Please note, for the links to work you need to click on the title of the book to be taken to the full post. Thanks Tarnya
"The picture book is a peculiar art form that thrives on genius, intuition, daring and a meticulous attention to its history and its various, complex components. The picture book is a picture puzzle, badly misunderstood by critics and condescended to by far too many as merely a trifle for "the kiddies." Children are routinely patronized and thus so are we who spend our creative lives entertaining them and nourishing their spirit" Maurice Sendak
Books for Later Readers
Books that have high-interest, lower level reading material for 8+ years. Books the child can read but I have included books that have excellent illustrations so that it is not necessary to read the text to enjoy the book.
Pyramid and others by David Macaulay
This book shows in rich detailed illustration and text how the pyramids were built ( just by slave power, there were no cranes etc!) This book and others by David Macaulay have been particularly wonderful for my later reader son. The illustrations are so wonderful that he can enjoy the book without having to... »
My Father’s Dragon: Three Tales by Ruth Stiles Gannett
My Father’s Dragon: Three Tales: 50th Anniversary Ed My 10 year loves these books. I read the first one aloud to him when he was about 8. They were one of the first real chapter books that he read to himself. They have lovely illustrations. The type is large for easier reading, the vocabulary is... »
Busiest People Ever By Richard Scarry
I grew up with Richard Scarry. I love his illustrations and his humour. Some people do criticise the text and that Mother Cat does the dishes … I’ll admit it isn’t the best read aloud. I think these are great browsing books for kids and books that we read together a little and then... »
How Much is A Million? By Steven Kellogg
I’m having trouble with trillions, a word which is increasingly appearing in the news after the credit crunch. A billion dollars seems hard to understand! A billion seconds ago it was 1959! Watch this to begin to grasp how big these numbers are. The NZ government ( at the time of this post) is... »
George and Martha by James Marshall
These picture books are a little like Frog and Toad because they contain truths that are recognised by children and adults. For example in one of the stories in the series George pretends to like pea soup because it would be hard to tell Martha. His deceit is discovered ( Martha sees George pour... »
Weapons by Edwin Tunis
When my boys were little I banned guns. Then they picked up sticks which were swords, guns etc. So I decided to embrace their love of tools of defense;-) I preferred to think along the lines of self defense, fighting off lions and tigers or evil villains, who had come to invade our... »