Welcome to The Golden Door!

In recent times, I have been asked so many times for book recommendations that I finally decided to post my book list online so that it would be easier to share.

I have always been a lover of books, especially children's literature. Far more than most books for grown-ups, the best children's books seem to truly grasp the depth of things, the hidden beauty and meaning in life, the sense of wonder we all should have before the mysteries we daily encounter. Whether you are an adult reading these books for the first time, a parent or teacher looking for good books for your children, or (even better) you will be reading these books aloud to children, I hope you will find something here that will open a golden door for you to step through...

If you know of any wonderful books that you could recommend to me, please let me know! :)

Enjoy!!

***** Click here to enter the Golden Booklist. *****

[DISCLAIMER: This book list is not intended to be absolute, nor will everyone out there like, or perhaps even approve of every book that I do! I'm just sharing books that I have enjoyed for one reason or another. My taste runs to deeper children's books within a solid moral universe, but again, you might not agree with me on everything. Make sure you've checked each book yourself to make sure it is appropriate for your child or family. Also, just to be clear, this list is completely non-official, i.e. not associated with any organization I've worked for. :) ]

December Favorites

I Heard a Bird Sing

by Oliver Herford

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,"
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

Autumn

by Gladys Harp

I am rich today with autumn's gold,
All that my covetous hands can hold;
Frost-painted leaves and goldenrod,
A goldfinch on a milkweed pod,
Huge golden pumpkins in the field
With heaps of corn from a bounteous yield,
Golden apples heavy on the trees
Rivaling those of Hesperides,
Golden rays of balmy sunshine spread
Over all like butter on warm bread;
And the harvest moon will this night unfold
The streams running full of molten gold.
Oh, who could find a dearth of bliss
With autumn glory such as this!

The Wild Swans at Coole

by W. B. Yeats

The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty swans.

The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.

I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All's changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.

Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.

But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake's edge or pool
Delight men's eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away?

from The Student's Tale

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The morrow was a bright September morn;
The earth was beautiful as if new-born;
There was that nameless splendor everywhere,
That wild exhilaration in the air,
Which makes the passers in the city street
Congratulate each other as they meet.

September Favorites

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

By William Butler Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear the water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

June Favorites

Assault

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

I had forgotten how the frogs must sound
After a year of silence, else I think
I should not so have ventured forth alone
At dusk upon this unfrequented road.

I am waylaid by Beauty. Who will walk
Between me and the crying of the frogs?
Oh, savage Beauty, suffer me to pass,
That am a timid woman, on her way
From one house to another!

March Favorites

Very Early Spring

by Katherine Mansfield

The fields are snowbound no longer;
There are little blue lakes and flags of tenderest green.
The snow has been caught up into the sky--
So many white clouds--and the blue of the sky is cold.
Now the sun walks in the forest,
He touches the bows and stems with his golden fingers;
They shiver, and wake from slumber.
Over the barren branches he shakes his yellow curls.
Yet is the forest full of the sound of tears....
A wind dances over the fields.
Shrill and clear the sound of her waking laughter,
Yet the little blue lakes tremble
And the flags of tenderest green bend and quiver.

Owl Moon

This beautiful picture book recounts the adventures of a young child, whose father takes him out on a snowy, moonlit night to watch for owls in the woods. The luminous illustrations, lyrical storytelling, and sense of wonder infused throughout draw you into the moment as well, until you can almost feel the cold biting at your cheeks and hear the utter stillness of the midnight woods. A perfect book to read aloud on a snowy night!

Velvet Shoes

by Elinor Wylie

Let us walk in the white snow
In a soundless space;
With footsteps quiet and slow,
At a tranquil pace,
Under veils of white lace.

I shall go shod in silk,
And you in wool,
White as a white cow's milk,
More beautiful
Than the breast of a gull.

We shall walk through the still town
In a windless peace;
We shall step upon white down,
Upon silver fleece,
Upon softer than these.

We shall walk in velvet shoes
Wherever we go
Silence will fall like dews
On white silence below.
We shall walk in the snow.

Previous Favorites of the Month

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December 2008:

This is the Stable
The Donkey's Dream
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
A Tree for Peter

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January 2009:

Owl Moon
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Snow Day
Snow Treasure

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February 2009:

Some Things Go Together
Love You Forever
You are My I Love You
The Cabin Faced West