I found the exercise to be slightly challenging. I loved (and still love) books! Growing up in the Village of Oxford, just two blocks away from the library's location (before they moved), I used to pull my red Radio Flyer wagon (with the removable wooden sides) to the library for the purpose of hauling away literary treasures. The children's librarian, Mrs. Cruickshank, was incredibly friendly and engaging -- I felt like the library was my second home.
One of the books that sticks out in my mind is Animalia (ISBN 13: 978-0810918689). I remember looking at the beautiful illustrations and competing with my best friend, Alexis, to identify the objects.
Publisher's Weekly review: "Base has created an ABC book that goes far beyond a simple listing of items in alphabetical order. There are captions or headlines accompanying each letter's scene, such as "Eight Enormous Elephants Expertly Eating Easter Eggs," or "Two Tigers Taking the 10:20 Train to Timbuktu." Each picture is replete with an apparently random choice of objects that have in common (on every page but the one for the letter X) their first letters. This Australian import makes for a delightful visual feast, though it lacks a clear conceptual coherence or unity of action or meaning on every page. No matter readers will have a fine time guessing at objects and searching for a small child who hides among the pages; and the meticulous artistry is far-reaching in its innovation, detail and humor. Base's monumental effort will not go unrewarded; if books could be honored for the sheer number of hours readers could pore over crammed pages, and for the inexhaustible supply of extra touches, this one surely would be a winner. All ages."
Other books that could easily have made this top spot: Bedtime for Frances (Hoban), Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak), Paper John (David Small), James and the Giant Peach (Dahl), anything by Shel Silverstein, Caps for Sale (Slobodkina), The Velveteen Rabbit (Williams), and anything Curious George (Rey). There was a non-fiction book that I had in my personal collection in which I often read in the summer months: What Makes the Wind (Santrey).
What was your favorite?
my favorite? http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Kermit%27s_Garden_of_Verses. my dad read it to me many nights. i could read along with him from memory on most of the poems. such great memories!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Sarah.
ReplyDeleteVia Facebook, responses were: "The Velveteen Rabbit," now, "The Going to Bed Book."
"Chicken Soup with Rice" by Maurice Sendak.
"Oh my gosh! I remember Animalia when I was younger! It kind of scared me though. The pictures were so real looking. Something about honey bees...or it might have been wasps."
"Richard Scary's ABC book."
"There's a Monster at the end of this book..... Grover rocks."
"i loved this book (Animalia) as a child."
My childhood favorite was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.
ReplyDeleteI also distinctly remember reading (over and over) Bubbie and Zadie Come to My House: A Story for Hanukkah by Daniel Halevi Bloom.
Sarah and The Most: I have not read those. I think I will pay a few libraries a visit and read them. Thank you very much for sharing!
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