Where the mountains meet the prairie, where the men are wild and hairy/There’s a little ranch where Rosie Jones is boss. It’s a place that’s neat and cozy, and the boys employed by Rosie/Work extremely hard, to stop her getting cross.

The cadence of the words is enough to pull you in. But come on, don’t you already want to know what happens next? In a nutshell, Rosie’s men — including One-Leg Smith, Salad Sam, and Utah Jim who’s nice but dim — find themselves in pursuit of a gang of outlaws who tried to steal their steers. And so the “hazardous adventure” begins. Not to worry, it all ends well. The bandits (and their cabin) are lassoed, the townspeople applaud, and Rosie’s boys even get a reward from the sheriff. I would be remiss not to mention the enchanting, 80′s-era illustrations. The characters look like a sort of Wild West version of trolls, with overly round faces, wide eyes, and arms as short as a T-rex’s. But you just. Can’t. Look. Away.

Who lives at Maple HIll Farm? People live here. Two dogs and five horses live here. A pig lives here. Then there are — some geese, lots of chickens, a few cows, a few goats, several sheep, and four special cats…

I can’t imagine a better picture book for any animal-loving kid. On each page are illustrations of the dogs, horses, pigs, cats, chickens and goats who live (or used to live) on the author’s real Straatsburg, NY farm, followed by verbal snapshots of their unique personalities. For instance, the big rooster, aptly named Big Shot, doesn’t like children. Willow the cat “is very beautiful, but not very interesting.” And Whiney the sheep is always lost and never knows where the gate is. My kids can look at these gorgeous, simple drawings forever. We’ve decided we all want to live at Maple Hill Farm.

“Mr. President,” said Madam Secretary. “…It’s the Sticks and Stones issue again, sir. What should we do?”

Well, apparently the answer is don a disguise, get the heck out of the White House and hide out in elementary school, where even the nastiest problems can be solved with a snack and the hokey pokey. My kids cracked up at the stern-faced leaders of Bulrovia and Snortburg sitting criss-cross applesauce in the Oval Office. I loved the subtle reminder that grownups are at their best when we act like kids.

By Roald Dahl, Illustrated by Quentin Blake

Alfred A. Knopf, 1964

“Mr Willy Wonka can make marshmallows that taste of violets, and rich caramels that change color every ten seconds as you suck them, and little feathery sweets that melt away deliciously the moment you put them between your lips. He can make chewing gum that never loses its taste, and candy balloons that you can blow up to enormous sizes before you pop them with a pin and gobble them up. And by a most secret method, he can make lovely blue birds’ eggs with black spots on them, and when you put one of these in your mouth, it gradually gets smaller and smaller until suddenly there is nothing left except a tiny little pink sugary baby bird sitting on the tip of your tongue.”

I bought the hardback version of Charlie as a Christmas gift for my son, who is five and a half. By request, I read it to him and my three-year-old daughter  at breakneck speed. I adored this book as a kid but now, umpteen years later, I admire it, too. The velocity of Dahl’s imagination tops that of Mr. Wonka’s great glass elevator. I’ll argue with anyone who doesn’t think this belongs in a list of the Top Ten Kids’ Books of All Time.

By Andrea Beaty, Illustrated by David Roberts

Abrams Books, 2007

Young Iggy Peck is an architect and has been since he was two, when he built a great tower — in only an hour — with nothing but diapers and glue. “Good gracious, Ignacious!” his mother exclaimed. “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” But her smile faded fast as a light wind blew past and she realized those diapers weren’t clean!

I can’t believe I bought this book for my son last Christmas (although, uh, my sister paid for it — thanks, Sarah!) and I’m just now noticing that that it’s written by the fabulous Andrea Beaty. Not only is Beaty responsible for the also-hilarious Doctor Ted, but when my son emailed her a fan letter, we received a gracious response in less than 24 hours. Nice. So Iggy is an architectural genius, even able to build the St. Louis Arch out of pancakes and coconut pie. Alas, his second grade teacher, Miss Lila Greer, despises all buildings. What’s poor, bored Iggy to do? Fortunately, a footbridge collapses during a class field trip to Blue River Pass, and Iggy saves the day with fruit roll-ups, tree roots, and at least one pair of hastily donated underpants. Beaty’s got an addictively offbeat sense of humor and her rhyming’s right up there with Mary Ann Hoberman.

By Clara Vulliamy

Tiger Tales, 2007

There’s a girl named Lily and she’s being very grumpy, stamping her little feet and slamming the door. She says, “I DON’T WANT ALL THIS BREAKFAST!” and throws down her spoon.” “NO, I won’t wash my face. NO, I won’t brush my hair. NO, I won’t get dressed…” “NO! NO! NO!”

I could criticize many things about this odd little book, but the Lily in me says “NO!” The truth is, its luscious candy-colored illustrations and sparse,wackadoodle text tap into what all kids genuinely want: the love of their parent(s). The freedom to climb the curtains if they want. More ice cream treats than they can count. And, of course, a polar cub to play with. My daughter thinks the page where Lily screams “No!” about a million times (pre-taste-of-her-own-medicine) is absolutely hilarious. She gets it, and that’s where this book succeeds. But please note that I have no desire to read “The Bear With Sticky Paws Goes to School.” Come on, really?

By Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery; Illustrated by Jean Cassels

Walker & Company, 2008

The city of New Orleans, on the mighty Mississippi, is a place many people and pets call home. Jamming with jazz and dressing up fancy for Mardi Gras, it  bustled with life day and night. But on April 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina bore down on the city and everyone who lived there, including a wisp of a cat and one puppy.

Much to the concern of my children, I’m a total sucker for (read: I cry a lot while reading) books about dogs and cats in peril. Two Bobbies fits the bill. Bobbi and Bob Cat are the best of friends and never leave each other’s side — not when they’re abandoned by their owners, not when packs of hungry, homeless dogs chase after them, not even when rescue workers attempt to place them in separate cages. Did I mention Bob Cat is freakin’ blind? Not to worry, the ending is both relieving and fabulous, as is the photograph of the real-life Two Bobbies on the back page.  (Yes, I teared up at that, too.)

By Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Adam Rex

Disney/Hyperion Books, 2009

Mom says…”Billy Twitters, clean up your room, or we’re buying you a blue whale…” But I’m not worried. See, I know a thing or two about blue whales. I mean, they’re the biggest animals in the world, ever. It’s not like you can just have one delivered to your house overnight.

Little does Billy know that a “FedUp” truck (Delivering Punishment Worldwide, it reads on the side) is pulling up in front of his house with an extremely large delivery. And so goes Billy’s hilarious foray into Learning to Be Responsible. Not only does he have to wash his whale, wax his whale, and check his whale for barnacles, but he has to take his whale to school, wrestle his whale, race his whale, and take his whale to the park. Whew. Adam Rex’s illustrations are unforgettable as usual (if you’ve never seen The Dirty Cowboy, get thee to a library), and the suspension of disbelief throughout the story is inspired. No one ever asks “why?” or “how?”  It’s just understood: You get a blue whale, you drag it to school on your bike. Lovely.

By Florence Parry Heide, Illustrated by Lane Smith

Schwartz & Wade Books, 2009

Princess Hyacinth had a problem. Well, you’re saying, everyone has a problem. But this was an unusual problem. Oh, she didn’t look unusual, that wasn’t it. She had two eyes, with a nose between them and a mouth under that — you know, the usual things in the usual arrangement…So what was the problem?

I love the droll voice of this book, not to mention the exquisitely funny illustrations. Poor floating Hyacinth, who needs to be strapped down with a seat belt or have little diamond pebbles sewn into her socks so she doesn’t float away! Luckily, she’s a feisty girl who won’t take “Stay inside or you’ll disappear into the sky!” for an answer. Every character comes alive with very little text and three cheers to the author for including the sentence “But alas and alack!” A must-read for any who loves princess-y stories without the Princess-y Attitude or Barbie looks.

By Eleanor Coeer, Pictures by Dan Bolognese

Harper Collins, 1995

It was spring, 1860. Bill saw a sign in the post office at Fort Laramie. The sign said: WANTED. RIDERS FOR THE PONY EXPRESS. Young, skinny fellows under 18. Orphans welcome. $25 dollars a week. “That’s the kind of job I want!” said Bill.

I am awfully partial to books about the Wild West. There’s something so romantically desolate (desolately romantic?) about riding on the open range, eating out of a chuck wagon and sleeping under the stars which appeals to the Annie Oakley in me. (I can conveniently forget that back then, people used corn cobs instead of toilet paper.)  Not all children’s books capture the courage, isolation and sheer sense of adventure of those days, but this one — which introduces us to young Bill Cody (a.k.a. Buffalo Bill) as he joins the Pony Express — surely does.