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Ok by popular demand and also because it is my current Mania, a thread of cool children's books in no particular order I shall expand as more arrive (more, will Arrive) https://t.co/Vjmy9mKKk7
1. Anything by the D'Aulaires Beautiful illustrations, wonderful stories. Their _Greek Myths_ are absolutely required--I loved that book more than anything as a six year old. Somewhat bowdlerized--Zeus "took wives", and the last photo is the ending to Abraham Lincoln 😅 https://t.co/T0gaj8dgNL
2. Madeline, of course! The story of a cheeky girl who lives in an orphanage (??) and gets appendicitis. My copy comes with a helpful list of the Parisian landmarks depicted in the illustrations. https://t.co/SECCa8llTK
3. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble Have you ever wanted a children's version of I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream? (There is a happy ending) The author is a sweetheart, his Caldecott Award speech also attached https://t.co/adpaOPl7z7
4. Winnie-the-Pooh Sadly I somehow did NOT have this as a child but I will rectify this for the next generation An excellent introduction to Books with Maps which I understand to be a distinct genre of books, you know exactly what I am talking about https://t.co/qHJKxT243m
5. Make Way for Ducklings The tragic story of a family of ducks who are forced by circumstance to live in Boston, where local police racially profile them https://t.co/3f9dVG3Ap8
6. Beatrix Potter (various) Stories about anthropomorphic Victorian animals, lovingly illustrated Samuel Whiskers (last photo) terrified me https://t.co/rwQYEzqYFg
7. The Story About Ping A dry treatise on the animal husbandry practices of the Han people of the Yangtze basin during the late Qing Dynasty, I don't know why this is marketed to children https://t.co/i3c5Dc0wq9
8. The Clown of God The story of a young boy in Sorrento with a gift. It's an introduction to ageing and death and it is acheingly beautiful. Catholics beware this is a work of blatant Franciscan propaganda https://t.co/T4v9OGFXXQ
9. Russian Fairy Tales I have no idea who wrote this and it doesn't matter because it was illustrated by Ivan Bilibin and I could look at his work all day Russian stories are spooky af and kids love scary stuff https://t.co/hN3a2n3iG1
10. Stone Soup Superficially a whimsical tale of three buddies running a friendly scam on a group of villagers, Stone Soup also teaches children about how they too can grow up to eat at the trough of the Military-Industrial Complex https://t.co/DFNqVLG8IS
11. Go Dog Go This book is incredibly stupid 64 pages of this crap I remember liking it but on a second pass I may burn this before my kids take a liking to it and I have to read it every night I regret everything about this book https://t.co/P56LZ71Pr7
12. Magic School Bus books Ok I'm less angry now. The Magic School Bus books are fun and a compelling-for-a-child explanations about stuff like anatomy and earth science Also Arthur, dear put-upon Arthur Wonder how much of this stuff failed to replicate https://t.co/mhJMjK5QtT
13. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel Although it is a story of the industrial age, its themes are eternal You can read this book to your child while you hold back tears thinking about how GPT-5 has rendered your labor entirely without value https://t.co/yad3jkur4r
14. Look Out For Pirates! Out of print and hard to find, a rollicking adventure story about a group of sea-boys besting a group of Pirates, stealing their treasure, and pulling a Wickerman (Nic Cage) on the pirate crew https://t.co/CFTIwe47ez
15. YOU WILL GO TO THE MOON First published in 1959, this book has led to deep cynicism about the rate of technological advances in several generations of children No Virginia you will not go to the fucking Moon https://t.co/pea9aUJ7wn
16. Wombat Stew A companion story to Stone Soup, involving more soup, more rampaging violations of the NAP, and more pranking It's fine. Mostly have for nostalgia. https://t.co/hIE04RtnBJ
17. Pickles the Fire Cat a somber Diogenetic reflection on virtue, wrath, remorse, and repentence https://t.co/hqydn6v8IK
18. The Velveteen Rabbit This one is actually extremely good and beautiful and I don't think I can actually remember the details of the story and I'm not going to reread it now because I'm not in a mood to sob uncontrollably https://t.co/wYUvovTi0v
19. Love You Forever I liked this book as a child (I don't think my parents read it to me) and it made me appreciate their love for me in a very real way. I also learned about growing up, maybe. I will not be getting it for my kids because it turns out it is heartbreaking https://t.co/QwloJZJtCp
20. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom One of the dumber ways to introduce kids to the alphabet but its got a good beat and you can dance to it https://t.co/AuhHNugyUI
21. The Runaway Bunny A cute book about motherly love for an age when kids aren't really ready to be aggressively independent https://t.co/180hEBPYts
22. The Paper Bag Princess A book that teaches girls about the importance of being brave and clever and not tolerating bums And boys to appreciate brave and clever girls, and to not be bums https://t.co/NcNsJtPEHv
23. Saint George and the Dragon The author adapted /Spencer/ for kids and Hyman illustrated down to marginalia. We shall see her work again. Kegan 3 is important for kids because good things are, Good and this book is an embodiment of this precept. A thing of beauty. https://t.co/agcysFdTmm
24. Bilbo's Last Song It turns out that you can never introduce Tolkein too early. I only learned of this a week ago, and wasn't sure what I would get; I rather like it! A lovely poem, a nocturne, an elegy. Sleep well, kiddo, and dream of Aman https://t.co/0MhS9vvgdu
25. The Little Prince Written by war hero Antoine de Saint-Exupery, needing no introduction, of course you must have known this book would make the list and everyone should read it BUT Did you /also/ know that some magnificent bastard made an unabridged pop-up version? https://t.co/oedKYhCXv6
got some packages https://t.co/sWad3w2Uor
26. The Kitchen Knight This is another Hodge/Hyman collaboration, this time retelling part of the story of Gareth from the Matter of England Another entry in my Good Things are Good early childhood curriculum, upon which I shall expound going forward https://t.co/CWrjGSdG5K
27. East of the Sun, West of the Moon Norse folk tales. @orthonormalist has a fantastic reading list somewhere--preparation for a great books curriculum, but for kids. I understand it's full of folk tales. This is not a mistake. Children's books should be beautiful. https://t.co/KWDQHK1DKt
28. Frederick There are many good ways to live. Frederick shows one of them. https://t.co/aKjgZJQlui
29. Babar My parents took me to a children's theater production of Babar when I was six. The narrator was introducing the Elephant King with a series of astounded questions--"Who could this be?" I shouted "It's Babar, silly!" and he graciously granted me, "Yes, it's Babar." https://t.co/nj3kFroTsr
30. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins I don't know whether this was a popular Jewish story before it was published in _Cricket_ but by the time I was nine even my semirural Catholic school had a copy https://t.co/3WAXpZECkz
32. Little Red Riding Hood Of course everyone knows this story, but everyone must also hear it for the first time. A problem with many stories is that they are written for the entertainment of a jaded reader, rather than for a naive child. Modern Disney movies exemplify this. https://t.co/XUD5wY1eqf
33. The Stinky Cheese Man This book is a distillation of the phenomenon I mentioned above. It is nonsensical without a familiarity of the base material; it is an attaqq on decency and aesthetics; it is concentrated irony poisoning. It is however reasonably funny. https://t.co/C6ZlHzRd7h
31. Oops I missed it Here's the name of the list I mentioned, haven't found a direct link Thanks buddy! https://t.co/Y98RFHxnQ3
34. The Little Old Man Who Could Not Read Recommended by a mutual, this is the story of a sweet old man and his incredibly long-suffering wife. I suspect there is much empathy for illiterate kids here. https://t.co/nz4rIDw9S4
35. The Rainbow Goblins Another mutual's recommendation although @selentelechia remembers it from her childhood A tale of wickedness, gluttony, and hubris Sumptuously illustrated by an Italian Count, painting oil on oak https://t.co/o4KQnAw1rA
36. Rapunzel I wonder what it was like to publish stories about heteronormative families with uncomplicated love for one another in the late 20th century. Especially as Hyman herself was divorced, with a child; she may have been gay. What was she looking for in her art? https://t.co/eU85Yy1o5h
37. Calvin and Hobbes Extremely good to read as a parent or as a kid or just generally. The complete collection is very nice but heavy for small hands. I used to babysit a bright two year old named Phinneas who identified with Calvin intensely. He made his own transmogrifier. https://t.co/ujo4U3BXB1
38. Swimmy A children's introduction to ecobolshevism, ethereally illustrated https://t.co/8zA6es7Wdv
39. Strega Nona A good introduction to the multifarious dangers of witchcraft, and the corruption of even the clergy by that black art. Excellent preparatory material for a future scholar of Malleus Maleficarum https://t.co/eMp3W4U067
40. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Stories are not actually scary. Appropriate for ages 0-3. https://t.co/2Mg3tPZB4z
41. Where The Wild Things Are Monarchoprimitivist Calvin and Hobbes https://t.co/v9J6hVQ4qk
42. Corduroy Every think about how corduroy is probably actually a terrible fabric for a stuffed animal of any variety https://t.co/8idYcX6Jt2
43. Goodnight Moon Deep lore: 1. My ex had a theory the old woman was actually a ghost 2. Some old biddy kept this out of the New York Public Library for decades https://t.co/1fuP9pvPuO
Baby is not due til late February/early March and this is all I know how to do to prepare for being a dad I find myself getting more books about as quickly I list them here, another dozen or two are on the way along with a few dozen I have that I haven't posted yet Oh dear
@eigenrobot https://t.co/2M5VQ487Al https://t.co/ObHP51tcWe
44. Augie and the Green Knight By @ZachWeiner and illustrated by @Bouletcorp I backed this on Kickstarter but lost the original copy It is extremely good, perfect really, for an unusually precocious grade schooler but might not be fully appreciated otherwise https://t.co/UQCk6W9xrQ
45. Charlotte's Web welp https://t.co/5kmcaxcVfT
46. The Big Brown Bear Another extremely dumb book and I loved it when I was three Long-suffering wives with dumb husband's appears to be an ancient trope Sorry @selentelechia we become the stories we read https://t.co/9nViIvWz1j
47. The Gashlycrumb Tinies A firm, morally-upright traditional British alphabet book https://t.co/wH0ZRq8lSK
48. Bare Bear An ethnographic extract regarding the vile sartorial habits of polar megafauna Hilarious to four year olds https://t.co/WOmzLqCUWn
49. Various Eric Carle books Overall would rate: Caterpillar: 10/10 Ladybug: 6/10 Bear: 7/10 Spider: 9/10 Rereading I was slightly irritated that they're overengineered pedagogical devices rather than just stories but the art is gorgeous https://t.co/Nwbxvyt4JQ
50. The Story of Ferdinand, The Bull Who Just Wanted to Grill, Por Deo's Sake vaguely offensive to the entire Iberian Peninsula probably https://t.co/zjmZ58ckdq
51. The Tyger Voyage From the man who brought you Watership Down and Shardik, a Victorian tale of a father-son voyage (they are Tigers) No horrifying animal deaths but there is an element of the occult Newer versions have replaced the g-word with the preferred "Vistani" https://t.co/3NMHYSuW8K
52. Dorrie's Magic From a mutual's recommendation. Very much a learn-to-read book, I found it charming Dorrie just wants her room to be cleaned and she doesn't want to do it herself. Deeply relatable, with an ultimately Petersonesque message https://t.co/x77dPWTmPN
53. The Sleeping Beauty Another Hyman retelling, very much not Disney-style A story about the importance of party etiquette and the ineluctability of Fate Illustrations include tasteful nudes and corpses https://t.co/wChyIq7FHr
54. Where the Sidewalk Ends Various horrifying poems and illustrations by Shel Silverstein, a strange man Beloved by third graders who have to read a poem for school I have to say they have stuck with me https://t.co/DDBrAryXIK
55. A Child's Garden of Verses By Robert Mother Louis Fucking Stevenson! Probably more for reading to than reading by; poems about life from the perspective of a child. Gorgeous art neaveau illuminations I think @orthonormalist told me to get this one, glad I did. https://t.co/EqDcppPb8c
56. Alice I am dismayed to report I somehow never got this as a child; seems right not to repeat this error (although another book had Jabberwocky and the illustration and that was absolutely terrifying at four) Recently reissued in glorious color; Carroll remains uncancelled. https://t.co/xaOixWwmDQ
57. The Little Island A little jewel of a book, a year passing from the perspective of a wise little island Its discourse with a visiting cat is provocative (good sense) https://t.co/g9s4nb1ZX7
58. Mr Wuffles! Like the last book, recommended by a mutual. No words; I understand the game is to ask your child to tell /you/ a story based on the pictures. What do you imagine is happening? https://t.co/FQcTR2M4DZ
59. Time for Bed, Miyuki Guys I love this book, this book is a wonder, consider this book Miyuki, her Grandfather, and the tasks she insists on completing before bed Scale gives way to more important matters in S-tier art Miyuki and Grandfather will appear again soon https://t.co/RYucdcqE6a
60. Well they say that Richard Scarry owns one half of this whole town With political connections To spread his wealth around Born into society a banker's only child He had everything a man could want Power, grace, and style But I work in his factory And I curse the life I'm https://t.co/VIA38Pj3FJ
61. Merlin and the Making of the King Hyman and Hodges at it again A gentle introduction to the Matter of England Gorgeous, well told, perfect aesthetic delivery; gold(?) foil marginalia https://t.co/CuyzVVI8s7
62. A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse to Me A book of nonsense illustrated by Wallace Trip Recommended by I think @mr_archenemy? Sadly twitter search is broken Absurd stuff I am confident it will be loved. (Cat-approved) https://t.co/8Q8lipttPX
63. The Lorax My favorite book at three; I remember going to the library with my grandmother to pick it up. Perfect for your budding, civic-minded mathematician https://t.co/86LAHI20Pd
64. The Buried Moon Maybe mutual-recommended? Picked up for obvious reasons but wow this book is scary as hell Illustrations are fantastic and your child will fear marshes forever (rightly so) but iirc Kids Love Scary Shit https://t.co/P1JJWbefre
65. The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat Annals of books with unusual form factors A book one of my parents inherited from their childhood, I think? Our original copy was lost in a flood Content is probably mostly subversive lies from the +×+clock+×+ https://t.co/q7YzXMvX5I
66. Jane, Wishing Back to earth, a sweet book about Jane, quotidian, who wants to be Amanda or Elizabeth. Wishes in color; life in greyscale Maybe good for a daughter especially? I'm not going to lie, last week I went and just bought a dozen books that Hyman illustrated https://t.co/K0lR8FQJjx
I also have to say--it's incredibly validating, as I make this list, to hear from people with strong and specific recommendations of their favorites from their own childhoods. If books stick like that--well. Maybe evidence this exercise will be loved in the way I hope ☺️
67. A House Is a House for Me This book OWNS It is a children's introduction to abstraction It begins by listing literal homes in which animals live and then stretches the concept beyond all recognition in perfect meter Strong recommend https://t.co/o89z3rcooB
68. Patience, Miyuki Miyuki returns! In a slightly more complex story wherein she learns to be a little more patient and makes friends with a flower So beautiful 🥺 https://t.co/t9X4CNwabv
69. Dragons Dragons Somewhat older appreciate Eric Carle, a Beastiary of legendary and fantastic creatures and Gods Described by literary excerpts worthy of the renowned poor devil of a sub-sub https://t.co/MTxV48reLS
70. Homer I found these fellas at a reasonable price. I'd say they're elementary appropriate--stories are probably a little long for preschoolers. Thoroughly illustrated but maybe not an early childhood aesthetic. Still I appreciate the work and it had me thinking about Myth https://t.co/aHE2Sl5QOy
71. Stories from the History of Rome This book slaps so fucking hard. Get this book. Check the preface (3d image) for background. Stories are crisp legible and engaging. Recommended by someone--@PereGrimmer? Thanks whoever it was! Children should learn these stories. https://t.co/ebrU11ngdg
72. Rosalie I was looking for some more Girl-coded books and found this one Really more early-elementary but it is beautifully written (with my Kind of typography and writing Conventions) and illustrated It is a paean to Female Friendship and virtue Recommend https://t.co/sYp5QzUW2Y
73. Snow and Rose Snow White and Rose Red, of course this is not the same fairy tale as the one with the dwarves This is maybe second or third grade level, it is longer than I had expected I did not read it but nevertheless I assume it is very good https://t.co/y6I6SLtwBF
74. Moominbooks Your children will need a firm moral grounding compatible with the future Anarchic world order and this is the path to such an outcome Charming, mischievous, full of love, there is a reason everyone has a Snufkin avi https://t.co/62xPTSyd1D
75. The tale of tsar Saltan, of his son, the glorious and mighty knight prince Guidon Saltanovich, and of the fair Swan-princess Just what it says on the tin I mean it's translated Pushkin illustrated by Bilibin so sucks it's long out of print ☹️ may have been USSR propaganda https://t.co/OucFxQjGHg
76. City, Pyramid, Castle, Cathedral Line drawings of the construction of mighty works Easily understandable by young grade schoolers History and engineering I love these they are wonderful and I wish I'd had them growing up Go with the black + white ht @halvorz and others https://t.co/v97bMdi03q
77. Blueberries for Sal A clarion warning. A message for our times. A disaster averted--this time. Warn your children about ursine treachery. https://t.co/4ZJ52a6ugF
78. One Morning in Maine The Great Bear War has been won by the humans, but at great cost. Sal, older, struggles with an old wound from the Second Battle of Blueberry Hill. Her growing family struggles to find food; the economy is a shambles. Will they survive the winter? https://t.co/yP4ghen0fO
79. The Ghost-Eye Tree Got this at a Scholastic book fair when I was seven because I liked scary things A boy and his brave big sister go to fetch their mother milk late at night and are nearly eaten alive by a haunted tree A lovely meditation on fear and bravery https://t.co/wWnhZ13Gcc
80. The Stork King A fairy tale introduction to domestic violence A lad makes his bid for the hand of a princess; she tries to kill him with black magic and he repeatedly tricks her with the help of a magic bird Their wedding night is a scene of unimaginable violence Ages 1-3 https://t.co/qdhAm4TSdk
81. Yes and No Stories Recommended by @browserdotsys, by the Papashviliys, we got a signed copy somehow (?!) Exceptional people and my absolute favorite book of fairy tales. When men speak of heroes, let them sometimes remember Ajam Boglay's name. 😭 https://t.co/l20CqDB7DT https://t.co/QxhL0oAbg9
82. The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat Quite a stupid book remarkable only for the fact that it was I think the first book I read on my own It was all downhill from there An introduction to the nature of entitled cats which has also been a constant theme in my life https://t.co/j2fZXW0nV5
83. A Madeline Treasury While I mentioned Madeline above I was compelled to get a complete collection of the originals for recently-uncovered Kabbalistic reasons Classic mischievous stories I expect I will be reading quite a lot This book is a bit cumbersome for small hands :( https://t.co/Psq75Twzg2
84. Pockets I mostly don't like new books but this (1998) is robot bait Art and revelation and fashion, hidden passions, foreign words, discoveries, a journey to Byzantium So beautiful https://t.co/vawKo1FhpF
85. The Little House The house is a metaphor for each of us and for our society Our cities are sick, and no place for Man Our civilization is dying In wooden home or felt tent, RETVRN to the open Sky let Tengri reward you https://t.co/6Fs4qsaUf2
😭 yes there is a happy ending https://t.co/UwRF6ycvFZ https://t.co/pgzNBUNSLf
86. Our Universe (national geographic) I didn't totally understand this as a kid but I loved looking at it Very pretty, and tons of illustrations and science word's to help a child get used to not knowing what the hell is going on with Reality https://t.co/grkSrwVwoB
87. The Green Pelican and Other Stories Probably hard to find. (My copy is DELICATE.) A charming weird book of short stories written in an energetic and exceptionally wry voice. Great for early grade school reading. ht @anaisnein9 ! https://t.co/USvo5DgMA9 https://t.co/LWUb3C4stl
88. Ox-Cart Man In the days of old, a Bay Colony family worked hard throughout the year, producing handicrafts and living a humble, loving family life Whither went the Ox-Cart Man of yesteryear? What ill wind, from whence, bore on its hateful wings the accursed Masshole? https://t.co/RfmOdszp4R
89. Miss Rumphius The story of a women who goes on an adventure and becomes a cool wine aunt it never occurs to her that one way to make the world more beautiful is to be a loving parent COME ON i shout each time I read it THE SURVIVAL OF YOUR SPECIES IS BEAUTIFUL but ok flowers https://t.co/u2euSkNSnK
90. The Original Mother Goose AWESOME. Reasons to get: 1. Art is gorgeous 2. Memetically RICH. These snippets of words wriggle their way into every bit of English. Like reading Shakespeare 3. Great way to establish the rhythm of English 4. My mom told me to read poetry to kids https://t.co/gYpHenQ8Sm
91. Life Story This one had good reviews but I was a little underwhelmed by the art--and I don't think the play gimmick works so well here. But it is a concise summary of the history of the world https://t.co/dk3rZxqfsg
might just show them this instead https://t.co/cAh8dK0wr7
@eigenrobot Fun fact there is a statue in Boston based on this book, and another in Moscow https://t.co/y9dm5sXgw6
