It’s time for another installment of Our Favorite Books. I don’t think I can fully explain just how important books are in our house and in our kids’ lives. We have books everywhere – in each kids’ room, in the play room, in the living room, in our bedroom, and, often, in the bathroom and kitchen. They are truly Clare’s favorite activity and we read to her every single day, often multiple times a day. When we’re not reading to her, she’s often “reading” to herself or to her babies. We’ll be sitting in the car and she’ll start reciting passages out of her favorite books. She’s is a total bookworm and J and I couldn’t be happier. It’s become such a wonderful thing to introduce her to and to share with her.
Sammy didn’t have as much interest and attention in books that Clare did at such an early age. When he was about eight or nine months old I realized that we really weren’t reading to him. I immediately felt very guilty and started reading to him that very day. At first it was a fairly short exercise. We would read to him for as long as he would let us, though sometimes he would try to eat the book, sometimes he would crawl or scoot away, and sometimes he would take the book and throw it. Eventually we started finding books that he liked, and he started sitting for longer and longer periods as we read. Now he brings us books to read to him, looks at books on his own, and really seems to enjoy story time. He’s now read to before nap, before bed, and often two or three times in between. We have another bibliophile in the making.
So here are some of the books that are in popular circulation these days.
Sammy is particularly fond of any book that is tactile or has some sort of action associated with it, like touching, petting, and lifting flaps. Grandma T got him the Puppy book and it’s very popular.
We’re all about elephants in this house, probably a little bit because J does a serious elephant trumpet. There’s lots of trumpeting when he reads the Baby Elephant book, from both the Daddy and the Baby Elephants.
The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County is such a fun book! It’s about a feisty little girl who chases chickens, which Clare loves, and has a fun sing-song cadence to it which makes it fun to read.
The Classic! Sammy loves it and something about it really settles him down at bed time. This was actually the first illustrated book that he ever paid attention to. I think he’s drawn to the bright colors. Even though we read it every single night I still love it.
I found this book at the library and I just love it. This precocious little girl is talking to her mother about why she likes to be a child, and about all of the fun things that kids do that adults don’t. Playing in leaves, watching rain run down window panes, running barefoot all summer, and hiding under the dining room table are all of those special childhood activities. Clare’s just on the young end to fully get the lessons of the book, but she loves it just the same.
Another classic. This was one of Clare’s favorite books and now Sammy loves it too. He loves the animals, and we always make the requisite noises. He loves the rhythm and cadence of the story, and I love the simple pictures. Eric Carle has become one of my favorite children’s book illustrators.
This was one of my favorite books as a child, and now Clare loves it too. It’s not really a reading book, though there are little stories in it. Richard Scarry’s brilliance is the stories he illustrates with elaborate and detailed pictures. Clare looks at this book for the longest time, studying the pictures, understanding what they mean, and figuring out the stories for herself.
Knuffle Bunny! I just brought this home from the library last week and I think we’ve read it 25 times since then. It’s a really simple little book, about a little girl’s beloved stuffed bunny, but Clare LOVES it. It has really cool pictures that are a mix of illustrations and photographs.
