Favorite children books

For some time I have had it in mind to write about the books we read, those that we love reading, over and over and over again.

Before leila and Coline were one year old their most favorite book was an introduction to kissing goodnight and a few familiar words along with bright and simple drawings:
"Pour qui ce petit bisou?" by Benedicte Guettier

Coline liked the melody of Mem Fox's poetry and Jane Dyer's beautiful watercolor illustrations in "Time for bed". She loved seeing mummies cuddle their little ones to sleep.

More recently we moved on to singing Mem Fox's" Ten little fingers and ten little toes"

And for some fun during the day we would make animal sounds with "My book of sounds around the farm"

and following the trail of Marianne Dubuc's "devant ma maison", a kind of word book with one drawing and a couple of words on each page, which as I read it in Portuguese was a wonderful opportunity to enrich my vocab in a children fairy tale-oriented way.

Coline just recently started enjoying being read to in the presence of Leila, as opposed to turning pages as quickly as possible and throwing herself on the book in a worm-like motion and with much noise. I can now sit with them jut before bedtime and get instructed to read some 5 to 15 books in the most pleasant, relaxed and attentive atmosphere. Their favorite books at the moment are fun and witty.

"De la petite taupe qui voulait savoir qui lui avait fait sur la tete" by Wolf Erlbruch, about a little mole who was accidentally pooped on and sets off to find out who did it. 

"The odd egg" by Emily Gravett, about birds and a duck who found an egg and a big surprise at the end.

"Bloub bloub bloub" by Yuichi Kasano, where a swim in the sea moves on to doing acrobatics with daddy, a turtle, a whale and other sea animals.

I find it somehow surprising that a six-page hardcover book can be a two-year-old's favorite book, but not so surprising in fact as it is one of crazy Claude Ponti's books, "Dans le loup". And it is about this obscure, puzzling and just inexplicable moment in little red ridding hood's story where we are lead to think that she and her grandmother are dead, but after all they are not. Quite a heavy topic to deal with in such little space and words, but so well dealt with by Ponti with the help of down-to-earth, straight-to-the point wording and amazingly explicit illustrations.

hmm, that just reminded me how much I love every one of Claude Ponti's delirious stories, he who thinks that imagination is like cycling, if you master the skill early enough, you will never stop pedaling. And on this note, I'll grab myself my own of Ponti, Gravett and Fox's favorite books and read myself to sleep. Good night!

I hope to read about your favorite children books too!