Books Your Kid Should Read

Olivia
by Ian Falconer
2001

The Olivia books have quickly become such classics that they hardly need reviewing on this site, but since they are currently among our favorite books, I had to talk about them. Firmly in the Eloise tradition of miniature heroines, Olivia is a confident, imaginative, strong-minded little piglet, who reluctantly puts up with her younger siblings (most of the time) and keeps her parents on their toes with her antics. In the first book, we follow Olivia to the fine art museum and witness her love of Degas and her disdain for Pollock (she does a quite credible pollock-esque mural on the wall when she gets home, just to show that she can. A time-out understandably ensues). We enjoy her wardrobe variations; her love of playing dress-up, her amazing skills at sand-castle building, and the way she turns a lovely pinky color after a day at the beach. This is one of those delightful picture books where the text and the illustrations are equally well crafted, and work in tandem to create Olivia's vivid worlds. Kids will see Olivia as a kindred spirit, and parents will instantly recognize the tired-but-affectionate look on Olivia's mother's face as she tucks her exhausting daughter into bed. "You wear me out, but I love you anyway," she tells Olivia. "I love you anyway, too," Olivia responds. Truer words were never spoke.

My Penguin Osbert
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
illus. H. B. Lewis

Oh, my, this is a cute book. A classic be-careful-what-you-wish-for tale, this is the story of young Joe, who has a history of being a little disappointed in his Santa gifts. It's not that he doesn't get what he asks for (e.g. a red fire engine), it's just that they aren't quite what he meant (only 3 inches long). So this year, he decides to be really specific with his list, and sure enough - waiting for him under the tree Christmas morning is the pet penguin he asked Santa to bring him. At first Joe is overjoyed ... but then the realities of penguin ownership kick in, and Joe slowly realizes that he maybe didn't think this wish through. Funny all year long, with wonderful illustrations that add to both the humor and the cute factor (which is considerable).

Interested in this book? Get more details or make a purchase at the bookstore.

The Nativity
illus. Julie Vivas
1986

In religious terms, I tend to refer to myself as a militant agnostic: I don't know and you don't either. But the nativity is a pretty good story, whatever your beliefs, and this picture book version absolutely captivated me from the first minute I saw it as a lowly bookstore clerk back in the early 90s. The text is taken from the King James version of the book of Luke, familiar to anyone who's watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special year after year. But what makes the book special are the amazing illustrations, which depict Mary, Jesus, Joseph, the angels, and the whole crew not as stiff, gilded medieval royalty, but as quintessentially everyday folk. The drawings are rendered in playful watercolors, showing angels with raggedy wings and unlaced muddy workboots sharing a cup of coffee with a tired looking Mary. The infant Jesus is so stinking cute you want to pick him up and squeeze him, which - for me, at least - is a novel and enjoyable response to depictions of the birth of Christ. The overall effect of the book is to make the nativity supremely joyful, earthy, and ... plausible. Wonderful for reading aloud this time of year.

Interested in this book? Get more details or make a purchase at the bookstore.

Come Play With Me
by Margaret Hiller
Illus. Kinuko Craft
1975

As you may have noticed from previous entries, I'm a total sucker for good illustrations, and Kinuko Craft is one of my favorite illustrators. I first saw her work as a little kid in the book Come Play With Me, which features simple rhymes for beginning readers. The poems are perfectly nice, but it's the pictures that really make the language come alive. A verse about a ball going up and down is much more interesting when it's being bounced by an elf at twilight; a poem about a boy playing with his father is made magical when you see that the father and son are centaurs; a game of hide-and-seek is positively idyllic when set in an arcadian landscape. New readers will take pride in reading the simple words, and pre-readers (and parents!) will have their imaginations sparked by the beautiful images. May be difficult to find, but it's worth the look.

Pet of the Met
by Don and Lydia Freeman
Illus. Don and Lydia Freeman
1953

This was one of my favorite childhood books, and only recently came back into print; my mom brought it as a gift for my daughter and it was like travelling back in time 30-some years - it had been that long since I'd even *thought* about this book. I'm so glad it's easily available again, though, because it really is wonderful. Pet of the Met tells the story of Maestro Petrini, the mouse whose job it is to turn pages for the prompter at the Metropolitan Opera house. A true devotee of opera, the only blot on Petrini's existence is the constant presence of his arch-enemy, Mefisto the cat. The two manage to co-exist peacefully until one day Petrini is carried away by a production of The Magic Flute and ends up giving the performance of his life. The story introduces kids to all kinds of great theatre and opera terms, and gives a magical window into backstage activities. And the pictures are simply marvellous, as you'd expect from the illustrator of the Corduroy stories. An excellent book to read aloud, over and over again.

Tuesday
by David Wiesner
Illus. by David Wiesner
1991

Oooh, I love this book. I first found it when I was working at a wonderful local bookstore in Columbus, OH while attending grad school (anyone remember Nickelby's?). I was straightening out the children's section and surreptitiously checking out the picture books. The Caldecott sticker on the front of this one made me take a second look, and boy, I was hooked. Wiesner is an absolute genius at telling a story with few or no words; he simply doesn't need them, so rich and detailed - and hilarious! - are his pictures. Tuesday chronicles an unusual evening in the lives of some pond frogs, whose lily pads mysteriously rise into the air one night ("around 8 pm") and take them on a wild adventure. They encounter confused dogs, sleeping grandmas, paranoid insomniacs, and baffled police officers, before settling back down into their swampy homes ... only to pave the way for next Tuesday's odd happening. Now I will admit that I have a slightly obsessed love of things froggy, so I was predisposed to like this book for that reason alone. But trust me, you don't have to be fond of amphibian life to love Tuesday, any day of the week.

Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown
Illus. Clement Hurd
1947

Simple verse, lulling rhythm, and beautiful, cozy pictures detail a young bunny's bedtime routine.
The all-time, best-ever bedtime book. If you don't like Goodnight Moon, you may be dead inside.