Books My Kids Like

 Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett
A friendly ghost meets an imaginative little girl, the only person who can see him, and helps catch a thief in her house.  The drawings in this one are so lovely and The Bairn immediately asked for a second reading after I read it to him the first time.

Soup Day by Melissa Iwai
A little girl and her mother prepare vegetable soup on a cold day.  My kids really love books about everyday life and they've found a lot to talk about with this one--which vegetables they like to eat, the shapes of the vegetables in the soup, etc.  They even asked to make the soup in the story and then play the games that the girl and her mother play together.  This one is reminiscent of Anne Rockwell's picture books (but I much prefer Iwai's illustrations).

Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek
Two puffin friends are separated in a storm, but a kind blue whale helps them reunite.  This story is very similar to Little Owl Lost by Chris Naugton and Where's My Mom by Julia Donaldson, two more books we all enjoy.

Dr. De Soto by William Steig
Dr. De Soto, the mouse dentist, and his wife outwit a fox who plans to eat them after receiving his dental care from them.  I don't think I'd ever actually read this one until we found a free copy at the parent resource center last month, although it won Newbery and National Book Award honors in the 1980s.  When one of my nieces was about Ellen's age, she called herself Dr. De Soto and would often come barreling down the hall, calling, "The doctor is coming!"

The Snatchabook by Helen and Thomas Docherty
The story books in Burrow Down are disappearing right from under the inhabitants' noses until clever Eliza Brown catches the culprit and helps him make amends.  Told in verse with beautiful illustrations, this feels like a new classic.

20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street by Mark Lee
When an ice cream truck breaks down in the middle of the street, it causes a traffic jam of twenty different vehicles.  The Bairn loves all the vehicle books in the world, and I'm always happy when I find one that I don't mind reading again and again.

Our Favorite Books of 2014

This was not an impressive reading year for me and Steve.  Steve claims that he didn't read any books at all, but I know this isn't true.  He read several books lying around the house and at least portions of a few I brought home from the library.  Unfortunately, neither of us can really remember which books those were.  He definitely read at least part of The Screwtape Letters, Nova Scotia Outstanding Outhouse Reader, Think Like a Freak, and Jim Gaffigan's book, Dad is Fat.  I told Steve that I love him even though he's basically a book-hating book-burner for reading so little this year.

If Goodreads is right, I only read about 20 books this year.  That seems like a really low number, but I have been really busy teaching The Bairn not to bite holes in the wall and crying over the fact that my floors cannot stay clean for even 30 minutes after being washed.



Of the books I can remember reading, these were my favorites:

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Willow Chance is quirky, 12-year-old genius who becomes the project of a terrible school counselor and a Vietnamese family, when her adoptive parents die in a car accident.  YA novel with a really lovely narrative voice.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Improbable love story in which a woman is able to speak to her husband in the past on her parents' house phone.  Somehow Rainbow Rowell makes this work.

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
Thirteen-year-old Jenna searches for her missing mother with the help of a washed up psychic and a jaded private investigator.  Jodi Picoult is such a talented storyteller.  Her stories always have a dramatic twist and I really did not see the one in this book coming.

Cinder (and the whole Lunar Chronicles series) by Marissa Meyer
YA cyborg Cinderella story.

Tinkerlab: A Hands-on Guide for Little Innovators by Rachelle Doorley
From the author the blog by the same name, this book is full of good projects for kids.  


Ellen loved these books best this year:

Hello, Bugs! by Smriti Prasadam
Bugs.  Cute bugs.

Doggies by Sandra Boynton
I'm not sure why Ellen loved this one so much, but she thought it was hilarious.

Noisy Farm by DK Publishing
Lift-the-flap books are always popular with my kids.


And these were The Bairn's favorites:

Georgie by Robert Bright
The classic story of a gentle ghost who loses and then regains his job as the resident ghost at the Whittaker home.  The rhythm of the story is really nice and I like the old-style illustrations.  The Bairn and I both love it.

Steam Train, Dream Train and Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
I think we've read every vehicle book in our library, and these are definitely two of the best.

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry
This has shown up on the blog before, but it's The Bairn's all-time favorite book.  He has loved it for at least half his life now.

Things That Go by Anne Rockwell
The Bairn likes all of Anne Rockwell's books, but this is his favorite of hers.  He often requests that I go to the library to get it for him.  It's just pictures of different vehicles organized by where they travel (air, water, etc.).  We thought we'd found a copy online for $0.01, but when it arrived it was a different book by the same author with the same title. 

Lucky Ducklings by Eva Moore and Nancy Carpenter
Based on a true story, this is the tale of baby ducklings who are saved after falling down a storm drain.  Great illustrations and storytelling.


Obviously I need some book recommendations.  What do you suggest?

The Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry

The Bairn loves poetry and I love reading it to him. In fact, sitting in the rocking chair reading "Disobedience" by A.A. Milne to The Bairn makes me terribly nostalgic, takes me right back to my own childhood, and gives me a sense that all the generations of my family must somehow be connected back through time by some variation on this activity.  My mother used to read it to me.

I recently found this children's book of poetry at our library.  It's full of gems and illustrated by a variety of artists, including Lois Ehlert, a favorite of The Bairn's.  If I didn't enjoy poetry so much myself, I wouldn't have imagined that The Bairn could sit still for so long asking for more.

Here are two of the poems we like best from the book at the moment (The Bairn also really loves one about a woodpecker and a silly one about scratching an itch.  Oh, and I also love reading him the one about rain by Langston Hughes, but I'm too lazy to look that one up.  Oh, AND I discovered that in Grade 9, Steve listed poetry as one of his pet peeves and when he looked through this book with us, he couldn't get past the non-rhyming poetry.  He says he doesn't know what makes it a poem if it doesn't rhyme.  Oh, the engineers).

Afternoon on a Hill

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when the lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!

--Edna St. Vincent Millay


Taking Turns

When sun goes home
behind the trees,
and locks her shutters tight --

then stars come out
with silver keys
to open up the night.

--Norma Faber

The Bairn's Book Club: 2-Years-Old

A lot of the books The Bairn loves at the moment are books that he's loves for many, many months now.  Here's a selection.

And the Train Goes by William Bee
I love the illustrations in this book about a train leaving the station.  There's a lot going on in each one, and there's a recurring snail on each page, which The Bairn's cousin was very interested in when she read it at our house.  The Bairn loves all train books, especially if they involve train noises, but this one is especially nice because of the design, I think.

Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
The Bairn started reading this alphabet book when he was about 18-months-old and he would pretend to eat the beautiful fruits and vegetables on each page while declaring all of them, "Liscious!  Oh, liscious!"  He's still very interested in the illustrations, but he also wants to discuss the letters on each page now and enjoys matching up the letter sounds to the correct foods.

Little Tug by Stephen Savage
This story of a little tugboat who helps the bigger, faster boats is very simple with minimal text and, again, lovely illustrations.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The classic.  The only downside to reading this one is that The Bairn has begun "nibbling a cocoon" all the time, meaning that he grabs food from the counter or toys or my arm and gnaws on it without warning.

I'm Fast by Kate and Jim McMullan
A train and a car race from Sacramento to Chicago (spoiler: the train wins).  The Bairn LOVES this book and I tolerate it.  I've learned more about freight cars and diggers and construction sites than I've ever cared to know in the last year since my child has begun reading picture books.

If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff
The modern classic.  The Bairn likes all of these books (of the four we own or have checked out of the library) except for If You Give a Moose a Muffin.  That one scares him.

The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson

I've just discovered Karma Wilson and The Bairn and I both love her books, especially Bear Says Thanks.  These books are right at The Bairn's level with nice illustrations and interesting stories about animals and friends.  I find a lot of mediocre children's picture books in verse, but I love these.  The verse never seems forced.

Ben Loves Bear by David McPhail
This is a board book about a little boy and his teddy bear.  It's very simple and I would have thought that it would be a little young for The Bairn, but he loves it.  In fact, today we had to act the story out.  He was the bear and I was Ben.

Cars and Trucks and Things that Go by Richard Scarry
Oh my goodness, this book is too beloved.  I have read it nearly every day at least once for months and months.  I hid it for a while just to get a break and now I've put it in the church bag so that The Bairn can enjoy it without forcing me to read it so often.  We own a number of Richard Scarry books but this is definitely the favorite.


Oh, and this one reads too.  This is not a staged photo.  She just happened, appropriately, to be reading One Duck Stuck while wedging herself into the couch.

Bairn's Book Club: 18-Months-Old

At 18-months-old, The Bairn is a big fan of all books about babies and diggers, regardless of writing/illustration quality. He's also a big fan of the hardware store catalog (page 248--fans--is his favorite section) and Rick Bayless cookbooks.  I'm less a fan of the hardware catalog, but I'm right there with him on the cookbooks.

The following are books that both of us enjoy.

Noni the Pony by Alison Lester
I found this on a recommended list for toddlers, and it is perfect for the age group, with rhyming text and bright illustrations.  I wasn't familiar with the author before we checked this out of the library, but apparently she's quite loved in Australia.

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry
The classic.  I found several of the Richard Scarry books on a free rack at our parent resource center last year.  I thought The Bairn might still be too young for them, but I pulled this one out when his digger obsession emerged and he loves it.  He's especially fond of the corn car.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
I checked this book out for me, because it received such great press when it was released a couple of years ago.  Again, I thought it was a bit old for The Bairn, but he requests it all the time.  I simple up the dialogue for him, so all the animals except the rabbit say the same thing to the bear when we read it.  Of course, he doesn't understand the big joke, but he enjoys it anyway.

Huff & Puff by Claudia Rueda
This is a brilliant spin on the story of the three little pigs.  The text is simple but clever, so I imagine this could be a favorite for a long time.  The Bairn loves to huff and puff and we both love the drawings.

The Bairn's Book Club: Bedtime Books

The Bairn is a big lover of books.  I just put him down to bed and before the rocking and the sleeping there was the yelling and the begging for just a bit more reading.  He wanted Counting Kisses and another rendition of Hello, Baby a Mem Fox book that he indicates a desire to read by throwing his toes up in the air, because the first animal in the book is a monkey with clever toes.  Apparently, The Bairn believes his toes are also clever.

These are some of his other current favorites for bedtime:

Time for Bed by Mem Fox  - Pretty much we're having a love affair with Mem Fox right now.  The Bairn didn't like this one, though, until we found a slightly bigger board book version of it at our library.  The art was a bit hard to take in when we tried reading a smaller copy.  We both also really love the author's books, Where Is the Green Sheep? and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes.

When the World is Ready for Bed by Gillian Shields - This is a very gentle story in rhyme about a family of rabbits getting ready for bed.  The Bairn was very interested in the fact that bunnies pray before bed.  He always reminds them to say 'A-Meeee' when they're done.

Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann - The Bairn is WILD about this classic with minimal text, especially because there are balloons in the illustrations.  He's a real sucker for balloons.  And  he likes to say, 'hyena.'

One Ted Falls Out of Bed by Julia Donaldson and Anna Currey - This clever book is a bedtime story in verse AND a subtle counting book.  The Bairn believes it is primarily the tale of some balloons that pop and he will not believe me that the guitar that one of the frogs is playing is, in fact, a guitar and not a hammer.  Delusions aside, we both enjoy reading this story at bedtime.

The Bairn's Book Club

Thanks for all your baby books recommendations. We still haven't managed to get our hands on all the books, but the ones available to us have been hits with The Bairn.  He is a great lover of books.  He attends a Mother Goose rhyme and song program sponsored by the library and the parent resource center.  He usually finds it rather ho hum and spends a lot of his time attempting to steal from the other babies and poking them in their eyes.  Today, toward the end of the session, he completely disengaged and read a picture book about babies rather than listening to rhymes about little old men who go up in space (I don't care for that one either).

He is also currently loving these books--

Say Goodnight by Helen Oxenbury
I was shocked that my library only owns this one Helen Oxenbury board book.  She is, rightly, so beloved.  We read this one before bed and The Bairn usually requests at least 2 or 3 readings each time.  He loves the round babies and simple rhyming text.

Alligator, Bear, Crab by Lesley Wynne Pechter
We checked this out a few times before The Bairn joined me in my affection for it.  I love the illustrations and The Bairn is still very fond of ABC books with a single picture on each page.  Seriously, excellent illustrations.  The Bairn likes the porcupine best.

I set The Bairn down with Alligator, Bear, Crab and instructed him to show the good blog readers how he loves it.  He said to me, Mama, Mama, Mamaaaa.

ABC, Baby Me by Susan Katz and Alicia Padron
This is another ABC book with drawings of families caring for babies and a rhyming text.  It's not my very favorite book, but The Bairn likes it and it's sweet and gentle.


and I love this one

Yawn by Sally Simes
The Bairn has never let me read the entire thing to him, but I find it so clever.  We will try again next month.

The Bairn Recommends BabyLit

My brother and sister-in-law gave The Bairn a BabyLit book, one of a new series of baby titles based on classic literature.  The Bairn owns Dracula and it's a counting book.  The 9 "boxes" are actually coffins, which is kind of creepy, but otherwise we love it.  The BabyLit site advertises the books as a way to introduce your baby to literature, which I think is silly (along the lines of flashcards for babies), but the books are cool.  The art is super hip and the whole concept is clever and different than the usual board book offerings.

The Bairn is a fan.