The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud

This impressive collection of concept books, wordless books, picture books, and read-aloud stories was artfully compiled by longtime children's book editor and publisher Janet Schulman. Stories are coded red, blue, and green to designate age groupings from baby/toddler books such as Whose Mouse Are You?, through preschool books such as Where the Wild Things Are, to longer stories for ages 5 and older such as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The reason the book isn't bigger than Babar is because many of the illustrations from each story were reduced or removed to fit the anthology's format. (Leo Lionni's Swimmy, for example, takes up 5 pages total, compared to its original 29 pages.) Brief biographical notes that are surprisingly quirky shine a little light on the 62 authors and illustrators, and an index helps, too, for the child who likes one story best. We love the idea of being within easy reach of a Star-Belly Sneetch, a William Steig donkey, and a Sendak monster at all times, and we're sure your little bookworms will, too. (Click to see a sample spread from The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury, compilation copyright © 1998 by Janet Schulman, illustrations © renewed 1997 by William Steig.) (All ages) --Karin Snelson

We own several of the individual books and will probably buy more of them for the boys to be able to read and hold. This book is too heavy and awkward for small children to be handling, but it is a convenient way to expose them (and me!) to some of the great stories that have been written over the years. Besides, you'll want to keep it in good shape to hand down to your grandchildren! This collection of stories will make a wonderful gift for new or expecting parents or for older children who love to read.


What a Treasure!   July 31, 2000
Tane (Pennsylvania)
24 out of 25 found this review helpful

My six year old daughter loves the stories in this book of collective stories. She is even able to read many of them by herself. What I like the most about this book is that it includes a majority of stories I have never read before and I found this to be extremely refreshing. My favorite story is a sing-songy story about the alphabet called "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom". My daughter's favorite is "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". I purchased this book to take on vacation with us since it is filled with so many stories...and my daughter, Keri, was used to having two stories read to her every night at bedtime. I was so thankful to have the book...it provided so much entertainment every night on vacation and since! The illustrations are plentiful and wonderful. However, since it is a collective of many books it was not possible to include all of the original illustrations from each story. If you only buy one book of collective stories...this is definately the one to own!


If you buy only one children's book...   September 5, 2001
Jennifer M. Macleod (Canada)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

Well, that's silly! You probably are going to buy more than one children's book. But the truth is, even if you own some of these books on their own already, this collection is a great "take-along library," perfect for travel or curling up on the sofa.

Though the stories lose a little in the full-page format (stories like "Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom" are really meant to be read a page at a time, and the built-in "suspense" suffers somewhat by seeing the pages all together), the book's comprehensiveness definitely makes up for it, as does its quality.

This book is amazingly well-bound and will stand up to a surprising amount of wear and tear. We've had ours for two years now, and even with some fraying around the edges, I've been pleasantly surprised at how durable this jumbo paperback has been. Even more surprising, the kids keep pulling it off the shelf long after newer books have lost their appeal. They can always find new and old stories: Madeline, the Tub People, Curious George... they're all here, and more.

For the old favourites you've always loved and the new ones you'll wish you had as a kid, this book makes a timeless addition to any children's library.