Skip to main content

5 Children's Books You Really Oughta Read

I love reading almost as much as I love writing. And I love writing almost as much as I love reading. Depends on the day. One never truly trumps the other. Gotta have both.

These are 5 children's books I've read within the past 2 years that gave me that turn-page feeling, that friends-with-the-characters feeling, that weepy-when-it's-over-feeling. I dare you to read one and I triple-dog-dare you to leave a comment below telling me a story that's given YOU them sort of feelings.

#5--Flotsam by David Wiesner. If you're not much of a reader (or for your loved ones who can't read at all!) check this one out. It's a whimsical wordless picture book that entertains your curiosities of what truly lies at the bottom of the sea while simultaneously indulges hopes of finding something truly awesome washed up on the shores of a summer destination spot.



#4--Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan. With three main characters, three plot lines from WWII era, music literature, and fantasy elements to boot, this novel is a true masterpiece with cliffhangers galore. But careful--you'll certainly have cravings for learning to play the harmonica by the time you're through.



#3--Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles. A story about a little girl that grows up in a funeral home and writes a column for the local newspaper. As I read this novel I transformed with Comfort from being the strong friend in grief to becoming the person needing comfort.



#2--The Wanderer by Sharon Creech. First off, Sharon Creech stole my reader's heart more than 13 years ago in her novel Walk Two Moons, so it was so easy to fall in love with another of her stories (eh, see what I did there? I snuck a 6th book you oughta read into this post, bwahahaha!). This novel details the journey of a tween girl as she ventures off with her uncles and boy cousins on a sailing journey across the Atlantic.  My entire life of also being surrounded by brothers and uncles made Sophie an automatic soul sister. But Sophie's soul touched mine more deeply as she taught me about facing my fears after traumatic experiences. And she calls her grandpa "Bompie." What's not to love in that?



#1--Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool. Clare Vanderpool is a total rockstar and my author hero of the world. There's so much to be celebrated in this book, but my favorite element is that the character Early believes that the number Pi tells a story. Like Echo, this novel blends so many elements, it's truly a bonafide masterpiece. To name a few of its strands of theme: A boat named "Sweetie Pie." A boarding school. Astronomy. Historical setting in the 1940s. Loss & healing. This book allowed me to contemplate the complexities of my own story and to realize that no genre of thought and experience is truly totally separate from another.





(Per Kevin's request, I've included another pretty rad book. We found it at D.I. once)
THE GRUFFALO by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler


(And Kevin asked for me to include another book. He read it to Charlie the other night and busted up laughing. And I sort of love him. So...Here's another)







Comments

  1. jlionsApril 10, 2018 at 7:43 PM

    Great list. Some of my favorite children's books growing up were classics like Soup From A Stone, Flossy and the Fox, Six Dinner Sid, and a delightful, Won't Somebody Play With Me by Steven Kellogg. Plus anything written by Audrey Wood and illustrated by Mark Teague.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mikayla JohnsonApril 10, 2018 at 7:52 PM

      You rock Lions, thanks so much! I can't wait to look these books up!

      Delete
  2. BorensApril 11, 2018 at 7:12 AM

    Love That! We just finished Fish in a Tree. I think you would love that one!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marissa LarsenApril 11, 2018 at 2:10 PM

    I so am loving your posts! “The Eleventh Hour” is one of my all time favorite picture books. So engaging and captivating!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mikayla JohnsonApril 11, 2018 at 7:10 PM

      Gracias Marissa! I will definitely look for it at the library :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Problem with Chick Flicks.

I really, really, really enjoy a select few movies that I willingly watch over and over again. Pride and Prejudice is one of them. You see, Elizabeth's defense of her family, her sense of self respect, her ability to admit that she was wrong and to appreciate Darcy despite all his quirks, and quizzical brow-ness... it's marvelous. My husband doesn't share the sentiment, could you tell? ... and that's okay. There's rare a chick flick I enjoy near as much as I enjoy Pride and Prejudice or A Walk To Remember , and I wanted to explain why. You see, there's more than just a few problems with (many, not all) chick flicks:  (and if you have a chick flick that escapes many of these pitfalls then please oh please leave it's title in the comment section!) The heroine (or suitor) is less than honorable. I have a hard time rooting for a girl to get a gentleman when she's spending her time being scandalously loose with other men ( #thenotebook) . An...
10 comments
Read more

Where's Number Three

A neighbor in her mid-thirties. A woman in her seventies. Their single commonality? They both asked me: Where's number three? I have a son, his name Charlie And then McKay, he's not quite three In my heart, both fit perfectly Yet others ask: Where's number three? Perhaps it's that I miscarried, My spouse's infidelity, The ache of infertility, A battle raging mentally, Illness on a crippling spree, Our family is complete, maybe. The reason's one or more of these, Yet you dare ask: Where's number three? In this question, running free Are judgements, jeering icily "You're not enough, Mik, can't you see? Buck up and give us number three!" I used to flounder, squirm, agree Or curl up small, cry, and plead. With time, I've seen things differently. I won't explain for number three. The questions of maternity Are just between my spouse and me And Parents, guiding Heavenly So please don't ask: Where's number three? Artwork Credit: Be...
4 comments
Read more

Things I Look Forward To

In my High School yearbooks, the students of the graduating class each year got to choose a quote to accompany their picture. I'm pretty sure mine was by Dr. Seuss, but to be honest, I can't rightly recall. However, I distinctly remember a quote that my friend, Cami, included beneath her picture, I've thought of it often throughout the years: "I believe the secret to life is someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to." -Elvis Presley I've found a lot of truth in that. I'm a lucky girl, and I've never had a shortage of people to love--and honestly, I can't think of a day when I haven't had plenty of things to do (or should do). But when I find myself in an emotional slump, I sometimes think of this quote. It doesn't always work, because heartaches and letdowns are real, but often my spirits have been cheered when I remember something wonderful coming up in my life. Here's a few I've got cooking in my look...
3 comments
Read more