Picture this

All right, fellow BookWyrms... let's get started talking about books!

There are so many wonderful books out there, for all different age groups. We'll get to the others, I promise, but I want to begin with picture books.

As I've mentioned before, I love to write short stories, hoping they will become picture books someday. But does it surprise you to hear that, even though I'm not a kid any more, I still love to read picture books?

I read them out loud to my son Ben all the time, but I'll let you in on a little secret... sometimes, when I'm all alone at the library or the book store, I read picture books to myself! :) I love the rhythm of the words, the conciseness of the stories, the illustrations... everything.


I had many favorite picture books when I was a little girl. As a mom, I've read many of those favorites to my own children, who also loved them. Here are just a few, classics that have stood the test of time, enjoyed by generations of kids and parents:

• Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina, 1938... Who doesn't giggle at the antics of those mischievous monkeys and the frustration of that poor peddler?

• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, 1939... I've always been drawn to the rhymes in this book. That and Madeline's independent spirit. :)

• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, 1962... Beautiful pictures, beautiful prose, the joy of newly-fallen snow ~ this is one of my all-time favorite books.

• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, 1963... A liberal dose of imagination, pictures of slightly scary, silly creatures, learning that you can be angry and still be loved... it's no wonder this is such a popular book!
• Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent, 1968... Can you even imagine having a name like Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo?

Which of these books have you read? What do you like best (or least) about them? I'd love to hear from you.