PICTURE BOOKS: After the kids’ books post, I started thinking about picture books as well. I remember picture books much less vividly, since I generally didn’t reread them in later life, but there are some that stand out–Tomie de Paola’s Prince of the Dolomites, what I think might have been Patricia Tracy Lowe’s version of Alexander Dumas’s Tale of Czar Saltan, William Pene du Bois’s Lion (truly a magical book, perfectly combining the ethereal and the sensual–it’s the story of an angel who designs the lion).

Here’s a list from the New York Public Library that has a lot of good stuff–I can vouch for Blueberries for Sal, Bread and Jam for Frances (and all the Frances books), Caps for Sale, Corduroy, George and Martha, Harry and the Purple Crayon, Harry the Dirty Dog, Miss Nelson Is Missing, Babar, Strega Nona, There’s a Nightmare in My Closet, Tikki Tikki Tembo (hey, do I still remember the kid’s whole name? Tikki Tikki Tembo No-Sa Rembo Cherry Berry Ruchi Puchi Pip Perry Pembo–I think that was it!), The Very Hungry Caterpillar; and, of course, everything by Maurice Sendak ever. Oh, and Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling (what a great name!)–a great book about a carved Indian in a carved canoe who makes his way through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

Wow. Those were fun. Surely you know a kid who could use one…!