11
May
2010
These are a few of my favourite things….PICTURE BOOKS
My favourite book. Get your hands on it.
Or so the song goes. These are actually a few of my favourite children’s picture books for the under 5s. I know, I know, there are literally thousands of wonderful books, and as clever and efficient as I am, I haven’t quite got through them all. Astounding I realise.
My requirements for being added to this illustrious list include gorgeous illustrations, fun or charming stories (a sense of humour doesn’t go astray) and something that I don’t want to set fire to the fortieth time I read it. And I have to admit a terrible bias towards Australian books here – I don’t know if it’s because some of them reflect my own childhood stories, or their cheekiness just appeals to me, but I have to put it out there.
So to keep you going while I make my way through every single children’s book in the world, here are some of my favourites:
- Wanted: The Perfect Pet – this is probably my favourite book ever. Mainly for the over 2s but good for a few years after that due to the detail, it is very funny, very sweet, very engaging and has lovely line-style drawings. It also provides good scope for me to show off the breadth of my story reading skills. Love it.
29
Oct
2009
Happy Birthday Asterix and Thank You Rene Goscinny
Today is the 50th anniversary of Asterix and Obelisk. Happy Birthday guys! For certain people this is a BIG deal. It’s top news here in Spain and I am personally hoping to see some people, very large men specifically, celebrating by baring their man breasts and donning stripey trousers and wigs. I know weird. I can’t explain it.
But the the thing for which I REALLY love René Goscinny (other than bringing us large men in high pants) is the result of one of his other collaborations with an illustrator, this time Jean-Jacques Sempé; the book series, “Le Petit Nicolas”, or, in English, Little Nicholas (published by Phaidon, who have a dedicated website to the series here).
I fell in love with Little Nicholas while reading the Spanish version to practise my Spanish. I guessed it would be better than studying grammar exercises, and I was right. I CRIED with laughter all the time (see, that doesn’t happen when practicing verb conjugation) and I only understood about 50% of what I was reading.
