But it is book sale season and I'm getting excited thinking about what special living book is just around the corner in my future. Someday very soon, I'll be leafing through shelves and stacks of books only to find another treasure to add to our library collection.
In the mad dash to the perfect books to take home, I'll be consulting my list and my memory to find my favorite authors to look for. Below are 15 of the authors I'll be hunting for this year and for many years to come.
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David Macaulay
I love these books! My boys frequently consult The Way Things Work, and we have read Castle and Pyramid and Underground and Cathedral in our morning time over the years. The Way We Work was a present for my son with a current interest in the human body. And I picked up most of them at used book sales for about $1.Because his books are so popular, you are guaranteed to find some at any big sale. It is just a matter of finding the best hardcover copy of the ones you need for your collection.
Aliki
Oh my word. There is just something special about books by Aliki. I'm still waiting for the day I find my favorite book about Egypt at a book sale, but we have many from book sales already, including one about Medieval food, Feelings, Manners, and How a Book is Made. Because Aliki wrote and illustrated over 50 books, I still have many more to add to our home library. And my favorite library sale even has a special section just for her books :-)Howard Pyle
How do I love thee, Howard Pyle? Let me count the ways. I love your stories about pirates, about coming of age in medieval times, and, of course, about Robin Hood and King Arthur. But most of all, I think I love your quirky fairy tales. Your illustrations are breath-taking. Each book is a beautiful labor of love. I can't stop buying your books, even if I already own them. I have to buy them to give away. They are that good!Fortunately, I can read Pyle's books and see his illustrations via the many free titles available on Google books. But nothing beats buying a reprint in good condition. So look for Otto of the Silver Hand or one of the many King Arthur Dover reprints or Men of Iron next time you are at a large or small sale. And count yourself very lucky if you snag a hardcover copy of The Wonder Clock like I did!
Marguerite De Angeli
Initially, I didn't see all the fuss about Marguerite De Angeli. We read The Door in the Wall years ago to go along with our reading of Story of the World: The Middle Ages and, while the boys enjoyed it, it wasn't my favorite. How fortunate I feel that I listened to this wonderful podcast episode on the way to my favorite book sale. In it, several books by Marguerite De Angeli were gushed over.And wouldn't you know it? I finally ventured into the collector's corner of the sale for the first time and found both this book and this one. I splurged on them (paying about $10 each for very good condition hardcovers) and we loved them! I've since added her beautiful mother goose and Black Fox of Lorne (LOVE!), which I scored last year in a very fruitful $5 book sale haul.
Jim Arnosky
Have you noticed that most of the authors on this list are both authors and illustrators? I guess that is why I find these books so valuable to own. You don't just want to read the words one time, but rather enjoy the books and illustrations over and over again.Jim Arnosky has written and illustrated so many beautiful books about nature. I always learn something from his books and I find them very inspirational for our nature journaling. Our most recent addition to our library was this one in preparation for our beach vacation, but I would pretty much buy anything I could get my hands on at a book sale.
E. Nesbit
Many people have heard of Five Children and It, but Edith Nesbit wrote many more titles filled with magic and adventure. And because they were widely published, they are widely available at used books sales. We have picked so many that we are able to read a new one every year. I think this one is my personal favorite, but I still have many more to hunt for!George MacDonald
Arguably one of the most influential writers of the fantasy genre ever. I cannot believe that four years ago, I had never heard of him. He influenced ALL (and I do mean all) of my favorite childhood authors, from C.S. Lewis to Madelaine L'Engle to E. Nesbit to Lloyd Alexander.And fortunately, his books abound at used book sales. Once we read this captivating and timeless fairy tale I started adding every title I could find to our home library. Somehow MacDonald manages to tell deep stories in such a straightforward style; it is simply magic.
Robie H. Harris
Here is another author to go in my favorite nonfiction category. These are the title I prefer to use to teach my kids about babies, sex, and puberty. And I often see them at used book sales.Nothing beats good, honest conversation about these topics, but these books provide a great jumping off point. We read this one in preparation for baby Harry's birth and I frequently find my kids looking at the pictures in this one for older kids. Even though the content is a bit mature for them (and we don't read it aloud), I know that they will find information there when they need it.
Ingri d'Aulaire & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
More author-illustrators who I never heard of before having children! And so many favorites to choose from. My overall favorite is probably this oddball collection of Scandinavian folklore but I also love the historical biographies of Columbus, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Leif Erikson and others. And I continue to look back in regret on the time I found a stack of these at a book sale for $1 and I only bought one. They would have made the perfect gift for any child in my life.H.A. Rey
I thought I hated Curious George until I read a few of the books actually written by H.A. Rey or Margaret Rey. Unlike the modern incarnations that populate my library, these books are actually interesting and Curious George acts a lot more like a monkey acting child-like than a child acting like a monkey, which I prefer . . . and so do my young kids who request these over and over.We also love Find the Constellations, which I picked up for a $1, and I plan to use it for an astronomy study next year. Maybe I'll luck out and this will be the summer to find this one!
Arthur Ransome
For years, I wondered what is this Swallows and Amazons that everyone keeps mentioning and why haven't I heard of it? Then when I was crazily grabbing every folk tales and fairy tales collection I could get my hands on at a big book sale I purchased this one not knowing that it was also written by Arthur Ransome. And, because I love scary but charming fairy tales the best, I was in love! (FYI, you can read it for free here.)This year, my son and I read Swallow and Amazons (another book sale find), which was an absolute pleasure that every child should read by the way, and since there are many more in the series, as well as many more titles by Ransome to find, I'll surely be adding to our collection every chance I get.
Jean Craighead George
What child doesn't love My Side of the Mountain? But Jean Craighead George has written so many other stories over the years and all of them involve close connections between people and their animal neighbors. A few years back we enjoyed this book and we have also read several of this series at morning time.After finding them on the nature lore list at Sabbath Mood Homeschool, my dream is to come across one or more of this series next. Regardless, her books are often available at used book sales and provide an easy way to add a little nature lore at read-aloud time.
Mary Pope Osborne
Love them or hate them, the Magic Treehouse Series is everywhere! And, of course, they are widely available at every used book sale. However, that is not why I put Mary Pope Osborne on this list. In fact, I would not buy that series for my home library since it is easily available at my public library and the books are really just good practice for beginning readers and not the sort of thing to be read over and over again.But Mary Pope Osborne wrote many, many books before Magic Treehouse. Her retelling of Greek myths (which oddly enough uses Roman god names) was the one that captivated me as a child and my children and I love her simple retelling of medieval stories. In fact, that book led us to read translations of both Beowulf and Gawain and the Green Knight at morning time when my kids were 1st grade and younger. Recently we enjoyed this book and we also love Tales from the Odyssey (which is free on kindle right now!).
Meindert DeJong
I'll admit that I'm kind of late to the Meindert DeJong fan club. After hearing the name over the years, I picked up this Newberry Award Winner and, when we finally got around to reading it, the whole family was absolutely captivated by it. Wow! What a different and special book. Recently, I have been selecting literature books for my rising 4th grader to read next year and I came across this post about DeJong. Now I can't wait to hunt for more books! I'll be on the lookout for this one next.Glenn Orlando Blough
To make it a nice round list of 15 authors, I added one last *wishlist* author to the list. I've never found a book by Glenn Orlando Blough. Actually, I've never actually held or seen one of his books! However, thanks to the wonder of the internet and the Internet Archive, my children and I have been drawn into his delightful books of nature lore in ebook form.But, maybe if I look long enough . . . . For all of you book sale lovers, you know that it helps to have those hard to find gems in your sights to keep up the thrill of the chase!
These are 15 of the best authors I've found to look for at used book sales. But, of course, there are many, many I could have chosen (Lois Lenski, Alice Dalgliesh, Opal Wheeler, and Marguerite Henry to name 4 more!) Which authors are on your book sale wishlist?
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