Our Library Bag Favorites: Plants, Gratitude, and Jan Brett

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Carmen

I love that David is as much of a bookworm as I am. Here are our favorite picks from this past week:

Thank You For Me! by Marion Dane Bauer. I had no idea this was a book that included prayer – a great bonus! Each night we thank Jesus for things from the day. Recently David has been saying “Thank You Jesus for something.” This book gives him more ideas.

On Noah’s Ark by Jan Brett. I love Jan Brett, but I had assumed that none of her books would be appropriate for a two-year-old. This was a hit for us. The illustrations are the best for Noah’s Ark that I’ve found. We learned a new animal: flamingo.

Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres. This is the wrong time of year for this book, since it’s all about growing a garden. I thought I’d still include it though so I wouldn’t forget about it for next year. Ayres describes which plants grow up (peppers, broccoli. . . ), which plants grow down (carrots, potatoes, onions. . . ), and which plants grow around and around (pumpkins, cucumbers. . . ). It’s also super-fun.

This past week I’ve finished reading: Orphan Train, Ender’s Game, A Can of Peas, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I started reading The Red Badge of Courage and The Forgotten Garden.

David’s Library Picks: A Squirrel, A Pony, and Some Fish

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Carmen

Here are some of David’s favorites from the week:

Pony Brushes His Teeth by Michael Dahl. The other night David cried because he wanted to read this book. I guess that is a sign of a good book. And, it is completely perfect for us since we are working at how to brush teeth (besides just sucking the toothpaste off the brush.) Dahl describes Pony’s teeth-brushing routine, as Pony does everything just like his dad.

The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri. This book is PERFECT for this time of year. Squirrel can’t play with his friends because he is busy collecting food for winter: acorns, seeds, corn, etc. David loves finding the spiders and caterpillars on most of the pages. This is totally toddler-appropriate and I love not having to paraphrase!

Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins. This book is full of fun pictures and descriptive language. Perhaps David also loved it because we often visit a local fish/pet store for fun (or to kill time). Maybe it is time for a pet fish?

David’s Library Bag: Demolition, Green, and Penguins

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Carmen

Here are some books that David began to memorize this week:

Demolition by Sally Sutton. My favorite part of this book is hearing David say “demolition.” He loves seeing the machinery knocking down the buildings, and reciting some of the words with me. I love the descriptive language! Sutton also wrote another favorite of ours – Roadwork.

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. This is a super-fun book – covering all the different types of green – faded green, forest green, lime green (David likes to pretend to eat the limes EVERY time), jungle green, etc. Once again Seeger does a beautiful job with illustrations and the holes in the pages that David adores putting his finger through. She also wrote First the Egg, which I blogged about here.

If You Were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence Minor. This is the book that David has mostly memorized (which means no skipping pages for me!) It was also featured as PA’s 2009 One Book Every Child initiative, which is no surprise considering the adorable penguin illustrations and easy-to-read informative text.

At the Library

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Carmen

David loves the library. Unfortunately, this means that he uses his (very) loud voice to express his excitement. We ~~walk~~ run past the people sitting studiously at the computers, and when I ask him to use his “quiet voice,” he gets terribly offended and screams “NOOOO” even louder.

We haven’t been kicked out yet.

Here are some highlights from our bags:

For David: Boats on the River by Peter Mandel.

I am getting a little tired of dump trucks and bulldozers. I picked this one out, in hopes that David will expand his interests to include boats. So far he has enjoyed counting how many people are on each boat.

For me:

Quilled Flowers: A Garden of 35 Paper Projects by Alli Bartkowski

After drooling over this book, I decided I’m going to have a new hobby. Quilling looks fun and inexpensive . . and perhaps it will be something I can get into. I’ve bought some cards at Ten Thousand Villages that were quilled, but little did I know that that is what the technique was called. I decided to go quilling-crazy on Pinterest. We will see if my “new hobby” gets any further than that.

Naturally Fun Parties for Kids: Creating Handmade, Earth-Friendly Celebrations for All Seasons and Occasions by Anni Daulter

Most of this book is geared towards older children than my two-year-old, but I still had fun looking at recipes and thinking of ways to celebrate living in each season of the year. I really want our home to be a inviting place for others, and as David grows I want his friends to have fun playing at our house. This book made me dream a little bit in color of what that might look like.

In Our Library Bag – June 22

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Carmen

We have had a busy week/weekend this week. Fun, but busy. We’re hosting this weekend, so I’m not sure how much reading I’ll get in.

When I went to the library this week, I found out that David is old enough to do the summer reading program. I just have to read 30 books to him (that will take me all of one day), and then he gets several gift certificates. Works for me. Here is a small selection from our library bag for this week.

David’s pick:

Eating the Alphabet – Lois Ehlert. This is especially a fun book for this fresh-produce-all-the-time-season. David’s learning some letters too.

I ordered for David:

Beep Beep – Petr Horacek. David loves this book – cars and grandma’s house – what is not to love?

For me:

A Week in Winter – Maeve Binchy. Haven’t started reading it yet. . I’ll let you know if it’s a hit. I found it on the new book shelf while David was chatting with the library ladies. I have to be quick before he starts running all over the place.