What were your favorite books as a kid?
Not only did I practically read holes in these books when I was a kid, but looking back I think they had a profound, if subliminal, impact on my wanting to be an illustrator when I grew up:
First of all, Mike Mulligan And His Steam Shovel. I loved the simple art and the great story here of self-sacrifice… if I remember correctly, the Steam Shovel worked himself out of a job and ended up being permanently enclosed in the ground floor of a museum after helping build it… Plus, it was illustrated by the author herself, which I think is just cool!
I also loved Syd Hoff – his simple colored line art was easy to stare at for hours. It would have been even better if my kid brother didn’t add his own illustrations to”Danny and the Dinosaur” when he was a baby!
Another great one by Syd Hoff – along the same lines, a kid and their giant animal buddy. =)
Next, “The Sneetches” by Dr. Seuss. I never noticed the profound lesson against prejudice in this story as a kid, but I loved it. And the animated version was very fun too… Poor poor sneetches without stars upon thars… Dr. Seuss was AWESOME.
I still remember coming back from our library when I was in first grade, with armloads of Richard Scarry books every week. I loved the level of detail in his work, and I also still remember my teacher telling my parents in a conference “Robbie’s drawings are so detailed – I always look for tiny little things he’s added”… definately Scarry’s influence as a first-grade illustrator. =)
I LOVED Harold and the Purple Crayon. I always wanted a crayon or pencil that would create in “real life” the things I drew. I probably got in trouble for drawing on the walls a time or two because of this book as well.
This Disney book was second hand when my brother and I got it, but I went through it time and time again. I made that Captain Hook coin bank several times as a kid, and now that I look at this, I bet I could still teach my kids to make one. Too fun!
I *LOVED* this book. Much like Richard Scarry, I’d stare at these illustrations FOR HOURS. I was shocked when starting this blog, because I entered “The Giant Jam Sandwich” as one of my favorite books, and later on I noticed that it linked me to others who were fans of this book as well! AWESOME. Last year my wife and I took a trip to Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon. We were there for hours! In fact, kids teased me because I was sitting “indian-style” in the kids section almost the whole time. I got some funny looks from the employees too!
And last but not least, my all time favorite children’s book EVER:
The art in this book inspires me to this day – I love the murals and mood and just… EVERYTHING about “Where the Wild Things Are”!
So now that I’ve shared, what are some of your favorites?
7 Comments to “What were your favorite books as a kid?”
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Illustration Work
Oh Bedtime For Frances is still one of our favorites. The original illos consist of the sketches with a pale lime green shading throughout. We were able to find an original print to read to our kiddos.
http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780064434515
I share your favorites, but I have to add “Cloudy with a Side of Meatballs” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudy_with_a_Chance_of_Meatballs Which I just read they are turning into a movie? Yertle the Turtle, Fox in Socks and I loved reading anything by Shel Silverstein.
Nice blog, I’ve been following you on twitter…nice to meet you!
I Love “A Very Special House” by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It reminds me so much of my son, it’s scary. :)
I remember Frances… Im pretty sure the one I had was “A bargain for Frances”
The Golden Sleepy Book – Margaret Wise Brown
Little Fur Family – Margaret Wise Brown
Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes – Beatrix Potter
Go Dog Go – PD Eastman
The Lorax – Dr. Seuss
Wump World – Bill Peet
The Little House – Virginia Lee Burton
Hop on Pop – Dr. Seuss
Donkey Donkey – Roger Duvoisin
Good Night Moon – Margaret Wise Brown
Princess and the Goblin – George MacDonald
but seriously… I could go on forever.
Here’s a link to my years worth of book lists. I have bolded all our favorites each year. We love children’s books.
Sprittibee’s Homeschooling Series
Happy reading!
The Secret Garden is my favorite children’s book. My mother gave me her copy of the book, which is beautifully illustrated. It is now one of my adult daughter’s prized possessions. I am also a big fan of Little Golden Books, particularly those illustrated by Tibor Gergely.
How nice!! All these books are very interesting!! “The Giant Jam Sandwich” is my favorite one!!