Bookmagic

“Bookmagic” is the theme of the National Children’s Book Week November 8–14, 1976. The following are just a few books that could bring the magic and wonder of reading to you or bring joy to any boy or girl on your Christmas shopping list.

THE BOY by Mary O’Neill is a beautifully told story about young Jesus and what His first journey to Jerusalem and the meeting in the temple might have been like. (Doubleday)

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare, a good book to give or to keep, is about Daniel who lived during the time of Jesus and planned, with his friends, to drive the hated Romans from Israel. It is also about lovely Malthace and shy Leah and how they discover that love is stronger than hate. (Houghton Mifflin, also in paperback)

Take Joy! by Tasha Tudor contains many of the best-loved Christmas stories, thoughts, poems, recipes, and carols that can bring to any reader the special joy of Christmas. (World Publishing)

A Single Light by Maia Wojciechowska is a heart-warming story of a deaf-mute girl and a priceless statue of a marble baby. It tells how the girl and the statue change many lives. (Harper & Row, also in paperback)

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli is an exciting story of Robin, crippled son of a great lord, who proves his courage and is recognized by the King of England. (Doubleday, also in paperback)

The Desert Is Theirs by Byrd Baylor is a new Caldecott Honor Book about the Desert People who call the earth their mother and feel everything in and on it is a blessing to be shared by all. (Charles Scribner’s Sons)

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst is about a day when everything went wrong and Alexander almost decided to move to Australia. (Atheneum)

The Golden Treasury of Poetry selected by Louis Untermeyer is a collection of children’s favorite poems, old and new, humorous and serious. This is a book to grow on. It is also a book to grow with. (Golden Press)

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes tells of a little Polish girl who is teased by her classmates because she wears the same faded blue dress to school every day. A tender story that explains why Wanda said she had a hundred dresses at home. (Harcourt, Brace & World)

Listen, Rabbit by Aileen Fisher is another unusual picture storybook about a lonesome boy who longs for a pet of his own. (Symeon Shimin)

Letters to Horseface by F. N. Monjo is based on letters written to Mozart’s sister, whom he affectionately called Horseface, while he was traveling with their father and composing his first opera—at the age of fourteen! (Viking Press)

Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles is a sensitive story of a little Navajo girl who cannot understand why her grandmother, called the Old One, must die. This beautiful book tells how Annie learns something about dying and much about living. (Little, Brown & Co.)

The Pair of Shoes by Aline Glasgow tells about five members of a family who share one pair of shoes, and how Jacob finally realizes that there sometimes can be pride in walking barefoot. (Dial Press)

The Topsy-Turvy Emperor of China by Isaac Bashevis Singer is a story that will delight both young and old about the topsy-turvy world of a foolish emperor of China. (Harper & Row)

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a favorite old classic that has been reprinted with lovely new illustrations by Tasha Tudor. This story about a secret, mysterious garden and a lonely child has been loved by boys and girls for years. (Lippincott, also in paperback)

Watch for an announcement in your December magazine of a new book being prepared just for YOU that will include your favorite stories from the Friend!