Illustrator: Lane Smith

 

The Stinky Cheese Man is a rather large collection of illustrated stories that pokes fun at and parodies a number of famous children’s tales, including “Little Red Riding Hood”, “The Princess and the Pea”, “Cinderella”, and “The Ugly Duckling”. 

I really enjoyed this book when I was younger because it was quite the oddball of a picture book; it turned a lot of the stories my peers and I grew up hearing on their heads and taught us all about comedy, satire, sarcasm, and the like. At my elementary school, we had a 70s-style conversation pit in our library where we would have daily reading time and it was like our own little clubhouse. Listening to our teacher read this book while giggling with friends and classmates in the library was always the highlight of my day!

Illustrator: I don’t know.

 

There are four greatest classic novels in China. Journey to the West is always the first to be introduced to kids. Gao Lao Zhuang is a famous story from the Journey to the West. It introduces how Zhu Bajie became the third disciple of monk Xuanzang to protect Xuanzang travelling to the west to obtain Buddhist sacred texts. 

 

I found this book in an old book market during a summer holiday while I was in primary school. It was a small ancient Chinese style book telling a traditional story. Although the illustrations were just in black and white and the papers became yellow, the vivid drawings and the gripping plots really interested me. When I went back to school, I shared the book with my classmates since many of them were also interested in traditional Chinese culture and literacy. They all loved it, too!

 As a child the artwork of the book is what attracted me to read it first. I really enjoyed the usage of the vibrant and cold colours of the marine blues, aqua greens, and purples to illustrate the beauty and frigidness of the Canadian Arctic environment that the story took place in. Also, a story about mystical creatures intrigued me because as a child I was very much into the fantasy category of non-fiction stories. As well it was cool learning about stories that were different than the ones my parents told or read to me. 

Growing up I usually read books at night before I went to sleep, it was part of my nighttime ritual. I enjoyed reading quietly in bed so that I could focus and indulge myself into the story without distractions. Plus there is nothing better than reading a good story all cozy and warm in a soft bed. 

Illustrator: Michael Martchenko

 

Mortimer is about young boy being put to bed one night. However, instead of falling asleep Mortimer decides to sing a song out loud about not going to sleep. His song gets the attention of his father, who comes up the stairs, goes to Mortimer’s room and tells him "Mortimer, be quiet!" Mortimer agrees, but as soon as his father goes back down stairs, Mortimer continues his song. This happens again and again, with Mortimer’s siblings and even the police coming into his room telling him to be quiet. Nothing seems to be getting Mortimer to stop singing, which has caused everyone else in the house to begin arguing with each. Since everyone is occupied by arguing, no one checks in on Mortimer for a while, so the book ends with Mortimer falling asleep. 

 

As a child I loved reading and having Robert Munsch books read to me. I loved seeing all the illustrations with their bright colours. However, I think what really drew me to Robert Munsch books was the theatrical themes that came with them. For example, in this book you could interact with the story by stomping your feet every time someone was going up or down the stairs, since that was always written as “thump, thump, thump” or sing along to Mortimer’s song. While I enjoyed reading these kinds of books at school, my fondest memories of Robert Munsch books were when we read them at home because of the production my mom would make out of encouraging me and my younger siblings to interact along with the stories.  

 Iseah Montgiraud

Author: Joanna Cole

Illustrator: Bruce Degen

 

This book is about a teacher (Ms. Frizzle) who set out to take a field trip with her students to a science museum to learn about the human body. Other than a student named Arnold, Ms. Frizzle and her students entered their school bus to attend the museum.  The field trip took a sudden turn when Ms. Frizzle accidentally shrunk the school bus and entered Arnolds body. While they were inside of Arnolds body, the students were able to learn about the digestive system, blood cells, and how the body used food for energy. 

 

In grade school, my teacher used this book as a reference in her science class.  

What attracted me to this book, was that there was a TV show that brought us a visual to this book, which catered to my learning style. It made science enjoyable, while giving me an introduction to the human body at the same time. 

Title: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

Author: Jon Scieszka 

Illustrator: Lane Smith

Alexander T. Wolf recounts the classic tale of The Three Little Pigs from his own perspective while he sits in jail for the crimes he is accused of committing. The story goes that A. Wolf was baking with his Granny but needed some sugar. Seeking a cup of sugar from his neighbour who lived in a straw house, the Wolf sneezes due to being sick with a cold and accidentally blows down the first pig’s house. A similar scenario unfolds with pig #2, who lives in a house of sticks. Frustrated by the rudeness of the third, brick-house-dwelling pig, Mr. Wolf is caught banging on the door of the house when the cops show up to arrest the Wolf for destroying the homes of the previous two pigs. 

What I liked about this book is that it was a very funny, creative twist on the classic story that was originally told to me. I liked the idea of there being an explanation of sorts for why the wolf would do such a thing. I really felt like I could relate to the wolf because I, like the Wolf, had been reprimanded for things that were misunderstood or taken out of context. I felt happy that the Wolf was able to tell his side of the story, something that people don’t always get to do when they feel misunderstood. 

Illustrator: Ruth E. Harper & Nancy M. Leak

“The Kissing Hand” is a book about a mother raccoon and her cub, who is dealing with some anxiety about starting school for the first time. To give her cub some reassurance, she introduces the idea of the ‘kissing hand’ by kissing her cubs paw and reminded them to push their paw to their cheek if they are every feeling worried or anxious.  

I was especially drawn to this book as a kid since I dealt with much anxiety going to school. My mom used to read me this book every night and we developed our own version of ‘the kissing hand’ to help me when I started school. Being the oldest child, I was the first to do a lot of things, so sometimes it felt like I was walking into situations blindly. Also, being a total ‘momma’s girl’, it definitely was reassuring to have that same to connection to my mom as the raccoon cub did in the book. The storyline behind the book is incredibly comforting and can be used as a tool for helping young ones combat any anxieties that may be overwhelming them. 

Robert Munsch was one of my favourite authors as a child. His books were silly, easy to follow, and often played on universal childhood experiences. This book in specific took something that I could relate to as a child (being pestered by your parents to use the bathroom before leaving the house or going to bed) and added a humorous spin to it. The illustrations were also quite comical and colourful which made the book engaging. The majority of Robert Munsch's books were available at my school's library, so I regularly checked them out to bring home to read. 

 

I loved this book as a child because of all the animals that Grandma Tildy lived with. The animals all help Grandma Tildy in one way or another and the illustrations are colourful and happy. My copy of this book belonged to a family member and I always felt comforted reading it at home.