My Favorite Children's Books

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale

2010-02-23T21:27:00.000-08:00

This is an adorable retelling by Carmen Agra Deedy of a traditional story. Michael Austin contributed delightful pictures.

Caps for Sale

2008-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

Thank you to my friend, Iliana, who recommended this book. It has become a new family favorite. The illustrations are wonderful in their simplicity, the story is charming, and my three-year-old son loves it.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

2008-11-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

We first got this book as a gift from my sister-in-law and her family (thanks, Cindy!), and to be honest, I wasn't crazy about it at first. The reason it merits a spot on the blog is that my son, James, LOVES this story. He can just about recite it from memory, word for word, and often does.

It's a great book for toddlers because of its use of repetition. There's also a fun "twist" ending. The jack o' lantern pumpkin head, which features in the story and on the cover, make it a good Halloween/Fall book, but it can be enjoyed year-round.

Show Way

2008-07-02T00:39:00.000-07:00

This beautifully illustrated book chronicles the codes or maps American slaves stitched into quilts to show others the way to the North and freedom. Whether these codes existed or are the stuff of wonderful legend has been impossible to prove conclusively, but this book does not depend on being rooted in cold, hard fact for its value. It is deeply moving, all the more so because it is told as the story of the author's matriarchal ancestors.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2008-06-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Some of the amazon.com reviews for this book would have you believe that it is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad book. (Who are these people?) Not so. Hilarious and relatable for kids and grownups alike.

On a side note, I just recently found out that the author, Judith Viorst, is also a fairly well known poet. Not surprisingly, I also love her poetry.

Olivia

2008-06-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

Olivia is this generation's Eloise. I love this little oinker so much, I seriously considered naming a (non-existent as of yet) daughter after her. The original in the series is by far the best book, and is delightful from cover to cover.

Richard Scarry's books

2008-06-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

Richard Scarry's stories are creative and off-the-wall enough to be interesting, but grounded enough in true-to-life human values, feelings, and concerns to be significant. His illustrations are darling.

I freaking love the pie rats.

The Sneetches and Other Stories

2008-04-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

I love all the stories in this book (I still remember that it was exactly 23 Daves Mrs. McCave had), but I think my favorite is "What Was I Scared Of?" Those empty green pants aroused such sympathetic feelings in my seven-year-old heart. This collection is a classic, and no self-respecting children's library would be complete without it.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

2008-03-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

This book is not available in any store, nor have I actually read it. I have, however, read the extensively detailed review of the book on amazon.com. I was completely delighted by the five stories it contains, and I think that they merit frequent retelling to my children (presuming I ever have any who will sit still long enough to listen). In other words, these tales are as compelling and relevant as any the Grimm brothers ever penned - probably more so. I do not hesitate to recommend that muggles and magical folk alike commit the stories to memory and pass them along to future generations.

Books I Remember

2008-03-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

This post is comprised of books that made a deep, lasting impression on me. Obviously, they're not the only books I remember from my childhood, but these were some of the first to come to mind when I thought about doing this post. They're the kind of books that, when I see them in someone else's home or in a bookshop, the illustrations call to me from a long-lost cavern in the subconscious of my youth.

The Story about Ping is a book with a deceptively simple plot. Ping, a little yellow duck with a passel of relatives, lives on a boat on the Yangtze River. One day, fearing that he will be punished for tardiness if he returns to the boat, he instead hides from his human master. Thus, Ping is lost and begins a solitary adventure on the river.

The illustrations are what stuck with me the most over the years - especially the drawing of the little Chinese boy who meets Ping. He has little pigtails, and is tied to a wooden barrel, which is in turn tied to his family's boat. The pictures were so exotic to me as a young girl. "So this is what China looks like," I thought. "And this is how Chinese kids live. Amazing."

The overarching theme of the book, that of the value of home and belonging, is also memorable. Ping finally does return home to his boat "with the wise eyes," even though it means being punished for dawdling. He realizes that having a place to call home is worth the restrictions and compromises of community living. And Ping and his mother and father and aunts and uncles and forty-two cousins live, presumably, happily ever after.

There are several versions of Stone Soup, and the one with the illustrations I remember is the Caldecott-winning retelling by Marcia Brown. What fascinated me about this book was not just the soldiers' ingenuity in getting the stingy villagers to contribute their food to the soup, but the pictures of the food itself. There are aprons bursting with carrots, bushels of cabbages, potatoes and onions and more. To this day, I find almost nothing more beautiful than piles and piles of fresh produce.

The Poky Little Puppy is an interesting story accompanied by uniquely styled illustrations. I ordered the board book version for my two-year-old son and I enjoyed seeing all the drawings again, amazed at how much felt familiar to me after almost two decades of not laying eyes on them. Maybe this book was so mesmerizing to me as a kid because the pictures are of things at ground level - in other words, things a child would normally notice: a wild strawberry, a caterpillar, a lizard. It's a fun book, and strangely, like The Story about Ping, is also about a slowpoke (hence the name).

Favorite Alphabet Books

2008-02-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

ABC by Alison Jay
This book was given to us by my sister, Bonnie. (Yay, Bonnie!) It is hands down the most beautifully illustrated alphabet book I have ever seen. It is also unusually entertaining, because each illustration contains not one, but several objects that begin with the featured letter. On top of that, the pictures from A to Z are interrelated and tell a kind of story from beginning to end. I recommend the board book edition (pictured) if you're going to share it with very young children. On a personal note, James loves this book.
Recommended for: Ages 0-5.

Curious George's ABCs by H. A. Rey
The thing that's unique about this book is that the letters are actually worked in to the illustrations; the A becomes the shape of the alligator's mouth, the D is the belly of a dinosaur, and so on. It's a classic.
Recommended for: Ages 0-5.

Dr. Seuss's ABC by Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss's patented brand of nuttiness, as applied to the alphabet. You can't go wrong!
Recommended for: Ages 0-5.