Some children’s books are classics. Take Munro Leaf’s The Story of Ferdinand (Robert Lawson, illustrator). Originally published in 1936 by Viking, Ferdinand tells the story of a gentle, little bull who doesn’t want to butt and stick his horns around. Ferdinand wants to “sit just quietly under the cork tree and smell the flowers.” But when Ferdinand sits on a bee and gets stung, Ferdinand gets picked to fight in the bullfight in Madrid. Will Ferdinand fight?...
Purplicious (HarperCollins, 2007) by sisters Victoria and Elizabeth Kann is a sequel (of sorts) to Pinkalicious. As you may know from reading Pinkalicious, the main character, who is called Pinkalicious, loves all things pink. In Purplicious, she is at art class painting pink pictures. But soon artsy types in her class start making fun of her. “Pink is passe.” Black is in. “Pink is putrid.” Just like Kevin Henkes’ beloved heroine Chrysanthemum (one of my all-time...
Ok, I have to admit I don’t really like pink–unless it’s hot pink. I even refused to let my baby girls wear pink–unless grandma gave it to them. Call it my feminist protest, and yes, I know the whole pastel pink/hot pink disctinction is totally irrational. I’d also like to add that I’ve mellowed (some) over the years. But many girls (and their moms) love pink, ADORE pink, can’t get enough pink. So for all those pink lovers...
Move over Beatrix Potter because Little Rabbit is one cute bunny. I just finished Little Rabbit Goes to School (Peachtree, 2004) and really for me, it’s all about the illustrations. The story’s cute, yes, but this is a book I’d get for the illustrations. The Little Rabbit books tell about typical joys and fears of childhood: the excitement of a birthday, getting lost at “Rabbit World,” not wanting to share, the desire to be...
In an ideal world, we’d all have hours to sit on the couch reading books to our children. In an ideal world, we’d also have children who are always cheerful and obedient and never have problems with sleeping through the night, toilet-training, wrecking the car, or getting a full-ride scholarship to college either. But since we don’t live in an ideal world (it sounds a bit Orwellian anyway), here’s a website I just...
So now that Barak Obama has been elected president, I bet your kids are asking you, “So, what does the President do all day?” (besides talk on TV, of course) Ok, maybe not. But if your kids were to ask you, what would you say? Lane Smith answers this profound question in Madame President (Hyperion, 2008). A president is a very important person, especially if the president happens to be a kid. “There are...
First, let me hasten to say that this book isn’t just for babies. However, Freight Train (HarperCollins, 1978) is a great picture book for babies. It’s also a book that can grow with your baby. Donald Crews won a Caldecott Medal for Freight Train. It’s got a sleek, graphic arts feel as page by page it moves us along the tracks from railroad car to railroad car: ”Red caboose at the back, Orange tank...
There is something magical about a child learning to read. It’s like that first smile, those first words, those first steps. A child can’t read at all and then one day . . . some of the words make sense. And then a few more. And then a few more. And next thing you know, the kid can read! Author Mo Willems is probably best known for his “Pigeon” books. Don’t Let...
Ok, just can’t resist doing a few more Christmas books. These are some unique ones I’m partial to. Winter Lights: A Season in Poems & Quilts (by Anna Grossnickle Hines. Greenwillow, 2005). Stunning contemporary quilts illustrate this book, most of them in intense, vivid colors and bold patterns that really appeal to kids and adults alike. Like the title says, each poem and quilt celebrates winter light: sun sparkling on icicles, Christmas lights, aurora...
