Paint All Kinds of Pictures
AH-CHOO
The first in a trio of one-worded, wordless books that also includes Oops and Hiccup, it's by far our favorite. Of all the books we own, there are some that stand out in my mind as just thick and awesome and full of life, and most of Mercer's early books are firmly stuck in that category. They are the ones that make me smile when my son pulls them off the shelf for a read. The ones that make me excited time and again cracking open the first page. They did when I was a child, and they still do now.
Here, we meet an elephant with a sinus issue. One destructive sneeze lands him in a heap of trouble with the fuzz. The next lands him in jail, and the last puts the jail house in rubble. The fourth sneeze is not his own but ends in romance. Fantastic. The faces of the animals are so cunning and expressive, it's hard not to chuckle even on the 100th look-through. (Get a load of that owl above. How awesome is that look?)
I love it when children's book authors dedicate books to other children's book authors, and here Mercer gives Steven Kellogg and family a shout-out. Very cool... so at long last, thanks Antmusic.
Also by:
I'm going off the grid for the Great Monday Give today {the day where we give our books away!}, as I figured out we have two copies floating around. Now, there almost isn't an author my son enjoys more than Roald Dahl. The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me ~ George's Marvelous Medicine ~ The Magic Finger ~ Esio Trot ~ Fantastic Mr. Fox... all of them really. His books are ones I personally never tire of reading aloud as they are so fun and totally engaging. After our whole family fell in love with The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar on audio a while back, last year I found myself reading this book, the first in a two part memoir which also includes Going Solo. If you have any interest in finding our where Dahl's obsession with candy stores and tomfoolery came from, as well as his often melancholy heart, look no further. Boy: Tales of Childhood is a real doll of a book, and all you have to do to be entered to win a very fine, used copy is comment on this post between now and Sunday, October 3rd at 11:59 PM. A winner will be selected at random and announced the next morning.
This Update Friday, I wanted to look back on a book that has, oddly enough, risen to the top of my son's favorite pile again and again and again. Trust me, if I wasn't planning on hording all of his books in my attic when he no longer cares, THIS is the book that he'd be logging onto What's That Book years from now asking... "Um, it has a black and white and pink cover and I think it was about France and there was a cat and a string bag and lots of food, can anyone help me out?" 
Gobble Growl Grunt
Also by:
Perez y Martina
As such, it was penned by the namesake of the prestigious ALA award for excellence in Latino children's literature. Apparently, she was the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. I only know it's a Puerto Rican folktale because Amazon tells me so. I don't wanna plagiarize, but there, too, you can find a customer review of the entire plot. It does seem like this was also published in English at some point, so if you're in the know, fill us in. Without giving too much away, I think the roach and the mouse are lovers, and at the end, the mouse gets boiled alive, but I can't say for sure. For now, let's just marvel at these luscious illustrations, why don't we?
Who Will Comfort Toffle?
Pitiful, no? The night is spooky and there is no one there to comfort poor Toffle, so he takes off in search of... something. But the more he walked the lonelier he grew. Strangers everywhere, too afraid to make a friend... until he finds a message in a bottle that shows him he is not so alone.
Quirky and way out-there for many an American sensibility, all the Moomin tales are filled with heart and deep soul sifting, something my child (for one) knows all about. The pursuit of home and love and purpose begins the moment we are born, and these books are a wonderful compendium for your child's search for self.
Also by: The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My
I'm sure this will come nowhere near me, but when it hits New York and LA, promise me friends you'll see it so I can live vicariously.
Monday brings so many things. Like rain and The Great Monday Give, the part of the week when I pluck a title from the shelves to giveaway. I was lucky enough to find another hardcover, vintage copy of Lucille by Arnold Lobel for 50 cents (in great shape save a child's inscription in the front cover), so I'm passing it along to one lucky reader. All you have to do to be entered to win is comment on this post between now and Sunday night (September 26) at 11:59 PM. A winner will be selected using the highly-technical and patented "Blind Scroll and Point" method and announced the next morning.
The Giant Story
One morning Tommy woke up early. The sun was looking in through the window. Tommy said, "Hello, Sun."
With shoes as big as elephants and shoulders so broad an airplane in distress could rest on them, the Giant roams the land looking for ships in the ocean to pick up and houses to sit on and (sometimes) crush. It isn't until the Giant gets tired and returns home that he turns into sweet Tommy again, snuggling in his mother's arms and carried off to bed.
Ah, to be a child again in a world where anything you imagine yourself to be, you can be. If it were that easy in real life. 
Written by the Caldecott Medal winner for May I Bring a Friend?, I love the free-flowing narrative. And the charm of Sendak's early work is abundant here, but still only a hint of what will be. Nice.
Also by:
Mrs. Duck's Lovely Day ~ Vivienne Blake ~ 1955
The Owl and the Pussy Cat ~ Edward Lear and Irma Wilde ~ 1962
Mary Had a Little Lamb ~ Gavy ~ 1955