We’re All in This Together: Picture Books We Want to Read Over and Over Again

Many of our “We’re All in This Together” contributors are picture book writers, readers, parents, grandparents. Most of us love picture books in some aspect of our lives. Since it is picture book month, I thought I’d ask them to answer the following question:

What picture book, for you, is the perfect picture book—the one you wouldn’t mind reading a hundred times because you think it’s so brilliant? Why is it the perfect picture book?

I hope their answers will send you running to the bookstore (or bookshelf, if you have these titles) to read some of them over and over again.

Donna L Sadd

Varied Posts

From a Gal Who Wants to be a Writer When She Grows Up!

http://donnalsadd.wordpress.com

A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE

by Philip C. Stead

Illustrated by Erin Stead

Roaring Brook Press, 2010

My choice of the perfect picture book is A SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE. I have indeed read it many, many times and each time it literally brings tears to my eyes. It says volumes about friendship without saying much at all. It’s a very quiet book but its message stays with the reader for a long while. Before I bought a copy for myself, I had a library copy for several weeks, and I was drawn to read it over and over again. The illustrations of Amos and penguin, tortoise, elephant, rhinoceros, bird and owl are breathtaking, and my young godson and I have sat with this fine book for hours. It’s a perfect read for bedtime or spending quiet moments together. There’s something quite magical about A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE!

Carol Munro

 www.carolmunrojustwritewords.wordpress.com

So far this year, I’ve read nearly 450 picture books.

• Some were not very good, and as a PB writer striving to get published with many online friends doing the same, I have to wonder how these got into print and onto shelves. Really.
• Most were written well and illustrated beautifully. Just plain old good books.
• And some of them floored me. They compelled me to read them again and again, lingering over each page – and okay, yeah, caressing them – then closing and hugging them. Don’t tell me you’ve never done this.

So when Marcie asked us to tell about our favorite book, I thought, impossible. I can’t pick a favorite, but here’s one I want to share with you.

 

 

A CHRISTMAS TREE FOR PYN

by Olivier Dunrea

Philomel, 2011

A CHRISTMAS TREE FOR PYN is a father-daughter story. I’m a sucker for father-daughter stories. Pyn and her dad live in a mountaintop winter wilderness (the story has a folklore feel). They are lonely together, separately mourning the loss of Pyn’s mother. The relationship is dysfunctional (she must call her father by his name), but Pyn’s persistence for them to have a Christmas, and their search for the tree, breaks through her father’s protective veneer.

 

MY FATHER’S ARMS ARE A BOAT

by Stein Erik Lunde

Illustrated by Oyvind Torseter

Enchanted Lion Books, 2012

And now I must mention MY FATHER’S ARMS ARE A BOAT. Here, a father and son mourn the very recent death of the wife/mother. It’s a sad book with stark illustrations that will warm your heart. You’ll gasp at the perfection in the writing.

Curiously, each of these books mentions a red bird. Pyn’s dad gives her a red bird made by her mother to put on the top of their tree. In the second book, the boy has left crumbs for the red birds and tells his dad, “Granny says the red birds are dead people.”

You’ll linger over the pages of these two books. And yeah, you’ll hug them.

P.S. I post my favorites of the books I read each month on my blog, if you’d like more picture book recommendations.

 

Wordless:

FLORA AND THE FLAMINGO by Molly Idle, 2013, Chronicle Books

JOURNEY by Aaron Becker, 2013, Candlewick Press

UNSPOKEN: A STORY FROM THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD by Henry Cole, 2012, Scholastic Press

 

Words and pics:

A CHRISTMAS TREE FOR PYN by Olivier Dunrea, 2011, Philomel Books (Penguin Young Readers Group)

MY FATHER’S ARMS ARE A BOAT by Stein Erik Lunde, ill Oyvind Torseter, 2012, Enchanted Lion Books

IN THE TREE HOUSE  by Andrew Larson, ill Dusan Petricic, 2013, Kids Can Press (Corus Entertainment Company)

LITTLE PIG JOINS THE BAND by David Hyde Costello, 2011, Charlesbridge

SOPHIE’S SQUASH by Pat Zietlow Miller, ill Anne Wilsdorf, 2013, Schwartz & Wade Books

 

 

ARM IN ARM IN ARM: A COLLECTION OF CONNECTIONS, ENDLESS TALES, REITERATIONS, AND OTHER ECHOLALIA

Written and illustrated by Remy Charlip

My favorite picture book of all time is Arm in Arm, a Collection of Connections, Endless Tales, Reiterations, and Other Echolalia, written and illustrated by Remy Charlip, first published in 1969.  I am SURE I’ve read it more than 100 times, both in my own childhood (my hardcover edition fell apart long ago) and to my stepdaughters and son.  What makes is so great is that it’s rewarding on many levels — it rises to meet you in a new way each time you reread it.  It’s in no way a conventional narrative — it has tiny plays, VERY short stories, koan-like explorations of single ideas, many, many, many visual puns, and is beautiful and richly imagined.  It takes its title from this exemplary portion:  Two octopuses got married and walked down the aisle arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm in arm.  This is illustrated with the happy couple, tentacles entwined, dressed in traditional Western wedding garb.  It makes me happy every time I read it, and it has made my children happy, too, in their turn.

 Vivian Kirkfield

Author – Parenting Speaker – Educator

http://www.viviankirkfield.com

Trying to pick my favorite picture book is like trying to choose the most beautiful star in the sky…there are so many amazing stories that I have read hundreds of times and look forward to reading them over and over again.

CAPS FOR SALE

by Esphyr Slobodkina

Here is the ONE classic that I would HAVE to have if I were marooned on a desert island with a young child: CAPS FOR SALE by Esphyr Slobodkina. Published in 1940 (yes, this book is actually older than I am!), it is a super read-aloud, interactive (before interactive was a household word) boldly illustrated, cause-and-effect folktale.

CHICK-O-SAURUS REX

by Lenore and Daniel Jennewein

Simon & Schuster, 2013

And, here is the ONE new picture book that I could read over and over again…and my 5-year old grandson has proved that children also want to hear it over and over again: Chick-o-saurus Rex by Lenore and Daniel Jennewein. Published this year, the book’s anti-bullying theme is timely and timeless. Little Chick will be every young child’s hero and the bold, bright illustrations and clever text are appealing to reader and listener alike. 

Liz Garcia

Children’s Writer

DEAR ZOO

by Rod Campbell

Little Simon, 2007

DEAR ZOO by Rod Campbell is a book I read from time to time with my daughter. She loves to interact with the picture flaps. Though the ending is predictable, that’s part of the charm. Kids like looking for something to love that is “just right.”

 

GOOD NIGHT, GORILLA

by Peggy Rathmann

Putnam, 1994

We also enjoy GOODNIGHT GORILLA by Peggy Rathmann for similar reasons. To me, this is a true picture book where the illustrations do much of the work of creating the story. There is always so much to observe. Rathmann creates and interesting feeling for readers who may giggle while observing things that the main human characters don’t see.  The peaceful colors and words make this one a perfect bedtime book.

 

Marcie Flinchum Atkins

Children’s and YA Writer

https://www.marcieatkins.com

 

BABY BEAR SEES BLUE

by Ashley Wolff

Beach Lane Books, 2012

I first fell in love with this book when I read it to my son. It was the perfect book for his age–not too long, breathtaking illustrations, a satisfying story. It sustained his attention, and just as important, it was a book I was willing to revisit over and over again. I never get bored of this book.

As a writer, I also fell in love with this book. Allison, one of my writing friends, and I, refer to this book as the “perfect picture book.” It’s flawless. Still trying to perfect my own picture book writing, I often study other texts intensely (for more on how I do this, see this guest blog post). This is one of those texts that I studied, typed out myself, analyzed the page turns, and gaped in awe how much is accomplished in so few words (only 280).

Your Turn

What I loved about putting this post together was that it had me running to the library to check out books I hadn’t read. In fact, I ordered A CHRISTMAS TREE FOR PYN from my local library after Carol recommended it. When the library handed it to me, she kind of hugged it, waxing poetically about how beautiful the book was. (Librarians like that? They’re my kind of people).

I know many of you also have favorites. So, tell us, what is your idea of a perfect picture book? Leave us a note in the comments. I can’t wait to go to the library again.