There are picture books I’ve given as gifts no less than a dozen times. Whether the oldest child in the family is a wee babe in arms and you want to offer hope that reading aloud becomes fun and interactive and life-giving one day or the youngest child is beyond the age you’d assume would be taken with books with a picture on every page, there are certain books that merit to be given and received in many circumstances.
Here are a few that rotate routinely through the family Permanent Collection into the homes of friends, new copies ordered to replace them before their absence is noticed. Often the “new” book is used, sometimes sturdy affairs cast out of the public library system and offered for resale. If your friends aren’t snobby, these are good gifts to give on informal occasions, books that can withstand the wear and tear of being beloved in a family. Of course, you should be teaching your children how properly to care for books, but some books are so cherished they will be schlepped on camping trips and thumbed through at the table.
Without further ado, here are a few of the books I can’t seem to stop giving and some explanation of the widespread appeal.
The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman: This gem about family life is a feast for the eyes. Every page is teeming with life, activity, and heartwarming mayhem. The story of picky eaters who accidentally make a meal that everyone enjoys is simply too perfect. Some eager children are terribly disappointed that there is no recipe for Mrs. Peters’ birthday cake included at the end of the book. Alas, but maybe some apple muffins would be a good substitute?
“The Seven Silly Eaters” isn’t just for the enjoyment of the young; like any good picture book, its appeal is wide and varied. Any parent with more than two children might find something relatable in the evolving needs of family life depicted so memorably in Marla Frazee’s winsome illustrations. The story also happens to be a masterclass in becoming an empowered wife, so if you need further encouragement there, this over-the-top fictional story might just inspire a new lease on life for the worn out mother doing too much for her beloved children.
Thanksgiving Is Here! by Diane Goode: Thanksgiving may have come and gone this year, but this book is sure to delight any time of year. Following one day of hosting at the home of grandma and grandpa as the various families troop in for festivities, the words on the page are only a sliver of the fun. The many different stories unfolding in the illustrations provide endless entertainment. Goode’s illustrations, exaggerated but pleasantly lifelike and not cartoonish, tell many stories of personal triumphs and griefs, tiffs and unlikely friendships among the aunts, uncles, cousins, and even an unsuspecting passerby.
Acceptable any time of year, as far as I’m concerned, but especially delightful in the holiday season. Give a nudge to adults: Don’t just read the book to your kids; sit down with it on your own to soak it in and reminisce about the happy chaos of family life.
Burt Dow, Deep-Water Man by Robert McCloskey: I’ve mailed copies of this book (salvaged from classrooms and libraries that—horror of horrors—didn’t want it!) to all corners of the United States. It is a foundational story in the nursery. A bold claim, an unconventional choice. But for America, shaped as she was by the seafaring of our coastal cities, this tale in “the classic tradition,” a yarn that’s bigger than life, has much to offer old and young. The rhythmic rhymes and onomatopoeia provide a scaffolding of language and story.
But it’s also just the story of a retired fisherman who goes out on an adventure with his pet seagull and meets a whale. This is quite different from McCloskey’s other stories but sheer delight. If at first a child resists, don’t force it. Some love this tale from the first reading, requesting many returns. Others will likely warm to Burt and his companionable ways by revisiting on other occasions and giving it some time to grow into the mind and heart. For being a zany tall tale, this one stays with you in surprising ways.
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran: I have not given this one nearly as much as the others, but if you have a friend in Arizona, it is a must! This meandering story outlines the development of a children’s recurring game in the desert expanse of Yuma, Arizona. The story is excellent for two reasons: 1) McLerran’s mother really played just as described in “Roxaboxen” as a child; 2) McLerran distilled her narrative while writing in the Alps when bad weather kept her indoors. In other words, it has the freshness and unfussiness of a child’s perspective. You learn exactly what it was like to play there with that cast of characters with details that will remind you of your own childhood games.
Barbara Cooney’s illustrations suit the text well. The simple pleasures of an uncomplicated life are captured in colorful pictures unburdened by excessive detail.
The Sorely Trying Day by Russell Hoban: This book is new to me and not nearly as easy to come by in reasonably priced used copies. But for Christmas this year, I’ll be stowing copies of this to be disbursed on our travels to parents who will appreciate its wry humor. Of course, the children will also like the story, and who couldn’t relate to sibling squabbles and the universal experience of having a bad day? But the humor will tickle the parents more than anybody. And the book provides the perfect descriptor for a particular kind of day and spells it out in all its petty and uninteresting (but fascinating!) details. There will come those days that can lead you to throw your hands up and reach for a sufficiently horrid descriptor, an explanation of the agonizing yet mundane series of events that ate up your waking hours: A sorely trying day, indeed. And, somehow, when you find precisely the word for it, your suffering begins to evaporate.
There are more books that could be included, such as several fine volumes illustrated by Barbara McClintock, any number of Barabara Cooney’s other works, the whimsical book “Norman the Doorman,” side-splitting installments from Richard Scarry, and many more. Much to the benefit of the used book market, I will continue to buy stacks of the same old books—in addition to new finds—in order to keep spreading the joy of good books, good humor, and high spirits.
