Hm.

[conuly]

I have a theory about why some picture books are acclaimed and others aren't (beyond the obvious of publicity), but... before I go into my theory, I thought it'd be good to get some confirmation of my idea from... well, youse guys.

So, questions. What pictures books did you enjoy when you were under four or so? Which ones did you enjoy during your later childhood, such as it is? Which picture books did you not grow up with, but enjoy now? Links are helpful, por favor.

Edit: An explanation as to why you liked a book (the rhyme, the story, the pictures) is good, as is talking about books you hated or books kids you know liked.

Comments

[grammaravenger.livejournal.com]

I don't remember being read to, though I'm sure I was, so I can't answer the first part, but when I could read (so, from kindergarten on), some of my favorites were:
- Each Peach Pear Plum (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/014050639X/qid=1111034673/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/002-4102126-9684806) - The pictures, with the stuff hidden in them, the rhymes, the story - I don't know what it was, I just really loved this book.
- Strega Nona (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671666061/qid=1111034906/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-4102126-9684806) - Strega Nona's the best! I always liked the story, and the slightly funky illustration. I really liked the idea of the spaghetti pot gone wild. I was always a fan of pasta and I thought it would be pretty awesome if I could fill my town up with spaghetti.
- The Teacher from the Black Lagoon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0590419625/qid=1111034961/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-4102126-9684806) - because it's funny. '
- Miss Nelson Is Missing (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0395401461/qid=1111035400/sr=5-2/ref=cm_lm_asin/002-4102126-9684806?v=glance) - it's funny too.
- Love You Forever (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0920668372/qid=1111035070/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-4102126-9684806) - the classic preschool tearjerker.
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0689707495/002-4102126-9684806?%5Fencoding=UTF8) - because it's awesome.
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - who doesn't love this?
- Trouble Dolls (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0152907904/qid=1111035324/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-4102126-9684806) - this one was just special to me because someone, either my parents or my grandparents, bought me some trouble dolls once.
- We also had some Little Black Sambo book that I liked a lot, but I can't find it on amazon. It was just great, because - dude! The tigers get turned into a stack of pancakes! With a little pat of butter on top and everything! They always looked like really yummy pancakes.

And the special Christmas books:
- The Twelve Days of Christmas - I can't find this on amazon. It was a board book with these great pictures, and the cover had all this glitter on it and parts that glowed in the dark. The pictures in the book might've too, I don't know. There was a pretty lady with cool hair on the cover.
- The Little Match Girl (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0399213368/qid=1111034864/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-4102126-9684806) - my grandma gave this to me. We read it every Christmas for years.
- The Polar Express - Chris Van Alsburg RULES. I love all his stuff just for the pictures, and I really liked the story too.
- The Night Before Christmas - again, a Christmas tradition.

I can't remember quite when I read Where the Wild Things Are (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060254920/qid=1111035400/sr=5-3/ref=cm_lm_asin/002-4102126-9684806?v=glance) but I like it a lot.

It amazes me how fond I am of picture books, now that I think about it. I don't think I read them for all that long but some of them are really special to me.

[grammaravenger.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I was a pretty big fan of the Bernstein Bears, too. I do remember my mom reading those to me, actually. Or at least reading them with her. I liked them because they were funny, too, and I liked the characters.

[grammaravenger.livejournal.com]

Oh, OH! Dude, how could I forget the Magic School Bus? Magic School Bus is the best thing ever! I'm talking the originals, here, not the cheesy new Scholastic ones. So much cool stuff to learn, so funny, the great drawings, all the awesome little details (Miss Frizzle's constantly changing outfits that always match the situation, the bus). I LOVE the Magic School Bus.

Sorry for all the comments!

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

Oh wow how could I forget Love You Forever? Just thinking about it makes me want to cry my eyes out.

At my nephew's baptism, the priest told the story, and I swear, there wasn't a dry eye in all of Bay Ridge.

[conuly]

Is that the one where she rocks him after he's married? I always thought it was a bit creepy.

[leora.livejournal.com]

Oooh I do like several of those quite a lot. In Elementary School we did a play version of Miss Nelson is Missing. I didn't have an interesting part, but it was so much fun anyway. This is also when I learned that when in a play, I will be very nervous until I am actually performing. As soon as the curtain rose, I was calm and prepared.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is cute. It's one of the first few books I've read in Braille. I admit, the ending was very predictable to a twenty something, but I bet it'd have been much cooler had I been a really young. Still a good read.

And I utterly adored Where the Wild Things Are. To the point that when I had to pick a children's book to translate into Spanish my senior year of high school, that's the one I picked. I spent hours upon hours (about 3 hours per page) on the illustrations, because we were donating the books and I wanted the kid or kids who read mine to have something they could really enjoy. I'm quite proud of the copy I made. It was a little hard to part with it.