Friday Fun - July 19 - Good Kids Books
Some somewhat off the beaten path choices
Listing some picture books that were steady hits with my kids. Selecting choices that are a bit off the beaten path, in hopes that they extend the options in front of you.
Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections: Castle
Oh my. Starting out with the OG. Extraordinary book series with lovingly drawn, deeply detailed pictures. My son, despite being quite gentle, loves the pages on pain, punishment, and torture. Something about this books just taps into you.
Oh, What a Busy Day
Yowza. Do I love Gyo Fujikawa’s books. She was an illustrator at Disney back in the day, I believe. OWABD is a meandering book that doesn’t feel the need to stay tethered to a particular plot or consistent logic of presentation. Each page set has a new idea or part of the day that broadly follows the idea of a group of small town children having a busy day.
We have spent many an hour pouring over extremely detailed pages like the above, noticing and commenting on the activities of particular children.
The Mouse Mansion
I have seen more toys based on Mouse Mansion at boutique toy stores recently, so I’m expecting a media blitz sometime in the near future. We bought this book back in 2015. Schaapman, from what I can tell, has created a hyper detailed mansion with a massive amount of miniatures, inhabited by some mice. Pages are wonderful to look at. So many details meticulously attended to.
How Your Body Works
This is a fun one. An illustration of the different systems of your body, described as a machine upon which a large group of people work. Lots of mediocre anatomy books out there these days, especially with the parent-centered anxiety-ridden rise of STEM child culture (baby’s first quantum mechanics, or whatever). This is one that stuck around our house. Very fun descriptions of body functions.
Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary
A little girl and her mouse friend discover one another, have similar rooms, and grow up together. A lovely, gentle story. And wonderful illustrations. Something about the mimicked room logics of Mary and Mouse really stuck with us.
Mary grows up, I believe, in the 1970s. I really love the depiction of her house - it’s so 70s fancy!
