The Survival Podcast Forum
Survivalism & Self Sufficiency Topics => Lady Survivors => Topic started by: Kayzonara on September 15, 2009, 06:14:59 AM
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In addition to thinking about food prep, etc., I've been thinking about what I would want to have on hand for the kids/grandkids in the future.
What children's books would you want your future kids, grandkids to have if large-scale publishing went bust?
I would love to have Goodnight Moon Guess How Much I Love You and Where is Home, Little Pip? to read to them at night.
I'd want to have a couple of high-quality dolls, a gigantic store of crayons and scratch paper.
I'm sure there's more, but this is what I was thinking about this morning.
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oh, what a good question!
Well, I would start with the "classics" - my classics. (as a side note - try finding age appropriate books to give to your children when they start to read! agh! my son is 7, but reads on a 13-yo level..... do I get him books too easy, and thus not challenging, or do I allow him to read things above his emotional and mental maturity level?)
I think most books printed before 1950 and marketed for children are great. They have involved story lines, moral characters, and large vocabularies (oh, and proper English!)
these would include stuff by Henty, Alcott, Algiers, Conan-Doyle, etc.
I would get any of the books by Zylphia Keatley Snyder, Elizabeth George Speare, and CS Lewis. I also like a lot of Eric Carle's stuff for the pre-readers.
I would make sure that any books I wanted to last for a long time were in hardback with a good binding. Kids can be a terror on books!
I am going to have to think more on this.
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I love this idea! My daughter really enjoyed the Nancy Drew books I kept from childhood. The Little House series was enjoyed as well.
christi
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If you get paperback books you can get clear contact paper and apply it to the cover and it will make it hold up. Used to volunteer in the local library and they had a brand made especially for this application. For elementary age kids the Bill Wallace books are classics. Boys love Hank the Cowdog, and boys and girls like the Box car kids. Another GREAT author is Richard Peck. His a year down yonder, A Long Way From Chicago and Teachers Funeral are hilarious and so well written that adults and children love them. I could go on and on. Books are my passion.
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Well, this is my list of books every child should read or have read to them in no particular order:
Johnny Texas by Carol Hoff
The King's Stilts by Dr. Seuss
The Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall
The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
The Little Red Hen
and, of course, The Grasshopper and the Ant
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You mean I have to choose? I can't just keep my entire library? Oh, the horror! :o
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Oh I love this thread! I'm not sure about books for little ones, but I know that if we ever had to skee-daddle quickly, after the kids and survival supplies, the first thing I'm grabbing is my copy of Gone With The Wind. I cannot overstate how important that book has been to me over the years, and very much hope to pass it down to my children! I think that for young kids, tons of paper//pen//crayons etc is key, because you can make up your own songs and stories together, in addition to the hundred other things you can do with them (draw and learn about maps, for example).
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I just thought of another one! The Little House on The Prairie set! I read them over and over and over, and their value in a situation where the modern systems failed is self-evident!
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Where the Wild Things Are, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and The Hungry Caterpillar are the best kids books ever!!!
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I just thought of another one! The Little House on The Prairie set! I read them over and over and over, and their value in a situation where the modern systems failed is self-evident!
Ah you beat me to it! Daughter grew up on Little House - learned a ton of survival skills from it! She still remembers some of them. Also Anne of Green Gables and for the younger ones Winnie the Pooh (the original one) as who could not love Pooh bear. Blessings, TBM
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One of my fav books growing up was Hatchet and a couple others by same author with same survival theme, The river and Brian's Winter.
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Jean Craighead George, yes, she is a wonderful author. I loved reading these books to the kids.
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My kids really love Ted Bell's "Nick of Time". They also like Katharine DeBrecht and Jim Hummel's "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!" We also have the sequeals, "Help! Mom! The Ninth Circuit Nabbed the Nativity!" and "Help Mom! Hollywood's in My Hamper" by the same authors. Although the titles sound funny, these are real books and are really good.
Because we don't have TV in out house, we've assembled quite a library.
We try to stick to the classics as much as we can, or at least books that share similar values, so there are a lot of Robert Louis Stevenson, HG Wells, Rudyard Kipling, Walter Brooks (creator of the "Freddie" series), Mark Twain, James Fennimore Cooper, Jules Verne, etc.
We also have what we call the "Library of Freedom", which contains books about American heroes and values, in which the virtues of the heroes and American virtues are celebrated, not mocked or explained away.
Finally, we have what we jokingly call the "Library of Destruction", which includes books such as "The Dangerous Book for Boys" and similar books that encourage boys and girls to play, to explore, to get dirty, and to use their imaginations.
And, yes, in case you were wondering, we ARE indoctrinating our children.
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By the way, some of you said the "Little House" series. That's a favorite in our house.
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I am another voice for the Little House series. I loved them all. I also loved Whose Mouse Are You? and read it more times than I care to mention. Also, keep elementary books in more than one language, for example I read the Robert Kraus book as De quien eres, ratoncito? growing up I didn't even realize it was originally in English until I was an adult. Harold and the Purple Crayon also springs to mind although I was never so fond of it. I also read the Greek Myths growing up from an encyclopedia and if I could find that again I would. This children's encyclopedia had this fantastic 'Page Adventure' maze with many different trees in their natural habitats, only way I can tell what a sassafras tree looks like to this day.
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I second Morning Sunshine's Henty comment... those were some of my favorites
I also loved the Narnia series as well as LOTR
the Hardy boys originals also come to mind, have not read to many of the new ones though so I cant say much about them
it really depends on what you want though, are we talking entertainment, educational, etc
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Also the box car children series. It isn't exactly like hatchet but it is learning to fend for yourself and putting family first so I liked it as a kid.
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Also the box car children series. It isn't exactly like hatchet but it is learning to fend for yourself and putting family first so I liked it as a kid.
I was deeply impressed by this series as a child. I was so impressed that they could make it on there own. It made me feel fortunate and it made me believe that you can overcome terrible circumstances if you know what you want the most and work at it.
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Books, I'd keep any books I enjoy reading, like many of the Dr. Suess ones. With little ones they want the same ones read over and over. Best to have a collection of books so they can choose. My 3 year old grandson was visiting and each time he visits he has to pull out some very old books, older than me possibly, part of Dr. Suess series, one about going to the moon and one about living under the sea. I have no idea why he likes those so much, the pictures I think, but that is one of the first things he does when he visits is to find those same 2 books and someone to read to him. Books I almost gave away as they weren't my favorites. Another favorite of his is a little snap together train set that fits in a small carrying case.
Christmas 2000 we had an enormous ice storm. Cooked the ham on the grill/smoker outside. We were lucky and had our power back on within 3 days, close to interstate and underground power lines, many were without power and phone for weeks. My husband was called into work right after we opened presents. He called me soon after and said to fill the tub and everything up with water, as the power company informed the city that those with power soon would have none either and they had no idea when they could get power back on.
My kids were 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 2 college kids home for the holidays. No power of any kind. My husband spent that whole week at work, keeping the cities generators running. No video games, no tv's, stereo.
Yet when they talk about it, it was one of their favorite Christmas's. We played board games huddled under blankets, ate sandwiches, heated soup on the camp stove. Peaceful in fact, adventure for the kids. No interruptions once the branches quit snapping off the trees. It was also amazing how much more time we had in a day, without our modern time saving conveniences.
Along with books I would add board games, card games, and construction sets. Things they can enjoy together. Games I'd find these in metal or wooden boxes, last longer. When we go camping we take some card games with us and they take up less room. A lifesaver when storms crop up while tent camping with kids.
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Christmas 2000 we had an enormous ice storm...
.....Yet when they talk about it, it was one of their favorite Christmas's. We played board games huddled under blankets, ate sandwiches, heated soup on the camp stove. Peaceful in fact, adventure for the kids. No interruptions once the branches quit snapping off the trees. It was also amazing how much more time we had in a day, without our modern time saving conveniences.
Along with books I would add board games, card games, and construction sets. Things they can enjoy together. Games I'd find these in metal or wooden boxes, last longer. When we go camping we take some card games with us and they take up less room. A lifesaver when storms crop up while tent camping with kids.
I loved your post - that's what families need more of - connecting with each other when there are no distractions. Blessings, TBM
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The anarchist cookbook.
Improvised munitions black book Vol 1, 2, and 3
Total Resistance
Special Forces Guerrilla Warfare
FM 3-24 Counter insurgency
An infantry mans guide to combat in built up areas
Foxfire Vol 1 - 12
oh and Dr. Seuss
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I was deeply impressed by this series as a child. I was so impressed that they could make it on there own. It made me feel fortunate and it made me believe that you can overcome terrible circumstances if you know what you want the most and work at it.
The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Papa's Wife, the whole set of Raddegy Ann and Andy books written in the thirties.
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C.S. Lewis books, the Narnia series especially.
Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.
Any of the classic fairy tales, Bros. Grimm, the Perrault stories, Hans Christian Anderson; etc.
Goodnight Moon, of course. Couldn't have gotten my daughter to sleep (back in the day) without it. Now she's a young adult with insomnia, but, oh, well. I tried.
:-)
daphne
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Any of the classic fairy tales, Bros. Grimm,
such uplifting stories, be warned they are nothing like the Disney versions :P
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Little House on the Prarie, survival and homesteading books, food preserving books, and most important of all..... a Bible. Without learning the Christian values and morals where would we be?
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The Little House Books: I am trying to find a set of hard back because i read mine so many times that they fell apart.
Hatchet By Gary Paulson: very good survival book for kids
Nancy Drew, Boxcar Children and I am sure I will think of more.
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I have an entire library of pdf's. However, I don't have the space to keep printed copies of them all. Also, books are heavy and hard to transport. One option is to get a laptop and solar charger. It doesn't even have to be a good laptop, as long as it can run a pdf viewer. You can store literally tons worth of books and media on a 5 pound machine. Here are a few good sources for pdf's: http://books.google.com (http://books.google.com) http://scribd.com (http://scribd.com) Both are good for public domain literature. I have found that scribd is great for survival books and military manuals as well.
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I have an entire library of pdf's. However, I don't have the space to keep printed copies of them all. Also, books are heavy and hard to transport. One option is to get a laptop and solar charger. It doesn't even have to be a good laptop, as long as it can run a pdf viewer. You can store literally tons worth of books and media on a 5 pound machine. Here are a few good sources for pdf's: http://books.google.com (http://books.google.com) http://scribd.com (http://scribd.com) Both are good for public domain literature. I have found that scribd is great for survival books and military manuals as well.
While I can see the sense in this, the thought of snuggling up with my kids and a lap top does not have the same comforting feeling. If we had to bug out and they get left behind then so be it. But if we bug in and the shit has hit the fan then the comfort of that little bit of normal would be worth it's weight in gold.
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I forgot about archive.org
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As kids we had this great set of books-they were actually kids' readers from the early 1900s-that my grandfather gave us. Grammar, vocab, etc. all in one! Moving on through ages, I think A Patriot's History of the United States by Schwiekart (or something akin to that) and Allen is great. I would also keep any Ayn Rand I had lying around-an excellent story writer with a strong philosophical background. I also think that many other philosophical texts would be worth having around, whether you agree with them or not. The key isn't telling your kids what to think, but teaching them how to think.
As far as really young kids go, I love everything Dr. Seuss!
Oh, and also I'd have to have Madeline L'Engle's books. Those were the best!
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The Magic Far Away Tree
7 Little Australian
Time for Bed - Me, fox
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You mean I have to choose? I can't just keep my entire library? Oh, the horror! :o
What a fun post to read. . . . . but like the above from Summer . . . . I have tried to weed thru my books many times & altho I was able to get rid of|trade some, many more still find their way to my insides!!!
Books for kids? I still enjoy reading "Winnie the Pooh" - a true survivalist! :D
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.
"So it is."
"And freezing."
"Is it?"
"Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."
As to reading *.pdf books - it's very hard. . . . something about a dusty ol book in your lap, no?
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When I was little, Daddy read to me Kipling's Just So Stories and Aesop's Fables.
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I have all sorts of books tucked away for the grandkids. The Raggedy Ann and Andy stories, Paddington Bear stories, Winnie the Pooh of course, I think all of Kiplings works, all of those for the younger kids of course. Some Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys and Trixie Belden and gobs more. I have a library room for myself and all the shelves are full and books are beginning to stack up in piles and I have stored an entire set of encyclopedias and lots of books I haven't read so that should I not be able to get more at some point there will still be new books to be read. Thank goodness this is our BOL cause there is no way my library could go with us.
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One book on my mental must-have list is The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. It's perfect for making a child's imagination soar.
Another one that I don't think has been mentioned yet is My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Great story about a young boy learning to live off the land. Also Julie of the Wolves by the same author. I haven't read the sequels so I cannot comment on them.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell is another one I would want to have on hand. Excellent story of survival, a woman living alone on an island several years before being rescued, and based on a true story, too.
There are others that aren't coming to mind right now, and of course many of the ones already mentioned, such as the Bible, Box Car Children, Chronicles of Narnia, Little House series, etc.
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Also, worth consideration, Mary Pope Osborne's The Magic Treehouse series. My youngest son loves them. Every Saturday, when he gets his allowance, we have to rush to the book store so he can add one more to his collection.
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We have the whole magic tree house series and it was the boys favorite. That is a GREAT series for kids of many ages.
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We have the whole magic tree house series and it was the boys favorite. That is a GREAT series for kids of many ages.
I was looking at those the last time we went to town and wondering if I should add them to the collection. With 2 recommendations I think I will.
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You wont be disappointed. They have such a great pace and kids who love different genre's seem to like them because they cover so many situations. And the younger kids love to be read them as well. They really are just great books.
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Am visiting our daughter who is expecting our first granddaughter in June and was thinking about books for her library and remember how well we all enjoyed Charlotte's Web. Great book and good moral about friendship - so this is another one I'll be buying and saving for her. Blessings TBM
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My first great grandson was born Tuesday so I've been thinking more about books for boys lately. Being a grandmother is fun, being a great grandmother ought to be a blast.