This week, May 7 to 13, is Children’s Book Week, a time to celebrate books for young people and the transformative power of reading. To that end, I’ve put together a quiz quoting lines from picture books that you probably know from your childhood or that you’ve read a zillion times to your kids. While trying to decide what to put in the quiz, I had a lot of fun strolling down memory lane. The hardest part was limiting myself to 15 titles. In the end, I left out lines from such beloved classics like Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar because they were dead giveaways. But that left plenty of other favorites—new and old—to choose from. How many can you identify from the excerpts below? For the answers, scroll down to the end of the quiz. To find out about author/illustrator events and other happenings taking place across the country this week, visit the Children’s Book Week site.
1. He had a fine view from the balloon but he couldn’t see his window. He couldn’t even see a house.
2. Then he dragged his feet s-l-o-w-l-y to make tracks. And he found something sticking out of the snow that made a new track.
3. Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy!
4. Mamas and papas and uncles and aunts hug their little dears, then dust their pants.
5. Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?
6. “Oh please don’t go—we’ll eat you up—we love you so!”
7. He felt he would be a rock forever and he tried to get used to it.
8. “You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway.”
9. Soon there were no more lights to be seen. We traveled through cold, dark forests, where lean wolves roamed and white-tailed rabbits hid from our train as it thundered through the quiet wilderness.
10. Tiptoeing with solemn face, with some flowers and a vase, in they walked and then said, “Ahhh,” when they saw the toys and candy and the dollhouse from Papa.
11. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples.
12. She went boneless.
13. He felt he MUST have a bright red balloon. He reached over and tried to help himself, but—instead of one balloon, the whole bunch broke loose.
14. Mud is to jump in and slide in and yell doodleedoodleedoo.
15. And for all I know he is sitting there still, under his favorite cork tree, smelling the flowers just quietly.
Answers: 1) Harold and the Purple Crayon; 2) The Snowy Day; 3) We’re Going on a Bear Hunt; 4) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom; 5) Green Eggs and Ham; 6) Where the Wild Things Are; 7) Sylvester and the Magic Pebble; 8) Olivia; 9) The Polar Express; 10) Madeline; 11) The Giving Tree; 12) Knuffle Bunny 13) Curious George; 14) A Hole Is to Dig; 15) The Story of Ferdinand
Want to keep up with my reviews, and all of Barnes & Noble’s exclusive reviews, author interviews, videos, promotions, and more? Please follow us on Twitter: @BNBuzz!
Did I leave out your favorite picture book? What would you include in a list of all-time favorite books for young children?
