Like most Children’s Librarians, I love picture books. You might know by now, that if it’s a post from Suzi, chances are, it’s about picture books. Let me give you a quick view into my day as a Children’s librarian. One of my daily jobs is to pick books off the shelves that have been put on hold by patrons the prior day. It’s a great way to see what books are being requested all around the city. Every once in a while, I get to do the pick list downstairs, THE GROWNUP BOOKS.
And every time that happens, I discover way too many grown up books that I want to read, if only I had the time. One Friday, I discovered, in the graphic design section (741.6, for you Dewey nerds), a book by Martin Salisbury, simply called 100 Great Children’s Picture Books. Prof. Salisbury teaches at the Cambridge School of Art, in Cambridge, England. His book discusses picture books from all over the world, in chronological order of publication. Some are in English but many other languages books are included. You will recognize books by H.A. Rey (Curious George), Make Way for Ducklings, and others. I was particularly drawn to one I had never seen, Ounce Dice Trice by Alistair Reid with drawings by Ben Shahn. A quick trip to Better World Books and I had acquired it.
I read parts of Ounce Dice Trice to my 4 year old niece and she loved it! The play on words is really fun: words that are heavy, for instance, include galoshes. She did think it was long, though, so we stopped in the middle. However, when I first got the book in the mail, I read it all the way through. I think it would be a great book to use in a language arts classroom, and like I did with my niece, I can see reading portions of the book in a story time setting.
What fun books have you come across “by accident”?
This post addresses ALSC competency IV. Collection Knowledge and Management.
Michele A.
Due to your post, I put 100 Great Children’s Picture Books on hold at the Stark Library, and I will look for Ounce, Dice, Trice. Thank you for writing.