I will not get a kickback for the sales of these books...

First off, you (whoever "you" may be) should know that this blog will forever lack any consistent themes...I am using it, as Graham puts it, as "a space to write whatever I am thinking about". I always thought that was the point of blogs...but apparently some of them have themes. I hate themes.

That said: I am a firm believer in children's books. I wish that I could be the type of brilliantly concise person who is able to write them, but I am not, so I simply enjoy them. I enjoy them a lot. Here are a few that, in my opinion, any person with little ones (or an inquiring mind of their own) should have.

The Little Prince by Antoine deSaint-Exupery: Not only does he have an amazing last name, but this ex-military French pilot puts into words, quite well, how adults tend to treat children like tiny little idiots...ignoring many of the possibly brilliant things that they have to tell us.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak: I enjoy this book not only because the main character, Max, was quite possibly modeled after my husband, but because it is so vivid and imaginative. I also imagine that this book has helped many a children overcome their fears of monsters under their beds.


The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein: Quite frankly, anything by this man is lovely. I grew up reading his various collections of silly poems. This book, however, has captured something about the idea of selflessness that no other book, in my humble opinion, has yet to come close to. As a 22 year old, it still warms my heart.

The Lorax by Dr. Suess: There are a lot of things that are is extremely difficult to teach children about...where babies come from, for example. This book, one of Suess' best as far as I am concerned, teaches them about the environment and the importance of taking care of what we have, while we have it, in a seamless and easy-to-understand way. For adults, it is an allegorical tale about the reason that non-renewable resources are termed "non-renewable".

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst: Because I, too, get a little angry when there is no dessert in my lunch box. Also, I read this book for the first time in elementary school in Ridgewood, New Jersey and still...all these years later, use the title of it to describe my very worst days.

Ok...now that I have recommended them there is no excuse not to have them. Unless you just don't trust me. You should, though. Also, public libraries have amazing book sales every so often and I can all but guarantee you that every book on this list will be there (and can be yours for just one easy payment of $.99...or something relatively close to that amount).