Josie 2007 |
There are many things that I wish I could do better as a mother, but I'm not going to focus on those here. There are plenty of pages filled with such ramblings in my personal journal. In this post, I'm going to focus on something that I'm good at--exposing my children to books and reading.
Still, I must confess to running the other way when my children grab certain books for me to read to them. There are a lot of picture books out there that make me feel like my brains are going to ooze out my ears if I have to read them one more time. Those books will remain nameless as I am choosing to follow the wise advise of Thumper's father: " If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all."
I like to mark especially good picture books that I read in my goodreads.com account, so I can remember to pick them up at the library every so often. A fact which caused Kimball to accuse me once of "cheating." Until that conversation, I had no idea we were competing to see who had the most books listed on goodreads. Has anyone else noticed that kids can make a competition out of anything?
But, I digress. I started writing this with the intention of making a list of 25 Picture Books Everyone Should Read. I got the idea because I've run into many such lists over the years, and when I saw another the other day I began wondering what I would put on my list. I ended up with 30 books because I just couldn't help it. And, I changed the name because who am I to tell everyone what to read? These are books that make my face light up when I see them as part of the Story Time line-up at the library. (Yes, I still like to be read to and take my kids to story time partly for that reason.)
Some of these are books that adults would enjoy even if they didn't have a small person around to listen. If you don't believe me ask my kids grandparents. There are certain books they look forward to when coming to my house to babysit, and even talk about every so often when they aren't babysitting.
So, without further ado:
30 Picture Books That Rock
- Quick As A Cricket by Audrey Wood (Don Wood is the illustrator and his pictures are amazing!)
- My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza
- Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
- Dinosaur Roar by Paul Stickland
- Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
- Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss (Did you know that when you look this up at the library you have to look under 'G' for Geisel as in Theodor Seuss Geisel?)
- Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson
- Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
- There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Meyer
- Hug by Jez Alborough
- Come Along, Daisy by Jane Simmons
- Big Dog Little Dog by P.D. Eastman
- How Will We Get to the Beach? by Brigitte Luciani
- Inside the House that is Haunted by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
- We'll Paint the Octopus Red by S.A. Bodeen
- So Many Bunnies by Rick Walton
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Marin Jr.
- Snowmen at Night by Caralyn and Mark Buehner
- If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo by Mary Jean Hendrick
- Wild About Books by Judy Sierra
- My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman
- The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend
- If You See A Kitten by John Butler
- Ten Minutes til Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann
- Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
- Off We Go! by Jane Yolen
- Look Once, Look Twice by Janet Perry Marshall
- If You Were Born A Kitten by Marion Dane Bauer
- Hippos Go Berserk! by Sandra Boynton
- On Noah's Ark by Jan Brett
I hope this makes you think of some of your favorites. Feel free to share them with me anyway you can. Comment, email, facebook, call....
I have one friend that whenever I see him, he starts into a list of good books he's read lately before he even says 'hi.' I love it! Maybe in the future that will be how I begin all my interactions. Instead of "Hi, how are you?" I'll say, "Hey, have you read any good books lately?"
Mmmm. This list is delicious. I think I would have to add Mo Willeims and the Pigeon books.... Love this post :)
ReplyDeleteLove this Ambra...you are such a good writer yourself! When are you going to finish Rumpelstiltskin (or however you spell it)? My fav as you know is MY LUCKY DAY...I just love that one and never tire of it. In fact I sneak a read after the kids have gone to bed when I'm babysitting, just for the chuckle!
ReplyDelete