I never stopped reading children’s books and started writing my own when I hit the age of 40. I gravitate toward crisp drawing styles and illustrations that bring out the magic in the everyday. These books are a few of my favorites.
This story stands out from other children’s books because it is told wordlessly entirely with photographs.
The stuffed bear Hank, as the title suggests, finds an egg and has to figure out where it belongs. The details in the real sets are a joy to see and the story is told effortlessly with wonderful studio photographs.
While walking through the woods, Hank finds an egg all alone on the forest floor. Spotting its home high up in a tree, Hank diligently tries to return the egg to its nest, but is met with failure each time. After keeping the egg warm overnight, he returns to the scene the next morning. To his surprise, he is met by another forest creature. Will they find a way together to see the egg safely home? Artist Rebecca Dudley crafts each tiny leaf, flower, and creature that appears in Hank's forest in breathtaking detail, bringing the sunlit woods to life.…
This wonderful retelling of an old Chinese folktale brings the reader (and listener) into the little village in China where two brothers live—Chang, the younger brother, and the hilariously repeatable Tikki-Tikki Tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo.
There’s a pile of memorable books from my youth—Dr. Seuss, Bill Peet, Robert McCloskey—but this one stands out for its delightful story-telling and a name that I will be able to rattle off from memory for the rest of my life!
Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo- chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo!
Three decades and more than one million copies later children still love hearing about the boy with the long name who fell down the well. Arlene Mosel and Blair Lent's classic re-creation of an ancient Chinese folktale has hooked legions of children, teachers, and parents, who return, generation after generation, to learn about the danger of having such an honorable name as Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo.
Tikki Tikki Tembo is the winner of the 1968 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Picture Books.
Conditions are Different After Dark
by
Owen W. Knight,
In 1662, a man is wrongly executed for signing the death warrant of Charles I. Awaiting execution, he asks to speak with a priest, to whom he declares a curse on the village that betrayed him. The priest responds with a counter-curse, leaving just one option to nullify it.
This book (and its two sequels) presents a place where all sorts of monsters and unwanted creepy-crawlies can find shelter and a home—Julia’s house.
It’s a book about inclusion and acceptance and maybe even some bad manners. All of Ben Hatke’s books are smartly told and beautifully drawn (Zita te Space Girl, Mighty Jack, Nobody Likes a Goblin)—but even with a simple story, the magic on every page is evident, and one can linger on the pictures well past the time it takes to read the words.
Julia's housemates have to do their chores - even if they're fairies, goblins, mermaids, and dragons! When Julia and her walking house come to town, she likes everything about her new neighbourhood except how quiet it is! So Julia puts a sign up: "Julia's House for Lost Creatures." Soon she's hosting goblins, mermaids, fairies, and even a dragon. Quiet isn't a problem anymore for Julia...but getting her housemates to behave themselves is!
An ordinary elevator turns into a magical transport device in this lushly illustrated story of two siblings who learn to enjoy each other's company while living in a big apartment building. The lift in question not only shows them the magic of other places, but the little joys of the ordinary as well.
1
author picked
Lift
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
4,
5,
6, and
7.
What is this book about?
From the award-winning and bestselling creators of Drawn Together comes the fantastic tale of a magical elevator that will lift your spirits--and press all the right buttons!
Iris loves to push the elevator buttons in her apartment building, but when it's time to share the fun with a new member of the family, she's pretty put out. That is, until the sudden appearance of a mysterious new button opens up entire realms of possibility, places where she can escape and explore on her own. But when she's forced to choose between going at it alone or letting her little brother…
Kragglepus, the dragon, flies over land and sea. Through the clouds and over the castle near the shore. Suddenly the air is like a tornado and whisks Kragglepus into a strange land where he doesn't know anyone. What is this new world? Are these people friendly?
The fascinating thing about this book is the overall lack of a plot.
It pairs McCloskey’s crisp pen-and-ink drawings with simple prose to evoke the bucolic feeling of life on the coast of Maine. Although not as universally known as McCloskey’s Make Way for Ducklings or Blueberries for Sal, this entry can bring one to a calm place and let them breathe for a while.
Today is a specidal day for Sal because she gets to go to Buck's Harbour with her dad. But when she wakes up to brush her teeth with her baby sister, she discovers something shocking.... Her tooth is loose!
Ryder, Sky, and Emmaline are three children who live and work on a vegetable farm with pigs, sheep, goats, cows, chickens, bees, etc. The story is a typical day on the farm, where the kids play, do chores, and invent make-believe adventures. At the end of the day, their faithful dogs shepherd each of them home.
Serendipity is a magical story told by a grandmother to a granddaughter, introducing us to the traditional way of living of the Scottish Travellers and their Cant language.
A fantasy tale for children of 8 years old and older inspired by three real places in Scotland. Serendipity takes us to…
Return to Hope Creek is a second-chance rural romance set in Australia.
Stella Simpson's career and engagement are over. She returns to the rural community of Hope Creek to heal, unaware her high school and college sweetheart, Mitchell Scott, has also moved back to town to do some healing of…