The Pithy Python: Gifts for 5-8 Year Olds

For my final installment in this year's gift giving suggestions....

Picture books for early elementary children are some of the best choices you can make: deceptively simple, yet full of metaphor, rich language and humor, picture books demand inference and critical thinking skills. They build a foundation that is all too often skimped on by parents who urge their children on toward chapter books. (For more, read the depressing New York Times article about current trends.)

I've been trying to remember books that were given to me as gifts when I was young. There were some weird choices. Anybody have any gift books they remember from childhood?

Edith the Lonely Doll by Dare Wright. Holy cow! A twisted, tortured story full of loneliness, cross-dressing and spanking with painful autobiographical overtones. Anybody else remember this one? My Aunt Margaret gave it to me when I was about six.

We the Living by Ayn Rand. Double holy cow! I think my outcast Uncle David was trying to influence my political development. I read the thing in the 8th grade. 8th grade! Talk about urging young minds forward too fast!

Herewith are some of my favorite recent picture books, but don't forget to check the top 100 picture books (from a poll of children's librarians) and my list from last year for more ideas.

For younger children:

Brontorina by James Howe. Despite her size and not having the proper footwear, a determined dinosaur pursues her dream of becoming a ballerina.

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills. A little yellow bird teaches Rocket the dog how to read by first introducing him to the alphabet.

The Dollhouse Fairy by Jane Ray. Worried about her father’s trip to the hospital, Rosy goes to play with the special dollhouse he built for her and finds Thistle, a very messy and mischievous fairy who needs a place to stay while her injured wing mends.

Sneaky Sheep by Chris Monroe. Blossom and Rocky, two sneaky and not very bright sheep, keep trying to get away from the rest of the flock, in spite of the dangers they encounter.

Pink! by Lynne Rickards. Teased in school for being pink, Patrick the penguin leaves the South Pole to live with the flamingos in Africa.

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when he rescues the King of the Jungle.

Mr. Putney's Quacking Dog by Jon Agee. Mr. Putney has all sorts of unusual friends including an overweight orangatan, an octopus with cold feet, and an elephant that is difficult to see. Riddles with wacky answers, perfect for emerging readers and those of us who like bad puns.

The Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan. Having to take her younger sister along the first time she is invited to a birthday party spoils Rubina’s fun, and later when that sister is asked to a party and baby sister wants to come, Rubina must decide whether to help.

My People by Langston Hughes. Sepia toned photographs by Charles R. Smith, Jr. accompany Langston Hughes’ classic poem "My People" and celebrate the glory, beauty, and soul of the African-American community.

Bad Kitty and sequels by Nick Bruel. When a kitty discovers there is no cat food in the house, she decides to become very, very bad.
Benny and Penny graphic series by Geoffrey Hayes.

Cat the Cat, Who Is That? by Mo Willems. An exuberant cat introduces readers to her friends. You can't go wrong with anything by Mo Willems, an American treasure, a Dr. Seuss for the 21st century. Try also Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep, the Knuffle Bunny series, the Pigeon series and the Elephant & Piggie series.

Hey, Rabbit! by Sergio Ruzzier. Rabbit finds something inside his suitcase for each of his friends, but when he is done giving gifts there might not be anything left for him.

My Abuelita by Tony Johnston. With great gusto, a child’s grandmother performs deep knee bends, consumes a breakfast of "huevos estrellados," and practices vocal exercises before going to work as a storyteller.

Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser. Deer has told Squirrel how wonderful snow is. But Squirrel gets bored with the wait. With his friend Hedgehog they pass the time by singing and waking Bear. Soon things are falling from the sky, but they aren’t snow. But eventually they find what snow is.

Shades of People by Shelley Rotner. Explores the many different shades of human skin, and points out that skin is just a covering that does not reveal what someone is like inside.

For older children (6 ish and up, sometimes way up):

Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin A. Ramsey. When Ruth and her parents take a motor trip from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandma, they rely on a pamphlet called "The Negro Motorist Green Book" to find places that will serve them.

Daydreams of a Solitary Hamster by Astrid Desbordes. Relates in comic strip style the adventures of the often selfish and self-absorbed Hamster and his affectionate friends Mole, Hedgehog, Snail, Squirrel and Rabbit as they ponder aspects of life and prepare to celebrate Hamster’s birthday.

My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete. A girl tells what it is like living with her twin brother who has autism and sometimes finds it hard to communicate with words, but who, in most ways, is just like any other boy.

Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney. The inspiring story of the Greensboro lunch counter sit in. Jerry Pinkney, Brian Pinkney and Andrea Davis Pinkney are essential parts of any child's library. The family has more than 50 books among them, all exquisitely illustrated and full of possibilities for conversation with children.

Pea Boy and Other Stories from Iran by Elizabeth Laird and Shirin Adl. Folktales from around the world enrich us and are an essential element of literacy.

The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Saved Jews During the Holocaust by Karen Gray Ruelle. An illustrated picture book that tells of how Muslims helped to hide escaped prisoners of war and Jews of all ages in the complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris during World War II.

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill. An extraordinary artist who lived in South Carolina the 1800s and had the audacity, as a slave, to sign his work, carving poetry into his pots that are now prized in museums.

Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers. Jeremy sets out to discover all of the different "people" that make him who he is, including brother, son, writer, and runner.

I Want To be Free by Joseph Slate. A children’s story based on a sacred Buddhist tale that recounts the story of an escaped slave who rescues an abandoned baby from slave hunters

Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeannette Winter. Nasreen stops speaking and tries to isolate herself after the Taliban take her parents, but with the help of a good friend and a secret school, Nasreen slowly begins to break out of her shell.

And here are my all-time folk and fairy tale collections, not necessarily recent but invaluable: