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2 yrs ago - Friday 4/22/11 - 1:53:41 AM EST (GMT-5)
Okay folks, let's talk kids books. I think we should try to keep it limited to books generally for the under 12 crowd. (newborn-6/7th grade-ish) I know that some younger kids do read teen books...but if that's a popular topic, maybe we can do a Teen Lit Edition, too.
I hope this is a place where we can review kids books, ask for recommendations, let others know what our kids are reading, how we're reading to them, where we're buying and share any kids lit links that we think are of interest.
Also! Would **love** pics of your kids shelves!  |
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2 yrs ago - Friday 4/22/11 - 2:06:50 AM EST (GMT-5)
My son is almost 3 1/2 years old and loves being read to and "reading" to us. He has quite a few books memorized and at last count has about 25 words he can recognize by sight and 5 (including his name) he can spell.
His newest book obsession:
Corduroy, A Pocket for Corduroy and Corduroy Lost & Found.
Review:
Corduroy - Such a sweet story and what a fun adventure! My son is very literal so he thinks it's HILARIOUS that Corduroy can mistake an escalator for a mountain. Very fun to read a loud and has some nice chances for read-response moments. Plus, any book that ends with a hug is a winner at bedtime.
A Pocket for Corduroy - Another fun little adventure, not quite as "exciting" as the first. Great alliteration throughout makes it a fun read aloud and a good opportunity to practice repeated letter sounds.
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2 yrs ago - Friday 4/22/11 - 2:14:53 AM EST (GMT-5)
aPfC (cont) - There is a part where C. is trapped in a laundry basket "like a bear in a cage" that may be a little scary for a little one afraid of being left alone. My guy gets sad for C. all alone but doesn't get scared.
Corduroy Lost & Found - Corduroy spends another night wandering by himself. This book is not written by Don Freeman and though you can tell the authors tried to stay true to his style...it feels a little stilted. The alliteration isn't there and a little of the sweetness is missing. It's still a good story but if Corduroy is 5 stars this is 3.5 stars. My son picks it regularly but we read it first and set it aside quickly.
We often get Scholastic DVDs from the library of books my guy is especially interested in.
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2 yrs ago - Friday 4/22/11 - 2:15:09 AM EST (GMT-5)
Corduroy is a live-action feature and doesn't follow the story exactly but my kid LOVES it. You don't hear the inner-dialougue of C but the action is fun and it's very cute. Made in 1984, so it's a bit dated.
A Pocket for Corduroy seems to only be available in an ASL edition, which distracts my son. He didn't ask to keep it when I told him it was the day to return it.
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2 yrs ago - Tuesday 4/26/11 - 4:29:31 AM EST (GMT-5)
Though my son always enjoyed being read to, the first book he really took an interest in was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which I completely credit with his being able to recognize both upper and lower case letters by 2 1/2 years old.
This was also the first book we bought a Scholastic DVD to supplement with. I happened upon the DVD at a yard sale and having read the story 2,384 at that point, I decided letting him veg in front of a TV while someone else read it might not be TOO terrible. I had already read the book very sing-songy. It has just the right rhyme scheme to almost force you to sing but after watching the DVD and listening to that song, I can't read the book any other way.
I have spent so many hours with my little guy snug in my lap reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom...it may very well be my favorite book, too.
A told B
and
B told C
I'll meet you at the top
of the coconut tree..
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Menalippe
Female,
30-39
Eastern US
Joined: 9 yrs, 2 mos ago
5,333 Posts
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2 yrs ago - Tuesday 4/26/11 - 5:32:05 PM EST (GMT-5)
Maybe I have no right to post since I don't have kids, but there are a few books that I've read to my pre-k class that are ~like awesome~.
The Memory Cupboard
Probably for older kids, but it's a sweet story about a broken dish.
My Visit to the Aquarium
A little boy tells the story of his visit to the *GASP* aquarium.
Hey! Wake up! A cute little story. |
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2 yrs ago - Tuesday 4/26/11 - 7:26:34 PM EST (GMT-5)
I really like "The Run-Away Bunny", very reasuring that your parent will always be there, even if you are angry and want to run away.
Also, "Good Night Moon", where the same bunny is going to sleep and saying goodnight to everything. There is a little mouse on every page for the child to try to find in a way similar to "Where's Waldo" (but a lot easier to find).
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2 yrs ago - Tuesday 4/26/11 - 7:48:26 PM EST (GMT-5)
Menalippe, You're silly! Of course you can post here!! Maybe I shouldn't have put the "Parenting" part in the title but it's a "spin-off' of that thread as we seem to be having quite a few book related conversations over there lately...
My little man LOVED Sandra Boynton board books when he was littler. He's into "big boy" books now, so we don't often read the board books anymore. But when we do Boynton and Leslie Patricelli are his go-to authors. His fave Boyntons: But Not the Hippopotamus, Oh, My Oh, My Oh, Dinosaurs!, Barnyard Dance, Moo, Baa, La-La-La! & Fifteen Animals. We have more though...(I'm kind of a book addict and it seems I'm raising my son to be one, too. His favorite place to go is the "book shop".
Wanderer, I have to admit a book secret. I do not like "Goodnight Moon" and it must have come through in how I read it because my son doesn't either.  |
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Menalippe
Female,
30-39
Eastern US
Joined: 9 yrs, 2 mos ago
5,333 Posts
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2 yrs ago - Tuesday 4/26/11 - 8:14:44 PM EST (GMT-5)
Aww, I love Moo Baa La La La.
There's a book called something like "I love you forever" or whatnot.
It's the first book that I had to pause and stop reading becuase I was going to cry.
This One |
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 12:43:09 AM EST (GMT-5)
LOL
I Love You Forever is the CREEPIEST kids book to me, ever. Just thinking of it gives me chills.
I forgot to mention, I haven't read the "My Visit to the Aquarium" book but I *LOVE* books that relate directly to an activity we're going to do, it's fun to compare and contrast what we did to what the characters in the books did.
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 12:47:02 AM EST (GMT-5)
Thinking about it, there are actually a lot of "classic" kids books I'm not too fond of...
I am not a fan of:
The Giving Tree
Guess How Much I Love You
Polar Express
Most Eric Carle books
All but like 5 Dr. Seuss Books
Rainbow Fish
Berenstein Bears
But I will read any book my kid picks out, even if I dislike it.
There are just some books he'll not be able to find on his shelves...unless he brings them home from the library.
It sounds like I dislike a lot of books but I promise for every one I dislike there are 10 I LOVE...
One that I love (Similar to Guess How Much I Love You...but with more Love and less one-up-manship) is "I Love You StinkyFace"  We could read that 4 times a day and I'd not get tired of it... |
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 12:47:45 AM EST (GMT-5)
I loved The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks (and sequels) but that's more 6-12 age group.
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 1:12:20 AM EST (GMT-5)
Dude, I'm all about any kids books! I've never even heard of The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks. But I put it on my library list and will totally check it out! Thanks, Tric.
I loved
Sideways Stories from Wayside School (I've heard rumor it's a tv show now but haven't seen it)
Julie of the Wolves
Tuck Everlasting
James and the Giant Peach
Charlotte's Web
Indian in the Cupboard
Bunnicula
There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom
The Romana Books
But it's been years since I've read them.
But I'm sure most 7-10 year olds would still enjoy these books...I'm not sure how 80's they were...I think the Romana books were kinda dated even when I was a kid though? Maybe? |
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 3:36:27 AM EST (GMT-5)
my favorite book as a 7 year old was shiloh
my favorite book as a 9/10 year old was where the red fern grows
i really liked all of the ones in the last post you did, lol.
what else did i like, as a younger kid i liked:
if you give a mouse a cookie
the hungry caterpillar
4th grade i read some goosebumps but didn't like it
6th grade i REALLY liked a wrinkle in time |
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 3:37:56 AM EST (GMT-5)
I also was a big fan of charlie & the chocolate factory and charlie & the glass elevator
and at the last end (7th grade) I really liked:
the chronicles of narnia (so good!)
the giver
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 3:48:58 AM EST (GMT-5)
I love love love this wall display of books in a nursery or child's bedroom. It looks great, is an inexpensive way of "decorating" a wall in a room that will evolve greatly over the next several years, it allows kids to pick out their favorites by cover image, takes up less play floorspace than a bookshelf, and it effectively limits the quantity of books that you're able to keep (out with the old and in with the new, while still having room for favorites). |
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 4:13:16 AM EST (GMT-5)
And speaking of using books as decor, ever thought of recycling a beloved picture book as framed prints?
(Caps for Sale...?)
I think it could be extremely creepy if it were the wrong book or couldn't mesh with the rest of the room, but if there were a book to which you had quite a bit of sentimental attachment to or something... it might work if carefully done. I don't know. |
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 4:28:35 AM EST (GMT-5)
My father traveled often while my brother and I were young, and he would occasionally bring us a book home after extended absences, and they always became favorites just because they were reminders that Dad was always thinking about us even if he wasn't there reading to us before bed every night. How kids get their books can be just as meaningful as the story, sometimes.
Anyway, we were introduced to Daniel Pinkwater books this way, specifically "Larry" books about a polar bear named Larry who lives with a girl and her family in a hotel:
At the Hotel Larry
Young Larry
Bongo Larry
Ice Cream Larry
Sleepover Larry
Dancing Larry
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 4:33:39 AM EST (GMT-5)
Oddly enough, if I remember correctly... Larry's family abandoned him or something like that. I suppose a more concerned parent would worry about that message in a child's book, but to this day those books are reminders that my parents loved us more than anything.
Anyway, the illustrated Pinkwater (illustrated by his wife) books are great, but he also writes some great fiction for teens. He's the kind of offbeat author you can 'grow up on.'
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 6:53:07 AM EST (GMT-5)
Once kids are a little older, and don't need pictures to keep them interested, the Redwall books are an absolute BLAST for reading outloud. We started with Redwall, and continued with Mattimeo, Marlfox, Mariel, Mossflower, etc etc etc. The books all follow an extremely similar format, and eventually we lost interest... but in the meantime, there are plenty of different fun voices to try out and lots of descriptive imagery.
I LOVED the Ramona books, though I often found myself in agreement with Mother and/or Beezus rather than Ramona. (I'm the elder child. ) |
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 6:53:26 AM EST (GMT-5)
There were some great ones from the school library, I remember.. something about Mrs. Pigglewiggle or something? An English nanny dealing unconventionally with naughty children (oh-so-original in concept, I know. But sooo funny, growing up!).
Anything by Roald Dahl- - you mentioned James & The Giant Peach already, but Matilda, the BFG, The Witches, I could read all of those over and over and over and still get a warm feeling inside. George's Marvelous Medicine, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka & the Great Glass Elevator, ahh... childhood. |
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 6:54:35 AM EST (GMT-5)
I remember a picture book I loved was Bread and Jam for Francis. It was about... a hedgehog, I think? Who insisted on eating nothing but bread and jam for every meal. And of course, she eventually ends up tempted by other foodstuffs when REQUIRED to eat nothing but bread and jam. I remember the description of the little tiny salt and pepper shakers for her egg, lol.
DEFINITELY Narnia. That was another series we adored for reading out loud.
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Menalippe
Female,
30-39
Eastern US
Joined: 9 yrs, 2 mos ago
5,333 Posts
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 5:57:03 PM EST (GMT-5)
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 7:43:11 PM EST (GMT-5)
On Wednesday 4/27/11 - 12:47:02 AM WonderLand42 wrote:
Thinking about it, there are actually a lot of "classic" kids books I'm not too fond of... I am not a fan of: The Giving Tree |
I've always hate, hate, hated "The Giving Tree".
Such a selfish boy, and such an enabling idiotic tree. |
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Menalippe
Female,
30-39
Eastern US
Joined: 9 yrs, 2 mos ago
5,333 Posts
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2 yrs ago - Wednesday 4/27/11 - 8:39:42 PM EST (GMT-5)
I don't like Blueberries for Sal; I thought Sal was a boy for the longest time!
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