With children's books, to each his own

Humble pie is a staple of my diet. My high school students routinely tell me things I should already know. For example, cell-phone companies also are in the business of Internet access. But it's not just the kids. My colleagues pack the occasional wallop.

One teacher patiently explained that I'd used "sewn" when I meant "sown." As egregious as that ignorance might have been, worse awaited me at a meeting of librarians from around the state. The moderator asked us to introduce ourselves and name our favorite picture book. I named "Books for Oliver" by Lee Elliott Rambo and "The Adventures of Cow Too" by Lori Korchek, which I explained were my just-off-the-press favorites.

Some librarians named classic favorites: "Blueberries for Sal" and "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey were popular picks. Some librarians named books like "A Bad Case of Stripes" by David Shannon, "The Library Dragon" by Carmen Agra Deedy, "Piggie Pie" by Margie Palatini and "Boomer Goes to School" by Constance McGeorge. Some librarians named books I don't even like, like "Knuffle Bunny" by Mo Willems.

But the librarians serving up the humble pie all-you-can-eat buffet were the ones who named books that had never crossed my consciousness. I made a (quite long) list of these offending titles and took it with my true confession to Nancy Filer, the head of Children's Services at the Mount Pleasant Regional Library. Although she could feel my angst, she couldn't help laughing. There were titles on that list that she didn't know, and some that weren't in the Charleston County Library system!

She's a very nice person and she may have said that just to make me feel better, but I think I stumbled on a basic piece of truth about books: To each his own. It's not the title that matters.

For my 15-month-old grandchild, "Funny Faces" by Nicola Smee is the book that mesmerizes him over and over. "Whose Mouse Are You?" by Robert Kraus was one of my children's favorites when they were little. But to reiterate my point, it could be these titles or two completely different titles. Whatever works.

Contact Fran Hawk at Fran_Hawk@charleston.k12.sc.us.