The Books That Made The Brookes

Mr Brookes the Young has many qualities (red hair being one of them) but to me, the best ones are his highly developed imagination and sense of humour.

Is it possible that the books he read in the first 10 years of his life were important in creating his unique personality and style? The Ancient Aliens Theory says.... yeeees.*

Or is it possible that he chose the books that matched his unique personality and style? The Ancient Aliens Theory says.... yeeees.**

The truth is we'll never know. But here's what I do know.

I started reading to him from the first weeks of his life. I am a strong supporter of early education as in constantly providing opportunities for learning and expanding the horizons.

I am honestly not surprised I make baby books.

But there are books and there are books. It's not enough for a book to be published to be interesting, stimulating and engaging for a child. It has to have the 'golden ratio' of concept, writing and illustration that will generate curiosity, repeated pleasure, passion and hopefully help develop the child's own imagination and then become a happy memory.

And now, looking back, I definitely see the books that Thomas bonded with, in all the different stages of his life. And I am going to tell you about them.

Thomas representing Knowledge in the Acorns Calendar, 2010.

Photo: Petrisor Iordan

"I don't like fiction books. I will never, ever read a book by J.R.R. Tolkien!"

- Thomas

Well, no, I wouldn't think so. Thomas likes what he likes. He doesn't follow trends or other people's preferences. He is his "own role model", as he once emphatically stated.

It started very early. He rejected the Winnie the Pooh books. Man, I used to be so upset. I was besotted with the books and I had all these fantasies that I will read Winnie to my child preferably in a rosy room and with a smackerel of something on the side. We would be happy and relaxed and everything would be just so. But nooooo. He definitely did not like Winnie. To this day he avoids it like the plague and he refuses to read it.

I went to great lengths to spark his interest, trust me on this. Just look at this picture. It's a Pop-up Pooh book.

Nope. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

It took me a (long enough) while to admit that he has his own preferences, his own likes and dislikes, his own path and that all this is not about me.

My job as a parent was to create opportunities for him, not to make him like what I like. (Big epiphany, I can tell you.)

So from then on I simply followed his lead.

The Beginnings

I am sure I have a picture of an 7 months old Tom reading. Actually, here it is. Excuse the shitty quality - we didn't have iPhones in the Middle Ages.

There was a Winnie-the-Pooh book in the early days, when I still had hope.

I will start with this Thomas The Tank Engine, not only because I was pushing it hard (the name, yeah, you get it), but also the lights. Check how cool this book was in the video below.

And then we had this wonderful version of Goldilocks which had finger puppets for role playing. (Which as you know is very important for children. Okay. And for some adults.)

Lights, sounds and textures will keep your baby interested in books for a longer period of time.

The Terrible Twos

Oh. So many goodies here. Where to begin? Yes, with Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, of course. Illustration is absolutely crucial for children books and Axel Scheffler is probably... I wanna say "the best", but I will settle for "my favourite". The details he chooses to add in his drawings spark really interesting conversations with the child. Tom learned many things from all the little things he noticed in the pictures.

PS - I'll tell you the truth. Tom never liked the story of the Gruffalo. Perhaps it scared him. But he indulged me because he liked the illustrations.

This is another illustrator I loved (Emily Golden). Her illustrations have sparkle and they shine so they are fascinating and magical. The books are really wonderfully inventive. Chae Strathie is Scottish, just as Julia Donaldson, and just as talented. I actually invited him to Acorns Book Week and he actually accepted. Pfff. It was a good Book Week that year. (hashtag nofear)

The Threes and Fours

I think all the Mog books belong here. There is such sweetness in Judith Kerr's books and illustrations, such a lovely simplicity, that you cannot not fall in love. At the end of this post you will find a video of a Mog at his best in a Christmas commercial. It's wonderful. Judith Kerr is in it.

Any Mog is a good Mog.

Like all little boys, around this age Tom started to become fluent in Space, so the Tin Tin Books arrived.

Space, the Moon, Soviets, cosmonauts, exploration, adventure, physics, gravity. So many new concepts. He was enthralled. All he could think and talk about was space.

"I never have realistic hopes. Last night I prayed to God to give me lower gravity and he must have answered my prayer because today I could jump higher!"

- Thomas

For Christmas that year he got this rocket. It was bloody expensive, but this is still one of his most precious treasures.

He is also building the Apollo Saturn 5 when he remembers.

And this is what he's playing now (KSP).

Yes, a long term passion was born.

He played like this, watched TV like this, ate like this, slept like this.

"If I manage to build a liquid fuelled rocket engine, you'll have to take me to McDonalds!"

- Thomas

Uuuh, okay.

Although he had all the Look Inside Usborne books (which I totally recommend) and spent time studying them, he didn't get attached so we gave them away to another 4 year old who's loving them.

The Look Inside Usborne books are worth the money.

When he was about 4, we started reading Winnie. Nooooo, not the Pooh. The Witch. Yes, yes, I had to take whatever I could.

Again, the illustrations are GOLD. Korky Paul has a quirky individual style, and he manages to create a whole universe in these illustrations.

Winnie the Witch by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul

The Fives and The Sixes

We were in tears (of laughter) reading this book. It is so crazy, so out-there, that it makes Terry Pratchett look tame. Andy Stanton is constantly breaking the 4th wall and talking to the reader and does a lot of writing trickeries. But that is exactly the type of humour that resonated with Thomas. I don't know how to describe the book other than assuring you Andy Stanton is completely bonkers. Here's a quote:

"Occasionally, for reasons known only to himself, Friday O'Leary shouted 'THE TRUTH IS A LEMON MERINGUE!' at the end of his sentences."

What did I tell you? Bonkers.

The Sevens

This book. This book. This book.

He couldn't put it down. Even now he's flicking through it sometimes, although he must know it by heart. Tony Robinson (ex Blackadder, Time Team and Worst Jobs in History) has such fantastic sense of humour but also such grace.

Tom describes himself as having a "historical brain"and could tell you things from history I am not sure who else knows or cares about. This book is where it all started.

Cannot recommend it enough. (Thank you, Estella. You are magic.)

Tony Robinson has other books on history that were absolutely fantastic. World War I is one, Egyptians, Greeks, British... you get the point. (The Weird World of Wonders series).

The Eights

The madness of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I don't know what Jeff Kinney puts in his books (drugs probably) but Tom was hooked from day one. As you may notice, he's got the whole collection and it became a Christmas tradition for him to get the latest volume. I never understood his attraction for the book series. If perhaps the first volume was okay, then it became positively embarrassing. (To me.)

Please note the Russian version on the top. He thought this might help him learn the language. He lost interest in the meantime.

The Nines and The Tens

Facts. Trivia. Facts. Trivia. Facts.

Guiness World Record books. Ripley's Believe It or Not. How Much Poo Does An Elephant Do?, any Mitchell Simmons book, really. He would spend hours immersed in the world of facts.

But also...

He discovered his most favourite book EVER. You will be surprised. Not what you expect at all.

Except it is.

It ticks all the boxes.

NOT fiction.

Funny. Actually very funny.

Historical (sort of, in the sense that it documents a period of time that is gone).

Full of facts.

Full of fun facts.

About a boy with a big imagination (he was a superhero).

And his toys.

Vintage toys.

Yes, the one and only, Thunderbolt Kid.

Please note how battered it is.

Bryson tells the story of his own childhood, in 1950s America. There is nostalgia, but more than anything it's funny and rich and memorable and unique. And completely identifiable and relatable even though most of us were not born in 1950s America.

There you have them. The Books that made the Brookes.

Look at this. He was 9 months old looking like a Knowledgeable Person.

PS - If you need a really cool photo of your child, like this one, I'd say you should call Petrisor Iordan.

Or just procure a cool kid from somewhere.

I cannot go without mentioning that there are at least two (TWO) Romanian illustrators that you should keep an eye on. One is Dan Ungureanu (Cartea lui Apolodor) and the other is George Rosu who illustrated Ivan Turbinca. You already know my strong ongoing admiration for George's style and wit, but Dan Ungureanu has a really sweet take on things. There is beautiful simplicity there, it reminds me of Judith Kerr.

Speaking of which, I leave you with the Mog video. Please enjoy. And remember: any Mog is a good Mog.

Watch this. You will feel better.

Let me know if you found this article useful. Do you know these books? Did you read them to your own child? Did they leave a lasting impression? What books are you reading to your children? When did you start? What other books are your children attached to? Leave a comment below, I am looking forward to reading them.

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If you liked this collection of books, please share. Also, here are the two best books I read in 2019.

*What? You don't watch Ancient Aliens? I am shocked.

**Shame on you.