Mark's Favorite Picture Books

Erin and I share a love for books.  While our tastes often diverge when it comes to adult/YA literature, we seem to agree more readily about what constitutes a great children's book.  I wholeheartedly endorse her selections, but here is a list of some of my other favorites:

 
Mark's Top Thirteen

1. A Porcupine Named Fluffy, by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

A hilarious story with great illustrations.  The combination of Lester and Munsinger is hard to beat.  Other recommendations (runner-ups) from their list of collaborations include Hooway for Wodney Wat, It Wasn't My Fault, and Listen Buddy.  [click here for more]

2. Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers, by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Joe Mathieu

Numeroff is perhaps best known for her alliteratively-titled If You Give a [Blank] a [Blank] books.  The above selection and its companion, Chimps Don't Wear Glasses, are equally as clever... but in my opinion the pictures are far more captivating.  [click here for more] 

3. McDuff and the Baby, by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

My favorite of Wells' McDuff series.  Again, I'm partial to the illustrations even more so than the written text.  Regardless of whether or not you happen to be a "dog person," you can't help but empathize with the bearded, four-legged protagonist in this story.  His subtle expressions seem to speak volumes.  [click here for more] 

4. Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash, by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott

A fun, short read with simple, rhyming text, as you might anticipate from the title.  The ending is predictable, yet nonetheless satisfying.  [click here for more]

5. Stephanie's Ponytail, by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko

Aubree and I really get a kick out of this book.  I consider this one to be more representative of Robert Munsch's talent than the excessively sappy Love You Forever.  Runner-up favorites from his long list of publications include More Pies, Makeup Mess, and The Sand Castle Contest.  I enjoy the way Munsch and his characters take everything to the extreme.  [click here for more]

6. Sanji and the Baker, by Robin Tzannes, illustrated by Korky Paul

This book was first published in 1993, but somehow I've only known about it for a couple years.  It deserves much more recognition and acclaim that I think it has currently garnered.  It's essentially a modern fable, and the illustrations are exceptionally good.  I especially like Sanji's motley group of benefactors.  [click here for more]

7. The Bugliest Bug, by Carol Diggory Shields, illustrated by Scott Nash

This pick is the crème de la crème.  It's got everything: rhymes, wordplay, humor, suspense, heroism...etc.  Not to mention the pictures.  I highly recommend this book.  [click here for more]

8. The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash, by Trinka Hakes Noble, illustrated by Steven Kellogg

A genuine children's classic.  I love this book from start to finish.  How Jimmy managed to smuggle his boa onto the bus, we may never know-- that bag must have weighed a ton!  [click here for more]

9. The Jester Has Lost His Jingle, by David Saltzman

An allegory about the therapeutic power of laughter, made all the more poignant upon learning the biographical details of the author.  As a big fan of old-time radio and television, I personally appreciate the brief homage to Groucho Marx.  [click here for more]

10. The Mitten, by Jan Brett

Jan Brett makes my favorites list for her sheer artistic ability.  This particular masterpiece was adapted from a Ukrainian folktale.  As with many of her books, you have to pay close attention to the sidebar pictures or else you'll miss out on part of the fun.  [click here for more]

11. There's a Wocket in My Pocket, by Dr. Seuss

My favorite silly book, from the undisputed King of Silly Books.  This is one that I don't mind reading again and again.  In fact, I've picked it out myself so often for story time that I've practically got it memorized.

12. Watch Out For the Chicken Feet In Your Soup, by Tomie dePaola



Tomie dePaola is another incredibly talented and accomplished children's author.  Unbelievably, he's written and/or illustrated almost 250 different books.  With so many great works to choose from, I selected Chicken Feet because of the undeniable pleasure I derive from reading it aloud to Aubree and Bryce in my faux Italian grandmother accent.  [click here for more]

13. Why the Banana Split, by Rick Walton, illustrated by Jimmy Holder

An extremely "punny" book that is also chock-full of delightful pictures.  Probably even more entertaining for adults than for young kids.  [click here for more]

Enjoy!

Erin's Favorite Picture Books

Mark and I have been meaning to write this post for a very long time and finally sat down to pick out (and narrow down) our favorites (Mark's post is in the works).  Please note, this is not a wish-list or a not-so-subtle hint about what we want for Christmas since we already own most or all of these books.  But, if you're looking for great books (as we always are), here are my recommendations:

Erin's Top Thirteen (getting down to 10 was highly improbable) in alphabetical order:

1. Bear Stays Up For Christmas, by Karma Wilson

I love all the books in the "Bear" series, but this is my most favorite.  If there's any over-arching theme in my favorite book list, it's probably clever, simple, cadenced rhyming text.  And the "Bear" books are chalk full of exactly that!

2. Fancy Nancy, by Jane O'Conner

I avoided Fancy Nancy for a long time when Aubree was younger because it seemed so trendy and over-done.  Then I broke down and borrowed the book from the library.  And fell in love.  LOVE. Nancy is smart and independent and creative, and both Aubree and I couldn't get enough.

3. I Stink!, by Kate & Jim McMullan

I can't begin to explain how often lines from this book creep into our day-to-day life.  Truth be told, I didn't like this book at first.  Then I watched a Scholastic video and heard how it was "supposed" to be read.  It made all the difference (hint - read with a New York accent and attitude).  If you happen to like this book, don't miss a couple other similar books by the McMullans, including: I'm Mighty, and I'm Dirty.

4. Is Your Mama A Llama?, by Deborah Guarino

Now we're back to the clever rhyming text theme.  This is just a simple and fun read that I never get tired of.

5. Julius, The Baby of the World, by Kevin Henkes

Kevin Henkes was one of my favorite authors years before I even had kids.  The only problem I have with him is trying to choose just one of his books as my favorite.  If I hadn't limited my top 13 list to one submission per author (my own silly rule), at least 2 other Kevin Henkes books would have also been on the list (Lily's Purple Plastic Purse and Chrysanthemum). (...do you like how I'm totally breaking my own rule?)

6. Knuffle Bunny, by Mo Willems

Mo Willems is another author who just can't seem to go wrong.  I love all his books.  Elephant and Piggie?  Pigeon?  Fabulous!  But, Knuffle Bunny is so clever.  My favorite line? "She went boneless."  If you've ever tried to pick up a tantrumming toddler, you totally get this!

7. No, David, by David Shannon

I really shouldn't love this book.  It goes against most things I learned as a school psychologist about positive parenting, as well as every instinct that says, "don't give your kids ideas!"  But, BUT, my kids love it so much and so do I.  Bryce had it memorized from the earliest age and we read it over and over and over and I never got sick of it. That's saying something!  

8. Olivia, by Ian Falconer

Classic.  Ian Falconer can tell volumes of information with the sparsest amount of text.  I love examples of smart, problem-solving pigs kids.  I don't like the "new" Olivia books that are no longer written by Ian Falconer.  

9. Parts, by Tedd Arnold

Trust me...it's worth reading (and reading again).

10. Some Dogs Do, by Jez Alborough

I think this is the perfect picture book.  Bright, fun pictures, fun rhyming text (told you...), and teaches a lesson without being too overt.

11. Thank You Mr. Falker, by Patricia Polacco

If you're looking for amazing books for slightly older kids (5+), you must get to know Patricia Polacco. She's a prolific author and all her books are fabulous.  Thank you, Mr. Falker is autobiographical and amazing.

12. The Seven Silly Eaters, by Mary Ann Hoberman

A very silly and wonderful book.  It's not often you run into books with large families, and this one is so great.  As you read (or on future readings) take some time to look carefully at the illustrations - they're so fun.

13. Where Did that Baby Come From?, Debi Gliori

Looking for a "new baby is coming to our house" book?  This one is very silly (and rhyming) and clever.  I like a lot of Debi Gliori books, but I've found that I love 90% of each book.  The final pages always disappoint me.

As always, if you have favorites please (pretty please) feel free to share.  And Mark's post will be up in the next couple days...

Top Ten Board Books

 It's no secret that we love books at our house.  One of the very first things we did after we got here in Washington was to visit the library and stock up on books to read.  We were thrilled to discover that the library system here is superb!

I've been thinking about some of our favorite books and decided to see if I could come up with our top ten favorite board books as a start (someday I'd like to come up with a similar list for picture books, but I'm not sure if it's possible for us to limit those to just 10).  It was tough, but we narrowed it down to some perennial favorites to share and recommend, especially right before Christmas since books are always a great gift (and no, we're not sending any not-so-subtle hints, we already own these books).  We are. however, always looking for more recommendations, so please feel free to share your favorites as well. 
In no particular order:

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear (Wood)

Chugga, Chugga Choo Choo (Lewis)

 

The Foolish Tortoise (Carle)

Mice Squeak, We Speak (dePaola)

Good Night, Gorilla (Rathmann)

Belly Button Book (Boynton)

My Many Colored Days (Seuss)

Big Red Barn (Brown)

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? (Seuss)

Ten Little Ladybugs (Gerth)