The Books That I Am Never Taking Off My Daughter’s Bookshelf
by Tom Burns
Our family owns a lot of books. Too many books, it seems, because, recently, we’ve had to start doing the unthinkable — we’ve had to start putting books AWAY.
And I don’t mean “back on the shelf” away. I mean, “putting them in boxes in the basement” away. We just ran out of space. Also, my daughter is now nine, so, many of our home library staples had become “too young” for her, which, as a book-loving parent, was a hard pill to swallow.
“What do you mean we’re putting away Madeline? Or Cars and Trucks and Things That Go?” I was more upset than my daughter was. It didn’t feel like my daughter was graduating up to a new level of reading. It felt like we were betraying old friends who had dutifully sat with us through hundreds of bedtimes. These friends had been there for us, whenever we needed them, and now we were boxing them up or donating them — basically, saying “we don’t need you anymore.”
Yes, I realize that I’m anthropomorphizing inanimate objects, but these books FELT animate. They’d played such a huge role in my daughter’s childhood. So, when it came to certain books, I put my foot down and refused. Regardless of reading level or age range, THESE books were not titles that our family would ever outgrow.
Here is a short list of the books that I insisted remain on my daughter’s bookshelf (and the reasons why they’ve earned a permanent spot in our family’s collection).
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The Monster at the End of This Book
Available from:Because, despite all of the technological advances of the past few decades, this remains as possibly the most interactive book in the history of children’s literature. My daughter would cackle as Grover begged her, pleaded with her, to stop turning pages, and yet she always chose to move forward, steamrolling over anything her lovably furry old friend put in her path. (Also I’m still a little impressed by my Grover voice.)
Also available from: -
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Available from:Because I remember when my daughter’s tiny little fingers would fit into the small holes that the caterpillar had “chewed” in the pages and she thought it was the funniest thing in the world to press her fingers through the holes, while I pretended to be the caterpillar, nipping her fingers from the other side of the page. I look at her fingers now and can’t believe that they ever could squeeze through there and … excuse me, I think there’s some dust in my eye. I need a moment…
Also available from: -
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Because, sometimes, bad days just happen. And you need to be reminded that there’s nothing you can do about it, except endure them as best you can and dream of Australia.
Preorder from: -
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Because it was the first children’s book that I read out loud so much that I actually memorized. When my daughter would get antsy during long car rides when she was barely older than a baby, I would recite this book verbatim from the front seat, using it as a mantra to calm her down and get her dreaming about blue horses.
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The Big Elephant in the Room
Because this is the first book where I ever clearly remember my daughter saying, “Daddy, this is the funniest book that I have EVER read in my whole life.”
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Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Available from:Because life is more interesting with a trickster, agent-of-chaos pigeon in our lives, especially if they really, REALLY want to drive a bus.
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Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Because my daughter would always get dead silent when we would read this one. Initially, she loved the magic and mystery of the story, but, as she got older, she started noticing different elements and started to find the power of the pebble and Sylvester’s ordeal terrifying. She still loves it, but, when she was five, she once whispered in my ear, “Daddy, just so you know, I’m going to leave any magic pebbles alone, okay?”
Preorder from: -
Where the Wild Things Are
Because, occasionally, everyone needs to be reminded that they’ll feel much better after a wild rumpus.
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My Friends
Because my daughter loved this gentle, lovely board book so much that I literally read it to her every day for over two years. It’s all about the sweet lessons we can learn from our animal friends (and a few of our human friends too) and, at this point, the book is more like an old family friend than something we bought at a bookstore. The idea of putting this one in some box in our basement feels ghoulish.
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Interrupting Chicken
Available from:Because my daughter did not laugh at this book. She HOWLED at this book. She SCREAMED at this book. This book sent her into such fits of hysterics when we read it that it became the first book we ever banned at bedtime because it got her too worked up to sleep. And how can you box away a book that holds so much power?
Also available from:
What books can you not bear to part with? Let us know your favorites, and favorite memories, in the comments below.