The epic combination of Peanut Butter and Jelly is celebrated today, April 2nd. Yes, there is such a thing as National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day!
As I considered the beauty of PB+J, I thought it would be fun to come up with some book combinations that echoed the perfect combination of salty and sweet...that reading them together made the experience better than alone! Here's a few I picked out after picking up a Peanut Butter and Jelly Mini-Cupcake down the street:
- Shiver and The Summer Prince - Both are summer romances but they couldn't be more different. Maggie Stiefvater's beautiful woods is in stark contract to the gritty world of Alaya Dawn Johnson's Palmares Três.
- Endangered and Chupacabra - The peaceful bonobos of Eliot Schrefer's beautiful National Book Award finalist are certainly a far cry from the chupacabras in Roland Smith's mythic expedition. Yet somehow, you'd walk away from both reads appreciating the other more.
- Train and Steam Train, Dream Train - Whistles sound at the beginning of each but from there, each departs on a different journey. Elisha Cooper's beautiful paintings of actual trains sweeping across the country shows kids the very real possibilities of fun and adventure while Steam Train, Dream Train continues that trip into their imaginations.
- Book!Book!Book! and Discover More:Farm - I have long been a fan of Deborah Bruss's picture book full of farm animal sounds but it wasn't until I became a parent that I discovered that pairing it with non-fiction made it more fun! We just love reading through the picture book with my kids and stopping to find facts along the way.
Just like some people don't like PB+J, I am sure everyone will have their own pairings. Have you ever appreciated a book more after reading another book?
