51. The Mitten
I would consider it a great injustice to Childrens Lit everywhere if I did not include a book by Jan Brett! Her illustrations alone are breathtaking! They are magical! They are pictures framed in pictures! When Nicki drops his white mitten in the snow, he goes on without realizing that it is missing. One by one, woodland animals find it and crawl in; first, a curious mole, then a rabbit, a badger and others, each one larger than the last. Finally, a big brown bear is followed in by a tiny brown mouse and what happens next makes for a wonderfully funny climax. As the story of the animals in the mitten unfolds, the reader can see Nicki in the boarders of each page, walking through the woods unaware of what is going on.
52. Diary of a Worm
This is the diary . . . of a worm. Surprisingly, a worm not that different from you or me: He lives with his parents, plays with his friends, and even goes to school. But unlike you or me, he never has to take a bath, he gets to eat his homework, and because he doesn't have legs, he just can't do the hokey pokey -- no matter how hard he tries. Oh, and his head looks a lot like his rear end. This is the same author of the book Giggle, Giggle, Quack so of course I HIGHLY recommend it! It's hysterical!
53. Where the Wild Things Are
“And now," cried Max, "let the wild rumpus start!” One night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him 'Wild Thing' and sends him to bed without his supper. That night a forest begins to grow in Max's room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are. Max tames the wild things and crowns himself as their king, and then the wild rumpus begins. But when Max has sent the monsters to bed, and everything is quiet, he starts to feel lonely and realises it is time to sail home to the place where someone loves him best of all. This book is a classic! Every kid should experience the Wild Things! But DON'T let them watch the movie! I swear the only time you should watch that is while you are on an acid trip! (Sidenote: Don't do acid!)
54. Three Cheers for Tacky
Tacky the Penguin is back, this time trying to compete with Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect in the iceberg-wide Penguin Cheering Contest. But will Tacky ever be able to learn the synchronized moves and win the contest? I LOVE TACKY! He is the ultimate role model of "Be Yourself". I love that little penguin!
55. The Sneetches
This will always and forever be one of my top favorite Dr. Seuss stories! It reminds me of this old VHS that I had as a kid that was the Sneetches singing about their stars or lack thereof! "Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches / Had bellies with stars. / The Plain-Belly Sneetches / Had none upon thars." This is an unforgettable tale of the unfortunate Sneetches, bamboozled by one Sylvester McMonkey McBean ("the Fix-it-up Chappie"), who teaches them that pointless prejudice can be costly.
56. Each Peach Pear Plum
This is your classic "I spy" game. The rhymed verses give kids clues about who to look for in the detailed illustrations. The thing that I love is that it brings in classic fairy tales! Kids will spy Tom Thumb, Jack and Jill, The Three Little Bears and many other nursery rhyme characters hiding in the pictures. This was one of my favorites as a kid!
57. Bread and Jam for Frances
I think that my mom read this to me as a kid because I was a picky eater! So I dedicate this book to the choosy ones! In this memorable story, Frances decides that bread and jam are all she wants to eat, and her understanding parents grant her wish at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacktime. Can there ever be too much bread and jam?
58. King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
Okay I love love love this book! This is in the Erika Top Five! (I don't actually know how many times I've said that but it's true!) I have since I was a little girl! I reread it tonight when I was having a good flashback to the good ol days moment! I love King Bidgood! I would hang out in his bathtub because it is magical! And I adore the illustrations! :) And it's got that medal that I love! In this raucous tale, the Knight, the Duke, the Queen--and eventually the whole court--all try to lure King Bidgood from his cozy bathtub, but he won't get out! Will anyone be able to solve this problem?
59. Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch
And it was on the day that I read this book as an adult that I realized I was turning into my mother. She would always cry at the end of this story and I could never figure out why. Now I know because I cry every time I read it! It's because it's one of the cutest most heart-warming stories on love that I have yet to read in a kids book. One wintry day, a postman delivers a mysterious package with a big pink bow to a lonely man named Mr. Hatch. "Somebody loves you" the note says. "Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch sings as he dusts his living room. "Somebody loves me!" Mr. Hatch whistles as he does his errands in town. "But who, " Mr. Hatch wonders, "could that somebody be?" After some time, Mr. Hatch discovers just who his secret admirer is and, in doing so, enjoys the biggest surprise of his life! You would be cheating yourself out of something great if you did not pick up this book!
Oh my gosh...it's the last one! I feel a little sad! Okay drumroll!
60. The Day the Crayon Quit
This is my most recently discovered gem! It just came out this month and I just adore it! Consider it the newest, hottest kids book that I could recommend to you! I love it when I find any book that is literally laugh out loud funny! This book was about a boy who goes to color and finds a bunch of letters from his crayons! Tan is tired of only drawing wheat, white is mad because no one can see him, pink feels unloved because she's a girl color, and peach is too embarrassed to leave the box ever since she lost her paper wrapping and feels naked! I must own this! You must own this! I loved it! :-)
And now we have come to the end of my challenge! It's been great fun! I hope that I got you one step closer in your journey of finding a favorite book! I guess we can now get back to Snogging....on Sunday!!! ;D
I LOVE your list!! I have 4 kiddos and many, many of these are on our favorites list too. Great choices!!
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