In honor of DoSomething.org’s Epic Book Drive to raise money for the New Orleans Recovery School District, Workman’s Editorial staff have nominated their favorite childhood books: the ones they read in bed with their parents, named their stuffed animals after, and repeatedly checked out with their first library cards. Of course, narrowing down this list was no easy task for our book-loving editors–hence it’s nearly epic status. What books did you love as a young reader? Let us know in the comments section. To help kids discover their own favorites, check out the Epic Book drive! (DoSomething.org is the amazing organization behind Do Something! A Handbook for Young Activists.)

Here’s what we had to say:

Eloise, Kay Thompson; The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle

“It’s a toss-up. I love Eloise’s spunk and NYC know-how, but I also really liked making butterflies a la Eric Carle’s final image.” –Emily

Redwall, Brian Jacques

“Actually, I was enamored with the whole series… particularly Salamandastron, which may have fueled a lifelong fascination with badgers. The characters regularly sit down to lavish feasts, speak in their own dialects, and have epic battles—kind of like Lord of the Rings, but with talking animals. And what little girl doesn’t love talking animals? May Mr. Jacques, who died this February, rest in peace.” –Liz

Heidi, Johanna Spyri

“Heidi is not my absolute favorite children’s book by any means, but it holds a special place in my heart, because my dad and I read it together as part of a fourth grade class project (basically, read a challenging book with one of your parents). I went on to name one of my stuffed animals (a sheep) Schneehöpli after one of the protagonist’s goats (guess I didn’t have any stuffed animal goats…).” –Liz

Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh; Matilda, Roald Dahl

“I loved Harriet the Spy and Matilda. Harriet kindled my lifelong obsession with dumbwaiters, not to mention composition notebooks. Matilda, with her wagon full of library books, remains a role model. Both 1996 film adaptations are highly recommended!” — Heather

The Trouble with Jenny’s Ear, Oliver Butterworth

“When I was a kid my mom gave me a copy of her favorite childhood book, The Trouble with Jenny’s Ear by Oliver Butterworth, and it immediately became my favorite as well. The story is original and really charming: After her big brothers play a prank involving an extremely loud radio, Jenny finds she’s able to hear people’s thoughts. Over the course of the book Jenny uses her new power to cheat on a game show (by “listening” to the answers) and raise money to save a neighborhood park, among other funny adventures. It’s a book I’ve recommended on many occasions, because it still has its appeal even 50 years after it was written.” –Avery

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle; From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E. L. Konigsburg; Beautiful Joe, Margaret Marshall Saunders

“Mixed-Up Files was a sort of uber-Boomer-kid thing—published around the same time as Harriet the Spy. Beautiful Joe, I just found out, was written in 1893! I had a paper-over-board version someone gave me as a gift—it might be the original anti-animal cruelty story.” –Bruce

Nancy Drew mysteries: Ramona, Age 8, Beverly Cleary; All The Babysitter’s Club books (obviously); Anastasia Krupnik, Lois Lowry; From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E. L. Konigsburg

“When I was six, my dad would read me a chapter from a Nancy Drew book before bed. They always ended on these intense cliff hangers (Oh no! Nancy’s sporty coupe was cut off by a truck–will she crash? Oh no! Carson Drew’s seaplane looks like it’s in trouble–will he crash?!).  My dad would be nodding off and I’d be like: DON’T STOP.” –Maisie

The Complete Illustrated Stories of Hans Christian Anderson, Hans Christian Anderson

“I’d read the sad tales over and over, particularly The Snow Queen and Little Match Girl.”  –Netta

Momo and The Never Ending Story, Michael Ende.

“If you’ve only seen the movie, you’ve only just begun.” –Netta

Every book by Lois Duncan

“I thought that if I practiced enough I would develop ESP. I’m getting close.” –Netta

Few things in life are epic: The Battle of Bunker Hill, Homer’s Iliad, the movie Alien (not the sequels), and, as of this week, DoSomething.org’s Epic Book Drive.
In partnership with Better World Books, Do Something.org is encouraging kids to hold book drives to raise funds for New Orleans’ Recovery School District libraries. The school or community that collects the most books will win a $1000 donation to their school library and a pizza party for the WHOLE school!

For more information on this truly epic cause go to DoSomething.org/epic-book-drive. While you’re there, check out a still from an upcoming PSA with Ludacris who happens to be a big fan of our book, Do Something!: A Handbook for Young Activists. And be sure to keep checking back here for some more awesome-but-not-quite-epic related posts.

Kids have all the fun, even when they’re trying to make the world a better place (and especially if they’re using Do Something!: A Handbook for Young Activists, as their guide).  Most of the time, when kids are having fun, we grown-ups are suffering, painfully.  But who said that grown-ups can’t try to steal a little of that fun for themselves?

It’s not everyday that I get to create my own superhero, especially in my office cubicle, so how could I pass up Do Something‘s Project #15: Superhero Help. Using the supplied templates, I picked a body for my superhero (the one that most resembled my own, of course), colored it in, and designed a costume using everyday office supplies like highlighters and colored labels from the supply closet.

WorkMan

Meet WorkMan: editorial intern by day, superhero by night. What makes WorkMan so awesome? Well, besides his superior line-editing, fact-checking, and origami folding abilities, he fights for the equality of all, ensuring that everyone has the same basic human rights all around the world. He also has an awesome blue jumpsuit.

–Editorial Intern Justin would like you to know that he was a mustache last year for Halloween. This year he will be a fish or a sweater.

This weekend the World Maker Faire is coming to NYC for the first time. And Workman will be there! Stop by our “Camp Make” booth in the Craft Corral in Zone B at the former World’s Fairgrounds in Queens to meet and make with some of your favorite Workman authors! Make fashion, make explosions, make puppets, make yourself smarter, make robot art, make a difference, and more!

• Debbie Stoller will be signing books, handing out project recipe cards, and holding a yarn give-away in anticipation of her forthcoming Stitch’n Bitch Superstar Knitting.
• Allen Kurzweil (and son Max) of Potato Chip Science will demonstrate their Potato Propulsion Pipe experiment.
• Noel MacNeal will host a 10-Minute Puppets make-and-take where kids can decorate their own paperbag puppets, fluttery butterflies, and tiny elephants.
• Megan Nicolay will host a T-shirt refashioning demo and mini-workshop and sign copies of Generation T and Generation T: Beyond Fashion.
• Randy Sarafan and his sidekick, the adorable Squiggle Bot (one of the 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer) will be signing books and creating original Squiggle Bot artwork for attendees.
• Do Something will help attendees find that “thing” thing they’re passionate about and design their own personal Do Something! Superhero.
• And more! Play massive games from The Games Bible, fold origami, brainstorm new solutions for Kids Make It Better, take the Bananagrams challenge, experiment with Potentially Catastrophic Science, make-and-take a Papertoy Monster…plus visit our button-making station so you can walk away with your own Camp Make badge of honor!

World Maker Faire is a festival full of, well, making. In addition to the fun at Workman, there will be incredible feats of technology and stunning visual displays (ArcAttack’s Singing Tesla Coil as seen on America’s Got Talent), family-friendly activities (the BioBus!), delightful eats (gourmet truck food, anyone?), live music, and a crafty yarn bomb. If it can be made, it will be there: A 13,500-lb, 40-ft-tall Raygun Gothic Rocket, a life-size version of the game Mouse Trap, a bubbling Coke-Mentos fountain… In other words, it’s going to be epic.

If you are in the NYC area and decide to come (day and weekend passes are available for on-site purchase), please stop by the Workman booth and say hi!

What:

World Maker Faire at the NY Hall of Science at the former World’s Fair Grounds in Flushing Meadows, Corona Park, Queens!

Where:

The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI)

47-01 111^th Street

Queens, NY 11368-2950

When:

Saturday,  September 25 10 am – 7 pm

Sunday,  September 26 10 am – 6 pm

Finding your “thing.” Making things, big and small, happen. DoSomething.org has been helping kids and teens make a difference with 750,000 projects to change the world. Now they’ve filled a book with the step-by-step tools to take activism to the next level–Do Something! Learn how to put a plan into action with the chapter excerpt below, “Do It!”