Book-A-Day Almanac

Today,  I want to talk about two of our classic books for babies and toddlers. As Julie Roach, Manager of Youth Services of the Cambridge (MA) Public Library, has told me on many occasions, the best titles for this age group include a text with few words that encourages participation and simple images and plots that appeal to the very young.

Roach says, “Toddler boys love books with truck imagery.” Kids this age have an impressive vocabulary—“That’s the excavator!” —and they like to prove it. So if you are trying to impress one of those boys, you can do no better than pick up Donald Crews’s Freight Train. Crews used his extensive background in graphic design to fashion a book with sophisticated images but a very simple text, a mere fifty-five words. All the train cars have been given a name and a different color, and then readers watch the train move over trestles and by cities,. When Susan Hirschman of Greenwillow Books first looked through the initial layout of this book, which won a Caldecott Honor, she felt an enormous degree of tension. The book looked almost perfect, and yet without the right ending, she knew it would fail. Hence when she came to the final words—“going, going, gone”—she felt the book was complete and knew it would work for the very youngest train enthusiast. It also presents simple concepts like color, color spectrum, and light—not to mention the parts of a train.

One of the best books for babies and toddlers, Mr. Gumpy’s Outing, published in 1971, was created by John Burningham, England’s premier artist for young children. Our hero, Mr. Gumpy travels along a river on a boat, picking up animals and children who promise to make no trouble for him. Of course, they can’t help being themselves, and eventually the whole crew ends up in the river. But all ends happily, as everyone heads out to a sumptuous high tea.

Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham is the ideal participation book for the very young—and can be acted out by a parent or child, or with a group of children, with ease. The story has a predictable sequence—“‘May I come please, Mr. Gumpy?’ said the pig. ‘Very well, but don’t muck about.’” Children want to join in, and gain confidence as they do. For the art Burningham balances brown pen sketches with brilliant full-color art. He has paced the text and art brilliantly. Even after readers know the outcome, they still enjoy watching the story unfold.

The ultimate artist, Burningham remains true to his belief that the best children’s books include as much for the parents as they do for children. Hence adults also love this book and its sequel, Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car. At the end of Mr. Gumpy’s Outing, Mr. Gumpy invites us to come again for a ride some other day. I myself have loved every repeat trip on this boat—and so do children.

Here’s a page from Mr. Gumpy’s Outing: