Before Waldo there was Wallace, an orangutang who liked going on adventures around town whenever the gate to his cage was left open. County Reader tells me that Where's Wallace, by Hillary Knight, got a lot of use when the kids were little. So did many of the Richard Scarry books which were so detailed they'd make a game out of finding things on each page.

The wonderful illustrations in Curious George also inspired heavy use and frequent rereads. Written and illustrated by H.A. and Margaret Rey, Margaret's name was left off the cover of the first edition because the publisher thought the world of children's literature was too heavily dominated by women. (1941) Curious George was a character in an earlier Rey book and they thought he deserved his own book. The result was an instant success and inspired a series of tales about the mischievous monkey.

A favorite of mine was Flip, with story and pictures by Wesley Dennis. There were several tales of this curious colt, and I read all of them, but I learned just recently that this one, the first, was the book that caught the eye of Marguerite Henry and so was born the best pairing ever of author and illustrator! (Okay, yes, I am biased here). ;-)

Reading Hermit With Dog