As I posted a couple of weeks ago, Anna and I read lots of stories together at bedtime. Some of my favorites are:
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
The Bellybutton Book by Sandra Boynton
Animal Hide and Seek (Usborne Books)
The Muddy Hippo (Usborne Books)
The Complete Adventures of Curious George
The Velveteen Rabbit
Anything by Dr. Seuss
Goodnight Moon
There are several others that I like as well (in fact, I've gone back to add to the list several times while trying to type this sentence).
We have a TON of children's books. This is thanks in large part to the awesome baby shower thrown for me by the writer's group that I participate in - each of the ladies gave Anna their favorite children's books, many of them, and I was well stocked by the time Anna finally came along!
Up until this weekend, we had all of Anna's books on two shelves hanging off of her bedroom wall. On Friday, though, I noticed that the brackets were pulling away from the wall and I had the sickening premonition of Anna being squashed by not only her favorite tales of hiding ducks and cows jumping over the moon, but also some pretty heavy duty wooden shelves. So we pulled the books down.
Luckily I had an empty DVD shelf that fit her books perfectly. And the shelf fit nicely between the end of her crib and the window. There were two things that I did not take into account with this move:
1. Anna now has access to all her books...ALL OF THEM...which she must read all at the same time, piled around her, all lying open in piles on the floor. Such large piles, in fact, that I've had to lift her out of the middle of a book avalanche several times in the last few days.
2. The shelves are conveniently placed at the end of the crib, so that should Anna decide she doesn't want to nap when she's tired and crabby, she need not cry. No! She can simply monkey her little arms through the bars and pull her favorite stories into bed with her. I found her surrounded by EIGHT open books on Sunday morning. She stayed in there for over an hour and I only went in because I knew she wasn't going to go to sleep and felt bad.
I can't decide if number two is a bad thing or not. There's no way she could use the shelf to climb out of the crib, I made very sure of that. But it's awfully funny to open the door at the end of nap time only to have her look up at me as if to say "just one more chapter and then I'll come out."
What are your favorite books to read to your kids (or that you read when you were a kid)?
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I enjoy reading Sandra Boynton books, my favorite one of hers would be the Snuggle Puppy one.
ReplyDeleteA few other favorites would be anything Steven Kellogg, The Monster at the End of this Book (with Grover), and Brer Rabbit stories.
Have you tried putting her to bed with one book? Maybe that will stop the ample amounts in the crib.
This is awesome, Kerry! Instilling a love of reading in Anna now will be so valuable to her throughout her life. I love watching Julia surround herself with books and "read" to herself and her babies. Nothing makes me happier!
ReplyDeleteAnd really, if you've found something that keeps her from screaming during naptime--why mess with a good thing? : )
By the way, we love Sandra Boynton too! Do you have Snuggle Puppy or Pajama Time? Those are great, too!
Nicole Balza
We have Snuggle Puppy too - which I like to read, but Anna doesn't. We have Pajama Time too, but she usually cuts me off around the "Some are pink and some are green" page.
ReplyDeleteAt bedtime she doesn't mess with the bookshelf. It's only been at the end of her nap or if she's just crabby and really only wanted quiet time and not to sleep. Hasn't been a problem so far, it's more of a cute quirk than anything!
I started reading Love You Forever by Robert Munsch to Will when I was still pregnant with him. I read it to him every night for years... and now at 12 years old, he will recite the book to me during one of his "loving son" phases. Those of which are rare at 12. :) You will find these memories of reading with her very fond as years go by! Mindy
ReplyDeleteAww, I LOVE Love You Forever - but I can't read it without crying. I can't believe Will is TWELVE! That is crazy!!
ReplyDeleteI never regretted one minute of your bedtime marathons when you were little...reading, "rocking and singing", all of it. You can't beat the together time, OR instilling the love of reading, a lifetime treasure! You're not only an awesome daughter, but you are a wonderful mom as well!
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