Why am I passionate about this?

As a curious Pratt Institute art school professor and loving parent of a daughter who has also written and/or illustrated sixteen children’s books I want to share my favorite books with other children’s book connoisseurs. It also helps that I have lots of opinions. Too many to count. And when someone actually wants to listen to my opinions I get very excited. I’m hoping one of my favorites becomes one of your favorites. 


I wrote

Book cover of Wiggle

What is my book about?

Do you wake up with a wiggle? Do you wiggle out of bed?

For energetic toddlers (are there any…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Caps for Sale

Scott Menchin Why did I love this book?

A ridiculous, hysterical old tale of a hat salesman who loses his hats to a bunch of monkeys and has to find a way to get them back.

I use to imitate the salesman and the monkeys while reading this book to my young daughter with a heavy Italian accent. I had more fun reading it out loud than any other book I’ve read. 

By Esphyr Slobodkina,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Caps for Sale 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?

Caps for Sale is a timeless classic beloved by millions...one of the most popular picture books ever published! Children will delight in following the peddler's efforts to outwit the monkeys and will ask to read it again and again. Caps for Sale is an excellent easy-to-read book that includes repetition, patterns, and colors, perfect for early readers. This tale of a peddler and a band of mischievous monkeys is filled with warmth, humor, and simplicity and also teaches children about problem and resolution.


Book cover of Rotten Island

Scott Menchin Why did I love this book?

This book by the author of Shrek and one of my favorite artist/authors is a story of an island inhabited by crazy awful disgusting creatures and how they make it a terrible rotten island until nature takes hold and corrects all that.

A great book when thinking about our planet and environment. And the artwork is magnificent.  

By William Steig,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rotten Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What would happen if every creature on land and sea were free to be as rotten as possible? If every day was a free-for-all; if plants grew barbed wire; if the ocean were poison? That's life on Rotten Island. For creatures that slither, creep, and crawl (not to mention kick, bite, scratch, and play nasty tricks on each other), Rotten Island is paradise. But then, on a typically rotten day, something truly awful happens. Something that could spoil Rotten Island forever. Out of a bed of gravel on the scorched earth, a mysterious, beautiful flower begins to grow...


Book cover of Psssst! It's Me...The Bogeyman

Scott Menchin Why did I love this book?

This book is illustrated by an artist friend and I also used to read this book to my daughter. But this time with the accent of a Bogeyman. A deep scary voice.

The writing is smart and flows gracefully as the author teaches us about the true nature of scary things that lurk in the night.  

By Barbara Park, Stephen Kroninger (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Psssst! It's Me...The Bogeyman 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?

Written in the first-person voice of a creepy-crawly, blood-chilling, spine-tingling Bogeyman who lives under the bed, a novelist's debut picture book reveals the scary guy's secrets in order to clear his name.


Book cover of The Conquerors

Scott Menchin Why did I love this book?

One of my all time favorites and not very well known, this remarkable book deals with a very grown-up topic, war, in such an innocent and simple way that it is somehow a perfect children’s book.

How does one conquering group get taken over by the people they are trying to conquer? Read it and find out! Created by the man who created Elmer the Patchwork Elephant.  

By David McKee,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Conquerors as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There once was a large country that was ruled by a General. The General would take his army and attack all the countries around him until they were conquered. Eventually, there was only one small country left to conquer. However, this one did not resist but welcomed the soldiers - leading to a quite unexpected result!


Book cover of Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue

Scott Menchin Why did I love this book?

This classic teaches a bored child why it’s important to care.

With brilliant rhyming by the man who created Where The Wild Things Are along with a lion, this child learns a lesson that will never be forgotten. A helpful parenting tool for all overburdened mothers and fathers

By Maurice Sendak,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Pierre 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?

A story
with a moral air
about Pierre,
who learned
to care.


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of Wiggle

What is my book about?

Do you wake up with a wiggle? Do you wiggle out of bed?

For energetic toddlers (are there any who aren't?), here's a book that invites them to wiggle along with the story. Told in rollicky, wiggly rhyme that begs to be read again and again, Doreen Cronin's latest romp will have toddlers wiggling, giggling, and then (hopefully) falling into bed, blissfully exhausted!

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Serendipity

By Maria de Fátima Santos,

Book cover of Serendipity

Maria de Fátima Santos Author Of Serendipity

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Maria's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

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 Helge's Hole in Forres, the Hermitage Forest in Dunkeld, and Glen Lyon in Perth on a quest for Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. It's a story of a grandmother's greater love for a granddaughter, a mother for a daughter, and the boundless bounty of the natural realm for each one of…

Serendipity

By Maria de Fátima Santos,

What is this book about?

Not so long ago, nomadic communities in Scotland told stories around camp fires and slept in bow tents made of hazel and canvas. In this book, their culture is introduced through Cant's vocabulary, a dialect spoken by Scottish travellers. Following them, Serendipity takes you to Helge's Hole in Forres, Hermitage Forest in Dunkeld, and Glen Lyon in Perth, meandering through the valleys and cragged peaks of the Scottish Highlands, in a quest for Truth, Beauty and Goodness.

Dive into Scottish culture as the old grandmother, Julia, recounts to her granddaughter Gaia the tale of a little girl of pure heart.…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in monkey, war, and islands?

Monkey 18 books
War 1,997 books
Islands 87 books