Favorite kids books (vol. II)

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio: So this might be the most adorable book ever. Two dog families find out that it's not what looks right that makes a family, but what feels right. We love the little Parisian touches, ooh lala.



I'm Not Bobby by Jules Feiffer: Rather than do what his mother tells him, a little boy imagines all the other things he could be besides himself (a rocket ship, a lion).




Gobble Growl Grunt by Peter Spier: My friend J. mentioned the other day that she searched high and low for a copy of this book when her kids were born -- A. and I came across it at the thrift store and brought it home for something like 10 cents. It's been worth 10 times that in the time we've had it. We love the whimsical way the animals are illustrated and the way they are grouped together on the pages according to the types of noises they make. I also like a lot that the quiet animals are represented, too.



Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier: Anouk loves reading this book, which is not one book but a bunch of little books sandwiched inside each other, growing progressively smaller like a literary matrioshka doll. We especially love Giant's teensy book right in the middle.




Hide and Seek Fog by Alvin Tresselt: This book is written by the author of White Snow, Bright Snow, one of our other favorites. I love so much the beautiful and descriptive writing of how a little village looks with the fog rolling in off the water and how it affects all the people who live in that village.



Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook by Shel Silverstein: I never ran across this Shel Silverstein when I was little. The poems are all the same kind of funny ones you're used to -- but the words have switched letters. It's a hilarious challenge to read.




The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen: A town in Maine helps the animals that escaped off a circus ship hide from their mean owner. A. loves turning the pages and spotting the giraffe cleverly disguised as a clothesline or the elephant posing as a rock in somebody's garden.




Beach by Elisha Cooper: This is probably the most beautiful kids' book I've come across, with the watercoloresque illustrations of the beach. It looks so much like our beaches here in HRVA! The story is simple, basically describing what a day at the beach looks like, but that feels familiar too, and is probably why we love it. It scratches that can't-wait-for-summertime itch.

(to see vol. I of our favorite kids books, click here).