From: Lynn Rutan <lynnrutan>
Date: Sat, 16 May 2009 21:47:41 -0400

I've loved reading all the posts and have kept wanting to reply, "Yes, me too," to them.

I've never had the pleasure of being a librarian to the younger set so my experiences with picture books are mostly family. My own two sons have always loved to read and I now have a set of 5-year-old twin grandsons that stay with me every day. It has been sheer pleasure to plunge into picture books with them and I also get to read to their kindergarten class every week as a volunteer.

I have to second all the remarks on Bill Peet's books. My sons adored them and had them memorized word for word and the attraction is still there for my grandsons. We almost always bring one home from the library every week and those books are obviously much-loved by other children too as they are circulating constantly.

Another author that I haven't seen mentioned is Virginia Lee Burton although I may have missed it. My own boys were great fans of Mike Mulligan, the Little House and Katy and the Big Snow especially. My grandsons love Burton's books too and I think Katy is their favorite. They are fascinated by the small drawings on the edges of the pages and love to trace Katy's journey around the town. We get lots of snow here and I took Katy to read to the kindergarteners. They loved it even though it is a better lap book than story-time book and they're still asking me to bring it back to read again.

Another three generation favorite is Robert McCloskey. We all love Make Way for Ducklings but Blueberries for Sal is the hands-down favorite. When Little Sal and Little Bear follow the wrong mothers, no one can sit still and the "oh no's" are deafening. As an adult, I love McCloskey's warmly affectionate illustrations and the beautifully designed page layouts are perfect for either lap or group reading. The textual repetitions are ideal for beginning readers to say aloud and it still is a delightful book to read to a group of wiggly five year olds.
  We did have to do a lot of explaining about the items in the kitchen but that made for great discussion too. My own personal favorite is One Morning in Maine. Somehow our copy didn't survive and I was thinking about it just this week as books about losing teeth are BIG favorites right now ;-) I've got to track that one down.

This is getting long but I have to mention James Marshall, especially the George and Martha stories. His inspired goofiness still works wonderfully and makes us smile just looking at the cover of the book. Another favorite series is Mary Calhoun's books about Henry the Siamese cat. My sons loved Henry's adventures and never got tired of the central joke and the little boys love them too. And of course there is Eric Carle! I don't even have to say how perfect his books still are. And if you haven't seen the gorgeous new Very Hungry Caterpillar pop up book - run to get it!

I'd like to mention one other book that has captivated us all. It is Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse! by George Mendoza. Both my sons and grandsons adore this book and I have lost track of the hours we have spent reading it, examining each beautiful house and talking about its features. The little boys love to sit with it independently but still love to have me read it to them. It takes us a very long time to read it as each intriguing design has to be talked about. If there are any publishers out there - this is one I'd LOVE to see reprinted!

Thanks for the great post everyone!


Lynn Rutan Librarian Holland, MI lynnrutan at charter.net
Received on Sat 16 May 2009 08:47:41 PM CDT