Picture these favorites—June 5, 2009
My daughter turned three this spring and her appetite for books has grown almost as much as she has. She’s always had a great collection of books (what daughter of a librarian wouldn’t?) and she’s always loved the library. Now she refers to the Hastings Public Library as “her” library and Mommy just gets to work there putting away “her” books. So coincidentally as I was thinking about her summer reading choices, a librarian colleague on Facebook asked for nominations for a list of “100 greatest picture books from this century.” You can imagine the numerous responses she’s getting, and then I got excited thinking about this as a reading list for my daughter.
You see, I consider myself a great librarian, but when it comes to picking out the next picture book for my toddler, I too can be overwhelmed by the many volumes at the library. I often peruse the newest books or the “just checked in” books figuring if they were good enough for another family, they’ll probably be good at our house too. That’s how I found Daddy is a Doodlebug by Bruce Degan. With lots of made up words like “foodlebug” and “canoedlebug” it’s about all the things a Daddy and child doodlebug like to do together. It always ends with lots of giggles and smiles at bedtime at our house and I suspect her Daddy actually enjoys reading it more than he lets on.
So I added our title to the growing list and then found these titles suggested by others to take home. Flotsam by David Wiesner – with no words to rhyme this one proved a bit frustrating for my toddler, but perfect for those kids who like to look at pictures and make up their own stories. Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems are favorites for both of us. She likes Trixie and can relate to her love for a distinct stuffed animal; I love the real pictures of New York City behind the cartoon illustrations.
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? By Jane Yolen might be the first picture book I ever bought for my daughter, which shocked the family since it’s well-known that I am terrified of dinosaurs. But the rhymes in this book are so much fun to read aloud. How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? and How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? have also been useful for teaching some manners.
Of course the list goes on and on. Come check out the display of titles mentioned and more at the library and enjoy discovering something new for summer reading! If you have a favorite picture book, email me at agreenland@hastings.lib.ne.us and maybe we’ll start our own list of 100 favorites!
