ENDURING PICTURE BOOKS

I read to each of my children when they were young, and still read to my youngest, who is now a teenager. My kids developed a love for reading, and my house is overflowing with all the books we purchased that they couldn't bear to part with. At times I threaten to clear out a few, but my threats are met with such vehement opposition that I always give in and make way for more.

Now I read to my granddaughter. She loves books featuring princesses and fairies, but she lets me slip in a few of my favorites in between all that sweetness. Lately we've been on an alphabet book kick, partly to help her learn them, and partly because I've always been partial to them. So many talented writers and illustrators make for endless possibilities with those 26 letters. One of my favorites is A Was Once An Apple Pie by Edward Lear. I owned a copy of that book as a child, purchased for a nickle at a junk store. Unfortunately, I often read outdoors and would sometimes get distracted and leave my books in the yard. It rains a lot in the Midwest during the summer months. Alas.

Last night, however, I didn't want to read about princesses, or fairies, or alphabet creatures. So I went upstairs to peruse one of our many bookcases, and I found something I thought my little one might enjoy. It was my son's ABSOLUTELY MOST FAVORITE BOOK IN THE WORLD when he was her age. I'm referring to Mercer Mayer's Critters of the Night, Midnight Snack. It's written by Erica Farber and J. R. Sansevere, and is one of the Step into Reading series.

Midnight Snack is a rhyming picture book - no wonder I love it - and tells the story of how Groad feeds all of his friends their favorite snacks during the dark hours. The pages are filled with the unforgettable, wonderful illustrations of Mercer Mayer. Frightening monsters and stray eyeballs fill the pages, and there is just as much story revealed in the pictures as there is in the actual wording. My granddaughter loved it and asked for it again as soon as I had finished the last page. I love when that happens.

So if you're looking for something fun, and apparently not too frightening, to read to your little ones at bedtime, this is one I would suggest. 

HAPPY READING!

Cordelia Dinsmore