A lot of books get read in my house. We read before nap, read before bed, read when we wake up, read when we need a time out, read while we are riding in the car, read in waiting rooms, and sometimes we even read for fun. We are regulars at the library, enjoy used book stores, love receiving books as gifts, and are amassing quite a library of our own.
Nina, Lila and I felt it was high time we shared some of our favorites with you. It is our hope that the next time you and your babe are in need of new reading material you’ll consider some of our suggestions. This short list will contain none of the obvious classics, no Maurice Sendak, no Eric Carle, no Todd Parr, and no Beatrix Potter. (Although we have read Peter Rabbit three times in the past two days) We wanted to give you something new to discover. Without further ado, in no particular order…
LITTLE BIG GIRL by Clair Keane. We only had this book for one week from the library, and by the end of the week we’d read it so many times that the girls could recite the book.
THE DAY THE CRAYONS CAME HOME by Oliver Jeffers. The girls enjoyed reading this book, but I think it was because the book made me and their dad laugh so much.
THIS BOOK IS MAGIC by Ashley Evanson. Everybody loves magic tricks, even toddlers.
CREEPY CARROTS by Aaron Reynolds. We had to check this book out multiple times because the girls kept asking for it. Any and all carrots are now creepy carrots.
THIS IS NOT A BOOK by Jean Jullien. The girls fought over this book more than any other we’ve ever had.
YUM YUM DIM SUM by Amy Wilson Sanger. Really, any book in her World Snacks series is a fun read. My kids have fun with new food words.
VIOLET THE PILOT by Steve Breen. Maybe it’s only because they want to fly airplanes and helicopters like their dad, but Nina and Lila were quite taken by this story about a clever girl that builds and flies her own aircraft.
WHEN SPRING COMES by Kevin Henkes. The changing of seasons is a mind-blowing concept for the girls. They get it, but they don’t get it. What they do enjoy however, are beautifully illustrated (Laura Denzek) books that help explain what it’s all about.
THE NOISY PAINT BOX:The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art by Barb Rosenstock. Lila and Nina were about 18 months old when we used to read this book. At the time I thought it would be a bit too mature for them, but they listened to every word I read. I think the illustrations (Mary Grandpre) in this book captured their attention too. Back then every color was blue and they would point to the art on the pages and say, “blue”, “blue.”
H.O.R.S.E. A Game of Basketball and Imagination by Christopher Myers. This book I had to put on the list more for myself than the girls. It was a very amusing book about street sports trash talk for kids. The girls enjoyed all the places the illustrations went, while I enjoyed why. This is a fun book for families that like sports.
TERRIFIC by Jon Agee. (We also liked NOTHING too) This author’s books are the perfect way to introduce young readers to deadpan humor.
If you’ve got any books you’d like to highlight please leave a comment. Lila, Nina, the other readers, and I would greatly appreciate it.
Teaching Pre-K we read a lot too! Our new favorite is Thankful by Eileen Spinelli. It’s a little girl who plays dress up and says what each character is Thankful for. It’s a really swell book. We also love the Mr. Panda series by Steve Anthony. Mr. Panda is such a good friend!