Priscilla's blog has inspired today's Thursday Thirteen (even though it's Friday). I can't imagine growing up without ample reading and a good supply of children's books. So here is my list of Favorite Children's Books...
1. The Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown
I brought this book home from a book order in kindergarten and have loved it ever since. The pictures are intriguing and I love the poetic way the story is written.
2. Curious George by H. A. Rey
Who doesn't love the old Curious George books?
3. Disney's Uncle Remus (pre 1980's)
This was one of our favorite books when we were kids. Dad had no trouble reading just like Brer Rabbit talked. I wish I could get my hands on an old copy. The newer ones have all been updated to be "politically correct". Too bad, they were wonderful just the way they were.
4. Alfie Gets in First by Shirley Hughes
All of Shirley Hughes books are wonderful. I love the stories and I love the illustrations! The house is always a mess just like mine was when I had little people. Okay, maybe it's still that way.
5. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
I'm not really sure why I like Dr. Seuss books so much, I think it's the rhyming, sing-songy way they are written but there are also some good lesson to be learned from his books. "A person's a person no matter how small", "Christmas doesn't come from a store", and "an elephant's faithful one hundred percent".
6. Bread and Jam for Frances by Lillian Hoban
Frances does so many kid-like things that it's hard to believe she's actually a hedgehog. I like her rhymes too and the way her parents patiently deal with her childlike ways.
7. Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
This was David's favorite book when he was small. I think he could relate to Peter in a way that I never had. I always felt terribly sorry for Peter when I was a little girl.
8. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
I think I was always intrigued not only by Harold's ability to draw but how he drew himself both into and out of trouble.
9. Huge Harold by Bill Peet
I love almost all of Bill Peet's books too. He is both author and illustrator. His pictures are full of character and take me back to Uncle Joe's farm. The stories are great. We took these books out of the library over and over again.
10. The Three Billy Goats Gruff
This was a great book to read to my kids when they were very small. I kept their attention by pretending to eat their ears whenever the big bad troll threatened to eat up the billy goats. This made one of my kids afraid of bridges. Guess he wasn't quite sure what might be living underneath.
11. Go, Dog, Go by P. D. Eastman
This was Ben's favorite book. The dogs are wonderfully colorful and lots of fun. Our book got lost at a friend's when Hannah was born and I had to buy another copy.
12. Tales of Oliver Pig by Jean Van Leeuwen
There is a whole series and we discovered these books when Ben and Hannah were still small enough to enjoy them, then bought them at a sale when the library cleaned out their collection. They are mini chapter books and the characters are piglets with lots of imagination. It reminds me of how we used to play when we were kids.
13. Buster, Come Home by Judith Lane
This book is based on a true story about a woman who loses her dog and the little girl who helps find him. I like both the pictures and the story, but it was written by one of my old school friends and illustrated by her sister, so maybe I'm a little biased that way.
There are so many great children's books out there that I could never list them all. I have a huge collection just waiting for some little people that I can read to.
Thanks for your list. It's really fun! I happen to have "Alfie Get in First" checked out of the library right now.
ReplyDeleteI always loved "Harold and the Purple Crayon" too. After I had my kids, Huge Harold became a big hit too. I bought a copy at a book store. Steven has a Brer Rabbit story in a big book called, "A Treasury of Children's Literature". I remember him wanting me to read it over and over again because of the way the language was. He thought it was funny. I used to love the story of "Hansel and Gretel" because of the yummy looking candy house they ate from, which turned out to be a trap for them. I loved how the witcked witch got pushed into the fire. There was also something that fascinated me about "Jack and the Beanstalk".
ReplyDeleteSteven's favorite when he was a toddler was "Rooster's Off to See the World" by Eric Carle. We must have read that story a gazillion times. He used to follow us around with it saying' "Rooster's off to see the world?" (In other words, can you read me this book please!) We still have it, with a chunk missing from the back cover, where baby Mikey got a hold of it and started to eat it.
ReplyDeleteWe have two Go, Dog, Go! books now, one in the barn, and one in the house.
ReplyDeleteI like Janet's Thingamajigs and Otis Spofferd.
A Cat About Town by James Harriet
ReplyDeleteJames Herriot is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of James Harriet. Boy, I guess my kids missed out.
ReplyDeleteJames Harriet is the vet from the British Isles. He tells wonderful animal stories. His most popular book is All Creatures Great and Small but that one is really meant for adults. He has several adaptations for children. How about Little Bear or Henry and Mudge? I remember reading Is You Mamma a Laama at Rachel's house.
ReplyDeleteOh, we do have "Is Your Mama a Llama?", but I didn't realize that he was the author. We have also read some of the Henry and Mudge books, but again, I didn't realize he was the author. We have Little Bear books too.
ReplyDeleteJames Herriot is NOT the author of those books. The way she wrote that made it sound like he is.
ReplyDeleteOh.
ReplyDeleteI forgot The Magic Treehouse series, Michael loved those too.
ReplyDeletePaul has the old Disney's Uncle Remus stories at his house. He also has the ORIGINAL book where the stories were adapted from. Both are in mint condition, except for the "To Paul (or Michael) written in the front. Quite a treasure both of them, eh?
ReplyDeleteEh, I would say so. I would love to have a copy of Disney's Uncle Remus but they run about $75.00 and I don't have the extra cash.
ReplyDelete