Friday, March 4, 2011

All the world in a book...

I have a weakness for children’s picture books.

When I was pregnant with Judah, my eldest, I had already amassed a stack of best-loved books, and read to him daily, in utero. I don’t actually know if it made any difference, but Judah does love to listen to stories, and will (sometimes) stop mid-tantrum, or during a particularly boisterous outburst, to sit quietly and hear me read to him. I love this, and I hope it's the beginning of a life-long love of the printed word. 
His favourite books at the moment are The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, and much to my delight – Tikki Tikki Tembo, by Arlene Mosel (it was my favourite book as a child).
Little Lou can’t quite manage to sit still through a whole story yet, unless it’s past her bedtime and she’s exhausted. Then she’ll lean in, thumb in her mouth, dolly under her arm, and I can read to her without having to call her back one hundred times. Her favourite is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle – much loved by children and parents all over the world. 

I absolutely love finding picture book treasures online or in second hand bookstores. How wonderful it is to find an iconic childhood favourite buried in a box at a garage sale or hidden in the shelves at an op shop? My favourite find so far has been an old hardcover edition of The Magic Pudding, written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay. I adore that bad-tempered pudding, the simple drawings and the beautifully expressed Australiana theme – and I can’t wait to start reading it to the kids when they’re old enough.   

The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay, pg 22-23

What are your favourite children's picture books?

Nat

Ps. Linking up with the lovely Multiple Mum over at And then there were four for the Weekend Rewind. Thanks for stopping by! x

4 comments:

Kim H said...

I love picture books too. We really loved Where The Wild Things Are and The Rattletrap Car and the Come on Daisy books and Mem Fox and The Very Hungry Caterpillar (what a classic that book is) and soooo many others. I love finding old ones too. I love the old Enid Blyton drawings. As an 11 year old, Lewi loves anything illutrated by Shaun Tan. I miss those days of sitting with a cosy picture book, bubba boy in arms, sharing away. I still read to Lew now, and it's still a wonderful time but chapter books just aren't quite the same as picture books.

Thanks for this post.

Life In A Pink Fibro said...

SO many books. We are huge readers in the Fibro, all of us. Mr4 will sit and listen for hours. Mr7 will sit and read for hours. I don't have as much time as I'd like, but you'll often find me reading! Lovely post!

Visiting via the REwind.

Janelle said...

Very Hungry Caterpillar is a classic, it's the first book I bought for my daughter when she was born! We also love Dear Zoo, and the Guess How Much I Love You series.
Visiting from the rewind.

MultipleMum said...

Sad to say that even though I have read gazillions of kids books, I have read very few of your favourites! I will seek them out at the library on our next trip. Thanks for Rewinding x