What I Like Most

In a lyrical story by Mary Murphy, gorgeously illustrated by award-winning artist Zhu Cheng-Liang, a child offers an ode to her favorite things — and people.

What I like most in the world is my window. This morning, through my window, I see the postman at the red gate. . . .

A little girl observes, one by one, things that give her pleasure — the apricot jam on her toast, the light-up shoes that make her feet bounce, the sparkling river, the pencil whose color comes out like a ribbon. But even after the jar becomes empty, and the shoes grow too small, and the pencil is all used up, one thing will never change. In a tenderly imagined story, Mary Murphy celebrates the intimacy of the bond between mother and child, while Zhu Cheng-Liang’s wonderfully inviting artwork brings the day-to-day details to life.

Mary Murphy is the acclaimed author-illustrator of many books for young children, including Mouse Is Small, Are You My Mommy?, Good Night Like This, Say Hello Like This!, A Kiss Like This, Utterly Lovely One, and I Kissed the Baby! She lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Zhu Cheng-Liang was born in Shanghai and studied fine arts at Nanjing Art Institute. He is the illustrator of A New Year’s Reunion by Yu Li-Qiong, which was a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year. Zhu Cheng-Liang lives in China.