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My sister has suddenly decided she wants me to buy the kids a couple of books for Christmas. So!
Does anyone have any picture book recommendations that are a) unlikely to offend fairly conservative sensibilities* and b) likely to be in stock at a local bookstore?
* This basically means: if the book is about queer people, it probably won't fly. Unfortunately. This is a long-term project for me. Non-white characters are 100% okay, and Latinx characters would be fantastic.
[eta] I am soliciting as many recommendations as possible, so even if there's a bunch in the comments, please leave yours, too! Not all of these might be available, so lots of options is better!
Does anyone have any picture book recommendations that are a) unlikely to offend fairly conservative sensibilities* and b) likely to be in stock at a local bookstore?
* This basically means: if the book is about queer people, it probably won't fly. Unfortunately. This is a long-term project for me. Non-white characters are 100% okay, and Latinx characters would be fantastic.
[eta] I am soliciting as many recommendations as possible, so even if there's a bunch in the comments, please leave yours, too! Not all of these might be available, so lots of options is better!
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Robert Munsch's picture books are always a good bet, as enduring classics.
If your sister can handle picture books featuring characters who happen to be Black, Jabari Jumps is a recent book that's really good, I got it for a friend's baby shower earlier this year.
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My sister would love books featuring characters who aren't white! Latino characters would be ideal since that's what my niblings are, but thankfully she isn't that kind of conservative.
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Six-Dinner Sid by Inga Moore
Wonkey Donkey by Craig Smith
Llama Llama Red Pyjama by Anna Dewdney
Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamaki
If You Come To Earth by Sophie Blackall
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I also think Graeme Bass's picture books are fantastic, but possibly aimed at an older age group than your niece and nephew.
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Agreed about Graeme Base--I look forward to sharing Animalia and others with my niblings in the future! I had no idea he was Australian.
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diary of a wombat, jackie french (very sweet and funny)
hairy mclary from donaldson's dairy, lynley dodd (old school rhymey style narration, quite "british" in my memory)
i want my hat back, jon klassen (contemporary, very simple language/reading, funny and offbeat)
possum magic, mem fox (dont remember much, just that it was iconic and sweet)
I think there are also bluey books, our greatest children's media cultural export at the moment! very heartwarming and wholesome and ties into the tv show if that's something also on the radar.
Sean Tan makes very beautiful, haunting, complex picture books (rather than saying he illustrates/writes "Children's books"... something of an annoying distinction) but if there's more mature and art-centric kids involved they might like his work.
i can't access this article anymore because it's behind a paywall (lol) but this might also give you some ideas of how to introduce queer sensibilities/subtexts/voices if you would like to: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/t-magazine/gay-children-book-authors.html (although i'm not trying to say duplicitousness on that front is the way to go or anything... it's just good to have a range of options to approach it with, i think!)
ETA: I would also second jillian tamaki, i had no idea she also did kids books - her graphic novels for young adults / teens are exquisite, complex coming of age pieces, so you can potentially get a life-long loyalty started!
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(Sorry for the drive-by reply, I just love Australian children's books, particularly from the 1980s and 1990s, and it always makes me so happy to see others recommending them.)
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— You can always do Maurice Sendak
- Look up LeUyen Pham, she’s an illustrator who’s done both picture books (I love Big Sister, Little Sister but it’s probably not in stores) and elementary-age first novels
- Ezra Jack Keats’s snow book (The Snowy Day, I think?) should still be widely available
- The cartoon about the father styling his daughter’s hair in her mother’s absence exists in picture book form, I saw it at the library
- I think Lia’s still young enough for the Sandra Boynton canon if your sister hasn’t overdosed on it already, also Ten Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
- There was a series S loved about a group of kids in a preschool class, the author’s name was Kate something (edit: no, it was Anne and Lizzy Rockwell), my recollection is there was a decent number of ethnic and cultural traditions represented in the kids’ families, but it was very American (each book revolved around a holiday celebration, such as Valentine’s Day or Halloween) and so may not be the best fit
- PD Eastman was popular in our house, especially Go Dog Go
- R. Gregory Christie is a local (Black) children’s book illustrator
- I gave up and Googled: look up Raul the Third. He’s got a very distinctive art style, it’s pretty cool. I tried (and failed) to get my two into his Lowriders graphic novels, but it looks like he’s done at least one picture book as well.
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Fiction:
Nonfiction:
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(Omg a Leonard Nimoy biography!)