I’m adding to the Candy Reading List this month with a few more picture books for ages 3 to 10 that are among our favorites. Summer is a good time to get to your local library to pass the time and escape the heat. Check out these picture books and let me know what you think. I’d also love to see your favorites so tell me about them in the comments.
Let’s talk about books!
Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox/Erin Dealey
This book’s brightly colored, animated illustrations look like pop art. Goldie Locks is sick with dots so the whole neighborhood— from Henny Penny to Red Ridinghood to Bo Peep– pays a visit to check her spots. The rhyming stanzas are clever and funny and we love the ending, when her pesky little brother gets his just desserts.
Mr. Mumble/Peter Catalanotto
Most kids love animals and this book is chock-full of them, showing up in unexpected places, which always gets a laugh. Mr. Mumble is not speaking clearly so his day of errands turns into one crazy mishap after another. My boys love trying to figure out what he’s really saying. Just when he’s getting ready to page Dr. Doolittle, the mumbling mystery is solved!
Sakes Alive A Cattle Drive/Karma Wilson
Wilson is a wonderful author and illustrator who has a gift for farm farce. Hilarity ensues when two cows escape in the farmer’s pickup and the whole town chases them down. These bold and brave bovines make quite a scene, one that your kids won’t forget.
Pout-Pout Fish/Deborah Diesen
While this sea story is aimed at younger kids, all readers can learn from the message of turning that frown upside down. Mr. Fish’s spirits have sunk as low as the ocean floor and he feels doomed to the depths until another fish turns him around. It’s a good lesson that we all have a choice to prevent the pout.
What a fun list — thank you for including The Pout-Pout Fish!
Best Fishes,
Debbie Diesen (author of The Pout-Pout Fish)