one of the absolute supreme joys of my life right now is the nightly book(s) i read to my son before putting him to bed. he's only 5 months old, so we're not into dostoyevsky yet; and i find most of the books written for children his age to be pretty ridiculous (some in a good way, some in a bad way). at this point, he is pretty happy to simply look at the pictures, hear the calm and inflected tones i read in and simply to sit with his papa for a few minutes before bed. but i am curious what's next... and am hopeful there are a good selection of books for each stage of my son's life.
if you know of any, please recommend them to me!
http://www.amazon.com/Go-F-Sleep-Adam-Mansbach/dp/1617750255#reader_1617750255
ReplyDeleteOur kids love the Boynton books. My favorites are Moo, Baa, La La La and the Belly Button Book, although But Not the Hippopotamus features runners!
ReplyDeleteA few other good ones off the top of my head:
- The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear
- Good Night, Gorilla
There are a lot more options for older kids, both good and bad. You can't go wrong with Dr. Seuss; my favorites of his are The Sleep Book and I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew
My daughter is now 6, but we have read to her since before she was born. We have always read a wide variety of picture books and introduced chapter books when she was about 4, she loves continuing on a story each night and it is amazing just how much of it she absorbs and recalls months after the story is finished. For picture books particular favourite authors/illustrators have included Eric Carle, Pamela Allen, Mem Fox (favourites include The Places You'll Go and The Lorax and Dr Seuss. I always try to expose her to a broad range of styles both of writing and art. Chapter book favourites have included classics such as the Narnia Chronicles, The Hobbit, Treasure Island, various Roald Dahl books - some of the classics I know we will read many times over the next 10-15 years and she will appreciate different parts of the story each time, that is what makes them classics I guess!
ReplyDeletehi Heids, thanks for stopping by and leaving a thought out and thorough comment. i too started the reading bit in utero. my son is 6 months now and already he LOVES story time each night. i seriously cannot wait until he actually gets absorbed in the stories i'm reading to him to the level you've described and will absolutely keep these recommendations and put them to good use in due time. thanks again!
ReplyDelete