our favorite pint-sized books

Sassy and I love checking out new books from the library. We usually leave with a stack of at least ten, half of which Sassyfrass has chosen from the shelf. That's what's so great about the library--there's zero risk involved in exploring new materials.

Of course, I have a running list of what I would buy if we (1) came across it really cheap, say in a thrift store or (2) came into a little extra money that I could justify spending on new books, say for a Christmas present. Here is that list:

Favorite Books for the 3-year-old

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear ~ Don & Audrey Wood

Mole and The Baby Bird ~ Marjorie Newman

A Fairy Went A-Marketing ~ Rose Fyleman

Duck in the Truck ~ Jez Alborough

My Aunt Came Back ~ Pat Cummings

The Giving Tree ~ Shel Silverstein

From Head to Toe ~ Eric Carle

Miss Spider's Tea Party ~ David Kirk

Note that our requirements for a good book might be different than yours. I require that all of our favorite books are fun to read. Why? I have received many books as gifts or hand-me-downs that, while unique in some way or another, are completely boring to read. I try to steer Sassy away from those books as much as possible, because I would rather be engaged in the reading process with her rather than struggling to stay awake. I love reading books aloud that pose some sort of reading challenge, e.g...best read with a certain rhythm, or lots of alliteration and rhyming that is tongue-tricky at first. This makes reading fun for both of us.

I also tend to like the books that have appealing illustrations. Face it, anybody can throw together some illustrations and a simple story line and call it a children's book. But you can recognize those illustrators who have great talent. We seek them out.

I also only read books that encourage kindness to others in all forms, especially animals, as animals seem to be the underdog in our culture.

I won't read books where children within the pages tease others, complain about their parents or the rules, complain about school or learning, or make degrading comments to others. And you'd be surprised how many children's books fall into this category, apparently trying to be humorous or "on the child's level."

If I have time later, I'll edit this post to include what we like about each book, so if you're looking for a particular attribute, you might find it here.