kid books

i've always loved children's books and have a small collection of ones i want to reread.  and something i love about summer is when i get to read books to or with kids! 

recently i spent a timeless swatch of a day going through an entire pile of nature books from the library with a young friend of mine.  they were all about birds of the wild, eagles mostly, but also owls...and one on mammals.  i think we looked at every single page, stopping to talk about the details of something we noticed or didn't know before.

my favorite souvenir from my most recent trip to new york (other than my strand bookstore bag) is a children's book called "next stop grand central" written & illustrated by maira kalman, whose whimsical work i have really come to enjoy.  it is a happy memory because i bought it at strand and it typifies big city life in all its wild variety.

another gorgeous addition to my collection came as a birthday gift.  "book" by david miles, illustrations by natalie hoopes is a dreamy read with collaged pieces of french stories overlaid onto fantastical drawings all centered around a love of stories set down with paper & ink.

what is your favorite kid book?