Meme: A unit of cultural information which propagates from one mind to another

So here I was bemoaning the fact that I never get tagged for any memes, and then two come along at the same time. Not only that, but for one of them I’m in on the ground floor – tagged by the originator of the actual meme himself (OK, so he was working down his blogroll alphabetically, and my blog happens to start with an A; but I’m still choosing to regard it as evidence of my overwhelming popularity).

So here is the first of a series of two (I’ll do yours next Hygiene dad):

(un)relaxed dad tagged me with his six favourite toddler books meme. Here are the rules:

1. You should be the regular reader-of-bedtime-stories to a small child. Or children.
2. You are invited to choose the six stories that give you as much pleasure as the lucky recipient of your readings.
3. You are further invited to list them and give some indication as to why. With or without italics.
4. Tag a bunch more people.

Busy Park – Rebecca Finn.

A board book about the various different things to do in a park. Not really on our reading list these days, but it will always hold a special place on our shelves as the first book Amy fell in love with. Each page has a chunky tab, wheel, or do-dad to manipulate in order to make some bit of park related paraphernalia move, rotate, or appear.

During her babyhood I spent hours reading it’s eight line poem over and over again while Amy perfected her fine motor skills.

Curly Gets Stuck – Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright

I’ve chosen this particular title, but really I’m choosing all the Apple Tree Farm books. The illustrator, Stephen Cartwright, is a legend in the world of children’s literature. He was Usbourne books resident artist until his death in 2004, and his signature of hiding a little yellow duck in all his pictures keeps me entertained to this day.

Amy and I frequently make up our own Apple Tree Farm stories with her as one of the main protaganists, visiting her friends Poppy and Sam and joining in their adventures.

You can hear Amy and I reading another Apple Tree Farm book, market day, here.

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy – Lynley Dodd

The story of a little scotty dog off for a walk with his friends, including Bottomly Pots who’s covered in spots, and Schnitzel von Krumm with a very low tum. I have resolved that if I ever get a dachshund I will call it Schnitzel von Krumm. The rhythm of the poem is a joy to to read out loud.

Cockatoos – Quentin Blake

Quentin Blake is probably best known for illustrating the books of Roald Dahl, but he is an incredibly fine author in his own right – even becoming the first ever UK Children’s Laureate in 1999. Cockatoos tells the tale of Professor Dupont and his ten cockatoos who become tired of his incredibly boring routine and decide to hide from him. In essence this is a counting book, but Blake’s magnificently witty and scratchy illustrations make it so much more than this.

The Magic Pudding – Norman Lindsey

I’m cheating a bit as Amy isn’t really old enough to read this to yet. It was the first book she ever owned however, I imported it from Australia for her when she was just a few weeks old. The Magic Pudding, written in 1918, is regarded as an Children’s classic in its native Australia, but virtually unknown over here. My mother is from Oz (in fact I have Australian citizenship), so I’m assuming it was her who introduced them to me when I was a child.

The story concerns three friends: Bunyip Bluegum, Bill Barnacle, and Sam Sawnoff, and their troublesome custodianship of a extremely grumpy magic eat ‘n’ come again puddin’. It reminds me in some ways of the adventures of Mr Toad in Wind in the Willows, but in truth it has a charm of its very own.

The text of The Magic Pudding is available free at Project Gutenberg, but you’ll be missing out on the beautiful illustrations.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a commemorative pop-up – L. Frank Baum and Robert Sabuda

Now there are pop up books, and there are pop up books. And then there is this book. As you open the book a tornado springs out from the page, spinning 720 degrees via an incredibly ingenius mechanism involving black cotton. It only gets better from then on in. From the pair of green tinted glasses you view the emerald city through, to the three dimensional hot air balloon suspended from two flagpoles in which the wizard makes his escape from Oz, the whole thing is a work of art. Amy loves looking through it, under supervision of course. Heavy supervision.

So now I get to tag some other people. Deb from Toast Ambassador, Steve from Life Begins, and Henry and Rachel from Midwesterners in Midwestern Europe, I choose you!

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Related posts:

1. Book Meme
2. Bedtime reading
3. A bit more information
4. Like the corners of my mind
5. Shameless meme rustling