The Lion and the Mouse

The Lion and the Mouse
Jerry Pinkney

Aesop was on to something when he employed animals to teach virtues in his fables. And not only Aesop, but most world cultures do the same. Picture how it must fire the storyteller's imagination to match human traits with likely characteristics of animals. The brave lion, the sneaky rat, the industrious ant are very logical and, of course, appealing to children. This "retelling" of the old fable is told completely without words! Page by beautiful page, the illustrations tell the story of the mercy of the big guy who in turn was helped by the little guy. The striking bold pictures fill up each entire page and the story quite easily comes to life. No wonder, Pinkney won the Caldecott Medal for this book in 2010. Prior to that, in 2009 he was awarded the Parents Choice Gold Award. Be on the look-out for other titles by Jerry Pinkney.

A Chair for my Mother

A Chair for my Mother

Vera B. Miles

A family loses their possessions in a fire and immediately their neighbors pitch in to share household furnishings with them. Then the little girl, her mama, and her grandma work together to save money in order to buy a special chair. The pictures help to convey the drama and family spirit in this story. As shown by the silver medal on the cover, it won a Caldecott Honor Award for the illustrations. Look for this award given each year by the American Library Association on picture book covers. On the upper left hand corner is the sticker showing it was a selection for the PBS series, Reading Rainbow. These two stickers can help you locate other quality picture books.

Best Friends for Frances

Best Friends for Frances
Russell Hoben
     Frances has spunk. She wants to play with her friend (Albert, a boy - whoops! a badger) but finds out that friends are not always nice. Then Frances discovers she is not always nice either. The person (whoops! badger, these are badgers) who is usually nice is Gloria. And Gloria is her sister! Who knew you could be best friends with your sister!
     Animals have a firm place in the value tale tradition. Consider the ancient fables and the traditional folklore from every culture. The Berenstein Bears and Curious George are two of countless contemporary examples. Russell Hoben has created several delightfully instructive tales about Frances.
     What's my criteria for the picture book "classics" label? The book was published at least 25 years ago and  continues to be republished. And, of course, for this blog, it must also have enduring value as a book that will build virtue, beauty and truth in children.

Stellaluna

Stellaluna
Janell Cannon

A little bat and his bird friends realize that though they are so different they can feel so much alike. This is a currently popular book, but I didn't find that out until later. I was first attracted to it on the shelf by its stunning dark blue - night sky cover. Your little one will also judge books by their covers. Read a book for its beauty alone.

You can see a live video of an actor reading this book  http://www.storylineonline.net/
This website is produced by the Screen Actors Guild.

Brave Irene

Brave Irene
William Steig

It takes so much perseverance for Irene to face the bitter cold and one hardship after another. The source of her courage is her love for her mother. Steig is a wonderful story-teller. His Caldecott Medal book, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is delightful, suspenseful and tender - all rolled up into one great story! I found his style so engaging (for myself!) that I began looking for books by this author. Brave Irene lived up to the standard. Books written by William Steig are pure literary pleasure. I have several other favorites, but I just cannot share them all at once. In this blog we'll spread out the joy.

P.S. After I "discovered" him, I learned that he was a cartoonist for The New Yorker. Oh, and he wrote a movie called "Shrek". See this link if you want to read his picture book original. http://us.macmillan.com/author/williamsteig

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Virginia Lee Burton

Mike is loyal to his steam shovel Mary Anne. Through his faith in her, they together prove their ability to get a job done. The odds are against them! You and your child(ren) will root for them to make it. When they do, you will cheer together!

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty
Charles Perrault, retold by Mercer Mayer

Remember the fairy tales! Embedded in tales are the values of the cultures and people who told them. This is true for both the traditional (the folk tales handed down by oral tradition) and literary (the ones written but based upon folklore by such greats as Charles Perrault and Hans Christian Anderson). The one retold here is by an author well known for quality story-telling, but many variations abound in the libraries. It is easy for me to pick out traits such as human vanity, envy, courage, forgiveness, and hope that have occurred to me as I have read this tale as a child, mother, and teacher over the years; however, it is not necessary to overly define what can be reaped in the read aloud experience. The effects are as different as the readers, and they are as different one time as the next for the same reader. As a young girl I was entranced by the courageous love of the prince as he hacked through the overgrown bramble and I felt the wonderful satisfaction in the triumph of goodness over evil. Last week, I read the Disney version of this tale to my granddaughter and what struck me this time was the kindness of the helpers - Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. I'm not sure Perrault had those three in mind, but, hey, the tale took me there. My point is that when you read a fairy tale, don't worry about the lessons.Comments may happen, but they are not necessary either. I did not point anything out to my four-year old granddaughter. I just trust story.  

Horton Hatches the Egg -faithfulness

Horton Hatches the Egg
Dr. Seuss

I still remember curling up on my father's lap in his big chair and listening to him read this story in the evening before bed. Horton is an elephant who displays the virtues of patience, faithfulness and caring. The odds are against poor Horton to be able to keep his word to sit on lazy Mazie bird's egg while she takes a break. (She decides to go to Palm Beach.) But he has a motto that he says to himself when the going gets really tough. "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an elephant's faithful one hundred per cent!" Since this recurs throughout the story, the listener easily learns it. When I sat with my daddy he would dramatically say the lines and pause right before the last word..."an elephant's faithful one hundred per ..."so I could chime in with him..."CENT!"

Knots on a Counting Rope - the power of story

Knots on a Counting Rope
Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

A grandfather recounts for his grandson the story of how the boy overcame his handicap of blindness. The Indian boy has learned to raise and ride a horse and to see with his hands, feelings, and heart. One picture book like this can spur many of your own stories. Recounting a child's own experience helps to recall and to seal the benefits. This includes the simple normal activities that make up children's lives such as reviewing how good it was to be with grandma, how interesting and pretty the hike in the park was, and how brave they were at the doctor's office. In addition, reading stories like this - about other people's stories -have the power to cultivate empathy. The boy's experience coupled with the pictures in the book can live on in your child's heart.

The Little Engine that Could

The Little Engine That Could 
Watty Piper

Of course, anyone who reads picture books to children eventually comes across this classic. The little engine has to chug up the mountain as he pulls his heavy load all the way up to the top in order to fulfill his good deed on the other side.  He puffs as he pulls, "I think I can, I think I can" and pretty soon we are saying it with him. And we are believing he can do it. Up, up, up he chugs. "I think I can....I think I can...faster faster...I think I can, I think I can, until..yes! He makes it! As he slows down at the station he puffs, "I thought I could, I...thought...I...could." Part of the delight of reading this book out loud is that the words he speaks in his pep talk to himself, sound very much like the chugging of a train.