Has anyone semi-recent experience with picture books?

[thanate]

We have discovered something that young Miss Chews-on-everything will not put in her mouth: Koosh balls. (clever child) Unfortunately, I seem to have instilled the lesson that books are a good thing a little too early, as I suddenly find myself saying things like "No, we don't chew on library books," several times a day. Wiggling and mobility are increasing; we're not up to crawling yet, but the elements are starting to emerge. Also, the new floors are all down, so we've put back the rug and there's now much more space to wiggle about in with a little padding.

We've been wandering through the picture books, as if I sit the Megatherium in my lap and hold the book out in front of us on the floor we can still manage to read things (though to what extent she's paying attention to the pictures varies.) and I'm finding that we have a good selection of things about animals, and lots of white American kids, a few multi-cultural classrooms, and extremely little with kids that aren't little white kids. So far there are a couple world folktales (multi-cultural grownups), The Story of Ping (duck who lives in a houseboat on the Yangtze, but with a few people being reasonably person-like) and one little black boy (A Whistle for Willie I think? Something like that-- little city boy wants to whistle to call his dog, wanders about, keeps trying, eventually succeeds. Sort of thin in the plot continuity department from an adult standpoint but a kid-tested classic.) Has anyone run into anything good with a little more character diversity?

Comments

[calliopeoracle]

I remember really enjoying Corduroy by Don Freeman, which is mostly about a teddy bear but his little girl is black. Sadly, I can't really think of any other than the two you mentioned.

[thanate]

Wait, really? I didn't remember that-- I know the book is around somewhere, but it must be one my mother has as I haven't set eyes on it in years.

[calliopeoracle]

Yeah. I loved that book as a kid and never even realized it until someone else pointed it out. She was always just a girl to me.
I looked up a few pages just to make sure that my memory wasn't tricking me, but yeah. Funny how that just wasn't something that even registered to my childhood brain.

[calliopeoracle]

Oh and I thought of another! The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

[thanate]

Which is totally the effect I'm going for-- normal people come in multiple colors. Thanks! :)

[batchix.livejournal.com]

rikitikitamboalsorambocharliebarleyruchipipberrypambo was a story that had asian kids in it. I'm not sure if it's politically correct anymore and I can't remember if that was the name of the book. It's the name of the kid in the book. the first born son gets a long important name, but when he falls in the well, his brother has to go for help and because of his long name, the boy drowns. It sounds macabre, but it was pretty funny when I was little.

There's a korean version of Cinderella out there too.

[heuchera.livejournal.com]

Given the propensity for slobber, ripping, bashing, and chewing, we haven't moved beyond our own board books yet, but we do like Global Babies (put out by The Global Fund for Children) which has nice pictures of babies from around the world. No plot. Matthew does seem to like to look at the babies' faces.

[thanate.livejournal.com]

Part of the reason I'm going through picture books now (as opposed to just board books & reading her bits of whatever I'm reading) is to make sure I cull anything I absolutely cannot stand the thought of reading aloud fifty times before she's old enough to make requests.

Also, unlike the board books, I can still hold the bigger ones out of arm's reach while reading them. :)

[thanate.livejournal.com]

I think my mother may have that one-- I do remember it, and also that it doesn't hold up very well to modern sensibilities. I'm kind of hoping that someone with older-than-mine kids will know of something that *isn't* 30+ years old-- There's always the library, but we need to master not eating library books first. :)

[batchix.livejournal.com]

all my books were cloth when i was Meg's age. XD

Try looking for books from hawaii? I know out here on the west coast there's a lot of Japanese-hawaiian stores that carry children's books specific to those cultures. You could also look for the story of Hachiko, the faithful dog. And of course... Everybody Poops- which is korean or japanese, I can't remember.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Snowman-Blue-Ribbon-Book/dp/0590448730 i also had this one as a kid... but i don't know how much of a picture book it is. I can't remember.