Countdown of My Favourite Children's Books: #'s 4 & 3

Here is the next installment in my countdown of my favourite children's books which I started two weeks ago and continued last week. Here is a recap of the books I have already counted down:

10. The Berenstain Bears Series
9. Where the Wild Things Are
8. Matthew and the Midnight Tow Truck
7. Princess Smartypants
6. Love you Forever
5. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

4. Oh, The Places You'll Go! (Dr. Seuss): Believe it or not, I had never read this (at least to my knowledge) until the end of my very first practicum in Toronto in 2003. A fellow student teacher brought it in to read to our class on the last day we were there and I read it to one of our classes (we were in a SK class, with a morning and an afternoon class). I absolutely loved the story. Every time I read it I have to hold back the tears. I think this book is such a classic for so many because it is honest. It's not one of those books that says everyone is great and that nothing bad will happen. It instills a message of working hard but still encourages children - and adults - to dream big dreams and to not be discouraged by setbacks. Lately this book has become a cliched gift to graduates of every level of school. I'm not really into that, but I think the book is great for people who appreciate good children's literature. I could not find much information out there about the book, except that it is Dr. Seuss's last book. Find more info at Wikipedia and at the Dr. Seuss website.

3. The Paper Bag Princess (Robert Munsch): Ok, so those who know me, may be surprised that this is "only" number three - but I assure you, I have two good ones at the top and you'll understand why. This book is somewhat similar to Princess Smartypants in that it is about an atypical princess. I like this book more for the fact that it spits in the face of conventional fairy tales that tell girls they are the ones that need saving. As a character Elizabeth is a great role model. She fights for what she wants, uses her brains to beat a foe, and then stands up for herself at the end. The humor present in this book also adds to it's appeal. If I were doing a list of which books I like to read, I imagine this would be a bit higher (Dr. Seuss is hard to beat for readability though). A few years ago, they released a new version of the book which has background information on the book which is rather interesting if you are a fan (or for children who like that kind of thing). There is lots of information about this book at Wikipedia, Robert Munsch's Website, and a random site I found.

Stay tuned for # 2 next week (that's right, I'm going to make you wait two whole weeks until I reveal #1!).