Mike Petrilli, education analyst, blogger and father of two sons, has come up with “
The Kindergarten Canon,” a list of 100 picture books that every English-speaking child should be familiar with. No, “should” isn’t really the right word. It’s a list, he says, of the books every English-speaking child, or adult, already is familiar with: books known to nearly everyone. Books that we reference. Stories that make up the backbone of casual, allusion-filled conversation, like “Green Eggs and Ham” and “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Winnie-the-Pooh.”
This isn’t, Mr. Petrilli says, a list of the greatest picture books in history. It’s a list of the books you must know, like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
“There are plenty of children’s stories more compelling, in my opinion,” he writes. “But if you’ve never read Goldilocks, you’ll miss myriad references in literature, pop culture, newspaper editorials, and so forth. Which makes Goldilocks a must.”
Mr. Petrilli’s list of 100 is pretty extensive. You name it, he has it — everything obvious is on there. But he has skewed away from naming too many recently published books to his “canon” (excellent exceptions were “Knuffle Bunny” and “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”), so I think he’s missed a few sources for allusive cultural references.
Where is “I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato,” or why isn’t “Bunny Cakes” on there? You wouldn’t last a day in our family without a solid knowledge of those, along with “Little Pea,” “Tickle Tickle” and “A Visitor for Bear.”
What books would we have to know to get all the in-jokes in your family — and did they make
Mr. Petrilli’s list?
