I think it bears repeating (though I’ve said it many times before) just how much the quality of a good children’s book is improved through reading it aloud. It brings out the rhythm of the language much more strongly than does the silent recitation you do when you’re reading to yourself; and rhythm is, so I think, a key attribute of a good children’s book.

By way of example, after I read Redfox’s post on Food, I ordered The Magic Pudding. It arrived a week or so ago and I enjoyed reading it over a couple of nights. Tonight I started reading it to Sylvia for bedtime stories, and wow — it is such a fun book! The poems hold together much better when chanted and the shanties when sung. My reaction to reading it aloud was much stronger than it had been to reading it to myself and it served as a good reminder that books like this are intended to be read aloud.

One other note: I see several text-only editions of this book on Amazon, and it seems weird to me. The pictures are at least half the book!