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 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.

Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue

Maurice Sendak
First Published 1962

Chances are you’ve met a malcontent like Pierre, a frowning boy who continually retorts “I don’t care” to every query and comment. Creamed wheat for breakfast? “I don’t care.” A trip downtown with mom and dad? “I don’t care.” A more modern children’s book author might introduce a friend who actually does care, or parents who talk some sense into him. But not this silly classic. Maurice Sendak does not care about being sensible. Instead, he places Pierre home alone with a lion who asks if Pierre wants to die, and Pierre must make a choice. If he responds “I don’t care,” the lion will devour him. But if he breaks his stubborn streak, he will be saved from certain peril. This lesser-known gem of Sendak’s fights a childish problem with a hilarious, over-the-top solution. Any child tempted to speak like Pierre will think twice. Ages 4-8

Owl at Home

Arnold Lobel
First Published 1975

If Arnold Lobel’s famous amphibians Frog and Toad showed us how wonderful it is to have best friends, then Owl at Home is a primer on solitude and the simple joys of a quiet life. Owl lives alone in a cozy cottage where he enjoys mundane evenings with hot pea soup and toast by the fire. In five short stories, we learn Owl sees things a little differently. Sometimes he’s as simple as a child, like when he greets a howling winter storm as if it were a rude, unruly guest. Other times, he’s more like an android trying on feelings just to have them. In my favorite short story, Owl decides to spend the evening making tear-water tea. He sits still and thinks of sad things—spoons that have fallen behind the stove, beautiful sunrises no one saw, pencils too short to use. It sounds funny to cry over a lost spoon, but it reminds all of us that it’s okay to be sad, even about the little things. Ages 5-8

What Do You Say, Dear?

Sesyle Joslin
First Published 1958

Adults consult Emily Post or Miss Manners if they’re confused about which fork to use at a fancy dinner or if they need guidance about thank you notes. But who do children turn to for questions about politeness? Sesyle Joslin’s 1958 etiquette primer is a helpful start, and thankfully it’s so off-the-wall that children won’t mind rereading it in case they forget their manners. Joslin uses a series of hypothetical scenarios and then prompts the reader for a response. A salesman wants to give you a free baby elephant, but first he wants to introduce himself—What do you say, dear? Or perhaps you took a duchess’s invitation to “drop in” too literally and fly your plane straight into her roof—What do you say, dear? Joslin’s hilarious prompts are only topped by Maurice Sendak’s outlandish illustrations. The pair reunite for more silly etiquette lessons in the 1986 sequel, What Do You Do, Dear? Ages 3-7

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Judi Barrett
First Published 1978

In the town of Chewandswallow, the weather forecast reads like a restaurant menu. Meals fall from the sky three times a day, so townsfolk might wake up to a storm of sunny-side up eggs, hamburger clouds at lunchtime, and a snowstorm of mashed potatoes and fried chicken for dinner. But the town quickly descends into chaos when extreme weather hits: Fifteen-inch drifts of cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, overcooked broccoli, and giant runaway donuts. I could live with the oversized donuts, but even I have a limit, as do the people of Chewandswallow. You don’t need to read well to enjoy this classic because Ron Barrett’s illustrations perfectly capture the fantastical food frenzy where words fail. Men dive for hot dogs in roofless restaurants, baseball games get canceled on account of falling pie, and a sanitation department uses big forks and spoons to scoop up leftovers. All of it is brilliant, even if none of it makes any sense. Ages 3-7