{Kids} Book Nook Recommendations

On my search for some unusual and fun books this week, I came across some that not only had wonderful story lines but the illustrations were fantastic!

One of these books was given to my son when he was little and it not only helped him learn his ABC’s, he also learned some new and different animals. 

Let me start with The Paper Bag Princess” by Robert N. Munsch. Even the name is darling.

This tale is about a young girl who, filled with nothing but courage, charity and a fair bit of brains, goes off to rescue a young prince from a ferocious dragon. After many twists and turns, she discovers that the prince is a bit of a monster himself. The story has a wealth of small lessons for children to learn about boys and girls and expectations and disappointments, one of its strongest points is that the book serves as a wonderful introduction to the fact that not all stories end the way we expect them to (it’s still a happy ending, just a different one) and that sometimes a twist can be more satisfying anyway.

“Olivia”, by Ian Falconer is my next pick.  The black, white and red artwork, is different and charming and has hilarious illustrations. The charming portrayal of this busy and mischievous pig, Olivia, makes you smile from ear to ear. Olivia’s busy adventures take her through dress-up, playing with her cat, going to the beach and museum, (reluctantly) taking a nap, and going to bed after just one story…ok, three stories. She is good at lots of things. Good at wearing people out, scaring her brother, combing her ears, getting dressed, building sand castles, painting…everything but napping. She’s a precocious, feisty, imaginative, wonderful little pig. You’ll want to get the whole series, there are over 10!  And yes, this is the same Olivia who graces our cartoon t.v. screens too and tells us that everything is better when in costume.

Boys especially will love this one, not that girls won’t love it too. “Cowboy Alphabet” by James Rice.  This book is so well illustrated. This is one of the most fun alphabet books that pulls out the most unthinkable terms from the cowboy life and writes the descriptions in a very fun, western way.  There are zesty examples of both the ABCs and a devotion to the way of the west.  This alphabet book goes through a couple of terms from cowboy and western life for each letter of the alphabet.