1. The Frances books.
April and I were discussing the brilliance of Frances just yesterday. She's witty, interesting: the kind of little kid I aspired to be when I was little. Frances makes up songs about things she does, much like Jason Segal's character on How I Met Your Mother, which is just about the best thing in the world.
"I do not like the way you slide,
I do not like your soft inside,I do not like you lots of ways,
And I could do for many days
Without eggs."
So much love. Frances is absolutely on my list.
2. The Frog and Toad books.
They're bros! And these books totally hold up. The other day when I read Frog and Toad All Year out loud to das babies at Sunnyside, I was legitimately laughing out loud. These stories are gold! And I really appreciate a genuine friendship in a children's book that isn't corny. Frog and Toad do stuff like rake each other's lawns, but that's not all friends do. They have super kickin' adventures, too. Love it.
3. Doctor DeSoto. For starters, the illustrations are exquisite:
Yes. William Steig, I respect and admire you. And once you get past the awesome illustrations, you can appreciate the sparkling characterization. This is one children's book that doesn't bullshit. The fox is a fox, toothache or no. Sure, you got rid of his pain and gave him a badass gold tooth. Honey badger don't care! I really appreciate this touch of reality in a world where foxes wear cuff links.
4. And finally....Eloise.
Oh come on. You had to see that coming.
Eloise is great because she is a kid and no bones about it. She lives in a fancy hotel, her mom is never there, and she can get away with anything...so she does whatever she wants. Didn't you always kind of want to do that? And a perk of these books is that appealing as utter chaos may be in theory, when you see what it really looks like....
Chaos loses its glamour awfully fast. So kids don't try to be like Eloise, but they appreciate her for being her utterly insane self. God, it's beautiful. And, just as the cherry on top, those books are delightful to read out loud. Seriously. Go to a bookstore and find any Eloise book, and just read part of it out loud in a ridiculous voice at top speed.
But no matter what crazy fiasco Eloise gets into, she doesn't have some kind of marvelous insight at the end that makes her sound all deep. She's six, for Lord's sake. (If you haven't guessed yet, I read Eloise Takes A Bawth at work today.) When confronted with the problem of how to fix the flooded plaza, she just shrugs and goes back up to the tippy top floor of the Plaza. Solve your own problems, people. Don't ask a six-year-old.
I could do more, but I won't. At least not right now, and probably not in this same vein. Anyway, this isn't anything my sisters and Alice haven't heard, and as you guys are my only readers, I'll spare you the trials of repetition. This time.
First of all, it's "die Babys." German nouns are always capitalized, like a parody of A.A. Milne (which goes on no list of mine). "Baby bear" is "das Baerbaby." So cute!
ReplyDeleteI haven't thought about Dr. deSoto in forever. Working at the library I often revisit childhood favorites (don't tell my boss!). For example, Good Dog Carl. That shit is INSANE. "Bye Carl, watch the baby!" says the world's most negligent mother. The best thing about that is that the illustrations are so realistic - if a Rottweiler were to make chocolate milk or give a baby a bath that's EXACTLY what it would look like.
Do more! I love these.