Want to know what books Jean Webb recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Jean Webb's favorite book recommendations of all time.
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"Con il gomitolo in mano il nonno sparì fra i girasoli, mentre Mattia restava fermo con il capo del filo. Passò del tempo, e Mattia, tenendo stretto il filo, aspettava e guardava il ciclo. Vide passare anatre, nuvole, un aereo, rondini, farfalle, bombi. Poi sentì un grido abbastanza lontano: era il nonno. Allora Mattia entrò nel bosco di girasoli, e cominciò ad avvolgere il filo rosso, che si stendeva ben visibile fra i fusti verdi e le foglie. Il gomitolo diventò sempre più grosso fra le sue mani, e le foglie dei girasoli frusciavano, un po' per il vento, un po' per il passaggio di Mattia.... more "Con il gomitolo in mano il nonno sparì fra i girasoli, mentre Mattia restava fermo con il capo del filo. Passò del tempo, e Mattia, tenendo stretto il filo, aspettava e guardava il ciclo. Vide passare anatre, nuvole, un aereo, rondini, farfalle, bombi. Poi sentì un grido abbastanza lontano: era il nonno. Allora Mattia entrò nel bosco di girasoli, e cominciò ad avvolgere il filo rosso, che si stendeva ben visibile fra i fusti verdi e le foglie. Il gomitolo diventò sempre più grosso fra le sue mani, e le foglie dei girasoli frusciavano, un po' per il vento, un po' per il passaggio di Mattia. Ogni tanto il filo cambiava direzione, e Mattia lo seguiva tranquillo, avvolgendolo piano piano. E quando il gomitolo fu grosso più della mela, Mattia sbucò dai girasoli e vide il nonno seduto sull'erba, col capo del filo fra le mani, che aspettava". Il racconto è proposto in una nuova collana per ragazzi, dedicata ai loro animi avventurosi, sognatori e a volte ribelli. Storie ricche di forti emozioni scritte da autori fra i più affermati nella narrativa per l'infanzia arricchite dai disegni di grandi illustratori. Età di lettura: da 9 anni. less 
Jean WebbA boy and his dying grandfather embark on a surreal and symbolic journey together. (Source)
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Laura Ingalls Wilder and Garth Williams | 4.50
Classic tales by Laura Ingalls Wilder about life on the frontier and America's best-loved pioneer family. The sun-kissed prairie stretches out around the Ingalls family, smiling its welcome after their long, hard journey across America. But looks can be deceiving and they soon find that they must share the land with wild bears and Indians. Will there be enough land for all of them? Little House on the Prairie is the sequel to Little House in the Big Woods and On the Banks of Plum Creek. more Classic tales by Laura Ingalls Wilder about life on the frontier and America's best-loved pioneer family. The sun-kissed prairie stretches out around the Ingalls family, smiling its welcome after their long, hard journey across America. But looks can be deceiving and they soon find that they must share the land with wild bears and Indians. Will there be enough land for all of them? Little House on the Prairie is the sequel to Little House in the Big Woods and On the Banks of Plum Creek. less Jean WebbIn this book a family has to negotiate and find out what the rules are for living in the wilds of the American West. (Source)
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In 1862 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a shy Oxford mathematician with a stammer, created a story about a little girl tumbling down a rabbit hole. Thus began the immortal adventures of Alice, perhaps the most popular heroine in English literature.
Countless scholars have tried to define the charm of the Alice books--with those wonderfully eccentric characters the Queen of Hearts, Tweedledum, and Tweedledee, the Cheshire Cat, Mock Turtle, the Mad Hatter et al.--by proclaiming that they really comprise a satire on language, a political allegory, a parody of Victorian... more In 1862 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a shy Oxford mathematician with a stammer, created a story about a little girl tumbling down a rabbit hole. Thus began the immortal adventures of Alice, perhaps the most popular heroine in English literature.
Countless scholars have tried to define the charm of the Alice books--with those wonderfully eccentric characters the Queen of Hearts, Tweedledum, and Tweedledee, the Cheshire Cat, Mock Turtle, the Mad Hatter et al.--by proclaiming that they really comprise a satire on language, a political allegory, a parody of Victorian children's literature, even a reflection of contemporary ecclesiastical history.
Perhaps, as Dodgson might have said, Alice is no more than a dream, a fairy tale about the trials and tribulations of growing up--or down, or all turned round--as seen through the expert eyes of a child. less 
Larry DoyleYou’d have to be a zombie to miss the humour in it – it’s hilarious. Although the book is ancient, the humour feels modern (Source)
Jean WebbAn imaginative, clever and fun fantasy story that satirises nineteenth century England at the same time as celebrating academic thinking. (Source)
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Tove Jansson, Thomas Teal, Kathryn Davis | 4.24
In The Summer Book Tove Jansson distills the essence of the summer—its sunlight and storms—into twenty-two crystalline vignettes. This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia’s grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from... more In The Summer Book Tove Jansson distills the essence of the summer—its sunlight and storms—into twenty-two crystalline vignettes. This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia’s grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old alike: life, death, the nature of God and of love. “On an island,” thinks the grandmother, “everything is complete.” In The Summer Book, Jansson creates her own complete world, full of the varied joys and sorrows of life.
Tove Jansson, whose Moomintroll comic strip and books brought her international acclaim, lived for much of her life on an island like the one described in The Summer Book, and the work can be enjoyed as her closely observed journal of the sounds, sights, and feel of a summer spent in intimate contact with the natural world.
The Summer Book is translated from the Swedish by Thomas Teal. less 
Austin KleonAll of Jansson’s work makes me want to move to Finland and live on an island. Less fanciful than my beloved Moomin comics, these stories have an undercurrent of sorrow to them. Really gorgeous book. (Source)
Zoe Kazan@nanzhda I love this book. I’ve given it away so many times I no longer have a copy x (Source)
Jean WebbOn the island the grandmother, who is an artist, creates a whole world—a forest with animals made from pieces of wood for the granddaughter. The book explores ways in which they engage with each other. (Source)
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