Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn YouTube
    • Home
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Media Kit
    • About
    • Contact
    Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest TikTok
    The Children's Book Review
    Subscribe
    • Books by Subject
    • Books by Age
      • Ages 0-3, Infant and Toddler
      • Ages 4-8, Preschool to Elementary
      • Ages 9-12, Preteen and Tween
      • Ages 12+, Teen and Young Adult
      • Books for First Grade Readers
      • Books for Second Grade Readers
      • Books for Third Grade Readers
    • Favorites
      • Diverse and Inclusive Books
      • Books About Activism
      • Best Books for Kids
      • Star Wars Books
      • Board Books
      • Books About Mindfulness
      • Dr. Seuss Books
    • Showcase
    • Interviews
      • Growing Readers Podcast
      • Author Interviews and Q&A
      • Illustrator Interviews
    • Kids’ Book Giveaways
    • Directory
    • Podcast
    The Children's Book Review

    Five Family Favorites with Claire Robertson

    Nicki RichesinBy Nicki Richesin5 Mins Read Ages 4-8 Ages 9-12 Best Kids Stories Book Lists
    Book: Possum Magic
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Nicki Richesin, The Children’s Book Review
    Published: February 15, 2013

    fivefaves_loobylu
    Claire Robertsons daughter

    We’re pleased as punch to have the clever Claire Robertson from Loobylu stopping in at TCBR. Claire is an illustrator, mama, crafter and procrastinator (her word!). In August 2010, she left Melbourne, Australia to live and dream with her “raggle-taggle” family in a forest on a small island in Canada’s Pacific Northwest. Claire also illustrates the children’s book series Truly Tan by Australian author Jen Storer. Our thanks to Claire for such a lovely, eclectic reading list!

    It’s difficult to move in our house without tipping over a precariously piled heap of books. My own mother worked in bookshops for years and I spent most of my twenties in and out of various bookshop jobs. With that comes a hard-to-break book accumulation habit. Books, stories and illustration have been a lifelong passion of mine and it seems my kids are turning out the same way. It’s been incredibly difficult picking out five favourite books treasured by my family and I am sure I will wake up tomorrow and realise I left out the most important… but for now, here are the five books that we seem to have loved the most over the last decade since my first daughter was born.

    Finn Family MoomintrollFinn Family Moomintroll

    By Tove Jansson

    From a very young age I have been madly smitten with the works of Tove Jansson – the Moomin books in particular.

    Her stories about family, friends, and adventure captivated me as a child, her whimsical drawings continue to influence my work as an illustrator, and her wild, non-conformative, art-centered life appeals to me as an adult. The Moomin family, with all its quirky characters, funny relationships and their life philosophy of love, respect, acceptance, and adventure, peppered with a subtle “everything’s going to be alright” attitude, reminds me so much of my own family and growing-up. I have so much joy sharing them with my own children, who in turn think the Moomins are living a life just like theirs. There are such wise, gentle, funny tales about humanity in all Jansson’s books that she will always be my number one on any list.

    Ages 9-12 | Publisher: Square Fish| April 27, 2010

    The Magic Faraway TreeThe Magic Faraway Tree 

    By Enid Blyton

    Ahh, EB. Not always PC, and always dated. Never the less, the Faraway books have been favourites of ours since the girls were small. The idea of visiting fabulously magical lands with a group of trustworthy pals who are magical creatures all living in an enormous tree in the woods outside your back door is so escapist, yet so simple and completely non confronting that it’s appealing to even the littlest of kids. There are no complex characters or noble story-lines but there is the mysterious Enchanted Wood, full of whispering trees that have secrets to hear if you press an ear to their trunks. There are pixies meeting on toadstool chairs, and strange magical creatures of the most storybook kind conversing with rabbits in waist coats and goblins in pointed hats. There are madcap adventures through lands that appear in the clouds at the top of tree such as The Land of Take-What-You-Want, The Land of Toys, The Land of Birthdays and The Land of Do What You Please. Blyton wrote three books in this series but there are times when I wish she had written more about Jo, Beth, Fanny, (renamed Franny in the new version) and Cousins Connie and Dick (again, renamed Rick for all those 21st Century prudes).

    Ages 5-9 | Publisher: Dean| October 3, 2011 (Reprint)

    BreadAndJamForFrancesBread and Jam for Frances 

    By Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban

    For the fussy eater in our life. This book is an absolute pleasure to read out loud. If you can get past the fact that it’s the mother scurrying about in the kitchen serving breakfast to a condescendingly pleased father and her annoyingly demanding small offspring, then little Frances and her stubborn refusal to eat anything but bread and jam is good fun. Another book we love that explores food and the idea of tasting new things is the charming Yoko by Rosemary Wells which makes me want to eat plates of sushi every time we read it.

    Ages 4-8 | Publisher: HarperCollins| September 9, 1964

    AllKindsOfFamiliesAll Kinds of Families

    By Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Marc Boutavant

    A new favourite of ours – as we are all fans of the beautiful illustrations of the talented Marc Boutavant. His Mouk books are another favourite, but it is All Kinds of Families we choose to read aloud frequently. In our life we know all sorts of different kinds of families and it’s nice to read a book that reminds of how flexible the word “family” really is.

    Ages 4-7 | Publisher: Little, Brown & Company| August 1, 2009

    PossumMagicPossum Magic 

    By Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas

    Mem Fox’s Possum Magic is a classic Australian picture book and a lovely one to share with our Australian born children especially now that we live in Canada. Julie Vivas’ watercolour illustrations are perfect for this purely delightful story about a Grandma possum who magically turns her little grandchild Hush invisible in order to protect it from wild Australian beasties. What follows is a trip around Australia sampling Australian delights (vegemite sandwiches, pavlovas and lamingtons, etc.) in a quest to make Hush visible again. Read the book and then bake a batch of Anzac biscuits for the full experience.

    Ages 4-7 | Publisher: Sandpiper | September 15, 1991 (Reprint)

    Nicki Richesin is the author and editor of four anthologies; Crush, What I Would Tell Her, Because I Love Her, and The May Queen. She is the San Francisco correspondent for Du Jour and a frequent contributor to Sunset, The Horn Book, 7×7, The Huffington Post, and Daily Candy. Find her online at https://nickirichesin.com/.

    *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

    Get 1 year of ABCmouse for $45 + 1 year to ReadingIQ FREE!
    Claire Robertson Enid Blyton Family Favorites Julie Vivas Lillian Hoban Marc Boutavant Mary Ann Hoberman Mem Fox Russell Hoban Tove Jansson
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleSara Woster: Talented Painter, Writer, Illustrator, and Animator
    Next Article Winter Books: 9 New Season Books for Winter and Beyond
    Nicki Richesin
    • Website
    • Twitter

    Nicki Richesin is a freelance writer and editor based in San Francisco. She writes personal essays and pieces on lifestyle, parenting, and pop culture for Sunset, DuJour, 7×7, Daily Candy, and The Huffington Post. She is also the author and editor of The May Queen, Because I Love Her, What I Would Tell Her, and Crush. You can find her online at http://www.nickirichesin.com

    1 Comment

    1. Pingback: Our five favourite kid’s books | Kiddley

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    TCBR Supporter
    Recent Articles
    • Tales of Magic, Healers and Heroes | Book Giveaway
    • Robby the Dyslexic Taxi and the Airport Adventure | Dedicated Review
    • Tikki Tikki Tembo, by Arlene Mosel | Book Review
    • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum | Book Review
    • The Kissy Heart: A Story About Personal Boundaries | Dedicated Review
    TCBR Supporters
    Get 1 year of ABCmouse for $45 + 1 year to ReadingIQ FREE!
    sponsored | become a TCBR supporter today
    sponsored | become a TCBR supporter today

    sponsored | become a TCBR supporter today
    sponsored | become a TCBR supporter today
    Discover Kids Books by Age
    Best Books For Kids
    Media Kit: The Children's Book Review
    Author and Illustrator Showcase
    SEARCH
    BOOKS BY SUBJECT
    Archives
    Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest YouTube LinkedIn TikTok
    • Book Shop
    • Policies
    • Media Kit
    • Buzzworthy Mentions on the Path to Growing Readers!
    • About TCBR
    © 2023 The Children’s Book Review. All rights reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.