My love for reading was developed and cultivated on the lap of my mother.
Sweet Pickles Books (1977)
Smart moms know how kids’ minds grow upon sweet pickles!
Imitating Iguana has no mind of her own. Incapable of self-direction, she adopts a “Me too!” mentality and blindly follows the crowd. “If everyone is doing it, it must be right!” she exclaims.
Sweet Pickles is a series of 40 classic children’s books based on 26 animal characters living in the town of Sweet Pickles. There’s one character for each letter of the alphabet and each has an exaggerated human personality trait. One-by-one, the characters finds themselves faced with one of life’s common pickles, but just because a pickle is a problem doesn’t mean it can’t be handled! The life lessons that come out of each character’s pickle impart basic values, ethics and social skills to children.
I had the entire collection of Sweet Pickles and I loved them so much.
The Berenstain Bears: Go to School (1978)
Illus. in full color. A sympathetic story about Sister Bear, who conquers her fear of starting kindergarten.
My brother and I loved The Berenstain Bears Books. This is another collection we owned in its entirety. They are still some of my favorites.
Where the Wild Things Are (1963)
One night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him ‘Wild Thing’ and sends him to bed without his supper. That night a forest begins to grow in Max’s room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are. Max tames the wild things and crowns himself as their king, and then the wild rumpus begins. But when Max has sent the monsters to bed, and everything is quiet, he starts to feel lonely and realizes it is time to sail home to the place where someone loves him best of all.
My favorite picture book of all time. I remember my mother reading this over and over and over again.
Donald Duck and the Witch Next Door (1974)
Donald Duck and the Witch Next Door was one of my favorites growing up. I still have my banged up Little Golden Book copy.
I love this book and to this day it still brings a smile to my face.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The quintessential cautionary tale, Peter Rabbit warns naughty children about the grave consequences of misbehaving. When Mrs. Rabbit beseeches her four furry children not to go into Mr. McGregor’s garden, the impish Peter naturally takes this as an open invitation to create mischief. He quickly gets in over his head, when he is spotted by farmer McGregor himself. Any child with a spark of sass will find Peter’s adventures remarkably familiar. And they’ll see in Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail that bane of their existence: the “good” sibling who always does the right thing. One earns bread and milk and blackberries for supper, while the obstinate folly of the other warrants medicine and an early bedtime.
Peter Rabbit is still a classic and still brings happiness to all who meet him.
Here is my mother reading with my sons….
Grandma and Michael
Grandma and Mateo
