Children

I guess I am recommending bunny books for Easter this month (is it me, or do Easter and daylight savings time get earlier every year?). Mo Willems can do no wrong, as this former Sesame Street writer is one of the top children’s book authors in America today. If you have never read one of his books, you are in for a treat (and, come on, his books take less than five minutes to read from cover to cover).

This beautiful biography of Langston Hughes makes a great introduction to free verse poetry for children, as Langston’s story is told in free verse. After you read this one, why not pick out some real Langston Hughes books, as his poetry is some of the best to come out of America in the 20th century.

Rosemary Wells, please forgive me for taking so long to include you on my recommended reading list. Rosemary Wells should be REQUIRED reading, as her tales of Max and Ruby are hilarious. My kids especially love this store of Ruby and Max going into town to buy Grandma a birthday present, only to see Max squander most of Ruby’s Money on food and fake vampire teeth. I have never met a child who did not adore these books.

I figured I’d be a little late with next month’s list, so I should include a groundhog book on this one. While the book shows kids what groundhogs are and do (besides look for their shadows), it is a great little story loaded with information that kids will find interesting about how different things in nature work together.

What a treat! The local residents of an island in Maine are not too pleased when the animals of a wrecked circus ship scatter about – until a tiger saves a baby. Then it is the residents who disguise their new friends so the circus owner cannot take them away. Funny and heartwarming.

Let’s put it this way: if you are a teacher or parent of young children, I suggest you feed your kids, clothe them and buy them books by Steve Jenkins. He is one of the greatest children’s authors out there, as his books inspire kids to ask all sorts of questions, and his illustrations are simply beautiful. I’ll add this book to my growing list of essentials by Jenkins: Actual Size, I See a Kookaburra, etc.

I had to give you at least one great Mother’s Day gift idea. In this delightful role reversal, a little girl tries to get her Mommy to go to bed, despite Mommy’s protests to stay up later. Any parent will be tickled, and kids get a kick out of the story and LeUyen Pham’s illustrations.

For the life of me, I have no idea how Seder illustrates these books, but they are perhaps the most interesting books I have ever come across. Mesmerizing is an understatement. Your kids and you will be dazzled as these images from The Wizard of Oz come to life, literally, before your very eyes. Everything Seder creates belongs in a museum (or a laboratory).

It may be ironic that I am including a book that was inspired by an Academy Award-winning short film, but that does not change the fact that this is a wonderful story that your children will cling to (and, by the way, the film is a gem, too).

Jasper Rabbit fears his favorite treats are out to get him in this marvelously illustrated Caldecott Honor book by illustrator Peter Brown. Fun, timely reading for the fam.

I just met Jarrett at the marvelous Shenandoah University Children’s Literature Conference in lovely Winchester, Virginia, and Jarrett’s speech prompted me to read everything he has written. Besides his beautiful, funny and endearing picture books, he is also the author of the popular Lunch Lady series. I’ll just flat-out recommend everything he has written, as I know you won’t be disappointed with the stories, and certainly not the artwork.

While everyone knows that monsters are scary, they may not know other interesting facts about monsters in this engaging bedtime read aloud.

If angels exist, Shel Silverstein is one of them. I imagine this man has single-handedly made people of all ages smile. Like the producer realizes in the 1941 film Sullivan’s Travels, that’s a mighty powerful thing.

I love using poetry as a way to motivate people to read, as poems tend to be shorter and less intimidating than stories to many students. One of my favorite poets is Jack Prelutsky, as his poems always bring a smile to my face. Every child loves Prelutsky, but boys especially adore him. Get anything he has ever written and you will have a happy, literate and enlightened child.

Three bad monsters learn the power of gratitude from an even bigger and badder monster in this wonderfully illustrated picture book.