The Lorax (Classic Seuss)
teaches environmental responsibility through the an example of how irresponsibility can lead to disaster. Although the worst happens, the story ends with hope.
Cheering for the underdog takes an interesting twist in The Pumpkin Runner
which is based on a true story. When a pumpkin farmer enters a running race from Sydney, Australia to Melbourne he is seen as a joke until he blasts the competition with little effort.After a close call with an owl Stellaluna,
a bat, is separated from her mother. Luckily she is reared by some friendly birds and has interesting adventures learning about their differences until she finally finds her mother again.The Duchess Bakes a Cake
is a book written in prose about a duchess who puts too much baking powder into her cake and ends up rising on top of it. When the family tries to get her down, they must try several different methods before they find a way which succeeds.One day a little girl wakes up with antlers on her head in Imogene's Antlers (Reading Rainbow Books)
. While her mother is distraught, Imogene finds some new things she can do like set up candles on the antlers, or hand donuts on them. 10 Little Rubber Ducks
is an Eric Carle book inspired by a true story. During a sea voyage from China to the United States, some of the rubber ducks in the cargo ended up in the sea. In the book one duck meets a polar bear as it travels to the north and the other nine ducks have their own unique adventures.My Reading Page has links to posts on many more books we have enjoyed.
Barefoot Hippie Girl
Every Bed of Roses
One Magnificent Obsession
Navigating by Joy
* I did not receive any compensation for this recommendation. I'm just a homeschooling mom who has found many products that I like. If you're interested in the products I recommend on this blog I want to make it easy for you to find them.
** I am an Amazon associate and receive a small portion of the sales on orders made after clicking in from this site, which I promptly spend on homeschooling books and supplies for my children.
Oh my - only six? I pick picture books based on the artwork, because I figure I can fix up a weak story, but I can't redraw crummy pictures, however when good writing and good artwork go together it's just golden. I love Don Freeman (of Corduroy fame) because he uses different techniques to create mood and background in each story. Virginia Lee Burton is another favorite - simple but beautiful drawers and sweet stories about an earlier time in the U.S. I also like how she includes factual information in the frames of some of her pictures. Robert McCloskey and Peter Spier are two more author-illustrators. Gorgeous pictures with stories that work so well together. They keep the interests of a variety of ages and teach as well as entertain. I guess it's pretty clear my tastes run more to vintage books then new ones =)
ReplyDeletePeter Spier is a new name to me. The others you mentioned are fabulous. Selecting books based on illustrations is a great idea. We always select based on the story, so selecting based on illustrations would give books an entirely different angle. I'll have to think about that some more.
DeleteIn January, I plan to begin a weekly post series on favorite books. There are just so many to choose from. McCloskey and Burton will definitely be included on the list.
I'm looking forward to that series! (And sorry about the typo I just spotted. I meant "beautiful drawINGS" not "drawERS").
DeleteWe loved the pumpkin runner too!
ReplyDelete