June Crebbin

This book (we had it as a board book at the time) was a favorite of all of my children--maybe the only book they all liked! It's charming and funny and appeals to kids' love of the absurd and transgressive. It's become hard to find, at least as a board book, so I've pre-bought extra copies in case my kids have children of their own. Otherwise, they'd be squabbling over who gets the original copy.

As an early reader, it's got a lot going for it: repetition to help them associate letters with sounds, onomatopoeia, a good combination of very small and slightly larger (but not too challenging) words.… (more)

This is clearly not a book by an American author, why you ask? Well for a start the writing was incredible, the story kept getter better and better as more of the retired detectives past leaked out while at the same time the main story remained interesting and suspense filled. This is not a thriller/ murder mystery for people with a weak stomach. The Train Rider is a nasty vile serial killer. The story is so expertly told, rather than the usual formula following books that usually fill this genre, I just wish the authors books were easier to obtain here in the United States, I had to get this one from Book Depository, a site tied with Amazon for obtaining great books not available in the United States.… (more)