Watercress

Written by: Andrea Wang and Jason Chin

First line: We are in the old Pontiac, the red paint faded by the years of glinting Ohio sun, pelting rain, and biting snow.

Why you should read this book: A little girl, the American daughter of Chinese immigrants, resents being made to harvest wild watercress out of a ditch with her family—it's hard enough being poor without worrying that someone you know might see you picking weeds in the mud by the side of the road! Although her parents are overjoyed to experience this taste of home, the narrator refuses to touch the delicacy, until her mother, sensing the trouble, shares her own troubling history. With a new understanding of what this food means to her family, the child finds that the watercress is delicious and that she sees her parents in a new light, understanding what they went for before she was born in order for her to grow up as an American kid who had the ability to refuse any food. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your parents controlled you with food. 

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins

Written by: Barbara Kerley and Brian Selznick

Why you should read this book: I adored this informative but entertaining and beautifully illustrated historical research about the eccentric artist Waterhouse Hawkins, who almost single-handedly created the field of dinosaur reconstruction and brought the thunder lizards to life in the imaginations of countless children. Already an accomplished artist when he took his first dinosaur-related commission, Hawkins exhaustively researched paleontology before merging his knowledge with his art to create the massive models displayed in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham Park. A fascinating story about a fascinating man.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're just a boring person with no imagination and no interest in developing one.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Written by: William Steig

First line: Sylvester Duncan lived with his mother and father at Acorn Road in Oatsdale.

Why you should read this book: Like many of Steig's stories, there is something remarkably enduring about this tale of a little donkey who makes a bad decision in a moment of utter terror, and it is just as accessible to little kids as it was when it was first published in 1969. Young readers shudder along with Sylvester when he encounters a lion, mourn with him when he finds himself transformed into a mute boulder, and rejoice when his parents' love restores him to his rightful form. A terrific tale for families, and a great read-aloud bedtime story.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Trigger warning for missing children.

Grandfather’s Journey

Written by: Alan Say

First line: My grandfather was a young man when he left his home in Japan and went to see the world.

Why you should read this book: In a bittersweet memoir, the author truncates his grandfather’s biography to a story about wanderlust and love of travel, of seeing new places and, eventually, pining for old ones. As a young man, his grandfather traveled America, eventually bringing his childhood sweetheart from Japan and raising a thoroughly American daughter (whose story is recounted in another Say story, Tea with Milk) before returning to Japan. World War Two made his desired return to America impossible, and Say, also in love with two cultures, finds himself feeling closer to his grandfather as he contemplates his homesickness no matter what country he’s in.

Why you shouldn’t read this book: Total homebody.

Zen Shorts

Author: John J Muth

First line: "Michael! There's a bear outside!" said Karl.

Why you should read this book: A delightful frame story introduces three average American kids to a panda names Stillwater, who has moved in up the hill and whose umbrella has blown into the kids' yard. Each child then visits Stillwater in his home, where the bear imparts a thought-provoking Zen parable in the form of a fairy tale, according the child's inclination and temperament. East meets West in a wonderful Buddhist format that teaches acceptance, generosity, and inner peace.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're instilling greed, selfishness, and agitation in your progeny.

Freight Train

Author: Donald Crews

First line: A train runs along these tracks.

Why you should read this book: Glancing at this deceptively simple concept book, adults may not immediately grasp the brilliance of a story that earns its Caldecott Honor through an intense appeal to children's love of machines, color, and movement. Using few words, Crews provides readers with a basic glance at a short freight train, ingeniously painted like a rainbow, as it speeds through cities and over trestles. This book never fails to elicit enthralled reactions from children, who can see supersonic movement and a vast, continental scope in the bright, clean artwork.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't like the sounds of happy children.

Make Way for Ducklings

Author: Robert McCloskey

First line: Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were looking for a place to live.

Why you should read this book: The original children's classic, this was one of the first Caldecott Medal books, and still the most popular of the early winners. Like many intellectuals, the Mallards decide to settle in Boston, laying their eggs on the banks of the Charles River. When Mrs. Mallard decides to take her brood to the Public Gardens, no thoroughfare is too busy for a determined waterfowl, and with the help of Boston's finest, Mrs. Mallard, along with Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack are able to safely cross the street.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't even brake for pedestrians.

The Man Who Walked between the Towers

Author: Mordicai Gerstein

First line: Once there were two towers side by side.

Why you should read this book: In an incredibly powerful story that is still fully appropriate for young people, Gerstein tells the true story of tightrope walker Phillipe Petit, who, in 1974, looked at the space between the unfinished Twin Towers and thought, "what a wonderful place to stretch a rope." His preparations for the walk, his successful romp in the air a quarter of a mile above New York City, and the aftermath, are all faithfully recounted in clean prose and breathtaking illustrations. This is an amazing story about an amazing moment in time.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're not prepared to explain to your small child why the World Trade Center isn't there anymore.

Jumanji

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

First line: "Now remember," Mother said, "your father and I are bringing some guests by after the opera, so please keep the house neat."

Why you should read this book: Chris Van Allsburg changed the fact of children's literature with sumptuous, detailed, realistic black-and-white illustration and an inventive perspective on a world both familiar and fantastic. Like so many awesome children's books, this one begins with siblings left home alone and bored out of their minds, until they find a mysterious board game, Jumanji, that brings all the excitement and terror of darkest Africa into the confines of their living room. Earning a Caldecott medal and inspiring a motion picture, this is an enduring classic.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Having recently been bitten by a tsetse fly, you are feeling very, very sleepy.

Where the Wild Things Are

Author: Maurice Sendak

First line: The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another, his mother called him, "WILD THING!" and Max said, "I'll EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without eating anything.

Why you should read this book: One of the all-time great picture books, Where the Wild Things Are describes the strange nighttime voyage of a little boy with high self-esteem and a lot of aggressive energy. His sojourn to a monstrous society where he can express his atavistic alpha side is balanced by his ability to return, when he's lonely, to his own safe bedroom, where someone loves him best of all. Sendak's warm, fuzzy, menacing monsters have become cultural icons, and the rhythmic poetry of the story paints a timeless picture of the world of imagination.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You were raised by wolves and you never want to go back to the wild.

Strega Nona

Author: Tomie DePaola

First line: In a town in Calabria, a long time ago, there lived an old lady everyone called Strega Nona, which meant "Grandma Witch."

Why you should read this book: The 1975 Caldecott winner, this enticing tale is a riff off the Sorcerer's Apprentic theme, in which the kind Strega Nona, who uses her magic to cure warts and find husbands, hires a new assistant: Big Anthony, who doesn't listen. When Big Anthony discovers the secret of Strega Nona's magic pasta pot, he can't wait to use it to elevate his own status, but his plan backfires, covering the village in an edible avalanche. As always, DePaola's illustrations are sensational, with lovely details like tiled roofs, authentic costumes, and expressive faces, and the story is an enduring one.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You see the scaly hand of Satan in the first line.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Author: Mo Willems

Quote: Hey, can I drive the bus?

Why you should read it: There's a pigeon. It wants to drive the bus. Pigeons can't drive buses. Kids can really identify with the bird's desperation. Caldecott Honor Book

Why you shouldn't read it: This book is perfectly delightful. You'd have to be a crank not to enjoy it.