My one-and-a-half-year-old grandson Cole has not had an easy life. Born without bile ducts, he underwent emergency surgery in February 2021 during which doctors created bile ducts out of his intestinal lining. This year, in early June, he went into the hospital again and ultimately had to have a liver transplant. He’s now home and making slow but steady progress toward a normal life.

While in the hospital, Cole had many books read to him, and now that he is home, that trend continues. While it is difficult to determine which books are his favorite, his mom Lindsay, and dad Andy believe Cole has a special fondness for the ones listed below.

Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss, Random House

Little Blue Truck, Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (illustrator), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

The Pout-Pout Fish, Deborah Diesen, Dan Hanna (illustrator), Tarrar Straus Giroux

Barnyard Dance, Sandra Boynton, Workman Publishing

Diggersaurs, Michael Whaite, Random House

A new book that my wife’s cousin Amy gave to Cole just a few days ago may eventually find its way onto this list. Cars and Trucks from A to Z by Richard Scarry features Lowly Worm and his friends driving many different types of motor vehicles, each of which starts with a different letter of the alphabet. Some of these vehicles are familiar — ambulance, dump truck, jeep — and some are products of Scarry’s rich imagination — bananamobile, crayon car, toothpaste car, and zippermobile.

Just as Cars and Trucks from A to Z seeks to acquaint preschool children with the alphabet, the other books on Cole’s list attempt to provide a valuable lesson. The classic Green Eggs and Ham emphasizes the importance of not judging something new without trying it first. The Little Blue Truck teaches the value of making friends and helping them when they have a problem, while The Pout-Pout Fish shows that a person’s self-image will determine how he or she feels toward others. Of course, some children’s books, like Barnyard Dance, don’t have any particular message; they’re just a lot of fun.

As Cole gets older, his list of favorite books will change. Later, maybe he’ll float down the Mississippi with Huck and Jim, battle pirates with Jim Hawkins, or play Quidditch with Harry Potter. Maybe journeys to Oz, Narnia, and Middle Earth are in store for him. If so, then the little books by Dr. Seuss, Richard Scarry, and the others will have done their job; they will have helped make Cole a lifelong reader and learner.