'Can you feel this magic in the air?'

There is a gorgeous wee lady, who I have worked with for years now. Next week she will be leaving us to give birth to a wee baby girl. Upon receiving an invite to her baby shower, I initiated the "What do you need?What do you already have? What would you really like?" conversation.

Well she pretty much has everything. Usually when confronted with this situation I default to buying loads of hooded towels, muslin wraps, teething toys & something for Mum & Dad. I'm organising 14 people to put a gift basket together - that's a truck load of hooded towels & muslin wraps. So after a quick process of elimination we found out that she does not have any children's books. So each of my workmates will select a book of their choice, to put into the gift basket. I think books are a fantastic present. If they are looked after properly, they can last a lifetime. I still have heaps of books that I had when I was a baby and they provide me with many beautiful memories of my childhood.

Here are my top five favourite children's books (I took my own pictures to prove it)



5. The Runaway Bunny - Written by Margaret Wise Brown, Illustrated by Clement Hurd

I first came across this book by studying the film Wit, in seventh form English. Click here to watch a touching scene from the film, which includes a reading of the story. It is a sweet story. Tracking down this book was a little tricky as it was published in 1942. The Illustrations reflect the time, with only a few of the Illustrations printed in full colour. If you don't watch the scene from the film, here is a quick run-down: The story is about a little bunny, who wishes to run away from his Mother Bunny. Each page, sees the little bunny suggesting things he could turn in to, in order to run away from his Mother. Each time he suggests something, the Mother Bunny says that she will turn in to something similar so that she is always with him. This is how the story ends...

"If you become a little boy and run into a house," said the mother bunny, "I will become your mother and catch you in my arms and hug you."

"Shucks," said the bunny, "I might just as well stay where I am and be your little bunny."

And so he did. "Have a carrot," said the mother bunny.

Shucks. Simply sweet.





4. Cork on the Ocean - Written by Mark Sommerset, Illustrated by Rowan

I found this gorgeous little book, at a weekend market day whilst I was on Waiheke Island for New Years. It is stunning. I left the flash back in the image so that you distinguish the two different textures used on the cover. The Illustrations are delectably simple. They give the appearance of pencil & pastel used on brown paper. Shades of turquoise are used, with pops of bright yellow. The story itself reflects the friendly & relaxed nature that washes over you when on Waiheke. Cork on the Ocean is the first book, Cork & the Bottle is the second. I could only afford the first one at the time sadly, but they have a fantastic website, where you can listen to a reading, and purchase books. Click here to visit their beautiful website.

3. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy - Written & Illustrated by Lynley Dodd

There are no words, just this photograph that I took:

2. Guess How Much I Love You - Written by Sam McBratney, Illustrated by Anita Jeram

This book is just so cute for children & adults alike.



I have been known to give this book as a baby gift and as a wedding gift. This quote sums up all my feelings for this book.

"I love you right up to the moon - and back."

Brad used to do a similar 'joke', when he would say "I love you", I would reply with "How much?"

He would then hold his thumb and his finger about an inch apart and say "this much..." "....times (x) infinity."

For our two year anniversary I gave him a copy of the book, and placed a post-it flag over the quote from "right", the post-it said "this much, times infinity." As well as being a gorgeous story, it also has beautiful whimsical illustrations.

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Written & Illustrated by Eric Carle

Who doesn't Love this book? I've loved this book, ever since I can remember. The illustrations are exquisite, a total feast for the eyes. Yet again the story is simple, yet delightful. The pop-up version of the book above, is one that a dear friend bought for me in Sydney. She brought it over, when we celebrated our Awesome-Foursome's Birthday. Words can't really explain how much I love this book. in fact I love it so much that n 2009, I had a Very Hungry Caterpillar Diary...