The best books to give at a baby shower

This book is an important read for everyone. It smashes the stereotype of the perfect princess to smithereens.

When a fire-breathing dragon destroys Princess Elizabeth’s castle and then burns her clothes and kidnaps her fiancé, Ronald, she immediately gets to work. She puts on the only thing she can find - a paper bag. She then cleverly outwits the dragon and rescues Ronald, who turns out to be a selfish narcissist, and tells her to come back when she looks more like a princess. Elizabeth, strong and resilient, is unfazed and rejects him on the spot as she dances off into the sunset.

The illustrations by Martchenko are every bit as important as the words - there are so many visual gems hidden among Elizabeth, Ronald, and the Dragon. Keep looking especially at the Dragon. You’ll find them. This book came out in 1980 when the woman’s movement was gaining momentum but for many, not fast enough. This book cleverly told young readers that girls were smart and strong and resilient and could look and be any way they wanted. Go Princess Elizabeth! You probably emboldened a generation of young girls.

In my opinion, The Paper Bag Princess should be given to every newborn in every maternity ward or birthing centre around the world.

First published in 1956, Harry the Dirty Dog is still around and charming young readers. To avoid a bath, Harry buries the scrubbing brush in the yard and then runs away. He gets into entertaining scrapes and messes, eventually returning home so covered in dirt and soot that he is unrecognizable to his family. Panic! How will Harry convince his family that he is their missing pet? I read this on repeat to my kids when they were young, and today I also read it during library storytimes. The retro art is visually appealing and the story has just-high-enough stakes to keep kids glued to their seats.  

With today’s societal divisions in science, politics, and economics, this beautiful book about the passive resistance by a bull, Ferdinand, is a must for everyone to read, not just kids. Although it was written in 1936 and begins with an outdated introduction, “Once upon a time…”, it’s basically perfect. The reader instantly grows to love Ferdinand as a young bull as he sits quietly and smells the flowers under a cork tree with absolutely no interest in the aggressive activity of the other little bulls who are butting heads. With the help of lines like, “and you know who that was” and “what would you do?”, Leaf strategically brings the reader a little closer to Ferdinand’s peaceful and happy life. In other words, there are other, more peaceful ways to behave, even for bulls.

The only small weakness I see in the book is at the end when Ferdinand refuses to fight the Banderilleros, the Pecadores, and the Matador and so they take him home. I thought Leaf could have written more about Ferdinand’s passive behaviour in the ring rather than abruptly carting Ferdinand home. A slightly more developed connection between those two scenes might have enhanced the poignancy of that moment. Lawson’s black and white drawings are spectacular - loose, somewhat abstract, and full of humour, making the reader fall in love with Ferdinand with every illustration.

No wonder this gem of a book was used as a call sign by the British Air Transport Auxiliary who were non-combatants after D-Day. And no wonder this book has never been out of print. In fact, with the world being upside down, it can never go out of print.