Abel's Favorite Books - Age 3

photos copyright CDB Photos


Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
Visit Chewandswallow, a town where the inhabitants don’t grow or buy food. Instead it just falls from the sky. Which works well, for a time . . .

The Berenstain Bears Get In A Fight - Stan & Jan Berenstain
(And many other titles in the series) Abel enjoys the stories and pictures, and I like how each book instills a subtle-enough message about family dynamics, manners, or important things like going to the doctor or the dentist.

The Little House – Virginia Lee Burton
We already loved Virginia Lee Burton’s “Mike Mulligan,” “Choo Choo” and “Katy,” so it made sense to explore some of her other titles. This one’s about a little country house that sees a lot of changes as the country becomes a city around her.

Calico The Wonder Horse – Virginia Lee Burton
Stewy Stinker and his Gang of Bad Men steal the cows of Cactus County, but Calico the Wonder Horse comes to the rescue. A wonderful (but long) western with fantastic artwork.

Casey Jones – Allan Drummond
A rhyming tale of the famed engineer Casey Jones, and his fateful last ride on the Illinois Central #638.

Veronica – Roger Duvoisin
Veronica the hippopotamus is tired of blending in with all her fellow hippos. She wants to be conspicuous! So she goes to the city. This book is about her adventures there. My favorite scene: when she lies down for a rest in a parking lot, among the similarly-sized cars.

The Happy Lion – Louise Fatio/Roger Duvoisin
Everyone loves the happy lion at the zoo in France (Bon jour, happy lion!”) . . . until he leaves his cage to go for a walk in town. He doesn’t understand why everyone’s afraid of him.

The Story About Ping – Marjorie Flack
Ping the duck lives on a wise old boat on the Yang Tse River with his mother and father and brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins. To avoid a reprimand for being the last to board the boat at the end of the day, he embarks on a solo adventure, and almost becomes a “duck dinner.”

Earl The Squirrel – Don Freeman
Oh, Don Freeman, how I love you! Earl’s mother wants him to stop wearing a red knit scarf, to act like a squirrel, and to learn how to gather acorns for the winter. Beautiful woodcuts with red accents.

Norman the Doorman – Don Freeman
Classic Freeman. Norman is a mouse who serves as the doorman in the basement of the art museum. He creates a tiny prize-winning sculpture out of mousetrap parts. A delight.

Come Again Pelican – Don Freeman
A little boy and his family travel to the seashore for vacation. The boy befriends a pelican and learns about the tides. Note to publisher: please reissue this classic story, so I can replace the stinky, mildewed copy that cost me $20 on eBay!

Fly High Fly Low – Don Freeman
Yeah, we’re on a Freeman binge around here. But he’s just so wonderful! This one is about a pair of pigeons who fall in love and roost inside the giant letters of a neon sign. Except the sign is about to be taken down.

Millions of Cats – Wanda Gag
Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats! Find out what happens when a sweet old man sets out to find a kitten for his sweet old wife.

Christina Katerina & the Box – Patricia Lee Gauch
A favorite from my childhood. Kristina’s mother gets a new fridge, and Kristina gets to keep the box! She turns it into a castle, a clubhouse, a race car, and more. Even her troublemaker friend Fats Watson can’t dampen her spirits.

Everyone Poops – Taro Gomi
A matter of fact book about poop, in its many sources, shapes and sizes, featuring all sorts of animals and their “bathroom” habits. A gentle way to introduce the concept of toileting.

Bread and Jam For Frances – Russell Hoban
Frances is a picky eater. She only wants bread and jam. But soon she tires of it and learns about all the wonderful things she can eat. We love the chant, “Raspberry, strawberry, gooseberry, I’m very, Fond. Of. Jam!”

Swimmy – Leo Lionni
Swimmy’s kin keep getting eaten by the big fish, till Swimmy figures out a way for them to protect themselves. Creative art -- watercolors and fish prints!

Herbert’s Treasure - Alice Low
“Herbert, please Herbert, throw something away!” For the pack rat in all of us. Herbert brings something home from the dump every day and eventually builds himself a castle of sorts.

Blueberries for Sal – Robert McCloskey
“Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk.” Sal and her mother go blueberry picking in Maine, and encounter a mother/child bear pair doing the same thing.

Make Way for Ducklings – Robert McCloskey
Mr. & Mrs. Mallard are searching for a place to call home, especially after their ducklings are born. Eventually they choose the Boston Public Garden.

I’m Dirty and I’m Mighty – Kate and Jim McMullan
Stories from the perspectives of a bulldozer and a tugboat, detailing everything they do for their jobs. Bright, bold paintings, and an in-your-face delivery makes these a refreshing choice.

Terrific Trains – Tony Mitton and Ant Parker
(And all the other books in the series . . . Flashing Fire Engines, Roaring Rockets, Amazing Airplanes, Tremendous Tractors, et al.) These books are pretty short, and are perfect solutions to the pre-bedtime “one more book” plea. Abel loves learning how various vehicles work. The artwork is colorful and engaging.

If You Give a Moose A Muffin – Laura Joffe Numeroff
My favorite of the “If You Give” series. If you give a moose a muffin, he’ll probably ask for some of your mother’s homemade blackberry jam to put on it, and then . . . “ Find out what happens next . . . and next.

Tulips – Jay O’Callahan
Pierre goes to visit his imposing Grand Ma Mere and her fabulous tulip gardens. Pierre likes to play tricks. Find out what happens when he plays one on his Grand Ma Mere.

Raspberries – Jay O’Callahan
Everything Simon touches falls flat. Then he receives some magical raspberry seeds and he begins to find joy again. Abel loves shouting “Rrrraaaasssspberrriiiiiieeees!”

Buford the Bighorn Sheep – Bill Peet
Buford’s horns are so big that he can no longer climb mountains with his fellow big horn sheep. Evading hunters, he eventually finds an innovative use for his super-big horns!

The Little Red Caboose – Marian Potter (Little Golden Book)
The little red caboose is always an afterthought on the train . . . until it saves the day!

Officer Buckle & Gloria – Peggy Rathmann
Officer Buckle’s Safety Tip speech is a hit in schools everywhere, thanks to the accompaniment of police dog Gloria. The safety tips (Never eat mayonnaise that’s been sitting in the sun) do not fall on deaf ears.

Curious George Takes A Job – H.A. Rey
Along with “Goes to the Hospital,” “Gets A Medal” and numerous others, this was the year for Curious George madness. Boy, that George has a lot of adventures. Abel loves them all.

He’s Your Dog Charlie Brown – Charles M. Schulz
Irascible Snoopy is sent away for a refresher course at obedience school but stops for a visit at Peppermint Patty’s house along the way, and soon wears out his welcome.

And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street – Dr. Seuss
Marco’s dad wants to hear what happened on the way home from school. Since it was nothing special, Marco dreams up a fabulous story.

Horton Hatches the Egg – Dr. Seuss
Loyal Horton takes over egg sitting duties for a lazy bird, enduring much persecution. Wait’ll you see what hatches from the egg!

Horton Hears a Who – Dr. Seuss
Horton the elephant helps save the tiny Whos of Whoville, and we all learn that “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

Yertle the Turtle – Dr. Seuss
Yertle, king of the pond, stands on the backs of his subjects in an attempt to reach higher than the moon. But then Mack burps, and Yertle falls into the mud. Suffice it to say, we love Dr. Seuss around here.

Spinky Sulks – William Steig
Spinky is in a bad mood, and no one in his family can cure him of it, despite many attempts. By the end, the reader is like, “C’mon, Spinky, don’t be a jerk.” Sulkers come in all ages and sizes. This is a good perspective on why sulking stinks.

The Polar Express – Chris Van Allsburg
Those who believe in Santa can ride on this magical train to the North Pole and meet the man himself. Find out who gets the First Gift of Christmas.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible no Good, Very Bad Day – Judith Viorst
Poor Alexander is having a very bad day. It’s hard to be a little kid sometimes.

Lyle Lyle Crocodile – Bernard Waber
Ah, Lyle, the indomitable crocodile. How we love him so! Age three was a great year for Lyle in our house. We enjoyed most of the titles in Waber’s Lyle-brary, including The House on East 88th Street, Lyle and the Birthday Party, and plenty more.

Oh Say Can You Say Di-No-Saur – Bonnie Worth (A Dr. Seuss book)
A Seuss-inspired introduction to the basic characteristics of a number of dinosaurs, along with a lesson on how to pronounce their names. Tour the Cat in the Hat’s Super Dino Museum and learn how to pronounce things like Archaeopteryx!

Dan Yaccarino’s Mother Goose
I’d purchased a different Mother Goose for Abel when he was a toddler, but he took no interest in it. We love Yaccarino’s “Every Friday,” so we tried this book, and found it delightful. Yaccarino’s jaunty, stylized drawings are a fun contrast to the old-fashioned-ness of Mother Goose. Now Abel has memorized many of the poems.

Harry the Dirty Dog – Gene Zion
Harry the dog doesn’t want a bath, so he runs away from home, and gets very, very dirty . . . and homesick too.


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