Favorite Winter Picture Books!

Winter is such a magical time. Here are 11 of my favorite picture books with winter themes. I hope you'll enjoy! 

Favorite Picture Books of 2017

Out of the hundreds of 2017 picture books my son and I read these ones stood out the most. They are the books that made us laugh so hard Sam snorted milk out his nose. They are the books that spontaneously inspired profound discussions. They are the books with illustrations that took our breath away. So without further ado...here are the best of 2017.

Sam’s Top 5 Favorite

Tyranosaurus Rex vs. Edna – Douglas Rees and Jed Henry

Read the Book Lemmings! – Amy Dykman and Zachariah O-Hora

What the Dinosaurs Did at School –  Refe & Susan Tuma

Through the Window – Taro

The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse – Mac Barnett, and Jon Klassen

My Top 5 Favorite

Out of Wonder – Ekua Holmes – Kwame Alexander

Mighty Moby – Ed Young, Barbara Dacosta

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet – Carmen Agra Deedy and Eugene Yelchin

Letters to a Prisoner – Jacques Goldstyn

The World is Not a Rectangle – Jeanette Winter

An Anniversary Illustration

When Mae Suramek, entrepreneur and founder of Noodle Nirvana, approached me requesting an illustration for her parent's anniversary I responded with a very enthusiastic"YES"even though the deadline was only two weeks away which can to be tricky as a mother working a full time day job.

The day Mae sent me the photograph of her parents from the 1970's I knew instantly that this was going to be a fantastic illustration. The colors, the motion, the classic white suit and gorgeous flowered dress, and most of all their body language, a clear expression of love, tenderness, and joy, these factors combined provided the best subject material an artist could ask for. I couldn't wait to get started.

I began that very afternoon, bringing loose scraps of paper and a mechanical pencil to the park. As my 6 year old son played on the playground I drew. A young girl looked over my shoulder as I sketched and said, "That's good. Your good. Let me know when you're done so I can see how good it is." And then scampered off to join the others on the playground.

My favorite part of an illustration is when I get to decide on what colors I'm going to use. I spread pieces of scrapbook paper across the floor looking for the ones that jump out at me and beg to be included. I usually tend to go with more earthy and neutral tones, but this piece called for bolder and brighter colors. 

Thank you Mae, for trusting me with this project. They were a gorgeous couple 46 years ago and they are a gorgeous couple now. It has been an honor. 

Valentine's Day Literary Bracket

Happy Valentine's Day! It's been a long time since I created one of these brackets, so I decided to do one in honor of today. Since there are many different forms of love out there I focused on 4 different categories: siblings, guardians, friends, and colleagues/partners in crime. I left romantic relationships out of it seeing as they get enough attention already.

Friends
Frog &Toad - Frog & Toad
Wilbur & Charlotte - Charlotte's Web
Offred & Moira - The Handmaid's Tale
Leisel & Rudy - The Book Theif
Pooh & Piglet - Winnie the Pooh
Diana Barry and Anne - Anne of Green Gables
Ruth & Idgie - Fried Green  Tomatoes
Amir & Hassan - Kite Runner

Guardians

Jean Valjean & Cossette - Les Miserables

Mrs. Frisbee & Timothy - Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH

Dodola & Zam - Habibi

Atticus Finch & Scout - To Kill a Mockingbird

Alana & Hazel - Saga

Myrtle & Zeek - The Pinkish, Purplish, Bluish Egg

Serious Black & Harry - Harry Potter

Man & Boy - The Road

Siblings

Hazel & Fiver - Watership Down

Arthur & DW - Arthur

Jane & Elizabeth - Pride & Prejudice

Baudelaires - Series of Unfortunate Events

Jamie & Tyrion - Game of Thrones

Meg & Charles Wallace - A Wrinkle in Time

Josh & Jordan - The Crossover

Fred & George - Harry Potter

Partners in Crime

 Sherlock & Watson - Sherlock Holmes

George Milton & Lennie Small - Of Mice & Men

Frodo & Sam - Lord of the Rings

Rorschach & Nite Owl - Watchmen

Hamlet & Horatio - Hamlet

Don Quixote & Sancho - Don Quixote

Caveman & Zero - Holes

Calvin & Hobbes - Calvin & Hobbes

Favorite Reads from 2017

The time has come to recap! This was a great year for poetry and graphic novels for me, but I failed to read as much fiction so instead of splitting my favorites into genres as I usually do, I have chosen to feature the top 9 books that made a significant impact.

They are listed below in no particular order:

Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline: 7 Basic Skills for Turning Conflict into Cooperation - Becky Bailey

Saga - Brian Vaughn
           Fiona Staples

Tell the Wolves I'm Home - Carol Rifka Brunt

When I Grow Up I Want to be a List of Further Possibilities - Chen Chen

Mother May I - Tina Parker

Out of Wonder - Ekua Holms
                      Kwame Alexander

Where's Halmoni - Julie Kim

Maus - Art Spiegelman

Milk and Honey - Rupi Kaur


What were your favorites of 2017?

Picture Book Oscars of 2017

What an excellent and wonderfully diverse year it's been for picture books! After reading hundreds of picture books from 2016 I am eager to celebrate my favorites and the favorites of my 5 year old son.

First category...

Best Child Appeal (Based off my 5 year old's favorites)

The Not So Quiet Library – Zacharia O'Hora

Dragon Was Terrible – Kelly DiPucchio and Greg Pizzoli

Super Happy Magic Forest – Matty Long

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea – Ben Clanton

Ninja: Attack of the Clan – Arree Chung

And the winner is....

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea

Best Illustrators

There is a Tribe of Kids – Lane Smith

The Singing Bones – Shaun Tan

Return – Aaron Becker

When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons –  Julie Morstad

The Nutcracker – Niroot Puttapipat

And the Winner is...

When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons – Julie Morstad

Best Humor

A Hungry Lion or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals – Lucy Ruth Cummins

Best Frints – Atoinette Portis

My Favorite Pets: by Gus W. for Ms. Smolinksi’s Class – Jeanne Birdsall and Harry Bliss

We Found a Hat – Jon Klassen

The Thank You Book – Mo Willems

And the winner is...

We Found a Hat - Jon Klassen

Best Male Protagonist

Thunder Boy Jr. (Lightning) from "Thunder Boy Jr.

Inspector Flytrap from "Inspetor Flytrap"

Oskar from "The Not So Quiet Library"

Dogman from "Dogman"

Dennis from "Be a Friend"

And the Winner is...

Thunder Boy Jr. also known as Lightning!!!

Best Female Protagonist

Little Red from "Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion"

Flora from "Flora and the Peacocks"

Roz from "The Wild Robot" 

Little Dee from "Little Dee and the Penguin"

Blanche from"Blanche Hates the Night"

And the winner is...

Little Red!!!

Best Nonfiction

The Secret Subway – Shana Corey and Red Nose Studio

Beetle is Shy – Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long

Animals by the Numbers – Steve Jenkins

Are You an Echo? – The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko

Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-soaking Stream of Inventions – Chris Barton and Don Tate

And the winner is...

Animals by the Numbers – Steve Jenkins

Best Fiction

School’s First Day of School – Adam Rex and Christian Robinson

The Not So Quiet Library – Zacharia OHora

They all Saw a Cat - Brendan Wenzel

We Found a Hat – Jon Klassen

Return – Aaron Becker

And the winner is...

The NOT so Quiet Library!!!

And finally here is the list of honorable mentions...

The Hueys: What’s the Opposite – Oliver Jeffers

A Family is a Family is a Family – Sara O’Leary and Qin Leng

The Cookie Fiasco – Dan Santat

The Airport Book – Lisa Brown

Playground – Mies Van Hout

Swap – Steve Light

A Beginner’s Guide to Bear Spotting - Michelle Robinson

Silly Wonderful You – Sherri Duskey Rinker and Patrick McDonnel

Coyote – Maria Gianferrari and Bagram Ibatoulline

So many fantastic books. If you have any other recommendations for me of books I might have missed please let me know! I would love to read them. 

Graphic Novels 
Total: 31

 Favorites
1. 100 Bullet Series - Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso
2. Blue is the Warmest Color - Julie Maroh
3. Anya's Ghost - Vera Brosgol

Fiction
Total: 9

Favorites
1. Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
2. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
3. Birds of Opulence - Crystal Wilkinson

Nonfiction/Poetry
Total: 7

Favorites
1. Singing Bones - Shaun Tan
2. Nearly Perfect Photograph - Chris McCurry
3. When Green Becomes Tomatoes - Julie Fogliano and Julie Morstad

Juvenile Fiction
Total: 7

Favorites
1. Winnie the Pooh - A. A. Milne
2. Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Louis Sachar
3. Coraline - Neil Gaiman

Graphic Design is Tough Work!

Whew! I can't believe my last blog post was all the way back in March! I've been crazy busy over the past couple of months. For those of you who may not know, I joined a nonprofit organization called Grow Appalachia as an Americorps member. We're working on this terrific project called Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Our goal is to provide free meals and fun educational activities to kids in Berea all summer long.

One thing that I really appreciate about Grow Appalachia is that they value my skills as an artist. My first week on board they put me to work designing a new logo for SFSP. After several sketches I finally came up with the idea to do a silhouette of children marching in a parade since our motto for this program is "Your Summer Vacation Destination!" 

After designing the logo I jumped right in to designing flyers and banners and signs to help spread the word about SFSP. For the first time ever I feel like a legit graphic designer, and let me tell you what! It is tough work! I had to make draft after draft after draft for every task at hand. The flyer was especially difficult because it required me to condense a ton of information on a single 8x11 page format.

I've also made plenty of mistakes. For example, I accidentally sent the wrong draft of the SFSP flyer to Berea Printing Services and spent over $90 of Grow Appalachia's money to print hundreds of copies of the wrong flyer! That was a rough day.

I may have learned some hard lessons on this job, but every bit was worth it. My knowledge about graphic design and Photoshop has tripled since I started working here. I made myself learn tons of little technical quirks that I've avoided for a long time, like making transparent backgrounds and enlarging images for printing huge banners and posters. All things that will help me in the future as a free lance illustrator. 

Anyways I just wanted to give a big shout out to my fellow co-workers at Grow Appalachia. Their encouragement and constructive criticism helped make my work the best it could possibly be. I've learned so much and I am incredibly grateful for this experience. 

I'm so excited for next week when we actually start providing meals and activities to kids all throughout Berea! 

Bookish Romance

It's been ages since I wrote any poetry, but being surrounded by friends who write poems has inspired me to take it up again. Here's one for my husband, Keith.

Bookish Romance

You loved books about sports.

I loved books about animals.

You read Hardy Boys.

I read American Girls.

You thought you were a nerd for reading each Harry Potter book twice?

Well I read them thrice.

In your courtship letters,

Your summer reading included:

No Country for Old Men

On the Road

The Shipping News.

That was sexy. 

You loved the Great Gatsby in high school.

I did not.

You read Jane Eyre for me.

I read Slaughterhouse-Five for you.

Now I read poetry.

And you,

economic text books.

I prefer audiobooks.

You prefer paperbacks.

You read obsessively.

I read consistently.

Sitting side by side at the airport,

You reading Agatha Christie,

Me reading John Steinbeck,

I think to myself,

This is what love looks like.

A Peek into the Process

Task - To draw an illustration for client's upcoming website where he will review music, movies, sports, comics, and television.

Sketch #1 - Nope! Too cool. Too in control. More chaos!

Sketch #2 - Blah! Doesn't look at all like the client and too boring!

Sketch # 3 - Bingo!

Now for the fun part. Outlining by hand with with black marker.

Finally it's time to bring it to life with colors! This is done in Photoshop.

And there you have it! Illustration complete.

Susanna Hill's Valentiny Writing Contest!

I am participating in one of Susanna Hill's fabulous writing contests. This year the theme is "Grumpy" and entries must be under 214 words. The deadline is February 12th and I strongly encourage everyone to participate or at least go and read some of the other wonderful entires. You can join in the fun by visiting here. 

And now without further ado I give you my story.

Walrus and Penguin (207 words)

Hmmmph!

What’s wrong Walrus?

I’m grumpy.

Why?

I just am.

Aww don’t be grumpy! I bet I can make you smile.

Bet you can’t.

Bet I can! I am a 1,000,000% sure I can make you smile.

You mean 100%. 

Nope! 1,000,000%! I'm gonna make you smile if it’s the last thing I do!

Hmmph.

Plan A

Knock knock!

Who’s there?

Walrus.

Walrus who?

Walrus Poo! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

That’s not funny.

Plan B

Look! A puppy! Ain’t he cute? Tell me he’s not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. 

He’s not the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Shhh! You'll hurt his feelings! 

Plan C

Tra la la la la! What a beautiful day! I sure hope I don’t slip on this banana peel...

Aghhh! THUD!

Ow.

Plan D

Ta-da! I made you banana cream pie! 

I don't like banana cream. 

YOU DON'T LIKE BANANA CREAM?!!! Unbelievable! That's it! You'll never smile again! You're going to be grumpy FOREVER!!!

SPLAT!

Did you just throw that banana cream pie at my face? 

Hehe...maybe.

You're smiling right now aren't you?

Yes.

Ha Ha! I did it! You're smiling! You’re finally smiling!

Okay okay. Don’t rub it in.

Mmmm! This banana cream pie is delicious! 

Hey Penguin?

Yes?

Thank you.

You’re welcome. 

4 Reasons Why EVERYONE Should Read Graphic Novels

"Oh this is the nerd section."said a mother to her 5 year-old daughter heading toward the graphic novel section in the library. She then steered her away to what she deemed more suitable reading material. This is just one of many random comments I overheard that dismiss graphic novels and comic books as a lesser form of literature. Our society seems regard them as dumbed down books full of violence, sexual objectification of women, and unrealistically buff, caucasian men running around in capes.

                                                                                         Image from Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics"

Please do yourselves a favor and don’t fall for those stupid oversimplified labels. GRAPHIC NOVELS ARE AWESOME! They are complex, diverse, severely underrated works of art and they deserve a chance, not just from kids, but from EVERYONE! One of my biggest regrets is that I spent the first 23 years of my life snubbing graphic novels. If it wasn't my for an my friend, Mary Uhles, who introduced me to my first graphic novel, I may never have discovered the remarkable world of Scott McCloud, Craig Thompson, Jillian Tamaki, and hundreds of other brilliant authors and illustrators. I've been reading them like crazy ever since trying to make up for lost time. The world of graphic novels is bigger and better than ever and it’s time people started taking advantage of it. Here are 4 reasons why you need to get yourself to the nearest bookstore/library and start reading a graphic novel TODAY! 

1. Visuals Help you Retain Information

          

Just think about it. Teachers have long used pictures, graphs, maps, and visual demonstrations to help their students retain information. Not only do visuals catch people’s attention, it leaves an imprint. Graphic novels do the same thing.There are tons of informative nonfiction graphic novels out there that allow the readers to digest information on a level that text alone cannot achieve.

2. They are Fast Paced

I guarantee that you will read more if you start reading graphic novels. They are the kind of books that keep you up till 4 in the morning because you simply can’t put them down. I usually struggle to stay awake past the first two pages when reading a regular novel at night, but graphic novels are a whole different story! They pull you in. They carry you at a pace unmatched by other all genres. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

3. They Exercise the Brain in Different Ways

When reading graphic novels we learn to pay attention to detail, drawing from visual cues to deduce information not given in the text. You have to learn how to interpret pictures as well as the text. It is a highly participatory form of reading that calls both the right and the left side of your brain to action.

4. They Encourage Empathy

Pictures can be incredibly powerful tools in helping you crawl inside character’s skin and feel what they are feeling. There’s something about visually seeing a look on someone’s face or the posture in their shoulders that impact you more powerfully than words can. 

I’m not trying to say that graphic novels are better than other forms of literature. That’s not what this post is about. I’m just saying the graphic novels are a totally legitimate and can be remarkable assets to your personal library. Diversity is good. When you avoid graphic novels because they’re in “the nerd section” you are limiting yourself. You’re missing out on a wonderfully unique and magical experience. Don’t do that. Give yourself permission to try something new. Read a graphic novel. I promise you won't regret it!

Picture Book Oscars of 2016

It's award season! The ALSC Book awards were announced last Monday (Congratulations Christian Robinson and Matt de la Pena for creating the first picture book to ever win a Newbery medal!) The Golden Globes were were last weekend, and Oscar nominations come out tomorrow! In the spirit of the season I am hosting my own Picture Book Oscars, and idea inspired by Corey Rosen Schwartz, that is just too fun to resist, especially for a picture book enthusiast such as myself.

First Category...

Best Kid Appeal (Based off my 4 year-old son's favorites)

Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! - Todd Tarpley and John Rocco

I’m Trying to Love Spiders - Bethany Barton

Samurai Santa - Rubin Pingk

There was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight - Penny Klostermann and Ben Mantle

I Thought this was a Bear Book - Tara Lazar and Benji Davies

And the winner is...

                                                 I Thought this was a Bear Book!!!

Best Illustrators

Joseph Kuefler for “Beyond the Pond”

Brendan Wenzel for “Beastly Babies”

Julie Morstad for “This is Sadie”

Rafael Lopez for “Drum Dream Girl”

Ekua Holmes for “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hammer”

And the winner is...

Rafael Lopez!!!

Best Male Character

Dewey Bob from “Dewey Bob”

Dragon from “There was an Old Dragon who Swallowed a Knight”

Leo the Ghost from “Leo the Ghost"

Boy from “Wait”

The Little Gardener from “The Little Gardener"

And the Winner is...

Leo the Ghost!!!

Best Female Character 

Sadie for “This is Sadie”

Girl in Red Coat for "Sidewalk Flowers"

Mei for “Noodle Magic”

Sonya for “Sonya’s Chickens”

Bernice for “Bernice Gets Carried Away”

And the winner is...

Girl in Red Coat!!!

Best Nonfiction Picture Book

The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore - Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and R. Gregory Christie

The Blue Whale - Jenni Desmond

Water is Water - Miranda Paul and Jason Chin

A Nest is Noisy - Dianne Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

I’m Trying to Love Spiders - Bethany Barton

And the Winner is...

The Blue Whale!!!

And finally...

Best Fiction

Noodle Magic - Roseanne Greenfield Thong and Meilo So

Beastly Babies - Ellen Jackson and Brendan Wenzel

Sidewalk Flowers - Jon Arno Lawson and Sydney Smith

There was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight - Penny Klostermann and Ben Mantle

Night World - Mordicai Gerstein 

And the winner is...

Sidewalk Flowers!!!

Congratulations to all the winners! It's been a fantastic year for picture books. Thanks for joining me.

Who Would You Like to Have Thanksgiving Dinner With?

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I have put together a bracket of my favorite families from books, movies and tv shows to determine which family I would most want to spend Thanksgiving with. For me the winner is...the Gilbreths from the book "Cheaper By the Dozen." Who would you most want to break bread with on Thanksgiving day?

Categories

Television

The Weirs - Freaks and Geeks

Bluths - Arrested Development

The Starks - Game of Thrones

Hills - King of the Hill

Belchers - Bob’s Burgers

Pritchetts- Modern Family

The Sopranos - Sopranos

Crawleys - Downton Abbey

Literary

Dashwoods - Sense and Sensibility

Joads - Grapes of Wrath 

Bells - The Crossover

Cratchits - A Christmas Carol

Finches - To Kill a Mockingbird

Gilbreths - Cheaper by the Dozen

The Marches - Little Women

Boatwrights - The Secret Life of Bees

Cinematic

Portokalos - My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Tenenbaums - The Royal Tenenbaums

Von Trapps - Sound of Music

Sycamores - You Can’t Take it With You

Hoovers - Little Miss Sunshine

Corleones - The Godfather

Grants - Nebraska

Orefice - Life is Beautiful

Childhood Favorites

Weasleys - Harry Potter

Ingalls - Little House on the Prairie

Buckets - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Darlings - Peter Pan

Incredibles - The Incredibles

Burns - Rescue Bots

Kusakabes - My Neighbor Totoro

Robinsons - Swiss Family Robinson

Bracket

Roxaboxen

Today I want to talk about a very special book.

Title: Roxaboxen

Author: Alice McLerran

Illustrator: Barbara Cooney

Ages: 4-7

Opening: Marion called it Roxaboxen. (She always knew the name of everything.)

What it's About: A group of kids discover a piece of land covered in rocks, cactus, and old wooden boxes and then turn it in to their own magical world.

Why I LOVE this Book: Some of my fondest memories from when I was a little girl include exploring outside, finding a special place, and making it my own. My friends and I used to gather juniper berries, Strip bark from the trees for bacon, and create little campfire pits. We would spend full afternoons in these places, pretending to be orphans, pioneers, native americans, etc. It was bliss. So when I discovered this book that captured so well that magical world of untethered childhood play I was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. I couldn't wait to go home and read it to my own 4 year old son.

Create Your Own Roxaboxen

1. Hook up with a buddy or group of friends. These sorts of adventures are far more fun if you have a team to share them with. Each child bring new ideas to the table and it's wonderful to watch them learn to work together.

2. Find a special place, it could be in your very own back yard, or where you can immerse yourself in nature and let creativity run uninterrupted.

3. It's okay to bring supplies from your house. Empty flower pots, yarn, boxes, cloth, all these things can be useful when creating your own special place.

4. Utilize nature's resources! Gather sticks to make fences. Collect wild berries, leaves, and bark for food. Nature is full of potential tools and elements for pretend.

5. Step back and allow the kids to do the work. As parents I know it's tempting at times to take over, but it's so important to allow the kids the freedom to come up with their own ideas and carry them out themselves. Help them if they ask for it, and throw out ideas if they are having trouble coming up with their own, but let this be their place, not yours.

6. Have fun!

The Best Picture Books Of All Time!

Happy National Picture Book Month! I am so happy to discover there is a whole 30 days devoted to celebrating the world I've immersed myself in for the past 3 years. Picture books are my life! Just ask any of my co-workers at the library. They'll tell you that at the end of every shift I'm walking away with an armful of picture books. I currently have 72 checked out, and they're sitting on a shelf in my 4 year old's bedroom just waiting to be opened. Every night Samuel and I snuggle up and step into the worlds created for us by Mo Williams, James Marshall, Maurice Sendak and hundreds of other brilliant children's book authors and illustrators. I may forget to have him brush his teeth or change him in to pajamas, but I never neglect to read him his bedtime stories. It's the most important ritual of my day.

In honor of National Picture Book Month I would like to share with you our top 10 favorite picture books. These are the books that threw us into fits of giggles, or caused an unexpected burst of emotion in me as I tried to wipe away the tears before Samuel could see. These are the books that I can recite word for word. These are the books that made me want to be a children's book author/illustrator in the first place. They are my haven, inspiration, and delight. They are the best of the best, and I hope you'll enjoy them too.

Samuel's Top 10

1. Tin - Chris Judge
2. Sneeches and other short stories - Dr. Seuss
3. Rhyming Dust Bunnies - Jan Thomas

4. There are No Cats in this Book - Vivian Schwartz
5. No David! - David Shannon
6. Bedtime for Mommy - Amy Krouse Rosenthal and LeUyen Pham
7. Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site - Sherri Duskey Rinker
8. Room on the Broom - Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
9. Hooray for Hat! - Brian Won
10. Go Dog. Go! - P. D. Eastman

My Top 10 

1. A Story, A Story - Gail E. Haley
2. The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein

3. Julius the Baby of the World - Kevin Henkes

4. Heckedy Peg - Audrey and Don Wood
5. The Mitten - Jan Brett
6. Home - Carson Ellis
7. Are You My Mother? - P. D. Eastman
8. Ernest the Moose - Catherine Rayner
9. No Fits Nilson - Zacharia O’Hara
10. The Eleventh Hour - Graeme Base

What are your favorites? What are the books that you loved as a child? What are the books that your own kids pull off the shelves over and over again? Please share!