Here the top five picks as evidenced by a small child’s ‘requests to read’:
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle tells the story of a butterfly’s life from egg to butterfly and all the things it gets to eat.
- Goodnight Owl by Pat Hutchins is fun. All day long owl is kept awake by the noises of other birds. Until darkness falls, and they’re all asleep, then owl gets revenge by hooting all night.
- Thomas the Tank Engine by W.V. Awdry, particularly the stories with Boco the Diesel. It seems even people who’ve never seen a steam engine think they’re wonderful.
- The Witch in the Cherry Tree by Margaret Mahy and illustrated by Jenny Williams is a cute story about mom and son baking on a stormy day when a witch alights in their cherry tree. It seems witches love baked goods but can’t make them so she must try strategems to get some cake.
- Custard the Dragon and The Wendigo, two poems by Ogden Nash, illustrated by John Astrop (this book is my favorite on the list, although all books are great.) My favorite line, and perhaps because I read it dramatically, our grandson’s is ‘The Wendigo, the Wendigo, I saw it just a friend ago...”