Last year, photographer Raul Gutierrez introduced us to yakskin babywearing, Tibetan-style. This year, he's got a list of "non-obvious" picture books that are in heavy rotation in their house.
The real find for me is one that feels like it's been right under our nose: a history of the universe and life on earth called Life Story, by none other than Virginia Lee Burton [who also did Mike Mulligan and The Little House]. The combination of hard science and Burton's soft, folksy art is unexpectedly awesome. And the book's concept of presenting everything on a stage, with an emcee, should placate even the staunchest creationists; just substitute "And on the first day" for "millions and millions of years ago."
Children's Books I Love, Part II [heading east]
oh, thanks for the tip. we just got burton's Maybelle the Cable Car -- so charming!! i knew the 4-yr-old would love it, but was surprised that the 7-yr-old was also engaged; she's old enough to appreciate that the illustrations are enchanting. there's a note in the back saying that it was reissued with original art retrieved from the SF Public Library archives; would love to know who championed its reissue.