Favorite Children's Books

I've been VERY into kid's books lately. Mostly, this is because children's books are the only things written at my level of comprehension. But, also, Callum Stuart has quite the collection, and we just love reading to him. Although, I have to say, reading to him lately isnt really that fun (can I say that??) because all he wants to do is reach out, grab the book, and put it in his mouth. I guess kids books have just been on my mind lately: A student had a few in class today, as she was going to read them to the elementary students with whom she works after school, we're fresh off our visit to pajamarama story time, and I got notice of the annual young adult literature conference I usually attend in April (its my favorite conference!).

What were your favorite children's books from when YOU were little? It seems like everyone has their all time classics. I thought I would list mine. But before I begin, I think its appropriate to take note of and honor perhaps the greatest American writer of all time--John Updike--who died today. He was in my top three favorite authors, and he could do things with semicolons and sentence structure that would make your hair curl; he was a true artist.

In no particular order, here are my top ten:

1. Charlotte's Web-for some reason I remember reading this when Nana Courtney came to stay with us because my mom was getting surgery for some reason. I love this book.

2. Frankie the Fireman-I loved the pictures of the Dalmatians and the fire engines....and, as I remember, there was a record that accompanied the book. It had a catchy song

3. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing-More like YA lit, but its all good. Before we had JK Rowling, we had Judy Blume. Mrs Spagna, my second grade teacher, read this book aloud to us, and I remember laughing out loud

4. I'm a Big Boy Now-I still have my original copy, duct-taped in certain places. I love the pictures of the elephants learning to use the toilet, and I am sure it will eventually imbue me to follow suit and become potty trained as well!

5. The Apple Hat Guy-This isnt the title....the problem: is that I dont remember the title. All I remember is that my sister and I loved this book, and my dad used to keep it as his house, in a box under his bed. There was a guy wearing a suit and a bowler hat, and he had a big red apple on his head. Or something. Does anyone know what I am talking about?

6. Little Toot-I loved the pictures in this classic kid's book, and I think it was even the precursor to the Thomas the Train books. Its funny how its the small details you remember from your childhood, and I firmly believe that the reason I loved this book so much is because I liked the way the steam looked coming out of the tugboat's smokestack. Seriously. That's the reason!

7. An Axis of Apathy: An exploration into the existentialistic foreign policy ideals of our forefathers (unabridged)-I liked the pictures of the monkeys

8. Grover and the Everything-in-the-whole-wide-world museum-Is that the title? Anyway, you had Grover, and he was taking you on a tour of the museum that had...well...everything in the world! I remember being in awe of how cool a museum like that would actually BE!

9. The Indian in the Cupboard-My mom bought this book for me, because she heard such good things about it from other moms. When she gave it to me, I had never even heard of it. I dont really remember liking the book all that much, but I LOVED the cover....and, moreover, I just think its so great to get a surprise book from someone, because it really tells you they were thinking of you. Picking out a book for someone takes a lot of thought, actually.

10. Just me and my ______-Dad, grandpa, sister, neo-nazi au pair, you name it! I loved these books, and I used to eat them up at all the bookfairs we had at school. The protagonist could have been a groundhog.....or a deformed squirrel....or an obese hamster. But he was wicked cute, and he enjoyed spending time with people he loved.

So what are your favorites????