These are the books that Thora goes to again and again. In order of my preference:Lemony Snicket's The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming. This is very funny, but she rarely lets me read it. It's her go-to book when she's reading to her brother, probably because she feels it gives her license to scream. (Not a traditional picture book.)
Amy MacDonald's Little Beaver and The Echo. This is a very sweet book, a nice one to read aloud.
Cressida Cowell's That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown. I love books that show girls doing all sorts of imaginary play. Emily Brown takes her rabbit, Stanley, on adventures in the rain forest, in outer space, deep sea diving along the Great Barrier Reef, etc. Another funny book with a sweet ending.
Anna McQuinn's, If You're Happy and You Know It. This has fun, quirky illustrations and a nice, multicultural message.
Helen Cooper's Tatty Ratty. This isn't my favorite of Cooper's. I like almost everything we find of hers, particularly Pumpkin Soup, and the first one we ever encountered, The Boy Who Wouldn't Go to Bed. However, of the books we have on loan from the library, this is our only Cooper book. And as expected, the surprising layout and illustrations make the read dynamic. Also a cute story, with the added bonus that it gives parents an idea of how to remedy the dreaded situation of a lost "lovie."
And lastly, Goldilicious, by Victoria Kann. I have to say that I won't be sad to return this one to the library. And of course, since it's a book about a girl named Pinkalicious, Thora loves it. My initial dislike of it has to do with personal taste: everything is pink! And she only does girly things, like dress her unicorn for a fancy-dress ball, practice her ballet, and have a tea party. Again, nothing inherently wrong with these activities--just not my idea of fun. And while I'm not a fan of pink and drowning little girls in all things pink/purple, the reason for my dislike of this book has more to do with what seems like lazy writing. The story line is disjointed at times (even moreso than what I think is the intentional mimicry of a girl's unbridled imagination). And I find the dialogue frustratingly laid out, so that it took me several reads to be able to anticipate and appropriately attribute dialogue.
