HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection

by Katherine Brown Tegen (Editor), Various

From early, beloved classics such as Goodnight Moon and Harold and the Purple Crayon to such recent treasures as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Pete's a Pizza, this collection assembles twelve of the greatest picture books ever published. Parents can share the joy of introducing young children to many timeless favorites that have already enchanted millions of readers.

This volume offers a wonder-filled opportunity for preschoolers and families to own and share "the best of the best."

All royalties for HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection will be donated to First Book, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their own new books. The primary goal of First Book is to work with existing literacy programs to distribute new books to children who, for economic reasons, have little or no access to books. In this way, First Book effectively leverages the heroic efforts of local tutoring, mentoring, and family literacy organizations as they work to reach children who need help the most. First Book distributes millions of books to hundreds of thousands of children nationwide each year. For more information on First Book, please visit www.firstbook.org.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Short Stories, Literature, Classics, Parenting

448 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2002

Reviews

[Margaret Chind · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have spent a lot of time collecting treasuries for our library in the last few months and I think this is by far one of my favorites and the one absolutely the best accomplished. This was a Sonlight P3/4 recommendation, and I did end up buying a second copy on accident after acquiring a copy for review, but it's delightful to have one on different ends of the house as it is a heavy book. It is heavy, but my three year old petite daughter can lug it around when she tries - often with my prompting her to just put it down and let me carry it. By the subtitle "a child's first collection" it makes me hope and dream that perhaps HarperCollins will fulfill my wish and make second and third or more collections as they really did a wonderful job in this one.

First off the cover says it all. Each of the books within has a spot on the cover jacket that shows the cover image of the book in question, so my children can see the pictures and point to the ones they would like to read and that makes it half the fun if this is our pick for storytime as opposed to their retrieving a book from the library shelves themselves.

Overall, I think this is an excellent addition to anyone's child library and highly recommend it. Not every single story within is my favorite, but they are all pretty good stories and come highly recommended on many lists that I follow. They are vintage and classic and worthy reads for all children. Getting them in this treasury volume not only saves you money, but also shelf space and on what to grab when you need a good decent selection of choices to read.

The formatting is by far the reason that I absolutely grin over this treasury. Most treasuries abridge the story versions removing pictures (which from picture books, removing pictures to me is pure murder!) and shortening text that is valuable and sorely missed. Some treasuries combine many original pages per page and overwhelm a child with too much to take in and this one does not do that. It is tastefully done and in a very appropriate manner with some images being the full width of the page, and others that are not quite such are bordered with appropriates colors if not white.

The collection includes:
Pete's a Pizza
The Enginerd told me about this story the other day as he had read it to AppleBlossom, but it was not until last night that I found it. Very amusing I think and just perfect for the times when somebody is moody and needs a bit of a push to giggle. Another one recommended in our Sonlight P3/4.
Caps for Sale - REVIEW to come.

From Head to Toe
I prefer Carle's other books, but it is a fun lead in to singing. This is one my daughter can "read" alone after only a time or two of reading and she loves to do the actions as well, it's a pretty good get up and play story.
Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon is probably one of the first books I thought of and bought when I started to get books for my oldest daughter as an infant. We bought a boardbook and now, less than thrree years later it is in pretty rough shape. Last month we even bought an omnibus that has Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny and My World in it. It is a favorite. We even as big sister gifts and for "school" at 2 1/2 got her Goodnight Moon 123: A Counting Book and Goodnight Moon ABC: An Alphabet Book.

Tonight when we started to explore in our new HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics and she Goodnight Moon was an option it was an instant request.

The yellow, orange, red and brilliant green are never colors I would have picked but they work so well with this book. The alternating grey pages add a character and conversation piece too. From finding the mouse on each page to relating to "her mittens" or something else familiar this little book finds its way as being a friend. Well known and dear. I wonder how many copies will we end up going through before childhood is at an end.

Harold and the Purple Crayon
I had never really found an interest in reading this book before recently. By a glance I assumed it was about a boy drawing on his walls with a Crayon. It was by chance that we downloaded a sample book app for the Kindle Fire and my toddler has been able to play with a few scenes. As app it is very neat. Then when we got our hands on Harper Collins Treasury Of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection she saw the book fiver for Harold and insisted we read Harold tonight. In the end I'm glad we did.

Never had it occurred to me when this book crossed my path over the years that it was really a classic from even before my parents youth. It is so simple in color and design that really the entire thing promotes imagination. It proved to be an enjoyable bedtime story and thinking about it I think I just might be able to come up with some go along activities. I definitely will not mind reading this one again.

Baby Says
Probably my least favorite in the treasury, but my daughter loves it.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - REVIEW to come...

Leo the Late Bloomer - REVIEW to come...

William's Doll - REVIEW to come...

George Shrinks - REVIEW to come...

Crictor - REVIEW to come...

Baby Sister For Frances
While I did not remember the story, the illustrations of Frances are special from my childhood memories. This is a perfect time to share this new sibling storywith my newly big sister AppleBlossom. I love the illustrations and the text. With a mixture of sing song poetry and prose it is a delightful read. Also there are more words here than you seem to find in more recent new sibling stories so this gives it the cuddle worthy reading quality.

[Teri-K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in the bookstore a few weeks ago with my three-year-old grandson when he said "I want to buy a book." Of course I said OK and we headed over to the kids' section. He immediately went to this very big book in the bargain section, (ours has a bright red cover), and sat down to look at it. The first story in this volume is Goodnight Moon, which he loves, so he chose this book for his own. We've already read all the stories several times and he often picks it up to read for "homework". lol There are lots of kids books around the house - he has a shelf in the living room and several shelves upstairs - but this one is his current favorite.

I wasn't sure how some of the stories would go over with him. I know he loves Goodnight Moon and Harold and the Purple Crayon and anything by Eric Carle, but I thought he wouldn't care for A Chair for my Mother or Chrysanthemum. I was wrong, he likes all of these stories and asks to have them read over and over. I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs a gift for a small child, or wants to make sure that there are good books in the house for kids.

NB - The 8 and 9 year old have enjoyed reading this book, too. :)

[Christian McKay Heidicker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unwieldy for a kid (or a me) to read, but they’re all stellar.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of stories. We have read this book so many times. Just when I think my kids are getting too old/wanting longer or harder books to read my daughter brings this favorite out. These stories bring up great memories of cuddling with my kids when they were babies..krb 2/17/16

[Adih Respati · Rating 5 out of 5]

12 classic picture book in one --from 1930s to 1990s-- complete with parental guide. My favorite is George Shrinks.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each book in this collection is a winner. I love how large the illustrations are, and the fact that they haven't combined multiple pages into one spread, as some treasuries do. However, between those full page illustrations and the high quality, thick paper used, this book is a brick! It is quite heavy, and holding it over a child in your lap so that the edge of the book isn't hurting them will give the reader a challenging workout. We just made our way through the whole thing and my shoulders need a massage. There is certainly a tradeoff to having this many books at your fingertips at once, and in my estimation, the tradeoff here is comfort and ease.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of twelve picture book classics, together in one volume, presented for the enjoyment of young and old alike.

Many timeless favorites are included here: the beloved “Good Night Moon,” the wisdom of “William’s Doll,” the enchantment of “Caps For Sale.” Authors include Eric Carle, Russell Hoban, Crockett Johnson, and Robert Kraus. Following each story is a short biography of the author and the illustrator, a note about the book, and some suggestions for further activities related to the story.

Highly Recommended.

[Meg McGregor · Rating 3 out of 5]

My husband gave this to me, as a birthday present! Since I love reading children's books - it was the perfect gift!

Some of the stories were old favorites. Goodnight Moon, A Baby Sister for Frances, Leo the Late Bloomer, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

There were several I had not read before! My favorite new stories were Crictor and Pete's a Pizza!

I can't wait to read these stories to my girls! I hope they like them as much as I do!

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy picking up these collection of books every so often from the library. You get a number of books for the "price" of one. And it is always fun to explore the books selected. We reread some books we own, some we have already read and in many cases were introduced to a number of books we had not yet discovered.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This large, oversized collection assembles 12 of the greatest picture books ever published: "Goodnight Moon", "Caps for Sale", "Harold and the Purple Crayon", "Crictor", "A Baby Sister for Frances", "Leo the Late Bloomer", "William's Doll", "A Chair for My Mother", "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", "Chrysanthemum", "From Head to Toe", and "Pete's a Pizza".

[Mavis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saved a lot more in buying treasuries vs per piece/book.
My daughter at 1 year 6/7 months carried this accross the room and into the bathroom wanting me to read to her while i did ny business 🙈

Pictures are bigger. Downside is that it nay get folded/crampled if the lo is still a baby 🙈.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often fee that collections like this are made for the parent, not the child, seeing as they focus largely on older books the parent grew up with. That said, these were all pretty good. Five of the twelve were new to me.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The classics you know and love... and ones you can fall in love with now. This treasury has lessons for people of all ages.

Read for a grad school seminar.

[Mandy Beyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful collection of picture books.

[JoanVictoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good collection of picture books.

[Sarah Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the books were what I could consider classics because I have at least heard of them....some I hadn't and probably because they weren't very good anyway.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Harper Collins Treasury has twelve children's classic stories. There were some that I was not familiar with, but several that were staples of my childhood, such as Harold and the Purple Crayon, A Baby Sister for Frances, Caps for Sale, and my all time favourite, Leo the Late Bloomer.

I also enjoyed the mini biographies about the authors and illustrators after each story, as well as information about the history of the Newbery and Caldecott Medals in the introduction. A must have for anyone who is a fan of children's books.

[jacky · Rating 5 out of 5]

May 2010? - Wonderful bedtime read a loud collection. I bought two copies of this book years ago. One was Chris's family and the other was for our future children. Then, this book had a stay in my classroom as an example of picture books. Now, its a part of Natalie's library. Every once and a while we read on of the stories together. Its too big and heavy to be part of her library of books she plays with daily, but it is good for me to read to her. She seems to like the big pages and has some interest in picking it up, even though its really heavy.

March 2011 - This book is now a nightly staple. For a while, Natalie demanded Good Night Moon and Leo the Late Bloomer. Then she moved to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Pete's a Pizza. Now she also has interest in Head to Toe. I love this collection, but the size is a huge draw back. Natalie gets frustrated finding the story she wants. And when we want to bring her favorites on a trip, we have this huge book to pack.

I remembered only two of these books from my childhood - Harold and the Purple Crayon and Leo the Late Bloomer. Both of these were VERY fond memories. About half of the other stories I had heard of before, such as Caps for Sale. I do enjoy all of them now, but probably George Shrinks is my least favorite.

January 2014 William now loves this book just as Natalie did. :) possibly the best $10 I ever spent.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ella enjoyed this anthology. She could pick the story she wanted because all of the stories have their original bookcover shown on the cover of the anthology. She would point to the one she wanted. I would tell her we needed to look it up in the table of contents, look at the page number, then turn the pages to the correct page, showing her the page number when we got to it. I felt that this was a good early lesson on looking things up. The only down side is it is a big heavy book, so it is hard for her to manuever on her own and my arms get tired if we read too many stories at one time out of it, however we could sit on the floor (or picnic blanket outside) with the book flat on the floor in front of us.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent compilation of twelve wonderful classic picture books, spanning 1947 through 1998. Prior to reading this, I was familiar with perhaps half of the selection, but I also enjoyed those that were new to me, and I can see why they would be considered classics. Following each story is an explanation by the editor, including ideas to discuss or activities to pursue with children and brief biographical information about the authors and illustrators. Great book to jump-start a home children's library!

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another one of those books that traveled with us because it has so many great books in one collection. This one doesn't have as many books as the 20th Century Children's Book Treasury, but it does have all of the full size illustrations. I've had many days that the kids have wanted to just sit down and read all the way through this book.

[Kristina Jean Lareau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually collections like this detract from individual books because the stories are condensed into as small a space as possible. This collection, however, gives room for each individual page and allows for the suspense of the page turn. I only wish that full page spreads were given all of their glory and reached the edges of the pages.

[Kameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 3 1/2 year old son cannot put this book down. The collection of stories is perfect (though he skips past the Frances story!) and we've read each one dozens of times. He can "read" George Shrinks to me word, for word. Love this book!

[Vivi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this thick book, with all illustrations included! I owned individual books of some stories included but my daughter seems to enjoy flipping through all the stories. This means she could sit quietly for longer while I am in the kitchen.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! It has every classic story you would want all in one book!!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the best stories in one neat collection. My boys LOVE this book!!!

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of children's classics. We like to take this with us on camping trips and vacations. We've read it so many times the spine is in need of some repairs ;)

[Desiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has introduced us to many stories that we never would have noticed. Several have become favorites that my kids will remember for a lifetime.

[Robin E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I lovely treasury of classic children's stories, with full sized illustrations. The only problem with this book is that it is so heavy and cumbersome.

[Guen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology gives ideas for using and enhancing the story.