From a Lover of Books...

I love reading. I love books. These aren't synonymous. If you believe the naysayers, it may soon be possible to do all the reading you'll ever need to do without ever cracking a book or leaving the comfort of your armchair with a built-in laptop. But for me, the book's the thing. That smell, when you open them, that tells you if the book is new or old, printed on paper or ragstock. With really old books, the scent of dust--of glacially slow disintegration--mixed with the scent of climate-controlled moisture in archives. The ink, heady and acrid. The feel of the paper--glossy and smooth, or rough like a cat's tongue. Heavy pages indicate care and seriousness in production, tissue-weights cover fragile pictures. The covers, those new style ones with the waxy paper, neither dull nor glossy, so tempting under the fingers. Old leather covers, wrinkled like a grandmother's face, with corners buffed round by time. Reading in an armchair while it snows outside...bliss...

All my senses come alive when I am in a room full of books. And this is something I want to pass on to my children. So I read to them. A lot. (But it's never enough.) There are lots of books it's easy to know about for children, lots of obvious authors. Who can resist Dr. Seuss's Fox in Socks or Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? But in my quest for more, better, perfect, glorious books, I keep seeking out others, new ones I've never heard of, and old ones--really old--that I can't wait to go back to once my kids get older. And I've found that the best way to discover new books and authors is to ask around.

So, without further ado, here's a list, in no particular order of some more-or-less off the beaten path books and authors I love for kids. I'd love it if in the comments, you'd add your favorites to the list and increase everyone's exploring pleasure!

1. Peggy Rathman. For picture books, she's just about unmatched. Both of my kids have been utterly fascinated with Goodnight Gorilla from the time they were babies. The illustrations are luminous, the board book perfect for clumsy chubby fingers. More recently, MultiplesMommy gave us The Day the Babies Crawled Away, which is a great adventure story told in wonderful silhouettes about a little boy in a firehat (Son thinks it's himself) who corrals a passel of babies that crawl away. One little one with a bow in her ponytail is upside down in every picture. That's Daughter, no question.

2. Hip Cat by Jonathan London and Woodleigh Hubbard. An incredible jazz journey through the ups and downs of an actual cat who plays the sax. The jazz poetry moves with just the right rhythms. The illustrations will knock your socks off. Who knew it was possible to paint jazz? (Well, Matisse did, but last time I checked, he didn't write any children's books.)

3. The Complete Fairy Tales of George MacDonald. Originally written in the 1870s and 1880s, the language of these tales is slow and glorious. And if you think of Victorian stories as ponderous, you'll be pleasantly surprised by George. The tales are long and delightful, appropriate for kindergarten-elementary school kids. He's got, for example, a "Light Princess" who has been cursed by the fairy who was accidentally not invited to her christening with a "lack of gravity"--the poor child can neither be serious nor walk on the ground. She floats and laughs all day long. Read this book to find out what the kingdom can possibly do about that.

4. The Gaspard and Lisa stories by Anne Gutman. With fabulous guache illustrations by Georg Hallensleben, these books are a feast for the eyes. The stories are imaginative and fun, about travel, friendship, what to do on a rainy day. The pictures appeal to toddlers; the stories are great up through pre-K or a bit beyond perhaps if the book has already become beloved by then. Hallensleben has illustrated for other authors too, and every time I come across one of his books, I have to stop and look some more.

5. Graeme Base. He is both author and illustrator of a number of books with an astonishing level of detail. Our favorite for now is his alphabet book, Animalia. With huge double-page spreads for most letters, he offers dozens and dozens of objects that start, for example, with P on the P page. This book has saved us more than once in an airport, since it can take hours to play various levels of hunt the object on each page. You can spot objects and ask pre-readers to find them. Or you can ask early readers to locate all the things that begin with B. Or, you can just get lost in the incredible art work.

6. Poetry. This may sound nuts, but kids love poetry. And it doesn't have to be the rhymed, one-step-better-than-limerick poetry either. Though if you want that, Edward Lear is the limerick master, hilarious, and totally worth a gander. Your kids will be in stitches, and so will you. (Be sure to get a copy of his Book of Nonsense with his original illustrations.) Or try Shel Silverstein for lilting, rhyming, ridiculously wonderful poems that are completely kid appropriate. But I also like to read real, actual adult poetry to my kids. They are at an age where the magic of language delights them. I don't think it matters a lot what you read, as long as the words resonate with you. There is nothing worse than a poem read aloud by someone who loathes it or is simply confused by it. There is nothing better than a poem read aloud by someone who feels the words, whose voice explains them even without definitions. So pick a poet you like, and try it. I adore Elizabeth Bishop and keep hoping they'll come to love her too. I have also chosen several children's books written in slightly more sophisticated poetry, the kind that relies on plays on words and doesn't always rhyme, and these have been a big hit. The best of these, with clever short poems about animals and great illustrations, is Douglas Florian's Mammalabilia.

So, what do you love to read to your kids? What should we be picking up next?