Great Picture Books for (helping) Others

This topic could really fall under the theme of Kindness or Cooperation, but it is just so important to emphasize this at a young age that it can only help more to follow up with books about helping others.  Children don't always understand or yet grasp what is right and what is wrong, but they can understand how nice it feels to help others.  Even if it is just helping those in your everyday life or reaching out to people in your community.

The Lion and the Mouse 

by Jerry Pinkney
A wordless picture book with gorgeous artwork of the African Savannah in this wonderful retelling of a classic fable.  This is one of our favorite books.  The kids can "read" it to us and the story and illustrations are just magical.





The Little Red Hen
Really any true version of this story is fantastic.  Right now my kids' favorite incarnation is a free iPad app book from Mindshapes. I also wrote on the Cooperation theme about The Little Red Pen, which is a fun newer version of this timeless tale.  The Little Red Pen replaces the farm animals with office supplies, but my oldest adores this book so much that he reenacted the book with our very own Pen, Stapler, Ruler, etc.

The Three Questions 

by Jon J. Muth

A retelling of an old Tolstoy fable that has a special place in my heart.  It was part of a children's theatre piece that I directed in Italy.  It is a fantastic philosophical story.  The very young can't really grasp the concept, but the kids adore the animals and some of the overall message of helping someone.  

Horton Hears a Who
by Dr. Seuss
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!  We have been reading a lot of Dr. Seuss in the past week and this particular book incites some great conversations with your kids.  Horton believes that there are living beings on a speck, but few others believe.  He goes to great lengths to help the Who's.  



The Little Engine That Could
by Watty Piper
A wonderful classic and I am certainly partial to the original edition from Watty Piper as that is what I grew up with.  The new print with illustrations by Loreen Long is a whimsical update.  I think I can.... I think I can...





And oddly enough three "Tree" books!  When I narrowed down my list, these three made the top and all had very similar titles.  

The Mitten Tree 
by Candace Christiansen
A woman knits mittens for a young boy who has none, but this is only the beginning of a beautiful story that inspires us to help others.

The Giving Tree 
by Shel Silverstein
A boy/man on his journey of life and how a tree selflessly helps him in times of need.

The Night Tree 
by Eve Bunting
A bit dated, perhaps, but a cute story to share at the holidays each year.  Most children have a difficult time seeing past the receiving of the holiday spirit.  This book can motivate us to have our own family holiday traditions of giving.  

We love new books at our house - if you love any literature on this topic that didn't make my list, please do share!

Great Picture Books for Cooperation

Cooperation is tantamount to the success of any human being.  Children can use this skill with parents, siblings, friends, aquaintances, etc.  

We have trouble at our house, as most surely do, with siblings sharing.  When reminded that if they cooperate and play nicely together, then everyone has more fun.  It really does work, but it helps to keep a book highlighting cooperation in the mix.  As always, take full advantage of your library.  Most of the books mentioned here we do not own.  I love the variety of stories and ideas that we can share with our kids because of the vast collection available to us through the library.

Greysen, my 5 year old book-lover, recently had a gift certificate for Barnes and Noble that "needed" spending.  We happened upon this first book.  Sitting in the store, we read a whole stack of books and this is the one that Greysen chose to take home.  

Red and Yellow's Noisy Night 
by Josh Selig

The illustrations are lovely and the simple story tells of olive tree inhabitants, Red and Yellow, who must work together to have a peaceful night.  The story is actually based on "The Olive Branch," an animated television series that promotes an understanding of conflict resolution and mutual respect.  More information is available through The Little Light Foundation.  Their website includes a wordless video of Red and Yellow's story:  http://www.littlelightfoundation.org/    I look forward to what the foundation may do next.

My Friend Rabbit 
by Eric Rohmann
Rabbit always seems to get into trouble, but he fortunately has some great friends that with some cooperation can solve any problem. This Caldecott Award winner really captures children's attention.  They want everything to turn out well and root for everyone working together.

The Little Red Pen 
by Susan Stevens Crummel and Janet Stevens 
This is a fantastic take on the classic story The Little Red Hen.  The illustrations are fun and oh do the kids enjoy seeing the inanimate objects come to life.  The little red pen's friends do not want to help her.  "Not I!"  This story goes further than most Little Red Hen adaptations, in that the conflict is resolved through the cooperation of the friends.

The Tale of Pip and Squeak 
by Kate Duke
A tale of sibling discord, but when they have a common goal they learn to work together or cooperate.  The illustrations are quite detailed and the overall message is a great one for bickering siblings or friends.  

Cooperation books continued: 

Swimmy 
by Leo Lionni

Duck and Goose 
by Tad Hills

A Little Story About a Big Turnip 
by Tatiana Zunshine

Whale is Stuck/Whale Gets Stuck 
by Karen Hayles, illustrated by Charles Fuge
[It appears that this book had a recent reprint under a new title, but both are the same book.]

Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen 
by Howard Binkow

This book also has a great accompanying website (http://wedolisten.org/) where you can watch/read many Wigglebottom stories and access other related activities. 


We love new books at our house - if you love any other literature on this topic, please share!

Our Absolute Favorite Author/Illustrator

I have always loved books. My entire life I have been fascinated with them, the beauty of them.  I was an advanced reader at a young age and just wouldn't put books down.  I still find myself doing that, although in the past few years it is usually Childrens' Picture books that catch my fancy.  Of course, these do combine two of my favorite things: literature and art.  


Picture books can be truly engaging, educational and beautiful.  My husband and I spend a lot of time reading books to our children, ages 2 and 5.  They in turn spend a lot of time curled up with their favorite books.  Our 5 year old, Greysen, is just grasping basic reading skills, so a whole new world of reading is opening up to him.  Camden, our precocious 2 year old, will rarely sit still, but loves to sit in front of the bookcase and "read" all of the books - her often word-for-word retelling is amazing.


I think books hold an amazing power for children to learn and grow.  Not simply for the language skills, but also the life lessons.  I will try to label all of the books that I post so that the topics covered are easier to access.  My local librarians are incredibly helpful when it's come to finding books on particular topics: sharing, anger, loss, bullying.  I have looked in the past for a website to help me find great books within these topics, but have found none.  If you know of any, please share them here.  


What better way to start this blog than with our favorite author/illustrator, Charles Fuge. This does not cover one particular topic, but we enjoy his books so thoroughly that he must be the first thing that we share.

I believe our first encounter with Charles Fuge was with his book I Know a Rhino.  We happened upon it at the local library and oh what fun!  


"I know a Rhino, We like to take tea, I have two sugars, and Rhino has three"


Very simple rhyming and fun animal illustrations.  That is probably what we love most about Fuge's books.  I don't know a child that doesn't adore animals and his illustrations certainly make the animals adorable.  


Sadly, this book is out of print, but you can find it at the library or in used format (that's where I got our copy).


When I discover an author/illustrator that I love, I enjoy searching out their other literature.  We have found that we like (and subsequently own) nearly everything that Fuge has written/illustrated.  

Bedtime Hullabaloo! is by far our favorite book.  Written by David Conway and illustrated by Charles Fuge, Bedtime Hullabaloo! is just so much darn fun.  While I've read some critics feel that the alliteration and wordplay is uneven, my whole family thinks it is great fun.  


"One night on the silly savannah a ludicrous leopard is leapfrogging to bed..."


Greysen and Camden can recite the whole book (and can tell someone when they've read it incorrectly!).  We plan to share it at a Campfire Stories event at our library this week.


Once again, Fuge's illustrations are playful and amusing images of animals.  

We have read every book on the list below of Fuge's works and loved them all.  His earlier works are not as playful, the animal illustrations are a little more realistic, but still beautiful.   We usually give gifts of books and those pictured here are top choice!

Greysen and Camden's review of all of the above books: "We love the animals and the stories that have stuffed animals.  We love the animals.  We love the animals!"

I tried to label each book as to the main topics or themes covered.  I will likely revisit many of these books in future posts.  

Charles Fuge Illustrated Books
Title	Author	Labels
Whale is Stuck/Whale Gets Stuck	Hayles, Karen	cooperation, problem solving
Flea's Best Friend	Fuge, Charles	dogs
Dinosaurs! : a spot-the-difference puzzle book	Parker, Steve	puzzle
Sam's Sneaker Search	O'Brien, Claire	lost, found, shoes
My dad!	Fuge, Charles	dad, father
It's a Monster Party!	Pym, Tasha	differences, new friends
I Know a Rhino	Fuge, Charles	bedtime, animals, rhyme
Trumpet: the little elephant with a big temper	Clarke, Jane	temper, tantrum, anger
I Love It When You Smile	McBratney, Sam	bad day, bad mood, smiling
Yes We Can!	McBratney, Sam	individuality, friendship
This is the Way	Fuge, Charles	animal sounds, animal actions
Yip!Snap!Yap!	Fuge, Charles	sounds
Astonishing Animal ABC	Fuge, Charles	ABC, alphabet, animals
Bedtime Hullabaloo	Conway, David	bedtime
Three Little Dinosaurs	Fuge, Charles	flight, dinosaurs, friends
Wombat Series:
Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball	Churchill, Vicki	favorite things, bedtime
Found You, Little Womat!	McAllister, Angela	getting lost, being found
Swim, Little Wombat, Swim!	Fuge, Charles	making new friends, differences
Where To, Little Wombat!	Fuge, Charles	adventure, home
The Adventures of Little Wombat	multiple	(includes the first four books)
Watch Out, Little Wombat!	Fuge, Charles	imagination, monsters
Gilbert Series:
Gilbert the Great	Clarke, Jane	loss, making new friends
Gilbert in Deep	Clarke, Jane	fearless, danger, adventure
Gilbert the Hero	Clarke, Jane	baby, brother