Books

So on our message board at work, we got to talking about children's books and I ended up making a big long list of Juvenile/YA fiction that has impacted my life. I thought I'd share, seeing as how my sister does book reports on her blog. We'll start with the picture books. Note that these are all books that I first read (or had read to me) as a child.

Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
First read this in my kindergarten class, or rather, had it read to me. I think I could only read it by myself afterward because I had mostly memorized the whole thing.

The Little House
by Virginia Lee Burton
We had this one at home and I remember just loving the story because of the way the scenes changed all around the little house, signifying the passage of time. Wow. That book was way deep.

Corduroy
by Don Freeman
I think this was originally read in about kindergarten or first grade. I especially liked the sequel, A Pocket for Corduroy, because I bought that one at the school book fair.

Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey
This is another one I was introduced to at school. Did you know it's the official children's book of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts?


Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
What list of favorite children's books would be complete without this classic. I'm pretty we owned it. I seem to remember Mom buying it for one child in particular . . .


Blueberries for Sal
by Robert McCloskey
Same author as Make Way for Ducklings. I like blueberries and I think this book made me think of going blueberry-picking with my own family when it was first read to me.


The Story of Babar
by Jean de Brunhoff
Of course, I was not reading this in the original French as a child. Come to think of it, I wouldn't read it in French now. But it's a fun book that I will always remember reading. Especially the squiggly elephant part.


The Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams
Now for the question on everyone's mind: What exactly is velveteen? Is it a corrupt spelling of velvety? Or perhaps a fabric similar, but not up to par with, velvet? Velvet that hasn't reached adulthood? Anyways, I love the book. Classic.



Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
by Judi Barrett
How can you not love this book? It is simply enchanting to a child. I mean, didn't you always wish that a giant pancake would fall on your school so school would be cancelled? Heck, I wish that sometimes now!


The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
by Beatrix Potter
Now, I'm a fan of Beatrix Potter, but I think this one is my favorite. We've all heard of Peter Rabbit and his adventures in Mr. McGregor's garden, but what happens afterward? Does Peter ever get his lost clothes back? Will Mr. McGregor get his revenge for the stolen vegetables? Whatever happened to the cat? You'll love this exciting tale of adventure, intrigue and tam-o'-shanters! But you don't have to take my word for it!


Well, that's it for the picture books. Though I'm sure that couldn't be possibly all of them, just the ones I remember and could think of. Ok, well, next time I'll list the non-picture books. There's quite a few of those.