Last month, my favorite local bookstore Fully Booked sent me a newsletter about children’s books followed by a link with their top ten recommendations (click here to read it)!

At the bottom of the list, they announced that they were giving away specially curated sets of children’s books! I excitedly joined. They only asked for two things: one, to visit their Facebook page (which I usually do, anyways); and two, to leave a comment on their list answering the question “what is your favorite children’s book?” I answered from the heart and a few weeks later –

I won!

[I took this as a sign of encouragement and as a sign that I’m going in the right direction of deciding on what I’ll be doing for my thesis next year – which would be me illustrating and writing my own children’s book!]

I was so ecstatic and eagerly gave my details. I got a text two days ago (March 11) that my books were ready for pick-up at my chosen Fully Booked branch! I was actually in school that day and quickly ran to the bookstore. These are the books I got:

First, The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown;

Egg by Kevin Henkes;

and The Dead Bird by Margaret Wise Brown!

I excitedly read it to my little sister, Hannah, and her favorite one was The Runaway Bunny and Egg – she said that The Dead Bird was just too sad. My favorite one would probably be Egg since it’s such a simple story and it perfectly sums up “show, not tell” in a few pages. My second choice would be The Runaway Bunny since it encapsulates a mother’s love and how imaginative children can be (also, I love the extra pages about the book since Fully Booked gave me the 75th-anniversary edition!). My third favorite (I couldn’t bear to say ‘least favorite’) would be The Dead Bird. I like how the book tackles the reality of peace and death in a way that would make both child and adult sympathetic. It’s such a heartwarming yet realistic story! [Fun fact: When I was younger, my cousin and I found a dead bird in the gardens. We found a box and buried it in the garden. We even held a short ceremony – which is why I found the book somewhat relateable.]

The art of all the books are just so beautiful and unique – I love how they used different mediums to tell their simple story. In fact, ever since I got the books, my little sister kept asking me to re-read The Runaway Bunny. She could read Egg by herself now!

All-in-all, I am very happy with all these books and they would really help as a reference to my thesis next year! Thank you so much, Fully Booked, for the opportunity and your generosity!