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Caedran Sullivan, Curator Caedran Sullivan lives in Olathe, Kansas. She has worked in both independent and chain bookstores and reads constantly. Caedran on children's literature Caedran's collection of Top Ten lists Caedran's current reading Caedran on chain bookstores Support Cune Press |
Winnie Books for children Baby/Toddler to preschool |
| Introduction For me, children and books are the perfect combination. I myself have loved books all of my life. My parents shared the pleasure they found in books with all of their children, making book lovers of us by simple contagion. I was 13 when my youngest brother was born so I was thrown into "child care" at an early age, and in some way children have been the focus in almost every job I’ve ever had. I have worked in a unique, intellectually stimulating independent bookstore and I have worked in a huge, well-stocked ‘mega-bookstore,’ and at both stores I was naturally drawn to the children’s departments. I have based my choices on countless observations of children choosing or rejecting books in their homes, in bookstores and at camp. "The List" is also strewn with many of my own absolute favorites. Anyone who really understands how many kids’ books are available in the marketplace today knows how hard it is to pick a few from such an overwhelming array. I have so many favorites, and I get so excited about sharing them, that I could be busy for a long time and barely scratch the surface. Even though age levels have been suggested, I’ve found that children’s reading skills, social maturity, backgrounds and interests are so varied that a child’s taste in books is often unpredictable. For this reason, the suggested age is only a rough index. I whole-heartedly believe that if a child is reading, especially in the pre-teen, teenage years, I need to remember that a book is a good book for a particular child only when he or she enjoys it; a book is a poor choice, even when adults rate it a classic, if children are unable to read it or are bored by its series, but some kids read them one after another, and I personally feel that their enjoyment of the book is what is important. I also understand that in time their tastes will change and grow to encompass all sorts of books. I know I have occasionally attempted to push one of my favorites only to find a child completely unimpressed. The simple fact is, some will like it, some won’t. Anyway, I figure they’ll all have required reading soon enough. My love of children’s books grew primarily from loving children and loving books. I hope my list is beneficial to those who use it. It has been fun for me to attempt the task, and I’ve come to the conclusion (as I have done many times before), that the more I know, the more I know I have much to learn. I also agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson who observed that more often than not, "Tis the good reader that makes the good book." |
Bunnies dressed up as cowboys. Features great art work. |
A greedy prince keeps the rice for himself. A village girl devises a plan that turns on her understanding of math. |
From a manuscript left incomplete at Dr. Seuss's death. An unusual school with a special day. |
An alphabet book with unusual detail and interesting trivia. "B is for Binary, C is for Cubit"--each letter of the alphabet is exemplified with a math concept. |
Just stick your head out of the window or check the weather forecast to see what's on the table for the day. It rans soup and juice in the town of Chew and Swallow, and life is good for it's citizens, until the weather takes a turn for the worse. What a creative story! I loved it as a child. |
When I worked at the bookstore, I spent almost my entire eight-hour shift one day looking at this book (except when assisting customers, of course!) It really is neat, and the more you look at each page, the more you find. An incredible alphabet book. Fun for all ages. |
Some of you may be familiar with Arthur series on television and in the bookstore. Of course, I prefer the books; most of them are picture books, but they also have an early reader chapter book series, too. In this one, D.W. won't try anything new to eat and must stay with a babysitter while the rest of the family goes out to dinner. She quickly learns that it's fun to go out to eat. I really think that all of the Arthur books are good and most kids seem to really enjoy them, too. |
This is a Caldecott Honor book, and the pictures truly are wonderful! A short, easy good night story, if you're in a hurry; or a nice book to just sit and enjoy the pictures. Most kids I've read this to enjoy bath time and can relate to not wanting to get out of a nice, warm tub. |
An excellent book for toddlers learning new words. There are numerous games that can be played with these books. (This is one of a series.) Whole pages are completely filled with intricate color photographs of all kinds of interesting things. I've always had a lot of fun watching kids look at these books. |
Caldecott winner. I am a gardner and am always wanting to plant something. This book provides an easy way to start introducing the environment and helps a child become aware of his/her surroundings. It's a nice, unique size, too....... tall and skinny like a tree. |
Katy is a hard-working snow plow who saves her town by taking charge after a very big snow. She loves her work and is proud to do it. This is one of those books I remember vividly as a child. I bought it for my younger brother a few years ago even though he is 25 years old because winter is his favorite season. |
This book always made me want to go to Maine on vacation to pick blueberries. A nice, simple story with nice simple easy-to-look-at pictures. I've always loved it. Now, I read it and I want to learn how to make blueberry jelly. A must have. |
Maybe, it's because I love gardening, but this is a book for anyone who appreciates life, growth and the little things. Something as simple as a window box can bring fresh life to an otherwise dull house. Lydia, the main character, is a sweet girl who tries to make the best of her difficult situation and succeeds with seeds. |
A very bad day in Alexander's young life, and it only gets worse as the day wears on. A realistic story which I think makes kids feel better by knowing that bad days happen to everyone. I have always loved this book and bought it for my older brother two years ago when he was 27 because he also has red hair and the story has always reminded me of him. |
A charming book for anyone ages three and older. Stellaluna, a fruit bat, falls headfirst into a bird's nest and is raised birdlike until reunited with her mother. I particularly like the bat facts at the end of the story. This book is an Abby winner and has also been featured on Reading Rainbow. |
A must for any child's bookshelf. Aside from winning the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book of the year, it was one of the daring first books in the 60s to break down the long-standing taboos imposed on authors and illustrators. Max's mother loses her temper at his unruly behavior and sends him "to bed without eating anything." Mildly controversial, yet losing one's temper happens to the best of us. I actually had to dress up as a "wild thing" once for a storytime one morning. As well as being incredibly hot in the costume, I believe I unwillingly frightened most of the children who were there. |
This book and the whole series be Nancy Shaw is wonderful! "Sheep in a Jeep" is my favorite in the series probably because I drive a jeep, but really, I've had the best luck with it in all kinds of reading situations. This is an excellent book for the toddler years. It is short, the pictures are wonderful, and it sounds good when you read it aloud. The same sounds help kids become more phonetically aware. |
This is a fantastic book. I love it! Eloise is hilarious. This is a long book, but remembering Mimi reading it to my niece Maddie can always bring a smile to my face. Eloise lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York with her nanny, and she gets into a good deal of trouble. She is a delightful, precocious girl, and this book is delightful to have in any bookshelf. |
I used to pick this book over and over again for the bedtime story. I love the pictures and the story. It is a little off the wall, but it's one of those books that few people seem to know about and it is even a bit hard to find in bookstores. I always thought rather than give the traditional gift of "Where the Wild Things Are" this one is fun and different and kids like it. |
I gave this as a Christmas present for my father once. A Caldecott Winner and a nice story about a pilgrim family and the cycle of their life throughout the year. A quiet book with stunning pictures. |
I have what I like to call a "quote book", and the first sentence of this funny little book is in it. "There was a little fur family, warm as toast... smaller than most... in little fur coats, and they lived in a warm wooden tree." My nephew loves this book, particularly the part when Grandpa is sneezing. Another worthwhile book that not many have. Don't let Brown's better known titles, "Goodnight Moon" and "Runaway Bunny" overshadow her lesser known works. |
Kevin Henkes used to come often to the bookstore where I worked. He came for signings and he was always awesome and he had a great sense of humor. Julius is the new baby in the family in this book, and big sister isn't too sure about the whole thing. Hilarious! I bought it for myself. Kids love it. Parents love it. Check out all of his other books, too. "Owen" and "Chester" are other favorites. |
Simply a beautiful book all around. I love the wood cut illustrations, and they match the story perfectly. A family is getting ready to move, and a young child is apprehensive to leave everything he knows. I bought this book for my mother a few years ago. She wants to pass it along to her dad because it reminds her of what she has heard about his childhood. Wonderful. |
I have a first edition of this book. It is one of my top 10 books for children. Frances is a wonderful, precocious little girl, and there are several books by Hoban with her as the main character. All of them are good. In this one, Frances has a bit of trouble going to bed... a subject anyone with children is familiar with. A delight and a must for any child's book shelf. these stories are a abit long, so a longer attention span is helpful. |
My favorite of the "Miss Spider" books by far. Arresting paintings and charming verse about a spider attempting to host a tea party for the other bugs in the neighborhood. The only trouble is, all of the other bugs are afraid of being eaten. Also a counting book. Great Fun! |
Awesome pictures. Wonderful flow. This book is delightful and gets young minds to thinking about things. I was lucky enough to acquire this book at a garage sale for about 25 cents along with about 30 other books. What a find! |
Ping, a young yellow duck gets seperated from his rather large family, and doesn't want to get spanked for being last into the boat on which they lived. He spends some time alone and has a few harrowing adventures before he is reunited with his family. Simple, but memorable pictures. Definitely a children's classic. |
I had dinner with Jean Craighead George at Ruth's Diner in Utah, and over "Three-berry Cobbler" had the honor of discussing her writing. A naturalist, she has traveled extensively to observe and report on the behavior of animals in the wild. This is a series of books about different environments. I chose the prarie because I live in beautiful Kansas on five hundred acrres of prairie. I would suggest the series to anyone above third grade. The books are wonderful! |
These four books are perfect for little hands. When my niece was about two she would carry them with her everywhere. I've started giving them as baby shower gifts. Sendak's fantastic illustrations abound as usual, and his wacky stories are always a big hit with the kids. |
Recipes based on the pioneer food from Laura Ingalls Wilder's books. I was always fascinated by the Old West and this cookbook has everything you need to know about a pioneer kitchen. As a nanny I try to cook something with the kids help almost every day... even if it's as simple as jello. I love the kitchen and spend a lot of time there. With this book I can even work a little history lesson in. This is a heavy duty cookbook, however, and some of the recipes are challenging for me. Younger kids may need a little help picking out recipes and, of course, with the actual cooking, but what fun! |
The first poetry I remember being exposed to. I loved it then, I love it still. Kids really do love his poetry. It's morbid at times, scary, funny, and odd, but delightful. I am not fond of his other books especially his acclaimed "Giving Tree"... a bit to creepy for me. I've never understood why it is so popular. |
Excellent. Wonderful introduction to the magic of numbers. Lots to look at on every page. Beautiful pictures. Anno's illustrations are masterful. |
I still don't have this book in my possession, yet it has ben on my Christmas list for two years. I do not like the title, but the story is adorable. Two best friends with different tastes. One decides to travel around the world, the other wants to stay home. Good friends don't have to be exactly the same, and each enjoys himself to the fullest. I love it! |
Books for newborns and very young children. These books aid visual perception for the very young child, supposedly making them smarter. There is a series of them, and they are really neat books. Interesting to watch newborn's look at them. You can almost see their little brains hard at work. |
I recommend this book a lot, mostly to girls around kindergarten age. It's an early reader (a book for kids just learning to read). It has great pictures and my favorite part is the actual cake recipe in the back. I've made it and brought it to a storytime before. A smashing success! |
One of a series of early readers, Henry and Mudge are a boy and his dog who are also best friends. This particular book is my favorite in the series. Henry gets a cold, then Mudge gets one too. It's very cute and definitely worth a look. |
Absolutely wonderful! Francis gets fenagled into buying her friends shabby plastic teaset only to have her friends buy the set Francis really wanted. Neverfear, Francis comes up with a fun way to retaliate. I simply love the Francis books! |
This book is definitely in my top ten books for children. I have seen kids spend literally hours at a time with it. It has been a lifesaver for me on several occasions. The busy pages makes this an excellent book for toddlers. There is absolutely so much to look at: Goldbug is on everypage, pickle cars, Officer Flossy, big crashes, bulldozers, and much more. It's also a great book for vocabulary. And it's big. I have this book in my own library because I love it so much. |
My niece used to read a chapter of this book a day. She loved to pick which chapter by the table of contents in the front of the book. It's a little preachy for my taste, but she would sit for hours, and she the stories certainly worked for her. Talking animals are often a big hit with children. It can also be read to children from an early age. |
The Berenstain books are always fun books. Stan and Jan have at least one book for everyone and this is the one for me. I have loved it since the first time my Mom read it to us sitting together with are backs against the toy closet door. |
A fun book for toddlers. Pages of animals dressed up and ridiculous looking. Kids seem to get a big kick out of it at that age. It is also short enough that at two they won't lose interest. |
Another big gift book for me. Byrd Baylor has some pretty incredible books out. I like them all. A Native American feel, the pictures remind me of Utah and Arizona. In this book, the author tells of the pleasures of finding a special rock. I have many rocks and have in the last few years started a tradition of picking one from some of my favorite places. This book is awesome and definitely worth a look. |
I met Mark Buerhuer in Utah while working at The King's English bookstore. The illustrations are perfect. What talent and what a creative story about a magic farmer whose crop is bright balloons of every size, shape and color. Kids love this one, and it sets their imaginations running. |
These are rather long books, but every child's library should have a couple of Bill Peet's books. Knnown mostly for his illustrations, his stories are nice and fun and pleasing to the ear when read. In this one, a greedy old crab changes his ways after being rescued by a helpful, generous boy. |
Ashley Bryan came to me elementary school when I was 11 years old, and to hear him read his stories to my class is still a fond memory of mine. He was so much fun to listen to. "The Dancing Granny" is African American Folklore at its best. At a book convention last year I was happily surprised that he was a featured speaker. Fifteen years had passed and he and his stories were still wonderful! |
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