Thanks to Deborah for this Rec League request!
I have a 4-year-old friend who loves to read, and as his pseudo-aunt I like to bring him books. And then I get to read them to him which is the best thing ever. But I’ve run out of books I know he’ll love – the Mog books, Wombat Stew, the Canadian monster books, and the Knight Owl which was a fantastic rec from here (and I’m pretty sure was the reason I was stabbed with a foam sword a number of times at a picnic last weekend and scolded for being a “bad dragon”).
I’m sure the Bitchery knows a lot of cool books for a little kid who loves…well, everything. Any chance of a rec league?
Sarah: Our recent guest post from Clay about body autonomy and consent may offer some ideas.
EllenM: For picture books I really love Julian Is a Mermaid! ( A | BN | K ) It’s about a small boy who wants to participate in Brooklyn’s mermaid parade. Extremely wholesome and the art is beautiful.
Sneezy: Robert Munsch ( A | BN | K ) is a pretty good bet. It’s been a long time, but I remember them being silly and lovely
Amanda: I have some! Mainly with Monster/Animal themes.
- Attack of the Underwear Dragon ( A | BN | K ) -Look it’s a dragon who wears underwear!
- Secret Pizza Party ( A | BN | K ) – Brought to you by the same author as Dragons Love Tacos! Instead of a dragon, there’s a raccoon in a trench coat.
- The Barnabus Project ( A | BN | K ) – The Fan Brothers have some gorgeous picture books!
- Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast – Josh Funk is such a creative writer and I adore this silly series.
- Lost in the Library ( A | BN | K ) – Another Josh Funk book about the New York Public Library lions going on an adventure.
- Llama Destroys the World – A mischievous Llama! This team also has some other wonderful projects.
- Edison ( A | BN ) – One of the most beautiful picture books I’ve ever seen. Two mice solve an underwater mystery. They have other adventures in the sky, in space, etc.
Also, if you have access to a local indie bookstore, booksellers are a huge resource, especially if the store has a much-loved children’s section. Librarians too!
Sneezy: Catherine bought amazing books for the smol humans in her life, and she talked about these books awhile back:
“Absolutely! I’ll share it on the Slack now – but I was also thinking in the post, because I do love that piece of advertising. The artists have actually done a couple of really smart science-themed picture books, too – Do Not Lick This Book, ( A | BN | K ) which is about germs, and There’s a Skeleton Inside You, ( A | BN | K ) which is bones and muscles and nerves. Popular with every toddler I’ve read them to… They are great books, too! My niece likes the the bit where you pick up Min the Microbe from the page and put her in your mouth where she meets other microbes, and then in your bellybutton where she meets still more, etc…”
Shana: My faves for my niblings: Waa’aka’: The Bird Who Fell in Love with the Sun ( A | BN | K ), Joshua by the Sea by Angela Johnson ( A ), Amara’s Farm by JaNay Brown-Wood ( A | BN | K ), Thread of Love by Kabir Sehgal ( A | BN | K ), Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth by Sanjay Patel, and Love Is by Diane Adams ( A | BN | K ).
I have also read People Don’t Bite People ( A | BN | K ) approx. 1 million times.
Oh, and Have You Seen my Dinosaur! ( A | BN | K )
Which picture books would you recommend? Tell us below!
Forgot to add that I was also getting into my dad’s collection of Tintin and Asterix and Obelix by 4 years old. Maybe Asterix in Switzerland would be a good starter (I was personally very into all the cheese and fondue scenes)? All the Latin puns in Asterix had me looking up words like “pusillanimous” and “cacophony.”
For Tintin, maybe Tintin in Tibet or Flight 714 to Sydney? (I wouldn’t recommend a bunch of Tintin for early readers, but these two are pretty good on all problematic fronts. Flight 714 has my favorite scene ever with Rastapopoulos being accidentally injected with truth serum… I hurt myself laughing every time I read it.)
Laurel Goodluck is an indigenous writer with one book out and five more under contract. She writes about cousins and aunties, moccasins and family reunions. She’s one to watch!
I also love the illustrations of Kevan Atteberry and Priscilla Burris. Steve Shaskin has a fun series about Pizza and Taco, and JR Krause has a lovely story and gorgeous illustrations in Dragon Night.
It’s been a long time since a had a child to read to, so I’m going to recommend some books that were popular in the 1990s, and well worth tracking down.
I highly recommend Cynthia Rylant’s “Mr. Putter and Tabby” books about an elderly man and his elderly cat. I still can’t read Mr. Putter and Tabby Paint the Porch without cracking up. (But do start with the first book, Mr. Putter and Tabby.)
Other favorites include:
almost anything illustrated by Jan Brett
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
James Herriot’s stories adapted as picture books
The Midnight Farm by Reese Lindbergh
Floss and First Snow, both by Kim Lewis
The Snow Lambs, by Debi Gliori
Ginger Jumps, by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom
and going back to my own childhood:
<Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
I’ll probably think of more books tomorrow, but this is a good start.
Oh my goodness! This is everything! Thanks to all of you, my buddy is going to be spoiled to pieces.
Suddenly remembered this morning that I forgot to mention Bats at the Library by Brian Lies.
I love this thread. Yes to never growing out of picture books! This thread is a project for me now. Going to look up each of these books, put them hold, and read together with the kid!
Andy Runton’s Owly books are friendly, wordless, loving fun.
Thanks for this rec! We have an (officially today) one year old at home who’s getting more into reading time, so we appreciate all the excellent books for the future!
I thought of a couple more books but these would be for older children, perhaps seven and up.
The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake by Nancy Willard and Richard Jesse Watson.
Gwinna by Barbara Helen Berger.
Another favorite for slightly older children would be the Magic School Bus series, by Joanna Cole.
Children’s librarian here, some of my favorites that I didn’t see (but could have missed as there were so many good recs) are
Hena Khan has some lovely concept books like Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns
Mitzvah Pizza is a lovely story based on a real pizza parlor in NYC
Bathe the Cat and Mr Watson’s Chickens are funny and have LGBTQ representation
This Book Just ate my Dog by Byrne is hilarious, so is Falling for Rapunzel by Wilson
Eyes that Kiss at the Corners by Ho is beautiful
I was so mad that What is Given From the Heart by McKissak didn’t win the Caldecott
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales is beautiful
The Undefeated by Alexander is so powerful
Fry Bread by Maillard
Gemma Marino writes books that are so fun to read in story time like Night Animals and The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water
Emily Gravitt is another of my go to authors for story time
Bodies are Cool by Feder
Skulls by Thornburgh
Oh Look A Cake by McKee is so funny as is I really Want the Cake by Phillip
Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas by Blabey is funny but make sure you say Banana with a British accent when you read it so it rhymes
Off-Limits by Yoon is my absolute favorite book that came out last year, it’s about a darling little girl that isn’t supposed to go in her dad’s home office but she can’t resist the lure of office supplies
Recommending my favorites is definitely one of the best parts of my job, and I, too, could go on all day lol but I will stop for now since I was late to the party