Top 10 Favorite Children's Books:

The Clown of God by Tomie de Paola

This touching story features an orphaned boy who goes around juggling for food. He joins a group of traveling entertainers and becomes famous for his flawless juggling skills. As the boy gets older, his fans diminish and he drops a ball while performing. After this humiliating scene, the man takes off his face paint and decides to return home. On his travels home, the man takes shelter in a church on a cold night. He wakes up in time to see the townspeople offer their gifts to the statue of Mary and baby Jesus. After the crowd leaves, he notices that baby Jesus's face looks sad, so he decides to juggle for him since he has no other gifts to offer. In the middle of his magnificent performance, the man dies of a heart attack. He is found by a monk who then points to the now smiling baby Jesus, who holds the late man's golden juggling ball.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
	This book features a mischievous boy, Max, who got sent to his room by his mother without supper, which is where his journey began. Max sailed to the place where the wild things are where he became king because he was the wildest of them all. He got lonely being king of all the wild things so he said back home to find his supper, still warm, waiting for him.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

This story features the relationship between a boy and a tree who love each other. When they boy is young he plays with the tree and eats her apples, but as he grows older he visits her less and less often. Every time the boy returns to the tree, he is in need of something she has, and she is always happy to give it to him. When the boy comes back for the last time, the tree apologizes for having nothing to give him, because after all that he has used, she is nothing but a stump. Fortunately, all the boy wants is a place to sit, which is what a stump is perfect for. So the boy sits, and the tree is happy.

We're Going On a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
	This book features a father and his four children who venture out on a bear hunt. They continually run into obstacles but they always find ways to persevere. The story is written in a repetitive, fun and lyrical fashion.

Winnie The Witch by Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas

This book features two characters; Winnie the witch, and her pet cat Wilbur. Together they live in a black house completed with entirely black furnishing. This is problematic because Wilbur is black as well so he blends into his surroundings, causing Winnie to constantly trip over him. In attempt to fix the problem, Winnie turns Wilbur green, but this is unsuccessful because he can't be seen when he's in the grass. After Wilbur has been turned several different colors, each one resulting unsuccessfully, Winnie comes up with the brilliant idea of making the house colorful and keeping Wilbur black, which is exactly what she does to fix the problem once and for all.

Gorilla by Anthony Browne
	This book features a young girl, Hannah, who loves everything about gorillas. She longs to see a real gorilla but her father is always too busy with work to take her to the zoo. On the night before her birthday, her gift of a toy gorilla comes to life and they go on an adventure together.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
	This book features a big green room filled with all sorts of different items. A little bunny tucked into bed says goodnight to various things he sees in the room.

Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor
	This book features a young girl, Nancy, who thinks being fancy is essential in living life. Concerned about being the only fancy member of her family, she attempts to teach her family how to be fancy, just like her. By the end of the story, Nancy embraces her family and informs them that she loves them, whether they're fancy or not.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss
	This book features a boy on his journey through life. It talks honestly about the inevitable ups and downs in life that everyone experiences at some time or another. Its cleverly rhyming lines emphasize everyone's potential to fulfill all of their hearts desires.

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
	This wordless story features a young boy who eagerly builds a snowman. At night the snowman comes to life and he and the boy have an adventure, flying around the world. Once the boy wakes up the next morning, he runs outside to see his snowman, only to find out that he has melted.

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