This list is from Capital City Press, opens a new window featured writer SG Wong, opens a new window called Picture Books I Read to My Children…Over and Over and Over Again, opens a new window
"I may write noir-tinged hard-boiled detective stories, but I also love children’s picture books. This list was so fun to create because I just had to think back to the books that made me smile or laugh whenever I read them to my kids. Just thinking of these put a grin on my face."
"The rhyming! The art! The story! The poetry! Honestly, I can still recite this one and my children are 10 and 13. It never gets old. Never. My all-time favourite picture book. (Makes a fantastic Halloween costume, too. I have the pics to prove it!) The short 45-minute film adaptation is also a delight."
"A bedtime story with strange art, clashing colours, and a wacky rhymed litany, this one just screams “funky classic.” I know: everyone seems to consider this a gentle classic, but our family loved it for its strangeness. My oldest hasn’t read this in over a decade and he can still recall some of the rhymes and the pictures. Don’t ever underestimate the power of weird."
"The best guessing game in the world. At the end of long, tiring days, I re-ground and re-centred myself with this book. It reminded me why all that hard work was worth it. Plus: snuggling while reading this with my children (at any and every time of day)—priceless."
"Oh the brilliance of those holes in the board book! My little ones loved putting their tiny fingers through them: rubbing their edges and getting their pinkies caught and wiggling wiggling wiggling their fingertips in the holes. Who knew reading about a little caterpillar’s daily diet could be so fun?"
"Do you remember being curious and maybe even just a bit restless to see the big, wide world when you were a child? This book captures that wonder and curiosity, and what it can feel like, realizing one’s oh-so-small place in the universe. Regardless of size, though, the snail, our protagonist, gets to be a hero. Schmaltzy it may be, but who says that’s a bad thing? (See if you can find a tiny cameo from our friend the Gruffalo.)"
"Yup, another Julia Donaldson. Hey, when it works, it works. This is a wonderful longish poem set to wonderfully funny/creepy illustrations. My family loves this tale of a dinosaur changeling who finds his true family and faces down danger for their sake. Definitely for fans of creepy-cute."
"I am proud to say that I have read this one through at least once without messing anything up. If you haven’t the faintest what I mean, you’d better get started. There’s only one way to read this one: loud and proud. You’ll have your little ones (and big ones!) laughing in no time."
"This was our “cute” alphabet book back in the day. And so Canadiana. In fact, I made it a point of pride that my children knew what a zamboni was before they ever learned to skate. Canuck Power, eh?"
"And this was our creepy alphabet book. My kids could not get enough of this one: multiple times a day and especially at bedtime. There’s definitely something compelling about the illustrations and plenty of details to enthrall bright-eyed youngsters. Creepy pretty; it’s a thing, too."
Visit Capital City Press, opens a new window and for more reading recommendations from featured writer SG Wong, opens a new window including her list of Love Stories Without the Saccharine, opens a new window and titles celebrating International Women's Day., opens a new window
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