Aside from the obvious space issues (this is one wall in the playroom/office) I really don't feel guilty about this because I bought the vast majority of them used (and back to the used book recycling system they will go when we are done). One of my favorite sources for used books is the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Library Children's Book Sale (not to be confused with their general used book sale, whose children's book selection pales in comparison.) Most years, early on some Saturday morning in January, I am on the library steps with two or three totebags waiting for the doors to open. At a dollar a pound, the book sale is like an all you can eat buffet for bibliophiles. My book acquisition priorities have changed over the years, but my strategy is always to go the sections in order of my greatest desire, grabbing first, weeding later. In the early years, this meant going straight for the picture book section in the back of the room and grabbing any softcover book that was a medal winner, by an author or illustrator I loved, or that just plain looked interesting. Baboon falls into the last category and it leads off the latest round of picture books from the The New York Times Book Project
Written by Kate Banks and Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben
This is my favorite kind of kid's book: it's simple text and illustrations manage to convey deeper meaning that even young children can understand. A baby baboon's mother introduces him to the ways of the world while on a walk in the savannah. The tale appeals to all ages (toddler, big kid, and mom) and can be used to introduce toddlers to a range of African animals in their native habitats. For older kids it makes a great jumping off point for philosophical discussions about our place in the world and our relationships to the people and things around us.
Written and Illustrated by Martha Alexander
Since I didn't read this, here is Bean's review: This is a cute book for older siblings to read to their younger siblings. A little boy tries to play with the older boys but when they don't let him, he makes a bear on a blackboard and the bear only let's the boy play with him, ride him or feed him. The moral of the story is that if you don't let someone play with you or your toys, they won't let you play with them or their toys.
Blueberries For Sal
Written and Illustrated by Robert McCloskey
About ten years ago, I convinced Dr. Yap to take a detour on our way home from Southern California and stop in Solvang, a cheesy faux-Danish town, that's only a little less cheesy and a little less faux than Helen, Georgia. Besides the bakery, the only place of interest was a bookstore where I picked up Blueberries for Sal and another childhood favorite. I knew I'd be reading them to someone at some point in the future. If you've already read this a hundred times, look for another McCloskey classic, One Morning in Maine. It's not exactly a sequel, but Sal appears as a big sister about to lose her first tooth.
Homeschool Connection: You could google Blueberries for Sal lesson plans and get at least a dozen suggestions for early elementary students, or you could spend the same amount of time thinking about Maine, black bears, and blueberries and come up with a week's worth of activities on your own.
Written and Illustrated by Henrik Drescher
This tale of a boy who eats doesn't his dinner so instead eats around it and ends up eating everything including his best friend, his parents, and the earth just didn't appeal to Bean and I. The illustrations didn't redeem the unpleasant text and we were glad we read it at the library and didn't have to bother putting it in the bag.
Written by Verna Aardema and Illustrated by Beatriz Vidal
We've had this book in our home library for years, so I'll let Bean do the reviewing honors again: It's a great book for Africa-lovers like me and it's very catchy.
Homeschool Connection: This a great literature companion for a unit on Africa.
Written by Bill Martin, Jr. and Illustrated by Eric Carle
Another Bean review: This is great for learning your colors, the words are fun to say, and because the illustrations are by Eric Carle, they are really beautiful. Boo also likes it.
Written and Illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina
If you typically tell your child the name of an author before you read a book, this one is a lot of fun and demands as a grandiose an Eastern European accent at you can muster. The story itself - of a peddler, his caps, and some mischievous monkeys - is great fun for kids to act out. If you've already read this a hundred times, check out Circus Caps for Sale.
Written by Ruth Krauss and Illustrated by Crockett Johnson
Bean says this book is for kids with big dreams and teaches that something big can come from something small. I would also add The Carrot Seed preaches the importance of believing in oneself and one's work, despite what anyone else says. Crockett Johnson's drawing style is a perfect match for the spare text.
Written by Ann Hassett and Illustrated by John Hassett
The fun illustrations in this tale of Mrs. Quimby, multiplying cats, and a local community unwilling to help until there is a mouse problem feature many things to count - especially cats.
Written by Bill Martin, Jr. and Illustrated by Lois Ehlert
This fun alphabet book is really aimed at Boo's age group, but Bean and I like to experiment with the rhythm of the words: singing them like a reggae song, speaking them in syncopation, adding movements to the story.
Written by Judith Barrett and Illustrated by Ron Barrett
If you have only ever seen the movie, you must immediately acquire a copy of the book and expunge the memory of the movie from your children's minds. Pickles to Pittsburgh isn't quite as good as its progenitor, but get that one too. I always like to read Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord with these books and I think it's a travesty that it wasn't included in the Guide.
Written and Illustrated by Don Freeman
Really, who doesn't love this charming tale of a teddy bear with one missing button on a mission to find both himself and a home? Well, Bean doesn't. She thinks it's one of the weirdest books she's ever read- or had read to her - and thinks his eyes are creepy to boot. To her, Corduroy is the literary equivalent of a clown. It's the only childhood favorite of mine that was a total strikeout with her. Boo and I remain fans of the teddy bear in green overalls.
Written and Illustrated by H.A. Rey
Um, Bean also hates Curious George. She was always (I think appropriately) horrified that he was stolen from his jungle home and appropriated by a man with no name, a man known only by his ubiquitous accessory. Okay, fair enough, these things always bothered me a bit too, but even though I wouldn't count the monkey or his "friend" as favorites, I always liked his adventures to the hospital and the moon. And Boo? Curious George is his absolute favorite.
Written by Bill T. Jones and Susan Kuklin and Illustrated by Susan Kuklin
Dance is one of the rare children's books illustrated entirely with photographs. That alone makes it worthy of inclusion in the Best Books for Children. Though short on words, both it's text and pictures easily convey the poetry and rhythm of dance. Even kids who don't love dance as much as Bean will like this one.
Written by Trinka Hakes Noble and Illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Bean and Boo loved this farcical tale of Jimmy's wayward pet boa constrictor so much that they immediately demanded we check out every silly sequel. Steven Kellogg is a prolific children's book illustrator and author and you will probably recognize his fun, colorful drawings. As with the best picture books, the illustrations in Jimmy's Boa support and extend the story of the day Jimmy took his boa on a field trip or the day he went to school, or the day he showed up - surprise!- at a birthday party.
Written by Barbara Emberley and Illustrated by Ed Emberley
We've been fans of Ed Emberley's drawing instruction books for a while now, but never new that he also illustrated children's books. This odd little gem fits my description of a perfect children's book: it's short, but both the graphic illustrations and the text pack a punch; it's a bit weird, and it's the kind of book that both an eight-year-old and a two-year-old want to pick up again and again on their own, going through each page. Without reading the two-year-old knows exactly what is happening. Despite the fact that all the action centers around a Revolutionary War cannon, Drummer Hoff and his compatriots are more unabashedly, amusingly, bungling than war-mongering. (And the illustrations are so late 60's - a hit, with my just-turned 40, nostalgic self).
Written and Illustrated by Gabrielle Vincent
Once again, Bean and Boo were split evenly along lines of age and personality when it came to these books about a former circus Bear raising a mouseling. I agree with Bean that the storylines are a little thin and the ambiguous relationship between the adult bear Ernest and the childlike Celestine seems a bit, dare-I-say-it-I-know-this-is-a-children's-book, contrived. I also agree with Boo, who thinks the illustrations are pretty and stories sweet.
