Unburdened with prejudice or beliefs, children are open to the world. I find great joy in books that reflect the child’s fresh perception and playful spirit. Such books have no intention to teach a moral lesson. They rejoice in freedom. In the non-stereotypical, not yet molded to conform reality of the child. Books beyond good or bad may shine with the light of freshness, the unfiltered seeing. In times of great political divisions, non-didactic books can be a window to the glorious amoral way of perceiving.
Piggy lives in a large house with Thomas. Thomas knows exactly what Piggy needs. But a chance meeting with a wild pig changes everything, and Piggy finds out what lies outside the four walls, beyond the fence. A gentle book about freedom and friendship.
This is one of my favorite picture books. To me, the main character is life itself. A mischievous, greedy, daring, vulnerable, colorful aliveness. The strong colors and the bold shapes of the illustrations demonstrate the raw intensity of life. And the theme of Grandmother loving Pig-Boy unconditionally is one mothers would resonate with. Such a treat!
I would highly recommend any of Daisy Hirst’s books. To me Daisy Hirst’s books have both the ease and the force of natural phenomenon. They are like a gust of wind, rain, or sunshine. Immaculate expressions of the child’s experience. A seamless flow through the ordinary beauty of the surroundings, the thoughts and the emotions of the child. They represent the joy of creativity and play alongside the feelings of confusion, loneliness or guilt. Simply put, they are brilliant!
Brother and sister monsters fall out and make up in spectacular style in this warm, witty story.
From the creator of The Girl with the Parrot on Her Head comes a truly authentic and original story about sibling rivalry. Natalie the monster mostly loves her little brother Alphonse being there - they name the pigeons, bounce things off the bunk beds, have stories in the chair and make lots of fun stuff together. But, when Natalie catches Alphonse eating her most favourite book, well ... that is not OK! Daisy's expressive, bold screen-print illustration and unique picture book voice will…
Guri and Gura’s books shine with the energy of childlike wonder and vitality. Children would delight in Guri and Gura’s adventures. For the parents these books present an opportunity to tap into a possibly dormant, yet present sense of wonderment, magic, and the joy of eating, running, nature, friendship and discovery.
When the mice Guri and Gura go on a breakfast picnic they meet Bunny Buna, who can make his arms any length and who builds a boat out of clouds to take them for a ride.
It seems to me that the kind of imaginative senseless play (beyond good/bad, right/wrong), feels similar to the way a small kid would tell stories. A wonderful fantastic tale with joyful illustrations. Plus children and adults find very, very, very big things fascinating. Enjoy this masterpiece! (As well as Taro Miura’s other books.)
A king, a queen and one very big princess... A witty, wonderful and warm-hearted prequel to The Tiny King by acclaimed picture book maker, Taro Miura.
Once upon a time ... a king and queen discover, among their flowers, the teensiest, tiniest princess. Such a charming, sweet little thing! They are instantly taken with her - she becomes the daughter they never had, the child they had always dreamed of. The Queen immediately sets about finding her a perfect-sized bed and only a tiny ring box will do. But, in no time at all, the princess grows too big for…
Two siblings with very different personalities. The fun of following these two characters grows with every scene. A very skillful, beautiful depiction of the richness of life and creative collaboration. A funny and endearing book.
We have seen a few great odd couples in picture books already, but filled with possibility as the world is, there's always room for one more pair, especially if they are as charming and unforgettable as these pigs, born from the brushes and prolific imagination of Kerascoet. Kerascoet lives and works in Paris in the worlds of cartooning and illustration. Best known for illustrating the book Miss Don't Touch Me written by Hubert, as well as a couple of the Lewis Trondheim Dungeon books, their most recent book Beautiful Darkness broke out on the US scene in 2014, winning them…
Reading was a childhood passion of mine. My mother was a librarian and got me interested in reading early in life. When John F. Kennedy was running for president and after his assassination, I became intensely interested in politics. In addition to reading history and political biographies, I consumed newspapers and television news. It is this background that I have drawn upon over the decades that has added value to my research.
It didn’t begin with Donald Trump. When the Republican Party lost five straight presidential elections during the 1930s and 1940s, three things happened: (1) Republicans came to believe that presidential elections are rigged; (2) Conspiracy theories arose and were believed; and (3) The presidency was elevated to cult-like status.
Long before Trump, each of these phenomena grew in importance. The John Birch Society and McCarthyism became powerful forces; Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first “personal president” to rise above the party; and the development of what Harry Truman called “the big lie,” where outrageous falsehoods came to be believed. Trump…
Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism
It didn't begin with Donald Trump. The unraveling of the Grand Old Party has been decades in the making. Since the time of FDR, the Republican Party has been home to conspiracy thinking, including a belief that lost elections were rigged. And when Republicans later won the White House, the party elevated their presidents to heroic status-a predisposition that eventually posed a threat to democracy. Building on his esteemed 2016 book, What Happened to the Republican Party?, John Kenneth White proposes to explain why this happened-not just the election of Trump but the authoritarian shift in the party as a…
Interested in
life satisfaction,
play and playing,
and
folklore?
11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them.
Browse their picks for the best books about
life satisfaction,
play and playing,
and
folklore.
