Best Authors for Children

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was universally regarded as the greatest English novelist of all time. He was born on February 7, 1812. His literary career began by contributing to a magazine published monthly, and he went on to write about the life and manners of his period. When I hear the word "dickens", I could imagine a vision of the 19^th century London. In his books he personifies the orphaned and starving children, the misers, murderers, abusive schoolmasters and the Christmas punch which showed his celebrated larger than life characters. His realistic plots that give a panoramic view of the life of England in his time surprisingly took me out of myself and made me apart of a different world. His life lesson giving books much entertains the readers for some of the characters were surprisingly based from real persons like his parents. John Dickens, his father was portrayed in the character of Mr. Macawber in the novel David Copperfield and Mrs. Nickelby in Nicholas Nickelby was based on his mother Elizabeth who he described a kind of ridiculous. "A Christmas Carol", first book I found in my closet when I was a kid.

Lewis Carroll

Born on February 27, 1832, he was named Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. His friendship with a certain Lidell stirred him to write the familiar book with the exciting adventures of a shy girl in a place called wonderland. Alice in the book has met the Queen of Hearts, Mr. Rabbit, the mock turtle, the Cheshire cat and other cute creatures in a make-believe world under the ground. "Alice in wonderland" as you knew it turned out to be the greatest achievement in the entire stretch of Lewis Carroll's literary career for it was and will be loved by more children through time. "Through the Looking Glass", has introduced new characters including the silly twins I find very cute, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. I have loved his last great work, "The Hunting of the Snark", sort of a fantastical "nonsense" poem he wrote about the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Hans Christian Andersen

The public first read his fairy tales in pamphlets. But all these creative writings were subsequently collected and published in books and later seen in motion pictures. The admiration he won for his good stories gave him comfort through lonely times. Andersen was often shy around women and had extreme difficulty in proposing to someone he likes. Some of his stories interpreted his extreme expression of passion and grief. But his lifetime was at height when he was feted by royalty and acclaimed for having brought great enjoyment to a whole generation of children throughout Europe. Are you familiar with the tale that begins with a duck's egg hatch? "The Ugly Duckling", a tale he later confessed a reflection of his own life. Among his best-known stories are "The Little Mermaid", "The emperor's New Clothes", "The Princess and the Pea", "Thumbelina", and of course his own autobiography entitled "The Fairy Tale of my Life".

His quote, "Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower" has stimulated my fervor to pursue my page. SOFTDIAMOND

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)

Like her character, Jo March in Little Women, young Louisa was a tomboy: "No boy could be my friend till I had beaten him in a race," she claimed," and no girl if she refused to climb trees, leap fences." She spent most of her childhood days in hardship and worry. Her father made so many investments in unrealistic projects, which turned out to be an utter failure. When she's fifteen, troubled by poverty, she vowed on doing something by and by whether as a servant, a teacher, or anything that could help her family. Confronting a society that offered little opportunity to women seeking employment, she became determined to find a mean that could make her rich and famous and happy before she dies. Her career as an author began with poetry and short stories that appeared in popular magazines. At 35, she began writing a book for girls, "The little women" and which was an instant triumph when finally published. Scores of readers like me fell in love with Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, the four charming sisters. This was the start of Louisa May Alcott's success.

Brothers Grimm

"Hansel and Gretel", "Sleeping Beauty", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Snow White" and "Rumpelstiltskin" are just some of the best tales Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm dutifully preserved for the children of the future. They were born on January 4, 1785 and February 24, 1786, respectively and grew up inseparably in a happy community of Germany. They traveled and collected the beautiful tales from people who lived and worked in villages around their town, Kassel. The brothers edited and published the timeless tales exactly as they had heard them as Wilhelm gave them literary shape for more compelling touch. There known and loved characters are the wicked stepmothers, ugly witch, fairy godmothers, princess made into servants and a warrior prince to the rescue. The celebrated "Cinderella" a tale with an element of unjust oppression and triumph and later reward come to mean by analogy as one whose attributes are unrecognized, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect. Another interesting piece is "The frog prince" and later at the end of their time, they were even buried side by side in Berlin.

Mark Twain

He was born to a poor family on November 30, 1835 with a real name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Though he had very little schooling, he had a flair for transforming his memories into literary pieces. He loved traveling. Nevertheless, all these traveling activities were not without a purpose-he used them as a means to gather materials for his stories, jokes, legends, and newspaper accounts. Travels added significantly to his stylish description of characters and settings in his stories. He was also a man of contradictions. Frequently, he passed judgment on persons who were too concerned with increasing their wealth, yet he himself tried so many ways to make more and more money. Twain is most noted for his novels "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. "The Prince and the Pauper" tells the tale of two boys whose features are strikingly identical; one boy is the King of England and the other is just a poor boy from the streets. The similarities in their appearances make it easy for the two boys to switch places. The last novel attempted but unfortunately unfinished by twain is "The Mysterious Stranger". ""

Childhood seems incomplete without their wonderful tales of happy endings. Their stories encourage us to believe in our dreams and wishes and further teach us lessons we shall forever treasure without the usual raps on the knuckles. We have come to know that the beauty inside is far, far better that the beauty outside as in the sad plight of Ugly Duckling. We are again told that kindness has its reward in the rags-to-riches experience of Cinderella. And in the never-ending battle with life that finally ended to a happy life ever after.

Yet, time didn't stop these latest outstanding authors parents most not miss for their growing children:

C. S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis is a close friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the Lord of the Rings. Born on November 29, 1898 at Belfast, Ireland and known as Jack for his family. Lewis's early childhood was relatively happy and carefree inside a house with a library full of crammed books. His first favorites were Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. As a teenager, he learned to love poetry, especially the works of Virgil and Homer. He also developed an interest in modern languages, mastering French, German, and Italian. He authored fictions such as the "Screwtape Letters", "The Space Trilogy" and more. He had first had the idea to write a book for children in 1939 when he opened his door to some young refugees during World War II. One of them was fascinated by a wardrobe in his home, imagining that there was another way out of it through the other side.

Chronicles of Narnia begins with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but I wanted to agree that this should be read in like order:

"The Magician's Nephew"

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

"The horse and His Boy"

"Prince Caspian"

"The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"

"The Silver Chair"

"The Last Battle"

J.K. Rowling

Joanne "Jo" Rowling was a genuine icon of rags-to-riches life story. She has created a fantastic world of wizards and muggles, ghosts and trolls, and good and evil that has completely revitalized a love of reading in both kids and adults all over the world. All can be found in her world-renowned creation "Harry Potter" which the idea came to her while on a train trip from Manchester to London. Perhaps no one in our time has done more than J.K. Rowling to inspire young people to experience the excitement and the sheer joy of reading.

The Seven Books of Harry Potter:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows