I was just putting a few books aside for my four year old son and realized that out of the entire shelf of good books, three of them I could (and have) read over and over and over and over. They NEVER get dull for me. Oh, we have plenty of good books - interesting, entertaining, educational…all good - but these books just make me smile looking at their covers or hearing their titles. I’m wondering what your absolute top three favourites would be from your collection. What would the three books be that you will keep forever…and hopefully be able to read to your grandchildren?
Mine are:
“A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee” - Chris Van Dusen Amazing illustrations. I absolutely love the picture of their camper stuck on a rock at the top of a waterfall. This book is so easy to put lively expression into as you read.
“The Rain Came Down” - David Shannon So much potential for different voices - animals and people alike! Your expression and accents have no bounds with this book!
“On Top of Spaghetti” - Paul Brett Johnson This one just BEGS to be read with a Texan accent. Hilarious text to go along with the well-known song.
Trying to think what is on my shelf back home, here are a few that pop into my head:
Slinky Malinki, by Lynley Dodd. I love her books, but this is my favorite.
The Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down, by Paul Brett Johnson. This still has too many words per page for my 20 month old most days, but we can narrate the story based on the pictures, and it’s great.
Old Hat, New Hat, by Stan and Jan Berenstein. It’s amazing how such a simple book with so few words never bores me.
I really love books with rhythm and rhyme patterns, so most Dr Seuss and Sandra Boynton books will also be saved, but those are the individual books that I love.
We love Slinky Malinky, too! In fact, we have about 8 of Lynley Dodd’s books out of the library right now!
Great question, Kizudo! Now that has me thinking. It is so hard to narrow it down to 3 books. Thanks for your recommendations. I will be checking my library as soon as I write this post to see if they are available. I do love That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, A House is a House For Me, and Green Eggs and Ham. I also love The Tawny Scrawny Lion.
I just put holds on the books you both recommended. It seems like the books from Kizudo are in demand. It said all copies currently in use. Wait undetermined. Now we will anticipate reading them all the more. 
OK, I went home and came up with two more I have to add:
Wild About Books, by Judy Sierra. The library and the zoo are my two favorite places; now we can combine them in one story!
Custard the Dragon, by Ogden Nash, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. The poem itself is good, but the illustrations in this version are fabulous. This was my daughter’s favorite for months when she was first born; I had it memorized because we read it so often and it would calm her down when she cried.
One of these would probably replace Old Hat, New Hat, but I think I have to leave the other two on my original list. Absolute top four favorite books, I guess.
I’m off to look up the Custard the Dragon book. Thanks for the recommendation. We love Wild About Books, too. We just borrowed it from our library. Very cute story.