I don’t usually do this, but I was writing a set of book reviews for AdoptingMamas today (to be posted later once we get the links working), and I had WAY more books to review than were appropriate there. So if you want books about adoption, go check out www.adoptingmamas.com today. If you want some of our other favorite chldren’s books, read on.
We read a *lot* around here. My dentist basically considers mom and I her own personal book club. Brian goes through 4-5 books a week, judging by the amazon.com receipts. And as I’ve mentioned before, Abby has stacks and stacks of books that she reads every night. We’re 99% sure that she’s actually started sight-reading a few words out of the books she likes best, and there are a few Sandra Boynton books she can recite word for word. I love this kid!
We’ve never been “you must read baby board books at this age and slowly progress to blah blah blah” kinds of parents. Abby’s been surrounded by books her whole life. And some of her favorites are books that are much too “old” for her. But those are more fun for Mommy and Daddy to read, so that may be why she likes them so much. Anyway, on to the short list of Abby’s favorite books…
Today, I Feel Silly & Other Moods that Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis. Good GOD do we read this book a lot. It helps Abby to put names to her raging three-year-old emotions. And Jamie Lee Curtis doesn’t skimp on using big words for little kids. We’ve got emotions like joyful and discouraged along with happy, sad, angry… you get the picture. The illustrations are awesome and so full of detail that you could spend the twice as long looking at the pictures as reading the words. We love this book! Oh crap, I just noticed that the spine has cracked. Maybe we love it a little too much? Nah.
Big Words for Little People by Jamie Lee Curtis. Frankly, I could have just done a whole post on Jamie Lee Curtis books. Goodness knows we own enough of them. But this is a relatively new acquisition for us and Abby loves it, too. Once again, Laura Cornell’s illustrations are spot on, helping kids figure out the meaning of the really big words (like “consequence”) from the contextual pictures as well as the written words. It doesn’t hurt that the family in the picture is made up of kids of different ages and ethnicities and is obviously an adoptive family. Yep, I cried when I figured that out.
Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini. My mother-in-law picked up this book at the Sunnyside Children’s Book Day before Abby was a year old. She figured we’d keep it on a shelf for a few years, since she had read it to her third graders before she retired. Ha! This one was in heavy rotation by age 2 1/2. It’s the story of Gritch the Witch (a truly nasty specimen) who wants nothing more than to make piggie pie for lunch. So where does a witch go to find some piggies? Old MacDonald’s farm, of course. The only problem for Gritch is that these are no ordinary piggies and she ends up finding an alternate source for her lunch. (We’re also pretty fond of the sequel, Zoom Broom). The book has clever plays on words and puns, and doesn’t talk down to the kids who read it (or have it read to them).
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows the Type by Doreen Cronin. Also in the category of “doesn’t talk down to kids” is this book. I picked it up in airport bookstore when I realized I’d forgotten to get Abby a present after a business trip. The line that sold me? “It was up to Duck to deliver the ultimatum.” This deligthfully funny story tells what happens when Farmer Brown’s cows get hold of an old typewriter and start making demands for themselves and the other farm animals. (This book also has a sequel that we love, Giggle, Giggle, Quack.)
Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats. I love all of the Ezra Jack Keats books we own. We were first referred these books by a friend of a friend who wanted to make sure Abby had books with characters who look like her. Peter is a little boy who lives in a big city, and in this particular story, he’s not very happy about the arrival of his little sister, Susie. All his old things are being painted pink! So Peter decides to run away. When he comes around, it’s very sweet and he even helps paint his favorite old chair for the new baby.
So what should Abby acquire next? As you may have noticed we go for wry humor and silly puns around here, but are happy to read anything with a good storyline. What are your favorite kids’ books – either from when you were a child or that you read to your kids now?
Full disclosure: I have not been paid in any way to review these books, I just like them a whole lot. Now the FTC should be happy.
