Leslie Patricelli is the author and illustrator of a series of bright, silly, engaging, and delightful books for children.

Baby Happy Baby Sad is perfect for toddlers and goes through the two most definitive emotions a baby has every single day–Happiness and sadness. It is a thick board book, full of color, highlighting scenarios that may occur in a baby’s day such as playing in mud, which of course makes the baby happy and getting a bath, which makes the baby sad.

However, my personal favorite of the two books is Higher! Higher! Higher! Higher! is an adorable tale of a young girl on a swing pleading with her father to keep pushing her higher and higher. It is a particularly silly but charming book that truly takes hold of a child’s imagination and the little girl continuously goes higher and higher on the swing. She goes higher than a giraffe, higher than a building, higher than the mountains, into the sky, and lastly, she meets a little alien and they high five. I absolutely adored this book; it is a definite must-have for any young child.

What I especially loved about this book is the fact that the book involves a young daughter and her father, rather than her mother. I am a stepmother of two young girls and in the society we live in, we so often see images of children and their mother’s and while that is important, we often overlook the importance of a child’s father in their life.

These are not the only books by Leslie Patricelli; she is also the author and illustrator of other books for young children including Binky, Blankie, BIG Little, Quiet LOUD, Yummy YUCKY, and The Birthday Box; all of which are sure to be hits with your children. Patricelli’s books can be bought on Candlewick Press’ website.