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1941 - 1950 Cohort

World War II engulfing virtually the entire world followed by division, the Iron Curtain, the Berlin Airlift. For some countries a slow and painful struggle to begin rebuilding. For others the opening years of decades of almost uninterrupted prosperity.

What were you reading? Tell us in your comments below what you remember as your favorite stories.

Picture Books

The Picture Book of Illinois by Bernadine Bailey and illustrated by Kurt Weise 1949

The Picture Book of Colorado by Bernadine Bailey and illustrated by Kurt Wiese 1950

Michigan by Bernadiine Bailey and illustrated by Kurt Weise 1950

North Carolina by Bernadiine Bailey and illustrated by Kurt Weise 1950

Red Mittens by Laura Bannon 1946

Country Fireman by Jerrold Beim and illustrated by Leonard Shortfall 1948

The Smallest Boy in the Class by Jerrold Beim and illustrated by Meg Wohlberg 1949

The Fat Baron by Clip Boutell and illustrated by Frank Lieberman 1946

The First Book of Indians by Benjamin Brewster and illustrated by Ursula Koering 1950

Georgie by Robert Bright 1944

Mary Ann's First Picture by Winifred Bromhall 1948

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown 1947 Highly Recommended

Country Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1940

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd 1942 Highly Recommended

The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1949

Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown (writing under the pseudonym Golden MacDonald) and illstrated by Leonard Weisgard 1946 Highly Recommended

The Quiet Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1950

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd 1942 Recommended
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton 1943 Recommended
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton 1942 Highly Recommended
Calico the Wonder Horse by Virginia Lee Burton 1941 Suggested

In My Mother's House by Ann Nolan Clark and illustrated by Velino Herrerra 1941

Down by the Sea by Mary Coplan, Chrystie Stokes and Lillian Moore 1941

Jolly Blue Boat by John and Jane Courtright 1947

Donkey Donkey by Roger Duvoisin 1940 Suggested
Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field 1944 Suggested

Poodey by Margaret Friskey and illustrated by Katherine Evans 1945

Chicken Little Count to Ten by Margaret Frisker and illustrated by Katherine Evans 1946

Nothing at All by Wanda Gag 1941 Suggested
The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader 1948 Recommended

A Child's Book of Birds by Luis M. Henderson 1946

Tree in the Trail by Holling Clancy Holling 1942 Suggested
The Happy Day by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Marc Simont 1949 Suggested
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Crockett Johnson Recommended

The Thirsty Pony by Paul Laune 1940

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey 1948 Highly Recommended
Lentil by Robert McCloskey 1941 Recommended
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey 1941 Highly Recommended
Marshmallow by Clare Turlay Newberry 1942 Suggested

Smudge by Clare Turlay Newberry 1948

Song of the Swallows by Leo Polit 1948

Curious George by H. A. Rey 1941 Highly Recommended
Many Moons by James Thurber and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin Suggested

Follow the Wind by Alvin Tresselt and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1950

Rain Drop Splash by Alvin Tresselt and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1946

White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1947 Recommended

Me Too by Fritz Willis 1945

Cancan by Fritz Willis 1945

The Smart Little Boy and His Smart Little Kitty by Louise Woodcock and illustrated by Lucienne Bloch 1947

Indpendent Reader

Title by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey and illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett 1946 Suggested
Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary and illustrated by Louis Darling 1950 Recommended
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite DeAngeli 1949 Suggested
The Matchlock Gun by Walter Dumaux Edmonds 1941 Suggested
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley 1941 Recommended
The Island Stallion by Walter Farley and illustrated by Keith Ward 1948 Recommended
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes 1943 Recommended
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry and illustrated by Wesley Dennis 1947 Highly Recommended
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry and illustrated by Wesley Dennis 1945 Suggested
Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling 1941 Suggested
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and illustrated by Pauline Baynes 1950 Highly Recommended
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren 1945 Highly Recommended
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson 1944 Suggested
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald and illustrated by Hilary Knight 1947 Highly Recommended
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey 1943 Highly Recommended
Bedknob and Broomstick by Mary Norton and illustrated by Erik Blegvad 1943 Recommended
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 1943 Highly Recommended
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner 1942 Recommended
Stuart Little by E.B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams 1945 Highly Recommended

Young Adult

Ann Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Ann Frank 1947 Suggested

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