9 Recent Children's Books I Adore

I love reading, and I want to pass on that love to my two and a half year old. Luckily, she loves going to the library, so we go almost every week, and every week is an opportunity to pick something new out. I discovered that as a mom, I'm fairly picky about children's books. I read material to her that is far above my daughter's comprehension, and she seems to do just fine. She's memorized some of her favorites. She's not picky, though. As long as the story entertains her, that's enough.

For me, the illustrations and the story have to be good. If the story can't be good, then the art needs to be beautiful. Too often, the stories are too long drawn out, have an overly obvious moral, or are just plain not fun. If the art isn't good, then it totally takes me out of the story. 

Below, I've listed 9 children's books that I picked up recently and adore:

• Bark, George by Jules Feiffer is hilarious, short, and sweet.
• Who Wants A Cheap Rhinoceros by Shel Silverstein is funny, silly, and full of awesome sight gags. 
• The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle is a classic case of escalation. "Hey, you. Want to fight?" has become a running joke in our house. 
• Where's Walrus? by Stephen Savage is a beautifully illustrated wordless story about a walrus' escape from the zoo, and the zookeeper's hapless attempts to find him. 
• Press Here by Herve Tullet was given to me by a friend, after we watched that video of a baby who couldn't figure out how to work a magazine. We love the interaction on this book. 
• Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell is a classic and great for peeking at animals. 
• Going To The Zoo With Lily & Milo by Pauline Oud is a fun and cutely illustrated book about a bunny and a mouse's adventures at the zoo. 
• Counting With Wayne Thiebaud by Susan Goldman Rubin is an easy counting book filled with wonderful paintings by the artist Wayne Thiebaud.
• A Very Special House by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Maurice Sendak is a great nonsense poem full of fun and imagination.