My hair is so charged with static electricity that it crackles when I run my hair through it.

It’s been sticking to my face all day, but on the plus side it’s quite shiny, and otherwise obedient.

In psychology I’m learning about Nature vs. Nurture right now and I’ve been thinking back to my childhood. I’ve always loved reading and I believe books played a role in shaping who I am. I learned lessons in confidence, honesty, generosity, hope, sharing and imagination’s power through riddles, fairytales, legends and art. Here are the picture books I remember most fondly. Each left an impact in my life, and I hope, that one day I’ll read them to my own children.

The Balloon Tree by Phoebe Gilman

A Midsummer Night’s Faery Tale by Wendy Froud

The Winter Child by Wendy Froud

Catkin by Antonia Barber and P.J. Lynch

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

A Bad Case Of STRIPES by David Shannon

A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch, Michael Kusgak, and Vladyana Krykorka

The Fairy Necklaces by Cicely Barker

Blueberries For Sal by Robert Mccloskey

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

The Gypsy Princess by Phoebe Gilman

The Dragon’s Pearl by Julie Lawson and Paul Morin

Lao Lao of Dragon Mountain by Margaret Bateson Hill

The Girl in the Golden Bower by Jane Yolen

The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau

Tatterhood and the Hobgoblins by Lauren A. Mills

Dove Isabeau by Jane Yolen and Dennis Nolan

Mary Margaret’s Tree by Blair Drawson

The Weaving of a Dream by Marilee Heyer