Never needs batteries, easy to clean up, reusable, a delight for young and old: Is there anything more felicitous than a great children's book? Short on text, long on invention, the best children's books follow the Green Eggs and Ham rule: Serve up a dish made of anything imaginable as long as it's delicious. Merely edible will not do. The books below, our picks as the best of 1998, are perfect for the human small enough to condescend to sit on your lap and big enough to grasp that every single thing written in these books could happen, even to them. Though we've categorized them (because that's the adult thing to do), the best books as always are beyond order.
EXTRA ADULT-FRIENDLY
Today I Feel Silly By Jamie Lee Curtis. Illustrated by Laura Cornell
Yes, it's that Jamie Lee Curtis, movie-star daughter of Tony. Unlike most celebrities' children's books, however, hers shows not only fondness for children and familiarity with English but also a willingness to go a little nuts. It's a song-and-dance romp through the many moods of an extroverted young lass, all done in rhyme. Because being amused by children's mercurial natures is actually an adult pursuit, parents may enjoy reading this book more than their offspring.
RUNNER-UP Meet My Staff. By Patricia Marx. Illustrated by Roz Chast
Walter has a staff to do stuff he doesn't want to do: folks like I.M. Better, who takes his medicine, and Admiral B., who takes his bath. Every boy should have underlings.
OLD STORIES FOR NEW READERS
Ouch! Written by the Brothers Grimm. Retold by Natalie Babbitt. Illustrated by Fred Marcellino
Those Grimm boys moved their plots along like rockets. Today, they'd no doubt be writing screenplays for Jerry Bruckheimer. In this action-packed tale, a young man is saved from imminent death twice and then has to go to hell and back--no, really--to win the hand of the princess he loves. The religious right may not like the sympathetic portrayal of the devil's granny, but no one can fault the charming illustrations or the happy ending.
RUNNER-UP The Crane Wife. Retold by Odds Bodkin. Illustrated by Gennady Spirin
An old Japanese tale about a poor lonely guy who gets what he wants but can't help wanting more, thus destroying what he already has.
FOR LITTLE EYES
Window Music By Anastasia Suen. Illustrated by Wade Zahares
A children's book would be merely a paragraph of declarative sentences without the art: the most important part of the stew. Although there are as many illustration styles as there are ways to mess up a room, Wade Zahares' work looks fresh and sprightly, perhaps because this is his first book for kids. There's nothing to the story: a girl and her mom go to the city on a train and pass a whole lot of scenery (or window music). But the densely colorful, chalky pictures make the story a journey worth remembering. No wonder kids love trains.
RUNNER-UP Snow. Written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz A town full of skeptical, eccentrically shaped adults is transformed into a playground by the snow everyone says won't fall. What's not to love?
FOR LITTLE HANDS
Curious Critters Created by David A. Carter. Written by Alan Benjamin