The Great American Picture Book Quarterfinals

And, let’s get to know each other.

Welcome back to round two! Vote on which American picture books deserve to make it to the semifinals, and then read on for a chance for us to get to know each other better.

First, a quick tribute to the fallen. This week we said farewell to Where the Wild Things Are, Miss Rumphius (this one is especially painful for me), Kitten’s First Full Moon, The Snowy Day, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, The Bee Tree, and Owl Moon.

Advancing on to round two are eight great picture books by Americans. The match-ups are a little more intense this week, including two Robert McCloskey books facing off against each other.

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Once you’ve had a chance to vote, let’s take a moment to get to know each other a bit.

There are so many new faces around here. Whether you’ve been part of The Hundred Acre Bookshelf from the beginning or have just recently joined, I would love to know: What are your favorite books? What does your current season of life look like? What’s something that’s bringing you joy?

A little about me.

I’ll share a little more of my story, too.

First off, my name rhymes with “Michelle.”

Rachelle. Now you can be confident about your pronunciation.

I spent nine years in higher education reform and public policy, most of those in New York City. Now I’m back in my home state of Arizona with my husband and three kids, and I love getting to read much of the day as we homeschool.

I delight in the deserts of Arizona, but I’m not blind to the beauties of urban life, either. Never do I miss New York more than when I think of the museums and libraries. Pre-kids, my husband and I used to make a game of catching as many free museum days as we could. A couple years ago we returned to New York for a visit, and it was a special treat to take our children to some of the museums they were too young to remember when we lived there.

The New York Public Library is to thank for the name of this Substack, The Hundred Acre Bookshelf. Seeing Christopher Robin Milne’s original Winnie-the-Pooh there left a lasting impression on me, a story I told in an early post here.

I love trivia (hence our bimonthly literary trivia questions), so here’s a bit of trivia about me.

• My favorite authors are Jane Austen, Willa Cather, and the obvious ones: Lewis, Tolkien, and Chesterton.

• When I was five, my family took a road trip to every little house Laura Ingalls Wilder ever lived in. That vacation has never been surpassed.

• I once played the bagpipes on London Bridge. (Did you know London Bridge is in Arizona? I’m not kidding.)

• Once my husband and I walked the length of Manhattan in a day (14 miles). We called it our perambulatory half-marathon.

• I’ve been to 44 states and 4 continents, but I’m a big believer in rootedness.

• Rereading is, I think, the highest honor one can give a book.

So now, at least you know a bit more of who I am!

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Now, your turn!

Please do comment or write back with a bit more of your story. I’d love to know more about you, too.

And for fun, let’s vote on a few questions of reading habits.

(I do have a strong opinion on this, but we can still be friends, even if we disagree.)

And finally….