Tag Archives: I read this as a kid

The Berenstain Bears’ Moving Day

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The Bear family didn’t always live in the
big tree house down a sunny dirt road
deep in Bear Country.

Years ago, when Brother Bear was an only
cub, they lived in a hillside cave halfway
up Great Bear Mountain at the far edge of
Bear Country.

And years ago, when I was an only child and the age my youngest is now, my parents gave me this book because we were moving. It must have helped. I came back to it many times over the years and now it is one of my youngest’s most requested bedtime stories.

Author: Stan & Jan Berenstain
Illustrator: Stan & Jan Berenstain

Bembelman’s Bakery

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This is the origin story of a (fictional) hugely-popular bakery. Back in the Old Country, seven children decide to help their mama by baking bread. Like The Duchess Bakes a Cake, things quickly spiral out of control, but the flavor of this book is completely different:

“This is not just bread,” he cried. “It’s meat and potatoes!
It’s strudel and pie! It’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner all at
once! It’s apples and raisins, vodka and noodles, every taste
you ever wanted to taste, all in each wonderful bite.”

I always enjoyed this as a kid and it is now one of my youngest’s very favorites.

Caveat: Corporal punishment clearly is an option for this family, but the reference is fleeting.

Author: Melinda Green
Illustrator: Barbara Seuling

The Lorax

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This classic story is beautiful, disturbing, and hopeful. It is also, unsurprisingly, a great read aloud and not to be missed.

“But now,” says the Once-ler,
“Now that
you’re here,
the word of the Lorax seems perfectly clear.
UNLESS someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It’s not.

Author:  Dr. Seuss
Illustrator:  Dr. Seuss

 

The Tale of Meshka the Kvetch

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Tonight I thought I’d give the boys a treat by reading How I Became  a Pirate. (I don’t like romanticizing pirates, so we don’t have many pirate-related books. Which may make reading about them more exciting, rather than less. Huh.)   But the boys took one look at it and moaned, in unison:  “We have that at school!”

So, I picked out Meshka.  And they were thrilled.  Go figure.

Meshka is a practiced complainer (a kvetch).  Her back doesn’t simply ache, it feels as if she has “carried the Wall of Jericho itself.”  Her studious son “sit[s] around the house like a bump on a kosher pickle.”  And so on and so forth.  But, one day, everything she complains about literally comes to pass.  What is a kvetch to do?

The message here (praise the good in your life rather than bemoan the bad) isn’t subtle, but it is a good one and easily carried along by the humorous plot and lively illustrations.

Author:  Carol Chapman
Illustrator:  Arnold Lobel

The Golden Egg Book

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I have just (sniff) cleared most of the board books out of my youngest son’s room. A fair number of board book posts seem likely in the near future. But first, bunnies!

My mom would only take The Golden Egg Book out at Easter time. While I see her point (bunnies and eggs) and I do the same (tradition!), you really could leave this one out year round. It is a sweet story of curiosity and friendship. The boys especially enjoy it when the bunny tries to guess what could be inside the egg (a boy? another bunny? an elephant? a mouse?) and when the duck that finally emerges tries to wake the now tuckered out bunny.

Author: Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrator: Leonard Weisgard

Charlotte’s Web

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This classic is one of the very best books to read aloud to children. (I’ve been known to read it to babies.) Our edition has gently colorized pictures that gild the lily a bit but please the boys. It called the Signature Edition and is out of print but fairly simple to find.

We also enjoy the (much less beautiful) animated movie now and then (mostly for the songs).

 Author: E.B. White
Illustrator: Garth Williams, with watercoloring by Rosemary Wells

The Elves and the Shoemaker

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There was once a good shoemaker
who became very poor.

At last he had only one piece of leather
to make one pair of shoes.

“Well,” said the shoemaker to his wife,
“I will cut the leather tonight
and make the shoes in the morning.”

The story that follows is full of craftsmanship, thoughtfulness, generosity, good fortune, and magic. I loved this book as a child (my mom bought it from someone going door-to-door pulling a wagon full of used books, if I remember correctly) and the boys really enjoy it now.

Author: Freya Littledale/The Grimm Brothers
Illustrator: Brinton Turkle

Elephant & Piggie series

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The Elephant & Piggie series focuses on the interaction of two best friends: Elephant (who is generally cautious and anxious) and Piggie (who is generally spontaneous and joyful). (This odd-couple pairing reminds me of Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad–the stars of a series that I remember fondly but doesn’t interest the boys much.)  The books are very funny and inspire lots of dramatic reading aloud and laughter. They are very popular at home, at school, and during trips to the library and the Kennedy Center.

I think the books pictured above are the very best of the series, but it would be hard to go wrong here.

Author: Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

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There isn’t much plot or characterization here.  An egg hatches.  The resulting caterpillar eats (and eats), then builds a cocoon, nibbles his way out, and is a beautiful butterfly.  Simple.  But the book’s design (especially the holes) and unexpected food choices reliably caught the boys’ attention when they were toddlers.  (And I liked making the butterfly “fly” at the end by flapping the back cover.)

Author: Eric Carle
Illustrator: Eric Carle

 

Bread and Jam for Frances

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Jam on biscuits, jam on toast,
Jam is the thing that I like most.
Jam is sticky, jam is sweet,
Jam is tasty, jam’s a treat–

Raspberry, strawberry, gooseberry, I’m very
FOND… OF… JAM!

This book is a treat and a hoot, with a charming main character, a supportive (yet firm) family, and lots of lovingly described food.  The useful morals (that some variety really is a good thing and you won’t know if you like something until you try it) are just the icing on the cake.

Author:  Russell Hoban
Illustrator:  Lillian Hoban