into a library and not being able to touch the books? Miss Lotta Scales, a thick skinned librarian makes sure there is no touching, clutching, pawing, clawing, smearing or tearing of the books in her library. Not until one day when a nearsighted little Molly Brickmeyer starts a transformation that changes the Sunrise Elementary School Library forever.

All the fixings of a melodrama make up this story — suspense, a sensational episode, a romantic sentiment and a conventionally happy ending. If you visit the library a lot, you’ll like this book.

ELMER AND THE DRAGON, by Ruth Gannett, Knopf Books, 1987, 96 pages, $4.99.

After rescuing a dragon, Elmer Elevator sets off for home. A terrible storm forces them down on an island where only canaries live. King Can XI, the canary king, asks them a favor. He suffers from the disease of curiosity and cannot get well until a treasure is found. This story is the second in a series of three and a nice story as your first read-aloud chapter book.

A drawn map accompanies the story as you travel along in this whimsical adventure.

Grades 4 to 6

BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE, by Karen Cushman, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1996, 208 pages, $13.95.

Eleven-year-old California Morning Whipple finds herself in Lucky Diggins, a small mining town during the 1849 California Gold Rush, along with her mother, brother and two sisters. Recently widowed, her mother accepts work running a boarding house (which is really just a tent) for prospectors after the family has sailed from Massachusetts to California to fulfill a dream mom and dad shared before California’s father died unexpectedly.

Refusing to be referred to by her given name since she is none-too-happy to be living in this brand new state, California changes her name to Lucy. Her heart’s desire is to earn enough money to get back home to be with her Gram and Grampop whom she misses terribly.

Lucy manages to deal with the unpleasant longing for her home, along with the hard work necessary in this wilderness, by reading her much loved books, writing to her grandparents, and sharing her books and stories with a few people she learns to like.

Through many trials and tribulations Lucy gradually, and at first unknowingly, comes to realize the true desire of her heart.

Karen Cushman’s choice to focus on the women and children and their contributions to the movement West during the gold rush leaves a lasting impression on the reader. The hardships and difficult conditions of living in a mining town are presented realistically but with a sense of humor evident in her character Lucy. As with Lucy, Cushman makes all of the characters come alive vividly on the written page through action and dialogue.

The author has, at the end of the book, added a note explaining more of the background for her story and a bibliography of resources in which children of the California gold rush are included — a wonderful jumping off point to extend the reader’s interest once it is piqued.

CADDIE WOODLAWN, by Carol Ryrie Brink, Simon and Schuster Childrens, 1935 & 1973, 288 pages, hardcover, $16; Macmillan Publishing, 1970, 256 pages paperback, $3.95.

Based on the author’s grandmother in 1864, Caddie Woodlawn is a fictionalized account of Wisconsin’s pioneer times. Caddie, considered an 11-year-old tomboy, courts trouble daily as she “runs wild” with her two brothers. Her daring personality, which at times causes her needless problems, is of critical importance during a rumored attack by a nearby American Indian tribe.

Although previously unhampered by limitations usually placed on girls in the mid-1800s, Caddie suddenly faces traditional roles expected of women at that time.

Caddie begins clarifying her own identity with the comfort and understanding of her father. Courage, a sense of humor, and excitement surround this story of a young girl growing up in pioneer days.

Reminiscences of Carol Ryrie Brink’s family place the reader in the American West as it is being settled. The Woodlawns appear to have lived quite comfortably but nevertheless dealt with trying times and tragic events. Caddie, in her spirited way amuses and carries the reader through those not-so-pleasant episodes of pioneer life.

More importantly though, the story will raise issues concerning gender roles and most especially, racism. Caddie and her father respect and trust the Native American people and treat them with fairness, but the author has also presented some of the characters in a rather stereotypical manner. The value of this book is evident in its having been awarded the Newbery Award Medal for outstanding children’s literature in 1936, but a careful and closer look at how these issues are handled by the author will be most beneficial to the reader.

Young adult

A STRING IN THE HARP, by Nancy Bond, Atheneum, 1976, 370 pages, $18.

“Peter caught sight of a small dark object between two rocks. It was too regular in shape to be a pebble, and something made him look at it twice. He tugged. … With a sudden gritty, scraping sound, like fingernails being dragged across a blackboard, the thing came free in his hand.”

An innocent find becomes an obsession for 12-year-old Peter Morgan. The harp tuning key which Peter discovered belonged to the sixth century bard, Taliesin, and its song transports Peter and at times, even those with him, between the present and the tumultous lifetime of Taliesin.

Welsh legend is skillfully integrated with the evolving story of the Morgan family, three American children adapting to the death of their mother and life in Wales with their father, a visiting professor at the University of Wales. Meshing the themes of nature, adjustment and the mythic elements with a strong sense of place creates a mounting, tangible tension in this enjoyable fantasy that was chosen as a Newbery Honor book in 1977. It also was named Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book in 1976.

Nancy Bond offers a tantalizing taste from the Mabinogion, mythical tales of medieval feats and exploits of the Celtic people, combined with an armchair introduction to Wales. Well-developed characters, sharply focused setting, and lyrical prose weave a rich tapestry of seamless story that readers will find accessible and engaging.

THE MAESTRO, by Tim Wyne-Jones, Orchard Books, 1996, 231 pages, $16.95.

Running away from his surly, bullying father, Burl Crow encounters the backwoods Ontario retreat of a gifted pianist, the Maestro. Burl is intrigued and confused by this quirky man who gives him shelter. The sudden death of the Maestro leaves Burl with multiple dilemmas, out of which surfaces a self-serving plan to convince the executors of the Maestro’s estate that he is the musician’s illegitimate son. Through unexpected twists and turns of the plot, Burl unwinds his deception, confronts his father and proves to be a stalwart hero.

With insight into Burl gained more through his actions than from description, this powerfully written third-person narrative offers survival adventure, compelling drama and bristling action. The Maestro was first published in 1995 in Canada, where it won the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature, the prize that is comparable to our Newbery Award. Wayne-Jones, who believes fiction mysteriously works upon us as we read, has created a story that will indeed get you.