Cover stories… great children’s books

In my first post, I promised to highlight various books, music ,movies, etc. that my family and I enjoy, and I’m beginning with this post on children’s books.  Karen and I both love to read, both children’s books and adult books. 

 

So far, all things indicate that we are successfully instilling this same love of reading in our children.  We spend a lot of time reading and frequent local libraries and bookstores.  Charlotte often calls the bookstore ‘the library’ and refers to the bookstore staff as ‘librarians.’

 

What follows are some of our favorite children’s books.  It is by no means a comprehensive list and I welcome your feedback, additions, and deletions.  Whenever I do a post like this, I’ll try to include a mix of classics and some lesser known titles.  I’ve also embedded Amazon links for most of the books and authors included.

 

So let’s let the wild rumpus start with… 

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.  A long-time favorite (as it is for many people), although I have been underwhelmed by Sendak’s other week, some of which is downright creepy.

 

And of course, we love just about anything by Dr. Seuss: Red Fish, Blue Fish; Yertle the Turtle; The Sneetches; The Lorax; Happy Birthday To You; Horton Hears a Who; The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, etc.  An additional note for those in the Springfield, Massachusetts area: the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden is a cool place to visit for Dr. Seuss fans (and children of all ages.)

 

Another iconic children’s author is Eric Carle.  My personal favorite is Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.  (I’m a sucker for dad books.  Another fun dad book, particularly for Garrison Keillor fans, is his Daddy’s Girl.)  Speaking of Eric Carle, if you’re ever in the Amherst, Mass. area, check out the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. 

 

For board books, you can’t go wrong with Sandra Boynton.  She also has a couple of great combination books/cds (Philadelphia Chickens, Dog Train, Rhinoceros Tap) with quirky and funny songs, often performed by celebrities and popular bands.  I’ll revisit them when I do a music post.

 

Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems is a great book with an ironic title (it’s about a monster who can’t scare anyone).  Willems, formerly of Sesame Street, also wrote the Pigeon series (including Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!), Knuffle Bunny, and his ‘Elephant and Piggie’ Learn to Read series.

 

Click, clack, moo: Cows that type by Doreen Cronin (although I wonder if kids today even know what a typewriter is anymore.)

 

Milo’s Hat Trick by Jon Agee (anothet funny Agee book is Nothing).           

Mole Music by David McPhail (a really cool, off beat story about the power of music).

Oops by Mercer Mayer.  A virtually wordless book (except for the word “Oops”).  Normally, I’m not a big fan of wordless books (I’m a big fan of words), but my kids absolutely love this book (and I do, too.)  Unfortunately, this book no longer seems to be in print.  We stumbled across it at our local library.

And, in closing, two (actually three) books on the more spiritual and Zen side: Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth (and also The Three Questions) and You Are Special by Max Lucado

I hope you enjoyed today’s serving of ‘Mac & Cheese.”

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