If you have not yet been introduced to Stephen T. Johnson’s books for children, you are missing out on a fantastic, interactive, unparalleled reading experience. See that robot? You literally build it as you move through the story from removable parts of the book!

My Little Yellow Taxi features 16 interactive features! This includes: a gas nozzle to fill up the taxi with gas, an oil stick that moves, a removable air tire gauge with spinning tires, 3 removable snacks, a seatbelt and rearview mirror, windshield wipers that move, headlights that go on and off, a roof light that goes on and off duty, and a steering wheel, ignition switch and car key that all move and work.

I’m telling you, kids flip out when they see how much they are supposed to interact with these books.

Amazingly, the accompanying text is on par with the fantastic construction of these masterpieces. In My Little Pink Princess Purse, the fairy godmother offers this message: “My dearest Princess, with this key, you may open this vanity box. Inside you will find a magic mirror. Only a true princess who is filled with grace, humility, intelligence, self-confidence, and imagination will be able to see her reflection. Use it wisely! With love, your Fairy Godmother.”

This title includes ’6 lift-up tabs, an erasable writing slab, a removable quill pen, an elegant fan, rose-colored glasses, 4 scratch-and-sniff perfumes, 5 rings, a bracelet, a sapphire tiara, a key and handheld mirror.’

In addition to My Little Blue Robot, we read and play with My Little Red Fire Truck and My Little Red Toolbox on a regular basis around our house.

The wonderful thing about these titles is that you can score them at your local bookstore or online for less than $20! If you need a gift for a child that seemingly has everything, or to whom you would rather gift something a little more timeless and meaningful than another bright, plastic toy of the day… consider one of these books. They are really very special and I know from experience how excited children are when they open one of these.

Happy Birthday, dear Dr. Seuss – you completely changed children’s literature and we’re forever grateful. If it weren’t for you, we’d be reading Dick and Jane Readers until our eyes turned blue from boredom.

(Last year we celebrated this sacred day with a Brilliant Author Series dedicated to Dr. Seuss, and listed every book he ever wrote -and there were tons – so be sure to check it out!)

Contributing Writer Sarah Farthing and I collaborated on this list and boy, was it tough!

Please note, the symbols, (+++) after an author’s name denotes that there are many more titles by this same author that you should discover. In many cases, we just closed our eyes and picked one. With names like Robert McCloskey, Mo Willems, Virginia Lee Burton, Chris Van Dusen, David Shannon, Dr. Seuss – their titles alone could make up the whole list.

So off we go…

And the honorable mentions go to:

The Story of Ferdinand

The Seven Chinese Brothers

Ready for Anything!

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Go, Dog. Go!

Fancy Nancy

Eloise

The Little House

Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

Katy and the Big Snow Book & CD

Too Many Toys

What are your favorites? What titles did we miss? Do you have memories of some of these titles from your own childhood?

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is pure children’s literary magic. We were introduced via Little Pea and then we couldn’t stop. I especially found the Cookie series profound – such a terrific way to teach complex vocabulary words, but more than that, kindness and charity. Make sure you check out some of these titles if you haven’t already – I know you will love her work!

Do you have other Amy Krouse Rosenthal favorites? Does your adorable love these books too? Anyone convert their non-eaters via Little Pea??

Friends, dear reader Sarah F. introduced us to these books six or eight months ago, and they are consistently our very favorites at bedtime.  We’ve had our newest Mr. Magee pre-ordered on Amazon for a couple months and it mysteriously arrived earlier this week before it’s publish date.  When I pulled it out of the box, the adorables went a little bananas.  Wish I had had the Flip ready to record my youngest adorable’s chicken dance/”The new Mr. Magee” chant.

We were thrilled with the book!  These books scream to be read-aloud and the illustrations…!

Here’s a peek:

I don’t want to give anything away, but here’s one more:

And it only gets more hilarious from there!

I asked Mr. Chris Van Dusen about his inspiration for the book and he had this to say,

“Even though seven years have passed since the last “Mr. Magee” book, I always felt that there was room for one more adventure. When I was working on the book, I’d often mention to school children and library groups that a new MAGEE was coming. This usually led to a happy gasp and, on at least one occasion, applause! So I knew it was not a bad idea.

My original concept for a third MAGEE involved him getting stuck somewhere way up high. But when I told a friend  (who’s also an
author/illustrator) about my story idea, she thought it was too similar to “Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee”. She suggested that I try something completely different. “How about a winter adventure?” she said. That got me thinking about skiing and soon the new story was born!”

Um, Mr. Van Dusen, I will give you a standing O for MORE!!!  (Please.)

Giveaway

You can win an autographed copy of Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee simply by leaving a comment by Tuesday, November 2nd.  I’ll choose the winner using Random.org on Wednesday.

Because I just LOVE comments, here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!
2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is.  We’d love to have them join us!
3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (I LIKE you too!)

Good luck!

Don’t (as in DO NOT) miss the other books: The Wonderful Books of Chris Van Dusen

Many thanks of course to Mr. Van Dusen and to Sarah F. of www.readtheseplease.blogspot.com, where Sarah shares her love of children’s literature and suggests tons of great books.  Check out her site!

Mo is not new to the adorable’s scene. He was a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards. The man knows his stuff!

There is a new Knuffle Bunny (Knuffle Bunny Free) coming out in October. I was so honored to see an advance copy and I just adored it. Very heartwarming.
So without further adieu…

Now be sure to check out Mo Willem’s other books and share your favorites!

Tod Olson has created 3 super-entertaining books that teach about different aspects of the Old West.  Geared for adorables 9-12, but great resources for all ages, they are fun, rich in historical content and facts, and a great medium-depth introduction to their subjects.  Wait until you meet these characters…

1. How to Get Rich in the California Gold Rush: An Adventurer’s Guide to the Fabulous Riches Discovered in 1848

Now don’t let the titles fool you: these characters, like our Thomas Hartley in this book, are all good, hard-working folk, but do tell tales of those out to take advantage of their fellow adventurers.  No worries though, our hero shares some pitfalls, but uses his wits to come out ahead.

These illustrations really make these books come alive.  Gorgeous and plentiful in detail and information – I bet you’ll learning something too.  I did!

Every several pages or so, you’ll find a Ledger, which explains the economics of the time.  My adorables are too young to fully grasp this, but I think this gives a fuller picture of what befalls our adventurers.

2. How to Get Rich on the Oregon Trail

I love tales of going overland on the Oregon Trail, and William Reed, our adventurer, provides an action-packed account of his families trials and wicked smart tribulations.

Here’s one major success: after thieves wipe out all but $10 of the family’s entire savings, William and his brother build a ferry for wagons and animals, and build the family’s fortune to $2970!

Down into the fertile plain these wagons descend, but they must not tarry long – winter and a dangerous climb up snowcapped mountains looms.

3. How to Get Rich on a Texas Cattle Drive: In Which I Tell the Honest Truth About Rampaging Rustlers, Stampeding Steers and Other Fateful Hazards on the Wild Chisolm Trail

I, for one, knew nothing about driving cattle from Texas up the Chisolm Trail to Dodge City, Kansas.  A.J. “Little John” Larken chronicles his first year on the drive, and all the chiding and nuances that accompany a long and dangerous adventure as a newbie.

Another thing I love about this series is all the break-out boxes that add visual interest to the delivery of so much information.  How To Drive a Herd is a play-by-play explanation of moving cattle.  Note: you don’t want to be the Drag: “the youngest of the bunch keep the herd moving from behind, where they get a meal or two of dirt every day.”  No thanks.

Throughout are old photos, famous people, and the ledger (my favorite!) so you can keep an eye on the goings-on.

These three How To Get Rich in the Gold Rush, Oregon Trail, and the Texas Cattle Drive are excellent narrative histories and your elder adorables will love them.

These are published by National Geographic who also published outstanding books for Cheryl Harness, another brilliant author.  Keep the good works coming!

____________________________________________

Starting Monday and in honor of all you Moms out there (or for your Mom), a full week of Mother’s Day Giveaways: SpaFinder ($100 giftcard), the Write Invite for personalized stationery, momAgenda gift basket, Picaboo Photo Books and more to come!  Alert your friends and stop by EVERY day!

So she packed up a box of his 4 masterpieces and shipped them to me.

And Oh. My. Goodness. was she right.

These books are just incredible:

With crisp rhyming text perfect for reading aloud;

With concepts that provoke creative thinking;

With gorgeous illustrations that literally pop off every page.

So I implore you to either order them from Amazon or your local bookstore immediately or run to your library and check them out.  Like yesterday.

Trust me on this.

1. If I Built a Car

This is The Running Man’s and my elder adorable’s favorite of the group.

I really don’t want to give anything away, but this would be my dream car too.  (Though I do love my minivan, this car has some killer features.)

For instance, my minivan can’t fly…

(A natural extension would be to ask your adorable to draw or write about his/her dream car.  What would be the same; what would be different?  Which newly invented features would astound the world?)

2. The Circus Ship

This is my favorite.  I love the expressions of the animals.  I love that there really was a circus ship that sunk off the coast of Maine on which this story is very, very loosely based.

And I could never tire of these gorgeous illustrations.

Happiness everywhere.

3. A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee

A real Maine adventure starts here.

This is a silly, fun story about a wayward camping excursion.

These illustrations!  You won’t mind reading these books again and again and again and again….

4. Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee

You have a gorgeous Maine coast.  You have whales!

You have a problem.  You have lots of whales!

Your problem is fixed.  And all along the way, we were carried by great lyrical prose and a wonderful explosion of colorful illustrations.

________________________________________

Good news for us: a third Mr. McGee is coming this October.

‘Tis Here – you can pre-order on Amazon: Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee!!!!!! (I already have!)

I’ve added these books to The Great Picture Books of Maine, and to my forthcoming 25 Best Children’s Literature of All Time.  I promise it really is on the way.

Many thanks to Sarah for ending my Van Dusen-less days!

And now a simple plea to Mr. Chris Van Dusen:

More please.

Pretty please.

I’m not above begging.

In May 1954, Life Magazine published a report concluding that children were not learning to read because their books were boring. In response, William Spaulding, a textbook editor, compiled a list of 348 words important for first-graders to recognize. He then asked Geisel (or Dr. Seuss) to cut the list to 250 words and write a book using only those words. Spaulding challenged Geisel to “bring back a book children can’t put down.” Geisel delivered nine months later and using only 236 of the words given to him, gifting the world with The Cat In The Hat. The book was an instant classic — a fun, imaginative story that was easy to read and thus a hit for early readers.*

The beginning 9 books below are my all-time favorites from when I was an adorable; the entire list by Dr. Seuss are located below. Please find your favorites and introduce your adorables to them! Like today. These books are sooo worth it.

So here’s the rest of Dr. Seuss’ work, all linked to Amazon.
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street , 1937
Bartholomew and the Oobleck, 1949
The Butter Battle Book, 1984
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, 1958
The Cat’s Quizzer, 1976
Daisy-Head Mayzie , 1995
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?, 1973
Dr. Seuss’s ABC, 1963
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book, 1962
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, 1938
The Foot Book, 1968
Fox in Socks, 1965
Great Day for Up!, 1974
Happy Birthday to You!, 1959
Horton Hatches the Egg, 1940
Horton Hears A Who!, 1954
Hunches in Bunches, 1982
I Am Not Going To Get Up Today!, 1987
I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories, 1969
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!, 1978
If I Ran the Circus, 1956
If I Ran the Zoo, 1950
The Lorax, 1971
Marvin K.Mooney Will You Please Go Now!, 1972
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?, 1970
My Book about Me: By Me, Myself , 1969
Oh, Say Can You Say?, 1979
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, 1990
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!, 1975
On Beyond Zebra!, 1955
Scrambled Eggs Super, 1953
Seven Lady Godivas, 1987
The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, 1973
The Sneetches and Other Stories, 1969
There’s a Wocket in My Pocket!, 1974
Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, 1948
Wet Pet, Dry Pet, Your Pet, My Pet, 2005
You’re Only Old Once! A Book for Obsolete Children, 1986

Collaborations
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!, 1998

So happy reading today, and remember it all started with Seuss!

What’s your favorite Seuss?

* Where would I be in this world without Wikipedia??  Thanks!

There are some authors that deserve a prominent place in your home library. Robert McCloskey is one of these authors. His work defines classic children’s literature: brilliant, well written stories accompanied by beautiful illustrations. He won the coveted Caldecott Medal for Time of Wonder and Make Way for Ducklings. His Journey Cake, Ho!, One Morning in Maine, and Blueberries for Sal won Caldecott Honors.
These books are a snapshot of time gone by, heartwarming and wholesome.

]]> http://www.thegoodstuffguide.com/brilliant-author-series-robert-mccloskey/feed/ 1 http://www.thegoodstuffguide.com/brilliant-author-series-cheryl-harness/ http://www.thegoodstuffguide.com/brilliant-author-series-cheryl-harness/#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:04:30 +0000 Heidi Farmer http://www.thegoodstuffguide.com/?p=1009 I need to disclose that I love U.S. History.  Eat it up.  Devour it.

And I find there is no better way to learn about our nation (or anything, for that matter) than children’s books.  I don’t need 500 page manuscripts spewing theories.  I like good, informative, illustrated, fun picture books.

Perhaps, I have a short attention span…

Oh, and the adorables learn a great deal too.

Several months ago, Team Farmer was visiting Mount Vernon, George Washington’s illustrious home.  I had to get to the gift shop because I knew there would be fabulous books that I hadn’t seen yet.

And there she was (not in person, mind you): Cheryl Harness with her brilliant children’s biography of George Washington.

And I met her again at the Smithsonian bookstores in D.C. with her series on our presidents.

And then I returned home and scoured Amazon and found her show-stopping chapter books, with a timeline on every page for readers to conceptualize what was also happening at the time. (Sorry I had to shorten the titles below – they wouldn’t fit! Here they are in full: The Remarkable Rough-Riding Life of Theodore Roosevelt and the Rise of Empire America, The Tragic Tale of Narcissa Whitman and a Faithful History of the Oregon Trail, and The Groundbreaking, Chance-Taking Life of George Washington Carver and Science and Invention in America.)

And I’ve been reading ever since. Ms. Harness’ books are marvelous: well-written, wonderfully illustrated, rich in historical detail. In short, she has created works of art.