Editor’s Note: In a new column beginning today, the children’s librarians at Bangor Public Library will offer insights on books for the young. Each month, the librarians will offer a selection of old classics and new favorites designed to encourage reading and provoke thought. The books can be purchased at local bookstores or found at your local library. Any of this month’s offerings could make great gifts.

First Books

GOOD NIGHT MOON, by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd, Harper Children’s Books, 1991, 34 pages, board book, $6.95.

First published in 1947, and still being published in hardcover, board book, pop-up, audio-paperback and paperback, this simple story is a true classic.

A little bunny saying good night to the familiar things he sees in his room. Written in rhyme with alternating black-and-white and color illustrations, this gentle book is a perfect nighttime read for the very young.

Babies will enjoy the rhythm of this book and later get a kick out of identifying the objects themselves. Highly recommended is the board book version, which will enable your child to befriend this nightly companion.

MY FIRST MOTHER GOOSE, edited by Iona Opie, illustrations by Rosemary Wells, Candlewick Press, 1996, 107 pages, $19.99.

Starting off with a wonderful explanation of the importance of Mother Goose, Iona Opie has compiled a delightful selection of familiar and not-so-familiar nursery rhymes. Coupling this with Rosemary Wells’ illustrations was an act of genius. Her pictures done in watercolor and ink capture a warmth and a pure charm that is unequaled.

If you are looking for a book to begin that joyous bond of reading to your child, this is the one. It will amuse and entertain reader and listener.

Preschool

THREE LITTLE KITTENS, illustrated by Paul Galdone, Clarion Books, 1986, 32 pages, hardcover $14.95, paperback $5.95.

For those who are familiar with the old Mother Goose rhyme but may not remember it completely, Galdone presents “Three Little Kittens” with colorful illustrations that invite the reader to take part in all their dilemmas. From the kittens losing, soiling and washing their mittens to smelling a rat, the reader soon will learn the old rhyme again with little effort.

Galdone’s expressive illustrations and the familiar text allow adults to share with children a good old favorite from their childhoods to pass on from generation to generation. After several enjoyable readings, young childreb will be excited to recite the lively rhyme on their own. A great way to encourage prereading skills.

SILLY SALLY, by Audrey Wood, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992, 32 pages, $19.95.

Take a fun-filled journey to town with Silly Sally as she encounters several animals along the way. In her “backwards, upside down” fashion, Sally manages to dance, leap and sing but runs into a problem when she and the animals fall asleep. How does Sally get to town in this predicament? Why, of course, Neddy Buttercup saves the day by tickling them and waking them up so Sally may lead them all to town, “walking backwards, upside down.”

Audrey Wood has created a bouncy, rhyming story that craftily involves the reader and the listeners, which becomes apparent on the first reading. In delight, the young child will anticipate the rhyming text by following the author’s simple text and humorous illustrations. Although this is not her most recent book, it is a worthwhile one that may soon become a favorite for little ones as well as adults.

Grades One-Three

A PENNY FOR A HUNDRED, by Ethel Pochocki, pictures by Mary Beth Owens, Downeast Books, 1996, 32 pages, $14.95.

In 1944, German prisoners of war help a family of Swedish heritage with their Aroostook County potato crop. Nine-year-old Clare becomes friends with Peter, the youngest of the prisoners. He is the only English-speaking member of the group helping her family. Both Clare and Peter are missing a sibling near the age of the other. Clare’s brother Patrick is fighting overseas. Peter’s sister Clara is attending school in Austria. On the first day that the prisoners help, Peter uses his lunch hour to help Clare with her job of collecting potato bugs. (Clare’s father gives her a penny for each hundred bugs she gathers from the plants). Through conversation, shared work and thoughtful acts, their bond of caring is strengthened and culminates in a gentle and moving Christmas gift exchange.

This most welcome fictional glimpse at potato farming in Maine was selected as a notable book for children in 1996 by Smithsonians. Maine author Ethel Pochocki has made a solid contribution to our regional literature, reaffirming the universality of kindness and compassion and basing her charming story on Maine history that might be unknown to this generation.

RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI, by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Lambert Davis, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992, 37 pages, hardcover, $17.

For the past hundred years, this dramatic tale of a young mongoose’s struggle to rid his rescuers’ home and garden from the threat of cobras has been a favorite. Told with bristling energy, vivid characterization and precise prose, the story entertains and involves. Davis’ illustrations offer unique points of view and magnify the excitement.

Every child should have the pleasure of owning a Kipling story, to read and reread, and to savor the wonderful words and stories.

Grades Four-Seven

PACIFIC CROSSING, by Gary Soto, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992, 134 pages, $15.95.

Fourteen-year-old Mexican-American Lincoln Mendoza spends a summer with a host family in Japan encountering new experiences and making new friends.

This is another of Gary Soto’s readable novels that will introduce Japanese and Mexican-American culture. There is a glossary of Japanese and Mexican words and phrases. A good novel for fifth- and sixth-grade boys.

THE WIZARD OF OZ, by Frank Baum, illustrated by Charles Santore, Random, 1991, 96 pages, hardcover, $15.

Frank Baum’s classic story of Dorothy and her magical trip to the Land of Oz.

A beautifully illustrated edition that will find a place in the heart of your child and on your coffee table.

Young adults

THE GOLDEN COMPASS, by Phillip Pullman, Alfred Knopf Press, first published 1995, illustrated 1996, 399 pages, $20.

This is the first volume of a planned trilogy, and it’s a “buckle your seat belt” adventure. The young heroine, Lyra, lives in a universe parallel to our own with many similarities and vast differences. In Lyra’s world humans have “daemons,” an animal spirit so entwined that one cannot live without the other. She embarks on a double mission, to deliver a magical compass to her uncle and to rescue her friend from kidnappers. She teams up with the “gyptians,” befriends an armored bear and flies through the air in a hot-air balloon with a Texan. The way her dual mission resolves will leave the reader waiting impatiently for the next volume. Written on varried levels, this book will appeal to a large audience; buy it for your child, then read it yourself.

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, by Ernest Hemingway, Scribner Reference, 1950, 128 pages.

This is a classic tale about an old Cuban fisherman who has had a long string of bad luck. Despite going 84 days without a catch, the old man persists. Against great odds he finally lands a gigantic marlin on the 85th day and lashes it to his tiny boat. Far from port, he still must fight off sharks and exhaustion to get his prize home.

The novel is short in words, but long on powerful thoughts about man’s struggle with life and death. It is recommended not only for young adults, but any adult who hasn’t yet read it.