Reading books out loud was very common in my house growing up. My sister and I begged our mom to read until we pretty much memorized all of the lines. I read like my mom would. The pace she would read the lines. The pauses she would take. The songs she would make up. It was my safe space.

Then we started reading to each other. The pacing, the pauses, and the songs. We took turns. Somtimes we read to our stuffed animals. Or our cousins. We created our safe space. Here are five books I loved reading out loud.

Moko MokoMoko (Bloup! Bloup!) by Shuntaro Tanikawa
A very popular book in Japan. Moko MokoMoko is a book with graphic shapes and onomatopoeia. We can piece together what might be happening on each page. But it leaves a lot of space for imagination and personal storytelling. I remember how exciting it was to try many different ways to say “Moko“. I also loved explosive everything got, then calm again.

2. Teddy Bear Baker by Selby and Phoebe Worthington

This is from a series of books. The book always follows the teddy bear’s day at his job. He always wakes up early to prep, then greets guests with respect, counts the earnings at home and goes to bed early. There’s comfort and wander to this series. It’s familiar. But it’s also a fantasy. I loved imagining myself going to a bakery and buying pastries from a teddy bear.

3. My Dress by Kayako Nishimaki

This book is another timeless classic book in Japan. The bunny sews a white dress. When she goes through the flower field with the dress on, she notices the flower pattern on her dress. I loved the repetition in this book. It has just the right amount of it so I could easily read it out loud. And the unexpected reveal towards the end made me want to experience the book over and over again. I also loved the song at the end. Because I only heard my mom’s way, it felt so weird when others read it out loud.

4. Would You Rather by John Burningham

Would you rather have an elephant drink your bath water, an eagle eat your breakfast, a pig wears your pants, or a hippo sleep in your bed? This book sparked so many debates. And we loved trying to convince each other. There’s never a right answer. And we preferred it when our choices didn’t match. The illustrations are absolutely marvelous because it’s so energetic and wonky in a good way. The book ends in a very comforting and calm way which makes it a great book to read before you go to bed.

5. Peekaboo by Miyoko Matsutani

My mom taped this book back together so many times because I used to rip up books I loved. This book uses page turns so well. As a baby I was told I would go back and forth between those two spreads. My mom even made a puppet version of it but she said it didn’t have the same effect as the book. This book shows the magic of the book.

Let’s recap the techniques used in these books.

Moko MokoMoko - Simple and bold graphic shapes and minimal words and storytelling
Teddy Bear Baker - Wander in ordinary world
My Dress - Cause and effect with unexpected effects towards the end
Would You Rather - Questions that leaves room for kids to wander and invite conversations
Peekaboo - Clever use of page turns and repetition

When you read a good books out loud, you’re instantly transported. You believe in the world, the story. You commit to it and turn the pages. I’m all grown up but I still love escaping to the children’s book worlds. I am writing and illustrating my own book. And I hope I’m making books that kids can immerse themselves in.

That’s it for this month’s post. Thank you so much for reading. See you next month <3

Always love, Shiho