Two things that will enrich your life: 1. Reading children’s literature. 2. Creating a garden.🌺I might also add that reading children’s literature in your garden is a delight in and of itself. Enjoy planning your garden but keep in mind that things will go awry. Don’t be discouraged. Gardening is a learning curve. Weather report: We’re expecting a deluge of rain today; the remnants of Hurricane Beryl.☔
Greetings from a very cold Argentina! We've been having colder weather than usual so I've been enjoying my winter break at home, reading and catching up with tv series. Winter is certainly my favorite season, especially when we have cold but sunny days like we had recently.
Hello, I love your thoughts on the books you read. I like to try books I have never read , I live in a town without a bookstore and get all kinds of ideas from your lovely podcast.
OMG! I’m going to get I Capture the Castle for my teenage daughter! Her name is Cassandra as well. ❤ thanks for a great recommendation. And I’ve always wanted to read the Secret Garden and thought I missed the boat. You have completely changed my mind on classical children’s literature. Thank you!
I'm watching about a month later, and I just found your delightful channel. I live in Rhode Island, USA, where it is forecast to be a gorgeous, lightly breezy, mostly sunny day with a high around 80 degrees F (approx. 27 degrees C). We've had heat, crazy humidity, or both on and off for a month so I am enjoying the break -- but I am looking forward to the autumn!
Newcastle upon Tyne dweller here, it’s so autumnal here that I made a nice, hearty soup for dinner the other day and it hit the spot perfectly 😅 The only way to tell that we’re still in the summer is sunlight after 10 pm. When I was growing up, Astrid Lindgren’s books were the quintessential summer read. They’re full of childlike wonder and make you appreciate the smallest of things. Children of the Noisy Village were my favourite!
„Servus!“ from sunny Austria. ☀️🇦🇹 It‘s not yet noon and already almost 30 degrees Celsius. Proper summer. 😎 Some of my favorite children‘s books growing up were: 1. „Auntie Robbo“ (1941) by Ann Scott Moncrieff 11yo Hector lives a decidedly unconventional life somewhere in Scotland with his eccentric great-grand-aunt. When threatened with having to go to boarding school and be more like „other boys“ Auntie Robbo and Hector go on the lam. I‘ve loved this book since I first read it and still re-read it frequently. Combined with No. 2 on this list it cemented my life-long love for the UK. 2. „Flambards“ (1967ff) K.M. Peyton Orphaned teenage Christina is sent from the city to her uncle‘s crumbling estate in Essex. There she falls in love with the country, horses (and unfortunately hunting - it‘s not glorified though; quite the opposite), and… more. Read it so much growing up that I had to tape the books several times. And now some German language classics (all of which have been translated into English): 3. „Heidi“ (1880/1) by Johanna Spyri Orphaned girl, Swiss Alps, Cousin in a wheel chair in the big city, goats, meadows, sheperd‘s boy Peter - need I say more? 4. „Dot and Anton“ (1931) by Erich Kästner Dot is a precocious girl from a very rich family in Berlin and her best friend Anton is the son of a single mom. They explore the city together and help solve a mystery that‘s been baffling Dot‘s dad. It‘s got wonderful descriptions of bustling Berlin and a lot of warm-hearted humor. Truly a classic for a reason. „Emil and the Detectives“ by the author was recently re-published in a lovely Slightly Foxed edition. It‘s just as warm-hearted and good fun as „Dot and Anton“ and even better known. 5. „Krabat“ (1971) by Otfried Preußler This is as much a coming-of-age story as it is about the nature of evil, black magic and dangerous alliances. It‘s not fantasy, though! But interwoven into the storyline are old German legends, myths and local folklore. It is a rather dark book, but an absolute page turner. The author wrote many books for children; all have become classics. But those are mostly for much younger children. „Krabat“ is YA. 6. „Momo“ (1973) by Michael Ende Time‘s been stolen by grey men from the humans and only the girl Momo knows how to stop and reverse the process. Brilliant. The author is more widely known for „Never-ending Story“, which is of course absolutely fabulous. „Momo“ is much… quieter, introspective. And altogether brilliant. Well - it‘d tickle me pink if you actually read one of my recommendations and talked about how you liked them. As always - love your videos! All the best ❤ Monica, from tiny-town Austria 🐾🐾📚📚📚
I didn't read a lot of children's classics when I was a child so I'm grateful to read them as an adult. I read The Secret Garden for the first time this year and loved it. I also adored Heidi. And I Capture the Castle is on my TBR. 🙂 Current weather in Northern California: ☀😎
Hi Claire, I’m also a huge fan of Monet and the exhibition sounded wonderful. I read The Railway Children in 2021 and really enjoyed it, more recently I read Heidi and it was wonderful - would absolutely recommend it.
Sunny and warm with a nice breeze in Virginia. As a child I enjoyed CHARLOTTE'S WEB and A WRINKLE IN TIME. I've been a keen gardener since childhood, when I had a small garden of my own. I tended a bed in a historic churchyard and that was great fun. An additional benefit was all the comments from visitors from out of state.
I read The secret garden a couple weeks ago! It was indeed an amazing book on our relationship with nature. As a french person I didn't hear of this as a child at all but I am now discovering the english children litterature, and I am enjoying it so much!
Today was glorious in Ontario as a 10 day heatwave broke and it only got to 27 C or something like that instead of 39 C which with 83% humitidy or higher is brutal. I am going to introduce you to some Australian literature that popped into my mind instantly when you talked about childrens literature - The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay. Im sure you will love it.
Hello, from Windsor Ontario which is Canada's southernmost city. This summer has been very hot and humid with more rain than usual. Today I am also stuck inside as we are receiving remnants of Hurricane Beryl. It's not windy here at all but we are getting torrential amounts of rain. This morning I made an American-style banana pudding which will be a nice surprise for my husband when he gets home from work. We'll both look forward to that treat after dinner. We both also adore a Yorkshire pudding but that's not on the menu for today. It's a day to putter around and complete tasks that I've been too busy for. I cleaned out and reorganized the cupboard where I keep all of my backyard birding supplies. Different kinds of seeds were all spilled inside and scoops and such to sort out. I'm watching your video while I take a lunch break which is awesome that you have something new for me. This time of year I usually would take lunch out in the garden. This afternoon I plan to reorganize my desk and bookshelf. The Secret Garden is a fabulous book that I still relate to as an adult. After a Canadian winter, I do feel sickly and miserable. It is always that I can't wait to get out into my garden again. My flowers, the birds, the insects, herbs; all do a thorough job of healing me. Anne of Green Gables is a predictable favourite of mine. You are going to love it! I'm currently reading Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse.
Surprisingly sunny today in Limerick, Ireland. People think Britain is rainy but try Ireland. It hardly stops. That's why the Romans never conquered us. We are Hibernia - the land of winter 😂
From Limerick was Tom Lefroy, the character played by James McAvoy in my favorite movie, Becoming Jane. I remember this, because I know every line from that movie.
It's about 10 degrees and raining in Melbourne Australia 🌧 If you love I Capture the Castle you might like The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden. It's a really good coming of age novel. All of Rumer Godden's books are excellent 😊
It’s going to be 6 degrees here tonight in Maitland NSW Australia. Got the wood fire lit in the library. My favourite time of year as our summers are far too hot for me! I Capture the Castle is such a delightful read. I’m currently reading Enbury Heath by Stella Gibbons written in 1935 its semi autobiographical account of when she lived with her brothers in Hampstead Heath. Really enjoying it. 📚
Writing from California where we are between brutal heat waves currently🥵. This morning it is gloriously foggy outside. I would love the weather you're having. As a child, and as an adult, I loved mysteries, so I read a lot of Nancy Drew mysteries and adored an obscure children's mystery called The Green Poodles every summer for years--so comforting; like a visit from old friends. 📚☕
The weather in London is grey and overcast. I also reccommend Narnia The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. A slightly older childrens book I reccommend is Goodnight Mr Tom.
Hello Claire! I hope you are doing well. This spring has been cool and rainy almost every day here in MN. However, it is now starting to become the dry season. I am currently reading Louise de la Valliere (Book IV of the d'Artagnan series) by Dumas. Have a great day! ☀📖
Here in Michigan today its windy and rainy, getting it from the hurricane in the south. Unrelated I also got chased by a racoon this morning..so its been a swell morning lol 😂. When I was little I was obsessed with The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. Both movies and books. I have a very old copy of The Secret Garden that I consider my first annotations, I even made a list of all the things I wanted in my future house and garden lol. I should pull it out and read it again over the summer, you have inspired me.
In the south of the Netherlands we had a lovely summer day yesterday (9th of July) with some storms in the evening, yet it seems to have been singular, and we have now returned to our regular scheduling of gloomy rainy weather 🌤️
Children’s Books: Mr. Popper’s Penguins (I wanted a pet penguin; movie adaptation is horrible); The Phantom Tollbooth; (If you can find it) Magic Elizabeth (features a cat). Suggest you use the library as you can probably get through all three in a single sitting.
I am totally with you on reading children's books for the first time as an adult! I have just bought the beautiful clothbound editions of The Secret Garden and The Railway Children and can't wait to get stuck in 📚
We’ve got glorious blue skies and sunshine here in Somerset today, which has been a welcome change as we’ve just had sports day! My rec for children’s classic will always be The Borrowers ☺️ lovely catch up, thanks for sharing! ☺️💛📚
lovely garden pics - the weather here in Maine has been hot and very humid 😓🌡☀☔... we too will see some remnants of Beryl/tropical storm later today. Looking forward to your Tudor book purchases. Crown of Blood' sounds very good. 📚
Very grey here in Hertfordshire. I grew up with my mum's bookshelf and read more children's classics than i can count. Loved so many but probably the most special to me are Arthur Ransome's The Swallows and the Amazons. They are just magical and I still feel like the children in that were in some way my friends because i know them so well.
We've had the first true burning hot days of summer in Barcelona so it's been draining, but I can always count on your videos to pick me back up!! I love your reflections on reading children's literature as a child VS as an adult, and saw a lot of myself in it too!! As a teenager I refused to indulge in YA, and although it's not my main go-to now, I enjoy spicing my reading up every now and then with the occasional YA title. Also I've been in a Patricia Highsmith kick lately because of Ripley (2024), do you enjoy any other mystery authors outside Agatha Christie? ✨ Best regards Claire, thanks for another delightful video! 📚
Another wonderful children's book that I've recently read and enjoyed so much is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. It's a book about friendship and the love of home. I read it with Miranda and The Comfort Book Club. Like you, there are many children's books that I never got around to reading as a child, so I'm playing catch-up now. It's never too late. ❤ It's a perfect summer day here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's sunny with blue skies and a temp of 75°. Happy reading!
Boiling hot here in Texas. Ugh. Would give just about anything for those grey rainy days you mentioned. We walk at 7:30 am because it's the only time things are cool enough to do so. I have that Yorkshire Literary Landscape book on my tbr and want to give I Capture the Castle another try, thanks to you! Your excitement about your little rose was so sweet. Love it. 📖
Thank you for the fun catch-up Claire! I'm in Bradford, UK and it's cold and rainy and miserable, but what's new ey? It's so interesting that you're trying out some children's classics. I have such a mixed view of some of these classics because I remember with some I was completely scarred as a child AND when I read them as an adult. I find that some 'classics' are labelled children's books but I really cannot fathom why in heavens name they are deemed suitable for kids. I found Black Beauty really horrifying (the bit with Ginger has never left me!), also Watership Down (NOT a cosy tale about rabbits) and one of my most recent reads The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I found just awful! I also recommend that you avoid Tarka the Otter like the plague! I thought it would be a sweet little story about a cute otter but no it was a tale of DEATH and HORROR!!! Having said that, some children's books I have loved are: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (one of my absolute favourites!) Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian (also pretty harrowing but set during WWII so maybe one for you) Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (read as an adult and adored it!) The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (ACTUALLY about cute riverside animals) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (kind of upsetting though) Anything by Alexandre Dumas (pere) Looking forward to following your journey with children's lit! Also please please read The Mirror and the Light soon because I need to hear your in-depth thoughts on the full trilogy lol I was blown away by it!!
I only read I Capture the castle this year. I'm 61 and am wondering how I've only just discovered it. What a book. Totally agree with everything you say about it. I'm going to head to the six wives exhibition. Very excited. Happy reading xxx
Here in central New York it’s been quite hot but today they say we’ll have thunderstorms this afternoon and evening so I have hopes of it being cooler tomorrow. This has been a lovely vlog, thank you. I can see why Kemp’s is a favorite, it would be for me also. The Literary Landscape would interest me too, as I love reading something that sends me down a rabbit hole to other books. As a child, it seems I went from Dr. Seuss to almost adult books. I did read and love Heidi and Little Women as a girl and as an adult I finally read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and The Wind in the Willows. There are so many children’s classics I should read.
Typical summer here in the American South, though I didn’t grow up here so it’s taken me a long while to come to grips with it😊. I didn’t read much children’s lit as a child BUT I fell in love with it when I became a mother. Sheer joy reading picture and chapter books aloud at bedtime. I hope you enjoy starting a garden. I have a wonderful David Austin rose, Desdemona, in my courtyard. He has a lot of literary and history themed 🌹 if you’re interested.☀️
Midcoast Maine is waiting for the remnants of Hurricane Beryl to come through; the humidity/heat is just lovely. Like being wrapped in a heavy wet blanket. I think I’ll stay inside and read 📚📖❤️
It’s cold and miserable in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s winter and while it doesn’t snow here, it’s bleak. It can be sunny for a few hours around lunchtime sometimes. But bring on spring.
Enjoyed your vlog very much. Weather here in Arizona, July 1st was 109 degrees fahrenheit and then the rest of time we read over 115. Highest temp so far this month has been 118. Brutal. We lost our AC for 5 days so stayed in a motel. I dislike summer greatly. 🫠Lol. I miss rainy days from when I lived in Illinois. Here it rains mostly after dark and you can't see it rain. 🫤. I watch your channel for many reason , the books, your sense of humor, your cats and your love of places. Not to mention your weather reports. 😂. 👍📚🌹❤️
Hi Claire! My favorite children's book is 'The Last Unicorn'. Its stunning. I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Here in Maine we have had so much rain - (thunder and lightning storms to be exact) but today finally some sunshine! 🌻
Where I am in South Carolina it's currently 94 degrees Fahrenheit with a real feel temperature of 111 degrees. Am very jealous of cool rainy weather, the perfect weather to curl up with a good book.
🌞🌞🌞oh, it is so hot here in Southern California with today’s temperature expected to be about 100°F. I will be staying inside until the evening. I love rereading my favorite children’s literature whenever I need something light and nostalgic. My favorites were E.B.White’s books, especially Charlotte’s Web, Pippi Longstocking, Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins. I graduated to Nancy Drew and then on to “YA” style books. I was always interested in dog books and now I collect vintage canine literature. My first taste of Yorkshire was the Bronte books and James Herriot’s books. Fortunately I can reread my favorites often with my grandkids. 🇺🇸👏🏻🐾
At this moment where I am, just outside Liverpool, its grey clouds with patches of blue, quite pleasant! For me anyway! Lovely video as always. Best Wishes 💕
📚the weather here in Australia is windy cold raining being winter but we had days when was sunny as well abit warm . I love this video about talking about the secret garden I started that but have not read it all cause of the time the book was set with the words . I love I capture the castle want read in spring again and really want to read lady Jane grey I think have the book not the same cover but I see lot of books on her.i enjoy listening what you read thank you Claire .i love the railway children my mum does as well.❤
My nans favourite children’s book was Heidi and it holds a special place in my heart. I would like to reread it as an adult, perhaps it’s one you would like to read too. X
It’s cold and miserable in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s winter and it doesn’t snow here. But it’s bleak. It can be sunny for a few hours around lunchtime. But bring on spring.
I’m halfway through reading The Secret Garden Rewilded, a retelling of the original so it’s interesting to see you with The Secret Garden here. I’m enjoying the new tale, I think it’s been written well and is an interesting take on a story from a different time and context. I picked it up because I deal with some environmental education so I was interested to see how they explore rewilding as part of the story.
In Kansas, USA it is lovely this morning - 65 degrees Fahrenheit - clear - and breezy. It will hit the low 90s F by later today - so I am up early to enjoy the lovely morning.
The weather has been very british here in continental Europe as well! Lots of rain, which I love, but people are starting to get really depressed 🙃 I remember reading "I capture the castle" a few years ago, as an adult, and absolutely loving it. It's not as big in French as it is in English I think - actually I should do a little research on the French(-speaking) children's classics! I can't for the life of me remember what I was reading as a kid, aside from comics. Lovely video as always, Claire 🧡📚
This was such a wonderful, relaxing video, thank you ❤. It's super hot and humid here in Cologne and we've been getting a lot of thunderstorms these past few weeks. Hate it, can't wait for fall 😅
It’s sunny, 26 and breezy in Chilliwack, about an hour inland from Vancouver BC. A beautiful July day. Hot enough to grow corn, but not too hot for my roses.
Hot & sunny in Phoenix, Arizona, as usual ~ 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 C). I also read The Secret Garden just recently. A favorite children’s classic of mine is The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling. I listened to the audiobook read by Ralph Cosham for ‘victober’ a couple of years ago, and was so surprised at how much I loved the stories. It was not at all what I had expected.
I also absolutely adored The Secret Garden film as a child. I thought it was the dreamest of movies. But I never picked up the book...may need to do that (and thank you for the warning 😊). Oh! And weather, I'm in Germany and we have also been just having a very wet summer. It will be 32°C and then the next day will be dumping buckets of rain. (I'll admit, I'm loving it hehehe). Just found your channel and find you absolutely wonderful!
📖 📕 ❤ just reading and loving “I Capture the Castle” - as recommended by Miranda Mills! Loved your rose bush, it looks very healthy. Good luck with the Mantel tome, I finished it recently but it took me a very long time, I think I too didn’t want to say goodbye to Cromwell.
Always loved your videos and all the lovely history geeky content that inspire me to delve into that era too! I have recently picked up Blood Diamond which you recommended awhile ago and am loving it!
Hello from sunny Colorado! 🏞🌞It's been a lovely summer mix of showers and sunshine with a big heatwave of 102° expected this weekend. Currently finishing A Conjuring of Light / The Shades of Magic trilogy by VE Schwab. Thinking about starting Wolf Hall next! Love your videos!
Hey Claire! We just had Hurricane Beryl hit us here in Texas. We dealt with a lot of rain and wind, and now we’re just left with the summer heat. Currently, I’m reading War and Peace. It definitely seems kind of daunting, but I’m just taking it one page at a time.
I’m living in south Florida and the temperature is 37 degrees Celsius/ 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 🥵 We have hazy skies due to Saharan dust that comes across the Atlantic for a week or two in Summer. Luckily this is the rainy season so sometimes that helps to moderate the heat a little.
I recommend Ballet Shoes (read as a adult) and The Wind in the Willows (read as a child), they're lovely books. I'm listening to David Copperfield and then after that going to enjoy Nicholas Nicklebey. Hope you enjoy The six wives exhibition for your birthday and reading/listening to The Mirror and The Light. I'm hoping to listen to The Mirror and The Light soon as well.
I feel that I went from Winnie the Pooh and memorizing Christopher Robin poems to Sherlock Holmes. There was some Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and some Little House on the Prairie (hello ‘70’s) but I am seriously dug into Victorian literature and mysteries. Read a lot of classics out loud to my children Wind and the Willows is a highlight) but like you I gathered them as an adult. Now I like to give the Little Prince to my great nephews when they are about nine. Love your new shelves. 📚
We’re having a bit of a heatwave here in the Seattle area - it’s been in the 90s which is very unusual for us. Our temps have steadily increased over the last few years, and we finally had to install air conditioning. 📚 ❤
Hi Claire, I live in Vermont in the US. We just got back from holiday in Scotland and came back to hazy, hot, humid weather, near 100 degrees and sunny, unbearable really! We miss the UK weather!
Hot - we have a long spell heat wave here + 35 and over. So inside with a good book is not wrong at the moment. I am just finish Matt Haig The Midnight Library a brilliant book. Thank u for a great video it make me miss weather!!!
The weather in western New York State (Buffalo/Niagara Falls) started out very angry early this morning with lightning and thunderstorms, and progressed to (very unusual for this area) tornado warnings…warnings that actually came to fruition just south of Buffalo, causing some real damage. We’ve had a great variety of weather conditions this summer, so to describe the season in any consistent way is impossible. I love your edition of I Capture the Castle; even though I own the ebook, I think I must treat myself to that one. I just finished What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama, which was very sweet, poignant, and thought provoking, and I have thoughts of finishing The Enchanted April, starting Sense and Sensibility for Jane Austen July, and/or starting Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba Donati, which sounds enchanting. I will also look into your recent reads and recommendations, which are always intriguing. Can’t agree with you more about the delights of staying home on grey, rainy days and reading…they are the best kind of days.📚⛈️☕️💛🩶
We have been having a heat wave here in Alabama for the past 3 weeks. Off the charts humidity too. My favourite children’s book is Charlotte’s Web by EB White.
Here in Brisbane Australia it’s a sunny cool day…. Blue skies and temperature of 20degrees c. I’d rather be in UK though…. We will be visiting family in October…. Can’t wait 😊
Two things that will enrich your life: 1. Reading children’s literature. 2. Creating a garden.🌺I might also add that reading children’s literature in your garden is a delight in and of itself. Enjoy planning your garden but keep in mind that things will go awry. Don’t be discouraged. Gardening is a learning curve. Weather report: We’re expecting a deluge of rain today; the remnants of Hurricane Beryl.☔
grey sky today in the midlands...feels like autumn...my favourite month
raining outside = we'll stay in and read 😅
Greetings from a very cold Argentina! We've been having colder weather than usual so I've been enjoying my winter break at home, reading and catching up with tv series. Winter is certainly my favorite season, especially when we have cold but sunny days like we had recently.
Hello, I love your thoughts on the books you read. I like to try books I have never read , I live in a town without a bookstore and get all kinds of ideas from your lovely podcast.
Love the old childrens classics
OMG! I’m going to get I Capture the Castle for my teenage daughter! Her name is Cassandra as well. ❤ thanks for a great recommendation. And I’ve always wanted to read the Secret Garden and thought I missed the boat. You have completely changed my mind on classical children’s literature. Thank you!
I'm watching about a month later, and I just found your delightful channel. I live in Rhode Island, USA, where it is forecast to be a gorgeous, lightly breezy, mostly sunny day with a high around 80 degrees F (approx. 27 degrees C). We've had heat, crazy humidity, or both on and off for a month so I am enjoying the break -- but I am looking forward to the autumn!
Newcastle upon Tyne dweller here, it’s so autumnal here that I made a nice, hearty soup for dinner the other day and it hit the spot perfectly 😅 The only way to tell that we’re still in the summer is sunlight after 10 pm.
When I was growing up, Astrid Lindgren’s books were the quintessential summer read. They’re full of childlike wonder and make you appreciate the smallest of things. Children of the Noisy Village were my favourite!
„Servus!“ from sunny Austria. ☀️🇦🇹
It‘s not yet noon and already almost 30 degrees Celsius. Proper summer. 😎
Some of my favorite children‘s books growing up were:
1. „Auntie Robbo“ (1941) by Ann Scott Moncrieff
11yo Hector lives a decidedly unconventional life somewhere in Scotland with his eccentric great-grand-aunt. When threatened with having to go to boarding school and be more like „other boys“ Auntie Robbo and Hector go on the lam.
I‘ve loved this book since I first read it and still re-read it frequently. Combined with No. 2 on this list it cemented my life-long love for the UK.
2. „Flambards“ (1967ff) K.M. Peyton
Orphaned teenage Christina is sent from the city to her uncle‘s crumbling estate in Essex. There she falls in love with the country, horses (and unfortunately hunting - it‘s not glorified though; quite the opposite), and… more. Read it so much growing up that I had to tape the books several times.
And now some German language classics (all of which have been translated into English):
3. „Heidi“ (1880/1) by Johanna Spyri
Orphaned girl, Swiss Alps, Cousin in a wheel chair in the big city, goats, meadows, sheperd‘s boy Peter - need I say more?
4. „Dot and Anton“ (1931) by Erich Kästner
Dot is a precocious girl from a very rich family in Berlin and her best friend Anton is the son of a single mom. They explore the city together and help solve a mystery that‘s been baffling Dot‘s dad. It‘s got wonderful descriptions of bustling Berlin and a lot of warm-hearted humor. Truly a classic for a reason. „Emil and the Detectives“ by the author was recently re-published in a lovely Slightly Foxed edition. It‘s just as warm-hearted and good fun as „Dot and Anton“ and even better known.
5. „Krabat“ (1971) by Otfried Preußler
This is as much a coming-of-age story as it is about the nature of evil, black magic and dangerous alliances. It‘s not fantasy, though! But interwoven into the storyline are old German legends, myths and local folklore. It is a rather dark book, but an absolute page turner.
The author wrote many books for children; all have become classics. But those are mostly for much younger children. „Krabat“ is YA.
6. „Momo“ (1973) by Michael Ende
Time‘s been stolen by grey men from the humans and only the girl Momo knows how to stop and reverse the process. Brilliant.
The author is more widely known for „Never-ending Story“, which is of course absolutely fabulous. „Momo“ is much… quieter, introspective. And altogether brilliant.
Well - it‘d tickle me pink if you actually read one of my recommendations and talked about how you liked them.
As always - love your videos! All the best ❤ Monica, from tiny-town Austria 🐾🐾📚📚📚
39C here in Spain. As a child my favorite books were Momo and The Neverending Story. As an adult i really enjoyed A tree grows in Brooklin.
"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is such a great book! I went into it not knowing anything about it, and just let the story unfold as I turned the pages.
I didn't read a lot of children's classics when I was a child so I'm grateful to read them as an adult. I read The Secret Garden for the first time this year and loved it. I also adored Heidi. And I Capture the Castle is on my TBR. 🙂 Current weather in Northern California: ☀😎
Hi Claire, I’m also a huge fan of Monet and the exhibition sounded wonderful. I read The Railway Children in 2021 and really enjoyed it, more recently I read Heidi and it was wonderful - would absolutely recommend it.
Yep, in the middle of a heatwave in London right now!
Sunny and warm with a nice breeze in Virginia. As a child I enjoyed CHARLOTTE'S WEB and A WRINKLE IN TIME. I've been a keen gardener since childhood, when I had a small garden of my own. I tended a bed in a historic churchyard and that was great fun. An additional benefit was all the comments from visitors from out of state.
I read The secret garden a couple weeks ago! It was indeed an amazing book on our relationship with nature. As a french person I didn't hear of this as a child at all but I am now discovering the english children litterature, and I am enjoying it so much!
Today was glorious in Ontario as a 10 day heatwave broke and it only got to 27 C or something like that instead of 39 C which with 83% humitidy or higher is brutal. I am going to introduce you to some Australian literature that popped into my mind instantly when you talked about childrens literature - The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay. Im sure you will love it.
Hello, from Windsor Ontario which is Canada's southernmost city.
This summer has been very hot and humid with more rain than usual.
Today I am also stuck inside as we are receiving remnants of Hurricane Beryl. It's not windy here at all but we are getting torrential amounts of rain.
This morning I made an American-style banana pudding which will be a nice surprise for my husband when he gets home from work. We'll both look forward to that treat after dinner. We both also adore a Yorkshire pudding but that's not on the menu for today.
It's a day to putter around and complete tasks that I've been too busy for. I cleaned out and reorganized the cupboard where I keep all of my backyard birding supplies. Different kinds of seeds were all spilled inside and scoops and such to sort out.
I'm watching your video while I take a lunch break which is awesome that you have something new for me. This time of year I usually would take lunch out in the garden.
This afternoon I plan to reorganize my desk and bookshelf.
The Secret Garden is a fabulous book that I still relate to as an adult. After a Canadian winter, I do feel sickly and miserable. It is always that I can't wait to get out into my garden again. My flowers, the birds, the insects, herbs; all do a thorough job of healing me.
Anne of Green Gables is a predictable favourite of mine. You are going to love it!
I'm currently reading Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse.
Surprisingly sunny today in Limerick, Ireland.
People think Britain is rainy but try Ireland. It hardly stops. That's why the Romans never conquered us. We are Hibernia - the land of winter 😂
Had to laugh when you said, "That's why the Romans never conquered us."😆
@@MJ-in-Canada it's so true 😂
From Limerick was Tom Lefroy, the character played by James McAvoy in my favorite movie, Becoming Jane. I remember this, because I know every line from that movie.
@@ioanabarbu9996 As was the late great Richard Harris aka Dumbledore.
It's about 10 degrees and raining in Melbourne Australia 🌧 If you love I Capture the Castle you might like The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden. It's a really good coming of age novel. All of Rumer Godden's books are excellent 😊
It’s going to be 6 degrees here tonight in Maitland NSW Australia. Got the wood fire lit in the library. My favourite time of year as our summers are far too hot for me! I Capture the Castle is such a delightful read. I’m currently reading Enbury Heath by Stella Gibbons written in 1935 its semi autobiographical account of when she lived with her brothers in Hampstead Heath. Really enjoying it. 📚
Writing from California where we are between brutal heat waves currently🥵. This morning it is gloriously foggy outside. I would love the weather you're having. As a child, and as an adult, I loved mysteries, so I read a lot of Nancy Drew mysteries and adored an obscure children's mystery called The Green Poodles every summer for years--so comforting; like a visit from old friends. 📚☕
We’re currently experiencing a heat wave on the West Coast of the USA. 😢 I can’t wait for autumn!
The weather in London is grey and overcast.
I also reccommend Narnia The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
A slightly older childrens book I reccommend is Goodnight Mr Tom.
Hello Claire! I hope you are doing well. This spring has been cool and rainy almost every day here in MN. However, it is now starting to become the dry season. I am currently reading Louise de la Valliere (Book IV of the d'Artagnan series) by Dumas. Have a great day! ☀📖
Here in Michigan today its windy and rainy, getting it from the hurricane in the south. Unrelated I also got chased by a racoon this morning..so its been a swell morning lol 😂. When I was little I was obsessed with The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. Both movies and books. I have a very old copy of The Secret Garden that I consider my first annotations, I even made a list of all the things I wanted in my future house and garden lol. I should pull it out and read it again over the summer, you have inspired me.
It's sunny but doesn't really feel like summer here in the Netherlands (Den Bosch). There was a massive thunderstorm here this week.🌩
In the south of the Netherlands we had a lovely summer day yesterday (9th of July) with some storms in the evening, yet it seems to have been singular, and we have now returned to our regular scheduling of gloomy rainy weather 🌤️
It’s constant rain here in Houston, Texas! I love it though
Children’s Books: Mr. Popper’s Penguins (I wanted a pet penguin; movie adaptation is horrible); The Phantom Tollbooth; (If you can find it) Magic Elizabeth (features a cat).
Suggest you use the library as you can probably get through all three in a single sitting.
I am totally with you on reading children's books for the first time as an adult! I have just bought the beautiful clothbound editions of The Secret Garden and The Railway Children and can't wait to get stuck in 📚
It’s hot with humidity in Montreal….lots of rain this summer.
Here in Italy, in the city where I live, is really hot and humid right now 🥵 📚😊
Hello! I live in York too! 😊👋 Great to "meet" you. X 🌼🌺🏵️🪷🌸
We’ve got glorious blue skies and sunshine here in Somerset today, which has been a welcome change as we’ve just had sports day! My rec for children’s classic will always be The Borrowers ☺️ lovely catch up, thanks for sharing! ☺️💛📚
lovely garden pics - the weather here in Maine has been hot and very humid 😓🌡☀☔... we too will see some remnants of Beryl/tropical storm later today. Looking forward to your Tudor book purchases. Crown of Blood' sounds very good. 📚
Very grey here in Hertfordshire.
I grew up with my mum's bookshelf and read more children's classics than i can count. Loved so many but probably the most special to me are Arthur Ransome's The Swallows and the Amazons. They are just magical and I still feel like the children in that were in some way my friends because i know them so well.
It is so hot here in the American SW. I wish I was in rainy Britain.
London, Saturday 13 July, cold and grey. Rain likely soon.
The weather here in the Deep South of the US is so hot and humid.
We've had the first true burning hot days of summer in Barcelona so it's been draining, but I can always count on your videos to pick me back up!! I love your reflections on reading children's literature as a child VS as an adult, and saw a lot of myself in it too!! As a teenager I refused to indulge in YA, and although it's not my main go-to now, I enjoy spicing my reading up every now and then with the occasional YA title. Also I've been in a Patricia Highsmith kick lately because of Ripley (2024), do you enjoy any other mystery authors outside Agatha Christie? ✨ Best regards Claire, thanks for another delightful video! 📚
Another wonderful children's book that I've recently read and enjoyed so much is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. It's a book about friendship and the love of home. I read it with Miranda and The Comfort Book Club. Like you, there are many children's books that I never got around to reading as a child, so I'm playing catch-up now. It's never too late. ❤ It's a perfect summer day here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's sunny with blue skies and a temp of 75°. Happy reading!
Boiling hot here in Texas. Ugh. Would give just about anything for those grey rainy days you mentioned. We walk at 7:30 am because it's the only time things are cool enough to do so. I have that Yorkshire Literary Landscape book on my tbr and want to give I Capture the Castle another try, thanks to you! Your excitement about your little rose was so sweet. Love it. 📖
Over the pennines in wet windy darkest Lancashire. Happy reading.
Thank you for the fun catch-up Claire! I'm in Bradford, UK and it's cold and rainy and miserable, but what's new ey?
It's so interesting that you're trying out some children's classics. I have such a mixed view of some of these classics because I remember with some I was completely scarred as a child AND when I read them as an adult. I find that some 'classics' are labelled children's books but I really cannot fathom why in heavens name they are deemed suitable for kids. I found Black Beauty really horrifying (the bit with Ginger has never left me!), also Watership Down (NOT a cosy tale about rabbits) and one of my most recent reads The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I found just awful! I also recommend that you avoid Tarka the Otter like the plague! I thought it would be a sweet little story about a cute otter but no it was a tale of DEATH and HORROR!!!
Having said that, some children's books I have loved are:
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (one of my absolute favourites!)
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian (also pretty harrowing but set during WWII so maybe one for you)
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (read as an adult and adored it!)
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (ACTUALLY about cute riverside animals)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (kind of upsetting though)
Anything by Alexandre Dumas (pere)
Looking forward to following your journey with children's lit! Also please please read The Mirror and the Light soon because I need to hear your in-depth thoughts on the full trilogy lol I was blown away by it!!
I only read I Capture the castle this year. I'm 61 and am wondering how I've only just discovered it. What a book. Totally agree with everything you say about it. I'm going to head to the six wives exhibition. Very excited. Happy reading xxx
Here in central New York it’s been quite hot but today they say we’ll have thunderstorms this afternoon and evening so I have hopes of it being cooler tomorrow. This has been a lovely vlog, thank you. I can see why Kemp’s is a favorite, it would be for me also. The Literary Landscape would interest me too, as I love reading something that sends me down a rabbit hole to other books. As a child, it seems I went from Dr. Seuss to almost adult books. I did read and love Heidi and Little Women as a girl and as an adult I finally read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and The Wind in the Willows. There are so many children’s classics I should read.
Typical summer here in the American South, though I didn’t grow up here so it’s taken me a long while to come to grips with it😊. I didn’t read much children’s lit as a child BUT I fell in love with it when I became a mother. Sheer joy reading picture and chapter books aloud at bedtime. I hope you enjoy starting a garden. I have a wonderful David Austin rose, Desdemona, in my courtyard. He has a lot of literary and history themed 🌹 if you’re interested.☀️
Midcoast Maine is waiting for the remnants of Hurricane Beryl to come through; the humidity/heat is just lovely. Like being wrapped in a heavy wet blanket. I think I’ll stay inside and read 📚📖❤️
Lovely to hear your thoughts on Crown of Blood! We love Nicola's writing style.
It’s cold and miserable in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s winter and while it doesn’t snow here, it’s bleak. It can be sunny for a few hours around lunchtime sometimes. But bring on spring.
Enjoyed your vlog very much. Weather here in Arizona, July 1st was 109 degrees fahrenheit and then the rest of time we read over 115. Highest temp so far this month has been 118. Brutal. We lost our AC for 5 days so stayed in a motel. I dislike summer greatly. 🫠Lol. I miss rainy days from when I lived in Illinois. Here it rains mostly after dark and you can't see it rain. 🫤. I watch your channel for many reason , the books, your sense of humor, your cats and your love of places. Not to mention your weather reports. 😂. 👍📚🌹❤️
Hi Claire! My favorite children's book is 'The Last Unicorn'. Its stunning. I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Here in Maine we have had so much rain - (thunder and lightning storms to be exact) but today finally some sunshine! 🌻
Where I am in South Carolina it's currently 94 degrees Fahrenheit with a real feel temperature of 111 degrees. Am very jealous of cool rainy weather, the perfect weather to curl up with a good book.
🌞🌞🌞oh, it is so hot here in Southern California with today’s temperature expected to be about 100°F. I will be staying inside until the evening. I love rereading my favorite children’s literature whenever I need something light and nostalgic. My favorites were E.B.White’s books, especially Charlotte’s Web, Pippi Longstocking, Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins. I graduated to Nancy Drew and then on to “YA” style books. I was always interested in dog books and now I collect vintage canine literature. My first taste of Yorkshire was the Bronte books and James Herriot’s books. Fortunately I can reread my favorites often with my grandkids. 🇺🇸👏🏻🐾
At this moment where I am, just outside Liverpool, its grey clouds with patches of blue, quite pleasant! For me anyway! Lovely video as always. Best Wishes 💕
Here is south Texas we are in the three digits! Btw love the shimmer on your eyelids and nose!
📚the weather here in Australia is windy cold raining being winter but we had days when was sunny as well abit warm . I love this video about talking about the secret garden I started that but have not read it all cause of the time the book was set with the words . I love I capture the castle want read in spring again and really want to read lady Jane grey I think have the book not the same cover but I see lot of books on her.i enjoy listening what you read thank you Claire .i love the railway children my mum does as well.❤
My nans favourite children’s book was Heidi and it holds a special place in my heart. I would like to reread it as an adult, perhaps it’s one you would like to read too. X
It’s cold and miserable in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s winter and it doesn’t snow here. But it’s bleak. It can be sunny for a few hours around lunchtime. But bring on spring.
I’m halfway through reading The Secret Garden Rewilded, a retelling of the original so it’s interesting to see you with The Secret Garden here. I’m enjoying the new tale, I think it’s been written well and is an interesting take on a story from a different time and context. I picked it up because I deal with some environmental education so I was interested to see how they explore rewilding as part of the story.
In Kansas, USA it is lovely this morning - 65 degrees Fahrenheit - clear - and breezy. It will hit the low 90s F by later today - so I am up early to enjoy the lovely morning.
📚 I'm reading about Mary pole but I have a few on the go. I can't wait to see your bday hall.
I'm in 30s°C with some chances of rain in South Asia.
What a lovely set of books. I saw My Lady Jane tv series which I loved. 📚
The weather has been very british here in continental Europe as well! Lots of rain, which I love, but people are starting to get really depressed 🙃
I remember reading "I capture the castle" a few years ago, as an adult, and absolutely loving it. It's not as big in French as it is in English I think - actually I should do a little research on the French(-speaking) children's classics! I can't for the life of me remember what I was reading as a kid, aside from comics.
Lovely video as always, Claire 🧡📚
This was such a wonderful, relaxing video, thank you ❤. It's super hot and humid here in Cologne and we've been getting a lot of thunderstorms these past few weeks. Hate it, can't wait for fall 😅
It’s sunny, 26 and breezy in Chilliwack, about an hour inland from Vancouver BC. A beautiful July day. Hot enough to grow corn, but not too hot for my roses.
Hot & sunny in Phoenix, Arizona, as usual ~ 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 C). I also read The Secret Garden just recently. A favorite children’s classic of mine is The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling. I listened to the audiobook read by Ralph Cosham for ‘victober’ a couple of years ago, and was so surprised at how much I loved the stories. It was not at all what I had expected.
The Phantom Tollbooth is a gem! Also the Narnia series still a favourite. Hot and humid in central Canada.
I also absolutely adored The Secret Garden film as a child. I thought it was the dreamest of movies.
But I never picked up the book...may need to do that (and thank you for the warning 😊).
Oh! And weather, I'm in Germany and we have also been just having a very wet summer. It will be 32°C and then the next day will be dumping buckets of rain. (I'll admit, I'm loving it hehehe).
Just found your channel and find you absolutely wonderful!
I’m in Yorkshire as well 🌷 weather: ⛅️
Oh, and I‘m reading „Echtzeitalter“ by Tonio Schachinger (Austrian) at the moment. It won the German Book Prize last year. Absolutely loving it! 😊📚
🌧☂️ I'm sick of the rain here in West Yorkshire. Listening to audiobooks on Audible is keeping me sane.
In Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, it is 78 F and sunny.
📖 📕 ❤ just reading and loving “I Capture the Castle” - as recommended by Miranda Mills! Loved your rose bush, it looks very healthy. Good luck with the Mantel tome, I finished it recently but it took me a very long time, I think I too didn’t want to say goodbye to Cromwell.
Always loved your videos and all the lovely history geeky content that inspire me to delve into that era too! I have recently picked up Blood Diamond which you recommended awhile ago and am loving it!
Hello from sunny Colorado! 🏞🌞It's been a lovely summer mix of showers and sunshine with a big heatwave of 102° expected this weekend. Currently finishing A Conjuring of Light / The Shades of Magic trilogy by VE Schwab. Thinking about starting Wolf Hall next! Love your videos!
After alot of rain lately, it’s cloudy with the hope of the sun making an appearance as the day goes on here in Somerset (Weds). 🌦️
Hey Claire! We just had Hurricane Beryl hit us here in Texas. We dealt with a lot of rain and wind, and now we’re just left with the summer heat. Currently, I’m reading War and Peace. It definitely seems kind of daunting, but I’m just taking it one page at a time.
No.California hot, hot, hot. Reading C J Sanson's Heartstone. Tomorrow meeting a friend at the library and taking a walk around local pond.
I’m living in south Florida and the temperature is 37 degrees Celsius/ 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 🥵 We have hazy skies due to Saharan dust that comes across the Atlantic for a week or two in Summer. Luckily this is the rainy season so sometimes that helps to moderate the heat a little.
I recommend Ballet Shoes (read as a adult) and The Wind in the Willows (read as a child), they're lovely books. I'm listening to David Copperfield and then after that going to enjoy Nicholas Nicklebey. Hope you enjoy The six wives exhibition for your birthday and reading/listening to The Mirror and The Light. I'm hoping to listen to The Mirror and The Light soon as well.
I feel that I went from Winnie the Pooh and memorizing Christopher Robin poems to Sherlock Holmes. There was some Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and some Little House on the Prairie (hello ‘70’s) but I am seriously dug into Victorian literature and mysteries. Read a lot of classics out loud to my children Wind and the Willows is a highlight) but like you I gathered them as an adult. Now I like to give the Little Prince to my great nephews when they are about nine. Love your new shelves. 📚
Over 100 degrees F in Utah today and very dry.
We’re having a bit of a heatwave here in the Seattle area - it’s been in the 90s which is very unusual for us. Our temps have steadily increased over the last few years, and we finally had to install air conditioning.
📚 ❤
I’m in south Florida where it’s oddly 77F and drizzling. It’s regularly 100 every day and blazing.
Hi Claire, I live in Vermont in the US. We just got back from holiday in Scotland and came back to hazy, hot, humid weather, near 100 degrees and sunny, unbearable really! We miss the UK weather!
Recently discovered your vlog and loving it❤I’m in Melbourne here and in Winter which is prob like Summer in the UK atm😊☂️❄️
29c. Here it will cool at the end of the the week
HOT under a heat dome over 100 degrees! I live in Pacific Northwest in the states! I LOVE rain I’m super jealous🥵
36c. Sizzling hot in Alberta, Canada. My favourite children’s book is A Little Princess, also by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Hot - we have a long spell heat wave here + 35 and over. So inside with a good book is not wrong at the moment. I am just finish Matt Haig The Midnight Library a brilliant book. Thank u for a great video it make me miss weather!!!
The weather in western New York State (Buffalo/Niagara Falls) started out very angry early this morning with lightning and thunderstorms, and progressed to (very unusual for this area) tornado warnings…warnings that actually came to fruition just south of Buffalo, causing some real damage. We’ve had a great variety of weather conditions this summer, so to describe the season in any consistent way is impossible. I love your edition of I Capture the Castle; even though I own the ebook, I think I must treat myself to that one. I just finished What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama, which was very sweet, poignant, and thought provoking, and I have thoughts of finishing The Enchanted April, starting Sense and Sensibility for Jane Austen July, and/or starting Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba Donati, which sounds enchanting. I will also look into your recent reads and recommendations, which are always intriguing. Can’t agree with you more about the delights of staying home on grey, rainy days and reading…they are the best kind of days.📚⛈️☕️💛🩶
Watching you from Cyprus and is boiling hot currently. 39 celsius!!!! Longing for Cyprus winter time.❤
110+ weather here in Arizona.
We have been having a heat wave here in Alabama for the past 3 weeks. Off the charts humidity too.
My favourite children’s book is Charlotte’s Web by EB White.
Here in Brisbane Australia it’s a sunny cool day…. Blue skies and temperature of 20degrees c. I’d rather be in UK though…. We will be visiting family in October…. Can’t wait 😊
I am in BC Canada and as of today, July 10th it is very HOT. 35 yesterday.
📖📚❤
It’s 120° in California where I live so wish for winter ❄️