Favorite Things

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Laura Huliska-Beith (Illustrations)

While being tucked into bed, Matthew tells his mother of all the fantastical things he had seen and experienced during the day, such as a tyrannosaurus squirrel in the tree castle and singing elephants who woke him in the morning, but finishes up his tale by letting her know that her kiss good-night was his most favorite thing of all.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2003

About the author

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's next book, The Night War, will be published April 9, 2024. She is the author of nineteen previous books, including the Newbery Honor winners Fighting Words and The War that Saved My Life. The sequel to the latter, The War I Finally Won, appeared on many state-award and best-books lists and was described as “stunning” by The Washington Post and “honest” and “daring” by The New York Times. She is also the acclaimed author of She Persisted: Rosalind Franklin. Kimberly and her husband have two grown children and live with their dogs, two highly opinionated mares, and a surplus of cats on a fifty-two-acre farm in Bristol, Tennessee. Visit her at kimberlybrubakerbradley.com.

Reviews

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had too much going on so it was hard to follow.

[Asho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes at the library I let my son choose all of the books, knowing full well that he is picking them solely based on the cover images and knowing that sometimes when we get them home they will end up being a bit out of his depth. At first, I thought that would be the case with this book. I opened it the first night and inwardly groaned because it is wordy. In this book a little boy narrates his day, wildly embellished by his imagination. As such, the author has captured the rambling narrative of a little kid with a zany make-believe world. And while I appreciate the authentic tone, it also means that the book is very rambling and at times deliberately confusing.
Because of all the text I figured my soon-to-be-three-year-old wouldn't really get it, and I don't think he gets the joke that it is all imaginary. But he really likes the pictures (elephants, race cars, rocket ships), and he has been grappling with the concept of "favorite" and "best" lately so this book appeals on that level, too.
I will admit that it isn't my favorite pick, mostly because it's a tad too long, but I do like that my son likes it.

[Mhm Storytelling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fun but a little confusing. I like it because it is a story out of the mind of a child reminiscing about his imagined adventures. The story could fit with themes about elephants, space, race cars, or imagination in general. The red flag is that the story is a little bit long and confusing. I think the jumbled dialogue would be okay for kids but parents might get confused because it is imaginative and illogical.