Author Jon Scieszka’s birthday is today, September 8th! According to his bio, he will be 65 years old. He’s known from such highly popular books as the Caldecott Award Winner, The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! among many others.
I
loved The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales as a child
and after re-reading it as an adult I can see why! It’s such a fun story to
read. This author has so many great stories, but I will always be partial to The
Stinky Cheese Man!
Title: Ball Written by Mary Sullivan Illustrated by Mary Sullivan Recommended Ages: 4-7 years Published: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (April 2, 2013)
A simple & hilarious read! I must admit, I was a bit
skeptical about this book with its single word story line, but it is so
creative and fun to read.
This clever book written & illustrated by Mary Sullivan is full of expressive illustrations and well placed type. The book has just one word ‘ball’, but coupled with the expressions on the dog’s face it is easy to use your imagination to read this story with the emphasis I’m sure the dog in the story intended for you to use! This book is also a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book & a Junior Library Guild Selection.
Okay, full disclosure. I haven’t read every book on this list so I’ve put an asterisk next to the ones I have read.
#1 The Berenstain Bears Jobs Around Town *
Title: The Berenstain Bears Jobs Around Town Written & Illustrated by Stan & Jan Berenstain Publisher’s Synopsis: Searching for the perfect job, the Bear siblings learn to celebrate the many talents of others and begin to imagine where their own God-given gifts will take them as they grow. Recommended Ages: 4 – 8 years Published: Zonderkidz (March 5, 2011)
Title: Curious George and the Firefighters Written & Illustrated by Margret & H. A. Rey Publisher’s Synopsis: Curious George and the Firefighters is a story based on H. A. and Margret Rey’s popular primate and painted in the original watercolor and charcoal style. Firefighters are a famously brave lot, but can they withstand a visit from one curious monkey? Recommended Ages: 4-7 years Published: HMH Books for Young Readers (August 30, 2004)
Title: A Labor Day Hooray Written by Dee Smith Publisher’s Synopsis: “It’s on the first Monday of every September.” “It’s a day for workers to relax.” “This day is fun to remember.” Labor Day is here! A dog invites children to celebrate with him. He explains what Labor Day means to him and why we should all celebrate. This book features a fun look at an illustrated dog character performing some important common jobs. Recommended Ages: 5 – 6 years Published: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 4, 2016)
Title: Roadwork Written by Sally Sutton Illustrated by Brian Lovelock Publisher’s Synopsis: There are many big machines and busy people involved in building a road, and this riveting board book follows them every step of the way. From clearing a pathway (screek!) to rolling the tar (squelch!) to sweeping up at the end (swish!), Roadwork is sure to delight young truck-lovers with its rambunctious rhymes and noisy fun. Recommended Ages: 2 – 5 years Published: Candlewick (January 11, 2011)
Title: When I
Grow Up Written by
Mercer Mayer Illustrated by
Mercer Mayer Publisher’s
Synopsis Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter is thinking about all of the fun things he
can do when he grows up in this classic, funny, and heartwarming book. Whether
he’s spending his allowance on whatever he wants, making important phone calls,
or staying up late, both parents and children alike will relate to this beloved
story. A perfect way to celebrate growing up! Recommended Ages:
2-5 years Published:
Random House Books for Young Readers (June
10, 2003)
Title: Sam Who Never Forgets Written by Eve Rice Illustrated by Eve Rice Publisher’s Synopsis Could Sam the zookeeper have forgotten to feed Elephant, the other zoo animals wonder. Recommended Ages: 4-8 years Published: Greenwillow Books (September 23, 1987)
Title: Who Started the Labor Day Celebration? Written by Baby Professor Publisher’s Synopsis What is the Labor Day and who started it? Like all other celebration, the Labor Day has deep historic roots. This book will give you the juicy details that led to the celebrated annual holiday. Don’t settle with just the knowledge that today is Labor Day. Dig deeper and explain to your child further. That’s the way to unlimited knowledge. Begin today! Published: Baby Professor (December 1, 2007)
Title: Cave Baby Written by Julia Donaldson Illustrated by Emily Gravett Recommended Ages: 3-5 years Published: Macmillan Children’s Books (May 6, 2011)
This is a cute story about a cave
baby and the difference a response & encouragement can make.
The cave baby is full of curiosity
and creativity leading to a bunch of paint scribbles on the wall, but cave mum
and cave dad are not impressed. They tell cave baby that the big brown bear
will eat him and now he is afraid. Late in the night a mammoth comes into the
baby’s cave and the baby is worried he will be taken to the big brown bear.
Instead, the mammoth takes him to his
own cave where the baby can freely express his imagination with paint. Afterward,
the mammoth and the rest of the mammoth family are impressed with cave baby’s
wall scribbles.
At
the end, the baby is back in his cave happy dreaming of his masterpiece in the
mammoth cave. This story written by Julia Donaldson of the Gruffalo has the
same charming rhyming and delightful repetition. Emily Gravett’s illustrations
make you feel like you are in a cave with this mischievous baby.
Title: Pecan Pie Baby
Written by Jacqueline Woodson Illustrated by Sophie Blackall Recommended Ages: 5-8 years Published: Puffin Books (October 17, 2013)
Pecan Pie Baby is a
fun read with a sweet story — there is pie involved! This story is written in
such a cute way that it literally made me smile the entire time I was reading
it.
It has great pacing
and repetition about the “ding-dang baby” which is what Gia keeps referring to
the baby as. This coupled with the adorable illustrations will leave you with a
smile on your face too. This book by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by
Sophie Blackall follows Gia and her Mama as they prepare for a new baby. It’s a
story of a little girl who is uncertain of what the baby is going to bring to
her family dynamic with her Mama. After all, everyone is already making such a
big deal about the new baby and it hasn’t even been born yet. It’s a great read
for children who are having similar feelings of hesitation about a new baby on
the way. In the story Gia doesn’t want to save clothes for the new baby, worries
that the baby will displace her sleepover friend and hopes there won’t be any
snow for the year since Mama says the baby will probably arrive by the first
snow.
Gia and her Mama share a love of pecan pie and Gia thinks the baby is a copycat when Mama says the baby loves pecan pie too! But at the end of the story Gia understands that the baby will change things, but it will still be okay.
I have always been a picture book lover. In fact, I still have many of the picture books from my own childhood — some of which I will be sharing on here. I began my journey to writing picture books as I imagine many people do — completely unsure of how to proceed. I’ve decided to start sharing the journey of finishing up my first picture book and going from a children’s book writer to a published children’s book author.
Along the way I’ll be sharing updates on my own picture book writing journey as well as children’s picture book reviews for stories both old and new, possibly reading an old picture book from time to time on YouTube (maybe), cool information about children’s books, their authors and illustrators, and various other kid lit related randomness.
I
hope you’ll follow along and hopefully find something interesting to you along
the way. If you have a children’s book blog, please comment with the link so I
can follow you too!