Classic children’s books of the month

Each month, WORLD’s print magazine highlights recent children’s book releases that we hope will help families navigate selections at the library while also giving parents and grandparents suggestions of books to add to their own home bookshelves. Sadly, many of the review copies that have crossed my desk over the past few years are what I would term eye candy: books lacking substance or engaging storytelling, and all too often reeking of an agenda. As libraries continue to add new selections to their catalogs, it’s important to remember timeless picture books and middle grade reads so they won’t be overshadowed by fleeting trends. This new online series of book reviews will invite a variety of reviewers sharing good stories that they enjoyed either as children themselves or as parents reading aloud to their children.

Quick as a Cricket

Audrey Wood
First Published 1982

This picture book has fewer than 200 words, with usually just six per page. It begins: “I’m as quick as a cricket, I’m as slow as a snail, I’m as small as an ant, I’m as large as a whale.” I’ve read these words to my children so many times—always using a big voice for the whale page, a little one for the ant, and so forth. Don Wood’s large, pastel illustrations are a visual feast and—as in all the best picture books—they carry the text as much as the text carries the illustrations. The two parts work imaginatively together: The child in the illustration is as large as a whale. He is as small as an ant. The message: A person, even a child, is wonderfully made and can possess all kinds of qualities at once. Ages 2-5

A New Coat for Anna

Harriet Ziefert
First published 1986

A New Coat for Anna tells a story about how many people it takes to make one beautiful thing. “Winter had come and Anna needed a new coat,” the book begins. “The fuzzy blue coat that she had worn for so many winters was no longer fuzzy and very small.” Last winter, Anna’s mother promised her a new coat “when the war is over.” But even when the war is over, stores are still empty. Yet Anna will get a new coat through a series of trades with neighbors. Anna’s mother trades grandpa’s gold watch with the farmer for wool, a beautiful lamp to the spinner for yarn, a necklace to the weaver for cloth, and a teapot to the tailor for the finished coat. The new coat is perfect for Anna—and a good reason for the coat’s many contributors to celebrate together despite hard times. Ages 3-8

Bears in the Night

Stan and Jan Berenstain

My childhood copy of Bears in the Night is the one I still read to my kids, and this timeless book still offers a fun way to teach young children prepositions. The naughty little bears follow the call of an owl out into the night. At first, they’re in bed. Then they’re out of bed. Then they go to the window. Then they’re at the window, out the window, and down the tree. This nighttime tale of sneaking out feels particularly classic since you don’t have to know the main cast of the Berenstain Bears to enjoy it. Additionally, the preposition string—repeated quickly in reverse as the bears return up the tree, in the window, back in bed—adds a delightful musicality to the simple adventure. Ages 2-6

Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend

Cynthia Rylant
First Published 1992

The book series about Henry and his big dog Mudge never gets old. These slim easy reader books, divided into three chapters each, tell small stories about a family that feels like a real family with relationships rooted in love. The books focus on imagination and finding beauty and fun in the ordinary. Take, for example, Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend. In this title, Henry and Mudge find themselves stuck inside on a rainy weekend. They need a solution for their boredom. Mom gets a great idea: The family should build a castle from old boxes in the basement. All four–Mom, Dad, Henry, and Mudge—get so invested in the project they order a pizza so they don’t have to take a break. Mom is better at coming up with ideas than carrying them through, though, so by morning she’s sitting down with coffee and a newspaper while the others work away. Ages 5-7