Right On, Kids! Teaching

The Magic of Sleep: A Fascinating Guide to the World of Slumber, Vicky Woodgate [Amazon | Bookshop]  — There aren’t too many comprehensive books about sleeping for kids, so it’s lucky that this is a good one. An adorable (and sleepy) black and white cat accompanies readers through the book, as it tackles sleep from all sorts of angles: scientific, cultural, mythological, historical, animal, practical. And there are quizzes, a guide to dream journaling, and loads of (actually interesting) trivia and tidbits. “Sleep” as a topic might seem like a boring dead-end, but this book makes it fun and fascinating. 

Dream Machine, Joshua Jay and Andy J. Pizza [Amazon | Bookshop] — In this terrific interactive book, kids can move dials and spinners to choose their dreams and prepare for bed. While the dream choices aren’t extensive, they’re broad enough that kids can elaborate on what an “adventure dream” or “flying dream” will be for them, or which exact co-star they’d like to have in their dreams tonight. It’s so cleverly designed, with a satisfying switch to turn on the dream machine, a snoring meter they can crank to 11, and a bear that looks pretty cool in a sleeping mask. It’s a brilliant idea, so charmingly done — witty and cheerful and fun. 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll with art by MinaLima [Amazon | Bookshop] — This edition of Alice is terrific for younger children. It’s all the same text, but most pages have at least some little decorations, and there are plenty of big, beautiful illustrations also. But the interactive elements are the most exciting part: pull Alice’s hands and feet to make her grow or shrink, unfold a letter, or peep inside all the doors and windows of the White Rabbit’s house (Alice is, of course, crammed inside it). If you’re reading to a younger child who still longs for illustrations, this is a great one to read together.

Puppy in My Head: A Book About Mindfulness, Elise Gravel [Amazon | Bookshop] — For children who might be too young for many other books about mindfulness and breathing, this is a great one. Gravel represents thoughts and feelings as a puppy — and when this puppy gets worried, excited, or frightened, it’s helpful to breathe in and out, slowly, and to pay attention to what the puppy is trying to tell you. It’s very simply presented, with adorable illustrations, and children are invited at the end to pick their own puppy and name it. It’s a great trick (and will like play well with the same kids who love the podcast Peace Out’s monkey breathing exercise).

May All People and Pigs Be Happy, Micki Fine Pavlicek and John Pavlicek [Amazon | Bookshop] — This introduction to loving-kindness meditation is wonderful even for very young children. After a fight with her friend Molly, Claire feels hurt and angry, but her stuffed pig, Pigalina, offers her some advice: breathe and practice a simple set of loving wishes. Claire begins by saying these wishes for herself and her family, but soon she’s saying them for strangers, for Molly, and for all creatures everywhere. This is a lovely introduction to a terrific meditation practice for children, to deal with feelings of anger and to help them feel calm and safe.

Out of This World: The Surreal Art of Leonora Carrington, Michelle Markel and Amanda Hall [Amazon | Bookshop] — This is a fairly straightforward artist biography of the surrealist painter Leonora Carrington, though it’s remarkable for its feminist perspective on surrealism, which is typically discussed only in terms of its male superstars, and for its wild and beautiful illustrations. Younger children might not be terrifically interested in the nitty-gritty of the biography, but the illustrations convey the style and subjects of surrealist art wonderfully for children. 

Magritte’s Apple, Klaas Verplancke [Amazon | Bookshop] — An absolutely terrific book about Magritte’s art. Unlike many books about artists, it doesn’t delve into Magritte’s biography. Instead, it just focuses on the art — what you can observe about it and what makes it special. It’s cleverly and beautifully drawn, with wonderful surrealist touches and loads of winking nods to his work. There’s even a little treasure hunt at the end: look at the reproductions of Magritte’s paintings here and then find these images in the book. A fantastic book to encourage art appreciation.

Magritte’s Marvelous Hat, D.B. Johnson [Amazon | Bookshop] — This playful and inventive book stars a dog artist named Magritte and a cheeky, boisterous hat that leads him on adventures. The book plays off Magritte’s most famous paintings and features transparent pages that cleverly alter the illustrations as you turn them. You won’t learn much about Magritte the artist here, but it’s quite fun to read it after looking at some of Magritte’s work. (Kids will feel in on the jokes!)

The Nonsense Show, Eric Carle [Amazon | Bookshop] — A pleasing and simple book that uses a variety of surrealist imagery, from beloved children’s author and illustrator Eric Carle.

Lost & Found, Shaun Tan [Amazon | Bookshop] — The first two stories in this collection, The Red Tree and The Lost Thing, feel heavily influenced by Surrealism. The Red Tree explores depression and hopelessness through a variety of emotional, dreamlike images — and although the book is a little heavy, there’s beauty to it and flashes of brightness and hope, too. The lost thing in The Lost Thing feels like something from a Max Ernst painting, and the book has one spectacular surrealist spread near the end: a vast and dreamlike landscape filled with odd things.

Sato the Rabbit, Yuki Ainoya [Amazon | Bookshop] — This collection of very short tales is an offbeat visual feast. The premise is explained matter-of-factly: “One day, Haneru Sato became a rabbit. He’s been a rabbit ever since.” This kind of dream-logic pervades the rest of the book, as Sato goes boating on a watermelon, drinks colors, finds a world inside a walnut shell, and opens puddle-doors into the sky. You can read the whole book in just moments, but it sticks with you and invites re-reading, as many of the most visually-startling books do. It’s immensely charming and refreshing — in a wholly different world from most children’s books. 

In the Half Room, Carson Ellis [Amazon | Bookshop] — This visually arresting, surrealist-inspired book feels reminiscent of Goodnight Moon, with its lulling inventory of a room at night. But this room contains only halves of things — until it doesn’t.

Forgotten Fairy Tales of Brave and Brilliant Girls, Usborne [Amazon | Usborne] — This collection of fairy tales retells lesser-known stories featuring girls as active heroes. “The Daring Princess” is an adaptation of the Grimms’ “The Iron Stove,” for instance, and “Fearless Fiona and the Spellbound Knight” is based on the Scottish ballad “Tam Lin.” Here you’ll find plenty of princesses and even some love and marriage, but not all of these young women want to be married — many simply want to keep adventuring. It’s a nice and rare thing to have a collection of tales with clever female heroes. (Usborne has a few more similar titles on their site to check out, too, if you like this one.)