An Ordinary Mom's Musings

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I’ve had some ideas floating around in my head for a while as plots or parts of ideas for children’s picture books. My thought process is that if I start with a  small children’s book I might be able to accomplish a goal of publishing a book. As I have been letting these ideas swirl around in my head and toyed with them, I realized that before I started trying to write a children’s book, I needed to go back and spend time with my old favorites, new favorites, and others I haven’t read yet. I need to learn more about the craft of writing children’s books.

What makes a really good picture book that children and adults keep coming back to and reading for the 100th time? What engages the imagination of the readers and makes books beloved? As I have started rereading and going through picture books, I’m realizing that a lot of them, even if they don’t rhythm, they have a cadence that makes it lyrical.

If you are looking for picture books to read to your children this summer, here are our top three favorites and some honorable mentions.

My Top Three Beloved Picture Books as a Child

The Monster At The End of This Book  by Little Golden Books

A Little Golden Book that was my earliest favorite that I remember. The anticipation of getting to the end of the book never got old. Where was that monster? It is such a great build-up of tension as you progress into the book. And it didn’t matter how many times it was read to me or how many times I read it myself. That monster at the end of the book was always waiting for me.

Julie and the Kitten by Wishing Well

This book was one of many that my Grandmother gifted me as a child. My Grandparents had previously at one time owned a used bookstore and my Grandmother nurtured my love of books.

It’s Julie’s birthday in this book and she’s invited all her friends over for her birthday party, but some unexpected guests show up and could ruin the party. What happens instead is fun, happy, and just what a little girl might like an unexpected birthday to become.

This was another gift from my Grandmother. It’s a book of collected poems with stunning pictures. Each page has a tab that you can move to reveal an additional picture underneath. This is a really old reprint of a book that really is charming. I didn’t care about the poems but I LOVED the pictures and discovering the hidden ones beneath as a child.

As I was re-examining my beloved children’s picture books I realized that I have always been drawn to children’s books where the illustrations were rich and powerful. I was a serious child. Don’t hate me, but as a child, the only use I had for Dr. Suess books were when I was in a reading competition. I did not enjoy his books at all. Lots of pages could be found in his books with few words so they served me well in competitions at a young age. Illustrations that were silly didn’t work for me. Instead, I appreciated beautiful retellings of the story on the page through art. As you will also discover below where I discuss my current favorites, this is still the case.

My Top Three Beloved Books as an Adult

All The Places to Love

by Patricia MacLachlan Illustrated by Mike Wimmer

This is my #1 favorite children’s book. I found it as an older teenager and fell in love. It has been my favorite ever since.

Eli is waiting for his sister to be born and talks about the places each member of his family loves and what it means to them. It is a story of traditions, family, love, life, and beauty. You will not regret reading or buying this book.

The paintings are incredibly beautiful and speak to me on their own. That isn’t something I usually say about art. But that is the case with this book’s illustrations.

When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest and illustrated by P.J. Lynch

Honestly, this book could and should be adored by all ages. It is the story of a young 13-year old Jewish girl who immigrates to America by herself leaving her beloved Grandmother behind and makes her way in an unknown place. These paintings are stunning too and are filled with the emotion and life of the story. There is a wonderful happy ending that has made me cry more than a couple times as I have read it.

I think it was this book which made me decide that picture books are not just for children but for all ages.

Finding Winnie: The True Story of Winnie The Pooh

by Lindsay Mattick Illustrated by Sophie Blackall

This is a newer book and one I just found this year and fell in love with. I actually bought it to give to my niece. . . But I don’t think it’s going to make it to her. I think I’m going to have to buy another one for her as this one is going to have to remain in my library.

The book is as the title describes- The True Story of Winnie The Pooh and there is SO much more to the story than just Christopher Robin. Pooh’s story started long before Christopher Robin came on the scene. Pooh was a real bear from North America that traveled to England. I won’t tell you any more as I don’t want to ruin it for you. But it’s a lovely informative book with beautiful illustrations that invite you into the story.

My Son’s Favorite Books When He Was Little

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

by Laura Numeroff Illustrated by Felicia Bond

My son has a hard time explaining his feelings about things so I can only guess as to his reason for liking particular books. But of course, a book about cookies and messes would be beloved by a little boy. This is a classic and if you haven’t read it you should.

The Little Engine That Could

by Watty Piper

This one we obtained through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Dolly Parton feels strongly that children should have access to books and her foundation provides free books every month to children in Australia, Canada, The UK and The US from birth to age 5. Check to see if it’s available in your area.

The Little Engine is a classic that never gets old from the first hearing it told verbally as a child,  to it being read to you with the book. As a child my son LOVED trains so finding that this one was a favorite isn’t surprising to me.

Tough Boris

by Mem Fox Illustrated by Kathryn Brown

If you know my son, you know that he has had a love affair with pirates for years. When he brought this one to me he explained that he hadn’t obtained it until recently. That it had been one of his favorites and he was always watching out for it at the library and school. I have actually never read it myself. It is something I plan to correct this weekend.

My Daughter’s Favorite Books When She Was Little

Fancy Nancy Hair Dos and Hair Don’ts

by Jane O’Connor Illustrations based on the art of Robin Preiss Glasser

This is an “I Can Read!” book, but my daughter loved Fancy Nancy books. They made her laugh at all the crazy things that Fancy Nancy got up to. And Fancy Nancy is a girly girl and my daughter when she was small was very much a girly girl.

In this book Fancy Nancy does what most children do at some point, she cuts her own hair. And it’s the day before picture day. See how she solves this problem.

(And is it just me or does the word dos look like it should be do’s??)

The Nutcracker Ballet by Aleksandra

My daughter’s birthday is right around Thanksgiving and for several years we went to see the Nutcracker for her birthday. I got this book for Christmas for her one year and she loves it because it reminds her of Christmas, and her birthday, her favorite days of the year.

This is set as if you were going to the theatre and all the things you experience there as you watch it.

Charlie the Ranch Dog Where’s the Bacon?

Based on the Charlie The Ranch Dog books by Ree Drummond and Diane deGroat

This book and another in the series was sent to my son by my sister in law one year for Christmas. She sent them because my son’s service dog’s name is Charlie and both my kids have loved these stories. My daughter particularly loves anything to do with dogs so these are a favorite with her especially.

Bacon, breakfast, eating, and friendship are the themes of this book so what’s not to love?

Honorable Mentions

Honorable mentions I find necessary because I limited myself to three books in each category and how can you limit yourself to three books in any category???

Also, my kids don’t remember all the books they loved. There are several that made them laugh every time and how could I not include them in this list for your reading pleasure?

Doctor Dan the Bandage Man

by Helen Gaspard Illustrated by Corinne Malvern

This is a really old Little Golden Book that one of my brothers whose name was Daniel introduced me to. He LOVED this book when he was little and I read it to him SO many times that I could repeat it backward and forwards without the book.

Doctor Dan helps out his sister and it is the cutest little book. It also comes with band-aids for your budding doctor to use.

Gingerbread Baby

by Jan Brett

Seriously adorable pictures which are always the case with Jan Brett’s books. (Also, did you know she has a website that has tools for helping children learn how to read, illustrated with her art?)

This is the story of the Gingerbread Boy but starts out when he is a just born baby, and all the mischief he gets up to. This book was so beloved by my children I had to rebuy it as it had fallen apart. I expect it to remain well loved and well read in our library for the rest of our lives.

Pooh’s Library: Winnie The Pooh, The House At Pooh Corner, When We Were Very Young, Now We Were Six

by A.A. Milne

These are the complete works of Winnie the Pooh. Yes, you do want them all. My kids fell in love with Winnie the Pooh, the first book. As we progressed into the poetry of When We Were Very Young and Now We Were Six it was my children’s first introduction to poetry. I was not a fan of poetry as a child or really as an adult, so I read it to them with some trepidation. What happened was pure love and joy. We all fell in love with A.A. Milne and poetry. My kids would beg for more and I couldn’t believe my luck.

Blue Hat Green Hat

by Sandra Boynton

I don’t know what it was about this very simple board book, but when I would read it to my son as a baby it would make him laugh every single time. There is nothing extremely compelling that I could see from an adult’s point of view but apparently from a baby’s view it is hilarious.

Skippy jon Jones

by Judy Schancher

This is a seriously fun book, but it will tie your tongue in knots as you try to pronounce all the “Spanglish” words with a rhythming and sing-song voice. It’s about a cat who thinks he is a Chihuahua and goes on all sorts of adventures. It’s a series of books, so if you enjoy this one, chances are that you will enjoy them all.

If you haven’t guessed or read it elsewhere on the blog, I’m a bit of a bibliophile (a person who loves books). It has been my mission to infuse them into my children’s lives so that they can get as much joy, life, adventures, and knowledge out of books as I have.

What are your favorite children’s picture books? What are your children’s favorites? Share them in the comments. I’m making a study of them right now and looking to read more really good books.

We hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into our bookcases and the books we love. We look forward to hearing about your loved books.