Children

What a great lesson this book teaches, and with pictures by Eric Carle, this is a crowd pleaser.  There’s nothing like a short, funny book that rhymes.  Johnny Cash (RIP) could have made a great song version of this book.

I saved the best for last.  This is just a sweet, inspirational story.  I have no idea why there is not a major motion picture about this incredible human being.  Read this book if you are tired of events on the nightly news.

The author’s mom, Helen Tabibian, gave me a copy of this book, and I immediately recalled reading it to my students many years ago.  This is a great book for sparking students’ curiosity toward science and history.  Great illustrations, as well.  This will get kids looking out their bedroom windows and using their imaginations.

The beautiful story about a poor Appalachian girl who proudly wears a coat made from the rags of her neighbors, only to find herself ridiculed by her classmates.  Touching and uplifting, and a good lesson.

I thought I’d throw in at least one funny kids’ book.  This hilarious retelling of the three little pigs, as explained from the wolf’s point of view, is sure to make you laugh.  Like he says, poor wolf just had a horrible case of the sneezes one day.

This is one of my all-time favorite books.  I rate this and Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove as the two greatest television adaptations of all time.  Who would think I could draw a comparison between those two classics?

If the author looks familiar, it’s because he co-wrote “The One-Minute Manager” with Ken Blanchard.  What I really admire Spencer Johnson for is this inspiring series of “value stories” that show children examples of people who valued patience, determination, etc.  There are a bunch of these books, and I selected this one because I often find the best way to get me interested in a person or subject is to read a brief children’s version first.  Louis Pasteur was an amazing person – so amazing he has an adjective and a verb named after him.

This is the perfect book to put a smile on your face at the end of a long day.  Enjoy the story of a frustrated mother dog who cannot understand why her puppy will quack and meow but not bark.

I’ve read this book just about every day so far in my daughter’s young life, and I think this is simply a brilliant book.  Dr. Seuss deserves to be canonized…he is that important.

I always enjoyed this tale of the bull who did not want to fight.  Ferdinand just wanted to smell the roses.  When I lived in Spain I was excited to see the real-life bridge in Ronda that illustrator Robert Lawson drew in the book.  This is just a nice story for everybody to read, especially world leaders.

The perfect book to read to young children who are in foul moods.  Laughter cures all.

I don’t care how badly critics decry books like this and “Everyone Poops:” kids get a kick out of this book, and it provides teachers and parents an opportunity to teach students more serious biological concepts in a light-hearted, non-intimidating manner.

Baby bird’s quest to find mommy is funny and a hit with kids and adults alike.

This book won the Caldecott in the 30s, and it is still a great book for kids today.  Not only does it have beautiful illustrations:  it is the perfect book for this February.  The groundhog saw his shadow, which reminds us there are six more weeks of winter.  This is also Black History Month, and – correct me if I’m wrong, librarians – I believe this book was the first illustrated children’s book in color that features a main character who is African-American.

The story of a 6-year-old girl who becomes the first African-American student to attend an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960.  Children learn all about Ruby's struggles and hear an update of her civil rights activities as an adult.