My Absolute Favourite Children's Books
Writer, editor, DJ and uber mom Zodwa Kumalo shares her all-time best kiddies’ reads
Did your mom or dad ever read you a story (in Xhosa) about some mice who ate too many of the mielies their father had planted, despite being warned not to? And then, of course, being children, the little mice did, and at bedtime started writhing and rolling around on the floor in agony and regret. Anybody? My memory of the story’s details is sketchy, but I clearly recall the feeling of excitement and trepidation that my mom’s voice and words invoked when she was reading the tale to us.
Here are three of the children’s books that have stayed with me for the same reasons:
The Folk of the Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
Just thinking of the names Moon-Face, Fanny, Connie, Saucepan Man, and other characters in the book brings a smile to my lips. Penned between 1939 and 1951, The Folk of Faraway Tree is one of a series of three including The Enchanted Wood, The Magic Faraway Tree, and Up the Faraway Tree. Apparently, there was a plan to turn the series into a film, but I won’t be watching it because I don’t want a film adaptation to replace the magic my imagination spun on its own through the words and the occasional black-and-white sketch.
According to The Guardian, Blyton, who died in 1968, is still one of the biggest-selling children’s authors of all time. Her books have sold more than 500 million copies in 40 different languages.
A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter
It wasn’t so much the story as it was Potter’s illustrations that captured my imagination. Yes, there was the thrill of Peter Rabbit possibly getting caught, but it was really the pictures of Mr McGregor’s garden, Peter’s blue jacket, that delicious looking pie Peter’s father got baked in ‘accidentally’, and the Hippity Hop song I would sing in my head as I read along. Actually, when I think back on it, the whole saga was a bit sinister, but oh, what a delight it was because it certainly appealed to my often dark humour.
I have, and will again, read all these stories to my girls because I wouldn’t mind reading them myself again. And again.
Other recommendations:
Lost and Found, Oliver Jeffers
Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak
Olivia, Ian Falconer
Go To School, Stan & Jan Berenstain
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