Olivia the Pig. Corduroy the Bear. Fancy Nancy. Captain Underpants. These are just some of the colorful characters who have captured kids’ imaginations over the years. What are your children’s favorite books? We ask our listeners – especially our tiniest ones! – for suggestions on the best children’s books, from classics to the latest selection.
Guests:
Amy Martin, children’s collection librarian, Oakland Public Library
Christian Robinson, children’s book illustrator
Lauren Savage, owner, The Reading Bug, a children’s bookstore in San Carlos
Sara Wigglesworth, children’s book buyer, Green Apple Books
Amy Martin’s Recommendations
- “Accident” by Andrea Tsurami
- “Amina’s Voice” by Hena Khan
- “Brave” by Svetlana Chmakova
- “Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World” by Reshma Saujani
- “The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives” by Dashka Slater
- “When’s My Birthday?” by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Christian Robinson’s Recommendations
- “Are You My Mother” by P.D. Eastman
- “The Book of Mistakes” by Corrina Luyken
- “The Carrot Seed” by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Crockett Johnson
- “The Elephants Wish” by Bruno Munari
- “Life” by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
- “Swimmmy” by Leo Lionni
Lauren Savage’s Recommendations
- “All’s Faire in Middle School” by Victoria Jamieson
- “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth” by Oliver Jeffers
- “Hilde Cracks the Case” series by Hilde Lysiak
- “The Koala Who Could” by Rachel Bright
- “The Lion Inside” by Rachel Bright
- “Wishtree” by Kathryn Applegate
Sara Wigglesworth’s Recommendations
- “Life” by Cynthia Rylant
- “On a Magical Do-Nothing Day” by Beatrice Alemagna
- “The World’s Biggest Fart” by Rafael Ordóñez Cuadrado
- “Zog and the Flying Doctors” by Harry Styles
Listener Recommendations (In Alphabetical Order)
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- “A Letter for Amy” by Ezra Jack Keats
- “A Movie in My Pillow/Una pelicula en mi almohada” by Jorge Argueta and Elizabeth Gomez
- “Above The Timberline” by Gregory Manchess
- “Ada Twist, Scientist” and “Iggy Peck, Architect” by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
- “Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst
- “All-of-a-Kind Family” by Sydney Taylor
- “Amazing Grace” by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch
- “Amos and Boris” by William Steig
- “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
- “The Araboolies of Liberty Street” by Sam Swope and Barry Root
- “Arlo Needs Glasses” by Barney Saltzberg
- “Beautiful Oops” by Barney Saltzberg
- “Best Lowly Worm Book Ever!” by Richard Scarry
- “The Boxcar Children” by Gertrude Chandler Warner
- “Caps for Sale” by Esphyr Slobodkina
- “Cat and Dog” series by Elizabeth Miller and Jane Cohen
- “Charlie Brown’s Super Book of Questions and Answers” by Charles Schulz
- “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” by Judi Barrett and Ronald Barrett
- “Creatrilogy” series by Peter Reynolds
- “Creepy Carrots!” by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown
- “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?,” “Too Many Daves” and “What Was I Scared Of?” by Dr. Seuss
- “Dinotopia” series by James Gurney
- “The Enormous Crocodile” by Roald Dahl
- “The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore,” “Mischievians,” “Man on the Moon,” and “Rise of the Guardians” by William Joyce
- “The Favorite Daughter” by Allen Say
- “Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear” by Lindsay Mattick and Sophie Blackall
- “Firebird” by Misty Copeland and Christopher Meyers
- “George and Martha” by James Marshall
- “Gidappy” by Elsie Church
- “Giraffes Can’t Dance” by Giles Andrae
- “Go Dog Go” by P.D. Eastman
- “The Golden Book of Poetry” by Jane Werner and Gertrude Elliott
- “The Great Kapok Tree” by Lynne Cherry
- “The Gruffalo,” “The Gruffalo’s Child” and “The Snail and the Whale” by Julia Donaldson
- “Jazz Baby” by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie
- “Jerome” by Philip Ressner and Jerome Snyder
- “Junkyard Wonders” by Patricia Polacco
- “Junie B. Jones” series by Barbara Park
- “Harold and the Purple Crayon” by Crockett Johnson
- “Hasan and the Sea of Stories” by Salman Rushdie
- “Happiness Is a Warm Puppy” by Charles Schulz
- “Harriet the Spy” by Louise Fitzhugh
- “Hilo” series by Judd Winick
- “The How And Why Wonder Books” series
- “I Am” series by Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopolis
- “I Love You, Stinky Face” by Lisa Mccourt and Cyd Moore
- “In My Heart: A Book of Feelings” by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey
- “It’s Like This, Cat” by Emily Cheney Neville
- “Keena Ford” series by Melissa Thomson
- “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale” by Mo Willems
- “La Niña que Caminaba entre Aromas” by Ariel Andres Almada
- “Last Stop on Market Street” by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson
- “The Learning Tree” by Gordon Parks
- “Locomotive” by Brian Floca
- “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw
- “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis
- “Lola at the Library” by Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw
- “The Little House” by Virginia Lee Burton
- “Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- “The Mad Scientists’ Club” series by Bertrand R. Brinley and illustrated by Charles Geer
- “The Magician’s Nephew” by C.S. Lewis
- “Manners Can Be Fun” by Munro Leaf
- “Max and Ruby” by Rosemary Wells
- “Mercy Watson to the Rescue” by Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen
- “Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel” by Virginia Lee Burton
- “Mi Tía es Verde” by Xosé Cermeño
- “Millions of Cats” by Wanda Gag
- “The Most Magnificent Thing” by Ashley Spires
- “My Father’s Dragon” series by Ruth Stiles Gannett
- “The Mysterious Island” by Jules Verne
- “Mystery of the Haunted Pool” by Phillis A. Whitney
- The Nancy Drew mysteries by Carolyn Keene
- “Old Black Witch” by Wende Devlin
- “Once I Was Very Very Scared” by Chandra Ghosh Ippen and Erich Peter Ippen Jr.
- “One, Zero, Two” and “Beautiful Hands” by Katherine Otoshi
- “Owen” by Kevin Henkes
- “The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear and Jan Brett
- “Pantone: Box of Color” by Pantone
- “The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer
- “Pickled-Chiffon Pie” and “The Flying Hockey Stick” by Jolly Roger Bradfield
- “Pinkalicious” by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann
- “The Pout-Pout Fish” by Deborah Diesen
- “President of the Whole Fifth Grade” by Sherri Winston
- “The Princess and the Pony” by Kate Beaton
- “The Quiet Book by” Deborah Underwood
- “Ranger Rick” magazine
- “The Read-Aloud Handbook” by Jim Trelease
- “Scranimals” by Jack Prelutsky and Peter Sis
- “The Seven Silly Eaters” by Mary Ann Hoberman and Marla Frazee
- “Sleep Like a Tiger” by Mary Logue and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
- “The Story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf
- “Spooky Old Tree” by Jan and Stan Berenstein
- “Spy School” series by Stuart Gibbs
- “Still a Gorilla” by Kim Norman and illustrated by Chad Geran
- “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble” by William Steig
- “Tiffany Aching” by Terry Pratchett
- “Tumble Tower” by Mitra Modaressi and Anne Tyler
- “The Way Things Work” by David Macaulay
- “We Are in a Book!” by Mo Willems
- “What Do People Do All Day?” by Richard Scarry
- “What Pet Should I Get?” by Dr. Seuss
- “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit” by Judith Kerr
- “When the Sea Turned to Silver” by Grace Lin
- “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak
- “Why is Dad So Mad?” by Seth Kastle
- “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale” by Verna Aardema and Leo Dillon
- “The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse” by Mac Barnett
- “The Wolf’s Chicken Stew” by Keiko Kasza
- “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio
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