Just went through my daughter’s bookshelves and sorted out the many children’s books for young children. Some of these books are from my childhood, some I bought as an adult because I’ve always loved illustrated children’s books, some were bought fifteen years ago, when my son was a baby, and some in the last eleven years since my daughter was born. Oh, what wonderful books they are and what happy memories they hold; lying in bed at night reading them to my children.

I will pass a good amount of them on to kindergartens, grade schools, and friends with young children, but some I will hold on to. They are the type of books I will read over and over again. And, might I risk making a wish, to read them to my grandchildren in years to come?

In case any of you are looking for some good books for young children here are a few keepers:

I love the following six books because of their storylines and use of language…

Sloppy Kisses, by Elizabeth Winthrop, illustrations by Anne Burgess

This is a wonderful book about a young girl pig, Emmy Lou, who shuns her father’s exuberant unselfconscious sloppy kisses, after her (so-called) friend, Rosemary, pronounces kissing being just for babies.

“Could Be Worse!”, by James Stevenson

Two young grandchildren learn that even the most steadfast of grandfathers can become throw predictability aside and lose himself in a marvellous flight of fantasy.

Irma hat so große Füße, by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert

(English translation is available, Little Big Feet)

Nearly all of this couples’ books are wondrous: Hole in the Bucket, There’s a Crocodile under my Bed, etc. But there is something delightful about little Irma, a miniature-sized witch who runs away from her witch village because of being teased. Every magic spell she tries doesn’t work out at all and, to make matters worse, they only succeed in making her feet grow larger.

Tales Of A Gambling Grandma, text and illustrations by Dayal Kaur Khalsa

This is the grandmother any young girl with an ounce of spunk in her blood dreams of having.

Sleeping Dragons All Around, by Sheree Fitch, illustrated by Michele Nidenoff

A young girl goes off on an adventure of avoiding a lair of dragons while she sneaks around her house at night in pursuit of a piece of deeee-light-ful dee-dragon-dee-licious Mocha Maple Chocolate Cake.

Leon and Bob, by Simon James

This is a delightful story of making a new friend and a miraculous coincidence.

The following four books are brilliant because the illustrators managed to illuminate the storylines:

The Owl and the Pussycat, by Edward Lear, illustrations by Jan Brett

The Nightingale, by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrations by Lisbeth Zwerger

Ooh-la-la (Max in Love), text and illustrations by Maira Kalman

Snow-white and the Seven Dwarfs, A tale from the brothers Grimm, translated by Randall Jarrell, illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert

On a parting note, Maira Kalman is truly one of my heros. If you ever get a chance to read her work, please do so. She is presently doing a monthly blog entry for the New York Times, Time Select (subscription required) section. She writes, she draws, she is fanciful, provocative, free-spirited, complex, intelligent, witty, and a complete hoot.