The One in Which I Recommend Books for Children

I stayed home with Kieran and Anneke for 15 months after Anneke was born. Hardest months of my life. Oh my holy God.

Anyway, in that year, I got really into children’s literature. The library was pretty much the highlight of my week. I researched children’s authors and awards and kept a spreadsheet with all the books I wanted to read to them, which libraries had them, which we’d read and wanted to buy, … Obsess much?

I’ve had a couple occasions recently to recommend kids’ books and music, and it’s one of my favorite things to do.

First, let me start out by saying, CHILDREN’S BOOKS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. Just because a book is directed at children, and children can be oblivious little robots that like things with bright colors and television characters, does not mean it’s a good book. Just as this book is probably no Song of Solomon, so it is with children’s literature.

I cannot TELL you the number of times my kids have been given books that were complete and utter CRAP and ended up in the trash/recycling before my kids could read them. Because, let me say again, CHILDREN’S BOOKS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. We have A LOT of books. Every piece of crap book clutters the kids’ book shelves and takes away time reading really genuinely fantastic children’s books. And this is not to even mention the ones that are actively HARMFUL. Ugh.

The list below is in no way comprehensive and generally excludes non-fiction. (I have opinions about non-fiction too, of course. I love the Welcome Books: How Things Are Made series, for instance, which includes topics that are interesting to both kids and grownups, like Wax to Crayons!) Many of the authors on this list have written lots of other books that may also be great. Of the ones we’ve read, though, these are our favorites.

• Arnosky, Jim – Rabbits and Raindrops
• Burton, Virginia Lee – Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
• Carle, Eric – The Secret Birthday Message and The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  (Of Eric Carle’s books, The Secret Birthday Message isn’t super popular, but it’s a really cool book, especially for older kids.)
• CINAR Animation – Caillou Makes a Snowman
  (I know it’s weird to have a proprietary character book on this list, but (a) Caillou is so freakin’ adorable, and (b) this book is really great, and my kids love it.)
• Cooke, Trish – Full, Full, Full of Love and So Much!
  (The cadence in So Much!, OMG!)
• DePaola, Tomie – Charlie Needs a Cloak
• Gauch, Patricia Lee – Christina Katerina and the Box
  (I *loved* this book growing up, so I may be biased; my kids don’t seem as infatuated with it as I was.)
• Hall, Donald – Ox-Cart Man
• Henkes, Kevin – Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
• Jenkins, Steve – Actual Size
• Hoban, Russell – Bread and Jam for Frances
• Hoff, Syd – Danny and the Dinosaur series
  (Kids seem to like these as little kids, and then they’re able to read them as early readers later.)
• Johnson, Crockett – Harold and the Purple Crayon
• Johnston, Tony – The Vanishing Pumpkin
  (This one’s silly, but my kids LOVE it for some reason, and it’s fun to read.)
• Keats, Ezra Jack – The Snowy Day
• Kinney, Jeff – Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
• McCloskey, Robert – Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings
• Minarik, Else Holmelund – Little Bear series
  (It’s possible I love these because my mom used to read them to me; they do have the added advantage of being early readers that older kids can read on their own.)
• Ormerod, Jane – Moonlight
  (This one is pictures only. So so great.)
• Park, Barbara – Junie B. Jones (early reader) series
• Rathmann, Peggy – Good Night, Gorilla
• Rockwell, Anne – Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night
  (LOVE this one for autumn/Halloween.)

• Rosen, Michael – We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
• Rylant, Cynthia – The Relatives Came
• Shannon, David – No, David!
• Steig, William – Pete’s a Pizza and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
  (I thought Sylvester was just weird the first time I read it, but it grew on me. :))
• Stone, Jon – The Monster at the End of this Book
• Wilder, Laura Ingalls – My First Little House Books series
  (If you read the Little House on the Prairie books when you were little, but haven’t read them in awhile, you may be shocked if you go back to them. They’re kinda extremely sexist and scary. This is a series for *little* kids that I like. I can’t guarantee it’s not entirely because I loved the Little House books growing up, though.)

• Willems, Mo – Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
• Williams, Vera B. – “More More More,” Said the Baby
• Wilson, Karma – Bear Snores On
• Wood, Don – The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
• Yolen, Jane – Owl Moon

Finally, let me tell you a SPECIAL SECRET, Internetz. Something I love love LOVE is the Scholastic DVD series. If you need to occupy your kid(s) with television, THIS IS THE WAY TO GO. You ALMOST feel like they’re reading books. Plus, the Scholastic DVDs are so so awesome; you might even come to appreciate stories you’ve never really understood/liked when you encounter them read and acted out on DVD.

And let me tell you an even MORE special secret, Internetz. The *greatest year of my LIFE* was when we accidentally got two sets of Scholastic DVDs for Kieran for Christmas. Instead of returning one set, we regifted one Scholastic DVD per kid’s birthday party invitation for about a year and a half. Oh my gosh. Heaven on Earth is NOT buying birthday presents for your kids’ friends.

Tagged as: Anneke, Books, Holidays, Kieran, Reading