Nestled in a cushy rocking chair, two babies snuggled each on one thigh, always I had enough lap, we read so many picture books.
Our Toddler-aged Favorites:
- Worn out Mommy could close her eyes and recall the words
- It is soothing and gentle and induces sleep
- Kids like finding the mouse
- the secret hidden Runaway Bunny pictures make me feel smart that I noticed them
- the sounds like hush, mush, brush- you can just here the hidden, soothing, shhh
- This book will calm the reader down as much as the listener
- Spanish introduction starts early
- The Sneaky Gorilla is child like freeing all of the animals
- The animals follow the zookeeper into bed- I mean does it get any better?
- The shocked eyes in the dark- warrants parents mock acting out the eyeballs.
- As toddlers, my kids would point to each eyeball and I would give the same "Shocked face"
- And if the reader is really tired, you only have to remember the order, elefante, Lion...
- In part, because of the word "rumpus" who doesn't want to say "rumpus"?
- But more than that Max (the kid) has all the power, over his monsters
- All that roaring, And gnashing and eye rolling, is great for dramatic readings!
- I hummed the "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" during all the great monsters rumpus pages
- Max misses his mom- moms like that lesson
- Kids know mom will still love them when they are naughty, because of the "still hot" super
More than just picture books....
I got bored. I loved these books but I longed for the longer works, instead of a ton of picture books. I realized when my kids were still toddlers that if I nestled them into their bed and read longer works they fell asleep and I never had to transport them. I recalled my mother reading to all of us girls from Little Women, and All-of-a-Kind Family.
Some of our favorite longer works from this time were:
- I have always been leery of titles that don't recognize the author, However She is an African Queen- need I say more?
- But it is me, so therefore I must say more!
- A girl journaling her story about being a writer and warrior in the making shows girls that there are all kinds of weapons out there
- Books like this show children they too can be powerful!
- It is through strong warrior women who break the mold that our daughters will learn to stand tall with their pens or arrows.
- For our sons, there is a lesson to be learned, respect others for their strengths regardless of their, gender, race, ethnicity...
- Black women's stories matter!
- Actual black women aren't the stereotypes we see in media, and NEVER were!
- All fhttp://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Terabithia-Katherine-Paterson/dp/0060734019/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1438200242&sr=1-1&keywords=bridge+to+terabithiaamilies are different
- For me I loved reading this to my son- it showed him I understood, sometimes it wasn't fair to be a boy
- Warning: When read aloud- you may need to skip over a Santa give away
- Shows kids imaginations
- Shows grief and loss
- Anne isn't perfect- and still is loveable- this re-instills the idea that even when you behave in a naughty way- you will still be loved
- Anne was orphaned- My children were orphaned- for me that has a particularly important narrative to be told- we don't all get born into the best family life- but in time we find our family
- Anne gets into perfectly explainable mishaps, that never make sense to anyone else, she is misunderstood. This ties in with the very essence of childhood- you will be misunderstood, or unheard
- Anne is a Ginger- an "other" of her time, and she finds love and acceptance
their read outlouds
When they got to be young school aged. They still loved picture books. We still bought them and read them. And they learned to read them to me. Some of our favorites:
- Pink, Pink, Pink! We read the whole series over and over and over again!
- From Pinkalicious "You get what you get and don't get upset," became a line my daughter used on a fellow kindergartner- the teacher loved it. I had to point out it was a literary reference- in case she thought I was one of those "strict moms"- shudder!
- The idea of Purplicious- that you should like what you like not go with the crowd, helped my kids.
- I'll never forget the laughs we had when my daughter read aloud " I wrote in my diarrhea' instead of diary- we started reading it that way- just for giggles!
- Admittedly, I am not the best at religious books, but this book is more about being thankful then naming the God, and I love that message
- What I loved about this book was actually the way Zachary saw his animals as more "wild and ferocious," then domestic.
- My son has always responded to animals so this book helped present his interests in a way that taught responsibility and gratefulness.
- So we loved all Dr. Seuss books but this one had the longest staying power
- Why? Perhaps it is the tongue twisters
- The laughs over getting it wrong: "tweedle beatles" "Chicks and bricks"
- Perhaps because when we read to the end we all stuck out our numb tongues
- Perhaps because the kids get to read "you don't have to be so dumb" and that is kindergarten kids curses!
- Either way Seuss creates a love for rhyme, playing with language
Say it loud, say it clear
But even while we still loved picture books- we were falling in love with longer works.
- Even before my kids understood the humor- they loved these books
- I would explain the pun or joke- and then they would laugh
- Then they learned the humor behind them and fell in love with Amelia and all her shenanigans
- Amelia Bedelia were stories we could all read, and half the joke was in the telling of the pun.
- This story had such a calming, lyrical, quality it lended itself to be read aloud
- It's message teaches gentle steps
- Slight growth
- And an understanding that others feelings are out of our control
- The words were so gentle, they craved to be read quietly, under a blanket, snuggled with someone who loves you!
- My daughter was 6 and my son 7 when we read Coraline
- Boy abandoned us- but admittedly he had seen the movie first (without my permission).
- My daughter loved it, she was fascinated by the "other" mother
- I have more written about Coraline in my Bad Mommy Books Blog: Here
- But I think there is something dark and sinister, certain kids like and respond well too!
8 and 9 year old loud voices
Even now, at 8 and 9 there are picture books they are not ready to give up on. These are the special ones, the ones that resonate so strongly- they last a lifetime, for me that was Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, Beatrix Potters Squirrel Nutkin and Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny. For them these books hang on:
- My kids love this dog. He is small and lonely and he wants food and love
- Little dog brings his new friend, Rosa on a journey to paint a less bleak picture
- Our children can learn that with hope there is much love we can all share, and grow to become the best versions of ourselves (we might learn that too!)
- This book is not shelved, ever, it is stashed under my girl's bed with her treasures so that only she can enjoy it.
- And with only one copy left at Amazon- I suggest you snatch and stash it too!
- Is it the Blagie- Plagie- Nonsense language?
- Is it the mixed media style art?
- Is it Trixie's ability to grow up in the series?
- They all add to it, but I think it is the love.
- That girl loves her bunny, and her parents love her.
- Plus there is the fun argument, we have over whether to read it 'nuffle or Kin-uffle.
- I think the voices of dramatic reading have helped this book resonate,
- in our house Dilly has a stuffy nose, Spike speaks fast and a little tough, and Nibble is very soft spoken
- The word choice is calming even under dramatic stress:
- "The wind blew Dilly's downy feather this way and that way... up in the air... and down again."
- The author writes in a way that will encourage reader silliness, and slowed down moments
read it loud- now!
- Reading aloud with kids, helps your kids ask the right questions.
- I Have fully documented my love of this book and the needs it served in my One Crazy Summer blog: here.
- In addition to that this book has that "otherness" awareness, we are all trying to teach our kids (or we should be trying to teach them!)
- Your child will stop you, you will stop and explain things and they will hear history from your voice, your perception, you will have the opportunity to teach them to see beyond what the textbook would have them know.
- I can't say enough about the opportunity to discuss "issues" with kids, to me "issues" are real life. Other people's lives matter. Knowing those stories told with different voices help us to understand, we are all part of a bigger story.
- This book should only be ever be read aloud, how rare in a memoir, that the words would sing with lyrical beauty!
- For me- there is something shouldering in reading stories so different then your own out loud, in speaking of Jackie Woodson's struggle I took her pain on in a way I wouldn't have if I had just read it. I became, in that binding, a version of Jacqueline Woodson.
- I spoke more in-depth in my Brown Girl Dreaming Blog: here.
- Admittedly, this is not an easy read aloud- at least it wasn't for me, the way the book is written it is in a very realistic 12 year old's voice, which takes some getting used to
- However, the reason to read this aloud is:
- To explain the Broadway References
- To give your children a time to talk about bullying
- To give your children a time to think about all kinds of sexuality as normal- and that they don't have to decide at puberty to be one particular type
- Children can come to the same realization as Nate that some people are just not nice.
So What to do with this post?
I encourage reading, broadening your horizons, sharing in this love with the children in your life. If nothing else re-read your childhood favorites, this time out loud. There are tiny, crystallized, jewels of wisdom hidden in all kinds of texts, that ring differently when read aloud. Enjoy! Comment if you wish your favorites!!!
All images taken from Amazon.com within Creative Commons Rights and Privileges.