What We're Reading - March/April

I thought it might be fun to start a monthly post to share what books we are enjoying during our cuddle time with Little Buddy.  We usually find a good book or so at the library to read for that week and supplement with a book that contains a lot of shorter stories.  We love this time when it is just us (Button is napping), and it prepares Little Buddy for transitioning to quiet time.

We've pretty much finished reading The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter.  Forever a classic, Miss Potter had a gift telling stories that capture children's imaginations.  Little Buddy especially loved all the Peter Rabbit stories as he was most familiar with the characters.  I did find, though, that he struggled if there were too many words on a page and not enough pictures.  If I mentioned a character or even item that wasn't in the picture, he'd ask where it was on the page.  I think he wasn't quite ready for this level of read-aloud yet.  We'll try again in a year or two.

I recently picked up A Treasury of Children's Literature edited by Armand Eisen at a rummage sale.  This book is beautiful and the selections are fabulous.  It includes some traditional stories (such as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"), Aesop's Fables, Grimm's and Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, Mother Goose, poems, and even excerpts from larger children's classics (such as "The Mad Tea-Party" from Alice in Wonderland).  We are thoroughly enjoying the stories, and I'm getting reacquainted with many that I haven't heard in years.

I'm discovering a love for all books by Robert McCloskey.  I had always found the black-and-white drawings and the stories rather dull, but Little Buddy loves these books.  We've read both Blueberries for Sal, and we are currently enjoying Make Way for Ducklings.  The stories indeed are quite charming.  Make Way for Ducklings tells the adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard as they prepare a place to have and raise their ducklings.  They find the perfect place in Boston's public garden, but they have to walk there when their ducklings are still quite young.  Thankfully, with the help of some friendly policemen, they find their way.

Another new favorite is Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.  This story is about a young child who goes owling for the first time with her father late one night.  She relates the need to be quiet, have patience, and be brave as she charts an unknown for her.  It's a beautiful story of making a memory with a parent.  Little Buddy loves listening to the owl call the father gives and often recites the whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooo with me.

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina is quite fun, but we didn't really get into it like I thought we would.  This story is about a hungry cap-selling peddler who takes a nap under a tree.  When he wakes up all of his caps are gone!  Taken by some mischievous monkeys up in the tree he tries to get his caps back.  How are they finally returned?  In a way that he surely doesn't expect!  Clever story, but not a favorite.

Since Spring has finally arrived and we are thinking about our own garden, we read The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss.  This story is about a little boy who plants a carrot seed that no one thinks will come up and yet he persists to take care of his garden plot.  He never gives up and his persistence pays off!  This story was quite short so it didn't really capture Little Buddy's imagination.  It would probably be more appropriate for children around two years old.



Other books that we are planning on reading this month are...

For Easter:

• The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt

For cuddle time:

• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
• Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall (illustrated by Barbara Cooney)
• The Little House by Virginia Burton
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel also by Virginia Burton