The heroic adventure of reading books
Can we read? No. 157
I want to start by reminding you that reading aloud — reading with, reading together, whatever form that takes — matters even when the world is heavy.
It actually matters more when the world is heavy.
When we perform this act of love — love is a verb — for the children in our lives, whether they are ours or just temporarily in our care, we are creating a connection that, yes, may be small or merely momentary, but is valuable beyond measure.
Valuable because connection is what makes us resilient. And books don’t fix what’s broken — though they can certainly shore us up so that we have the strength to do that — but feeling seen, heard, and held by one another helps us endure what’s difficult, even devastating. And the reminder that we are, at the end of the day, all humans together, doing our best in the weird, wild place that is our lifetime on this earth, just walking each other home (to quote Ram Dass), makes it easier to bear.
Whatever efforts you are making to this end — reading aloud, providing books for your kids in whatever ways you can, your own specific verb-ing of love — it matters so much. It is important. Keep going.
Echo by Adam Rex (2025)
🧒 Preschool–Early Reader (3–6)
📖 Independent Readers (6–9)
📚 Middle Grade (9–12)
If you’ve been here for a minute, you know I think Adam Rex can do no wrong, and don’t expect me to say anything differently today: I love this book so much, and believe only Rex’s mind could have produced such an imaginative fantasy that asks some pretty big, beautiful, Brené Brown-level questions about the stories we tell ourselves.
“Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!” shouts Junior Junior. “Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!”, an echo shouts back. This refrain — and misunderstood exchange — forms the heart of this tale about a little boy who loves being right, and the echo that agrees with everything he says. His solid worldview that he is amazing — indeed, the greatest in the world! — is turned upside down, however, when a new girl arrives, and, nonplussed, finds him entirely underwhelming.
I won’t spoil the way this story develops — or ends — for you, as that’s a major part of its brilliance. (The other part is Rex’s dreamy and humorous digital illustrations.) Suffice it to say that this is a timely book about the dangers of living in a bubble and the degree to which we believe we’re right — and good and smart, because we’re so right — and someone else is wrong. Highly recommended.
The Crocodile and the Dentist by Tarō Gomi (1984)
🍼 Babies & Toddlers (0–3)
🧒 Preschool–Early Reader (3–6)
This hilarious book begins with an introduction to its two (and only) characters as they ready themselves to see each other: first, the crocodile thinks to himself, “I really don’t want to see him, but I must.” Then the dentist thinks to himself, “I really don’t want to see him, but I must.”
Thus the reader gets an immediate glimpse of how this encounter will play out — the crocodile has a thought toward the dentist, and then the dentist has the exact same one toward the crocodile, and since neither of them ever say any of it out loud, neither has any idea that they are thinking and feeling the exact same things.
This is typical of Gomi’s extra-simple — but never simplistic — style, including his blocky, charming, visually distinctive illustrations, which feel more modern and fresher than ever despite the fact that this book is 42 years old. This is a tale about the importance of going to the dentist, perfect for little ones who are apprehensive or resistant to that, but there’s so much more going on here — the assumptions we make about one another, the stories our fear tells us, how despite our seeming differences, we are all human. (Even crocodiles.)
Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman (2002)
📖 Independent Readers (6–9)
📚 Middle Grade (9–12)
On my very short list of heroes, Maira Kalman is one of two. In my book (it has been ever so long since I have worked in a pun!), she can do no wrong as an artist or an author. I’ve read everything she has ever written, starting with Max in Hollywood, Baby, when I was in elementary school, and I’ve loved it all.
But somehow, Fireboat escaped me until recently. Here, Kalman traces the life of the retired fireboat John J. Harvey — once a working hero in New York Harbor, later restored by a devoted community of various folks — and brings readers to its unexpected return to service on September 11, 2001. Her signature gouache illustrations are vibrant and kinetic, full of small human details so weird only she could come up with them, yet which keep the story grounded in people as much as in machinery.
But perhaps the strongest data I have to recommend it is the fact that at one point, I couldn’t keep reading because my 9-year-old could not stop interrupting to ask questions, and then I couldn’t go on because I was crying. I have never read a book about 9/11 to my children before, and it was hard, and I found myself overcome by the beauty of how Kalman’s story about a boat was really a story about the incredible heroism, collective action, and civic pride that day engendered.
She really is an incredible artist, and this is a quietly incredible book.
The Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews (2004)
🍼 Babies & Toddlers (0–3)
🧒 Preschool–Early Reader (3–6)
I suppose if I haven’t convinced you by now that poetry is important for kids, there’s not much else I can say that will sway you, but in the event you’re teetering on the edge of believing me (or entirely new to this argument and open to my aggressive persuasion): poetry matters so much more than you know.*
Nursery rhymes are, basically, the single most important thing you can give your children as babies and toddlers. I’m not exaggerating. Forget your organic puréed squash (100% guilty here), forget your baby sign language (guilty again), forget whatever ways in which you’re trying to raise a healthy, happy, well-rounded kid — just apply copious nursery rhymes. There is oodles of evidence, or you can just believe me and move on ✅
Of all the nursery rhyme books out there — and there are many, and many of them are good — this is my favorite. Nina Crews hews to the originals in every way — not a word is altered — but the game-changer here is her photo collages, which depict real kids in a real city neighborhood. This is a welcome break from tradition — an inclusive collection of nursery rhymes fills a void in equitable representation of this specific niche of literature, for sure — but it’s also just really nice to see real people. (Never underestimate the value of seeing real people, especially for babies and toddlers!)
I have a list on my Bookshop.org storefront called The Best Nursery Rhymes and I recommend any of the titles there — but none more than this one.
*Let me push you over the edge of believing me with my arguments:
Too Small Tola by Atinuke, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu (2020)
📖 Independent Readers (6–9)
👨👩👧👦 Family Read-Aloud (all ages)
If you’ve been here for awhile, you know how much my family and I love Atinuke — I will buy anything she writes, sight unseen, and I’ve never been disappointed. Her Too Small Tola series is now four books deep, each wonderful, but this is the first, and of course, it’s the best place to start.
This episodic chapter book comprises three short stories about tiny Tola, her bossy Grandmommy, her supersmart sister, her fast, football-obsessed brother, and the things that happen to them in their life together in Lagos, Nigeria. These tales, told with all the freshness and honesty of a small girl in a huge city, are full of heart and humor — she so is Tola, who proves again and again that she may be small, but she’s mighty.
Like all of Atinuke’s chapter books, line-drawn illustrations appear every other page or so — and Iwu’s are super charming — making this a good choice for younger kiddos just getting used to listening to early chapter books, or those starting to tackle reading on their own. (In other words, there are images to look at and a lot of space on the page, both helpful as readers change.) Tola is lovable, funny — a character to root for in every way — and this is a purely delightful read.
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Thanks for reading today!
Sarah
Love is a verb" is doing a lot of quiet work in that opening. The parent who reads aloud to a child isn't just givinv them a story, they're giving of themselves -their presence, and the child knows the difference even if they can't articulate it yet. That's the bit that stays. Not the story, but the fact that someone sat down and chose to read it with them.
Love this list! Fireboat is calling to me like a siren but I’m nervous since the subject matter is still one that fills me with grief (which is probably why I’m so drawn to it in the first place!).