A month ago, I stumbled on a section of the children’s room in the Columbus Public Library where nice big collections of fairytales and other fables are housed. I brought home one collection of fairytales from around the world then, and after we read them all with Will several times over, I picked up a new collection during our next library trip. This go-round we’re enjoying The Barefoot Book of Fairytales, which includes a rendition of Rumpelstilskin and Hansel and Gretel as well as an Argentinian tale entitled “The Magic Ball,” and a German tale about “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” which have all become fast favorites of Will’s. In spite of all the beheadings and parental abandonment in these not-so-P.C. fairytales, I
also find them more enthralling than a lot of the picture books we bring home from the library – and the illustrations are benign enough that we don’t have problems with nightmares.Owen meanwhile has adopted a couple of the Stage 1 “I can Read” books – which are really designed for kids Will’s age and a bit older to start practicing reading on their own with – as his newfound favorites. He loves the simple sentences and storylines that he can process. Right now we are reading and rereading and rereading “Footprints in the Snow” and “Biscuit Goes to School,” which Owen finds both compelling and hilarious in his own 19
-month-old way. He also likes to have me “read” the pictures in more literary children’s books, like "A Pocketful of Cricket," a Caldecott Honor book whose story is geared for a child Will’s age or older but whose pictures are lovely to talk about with a toddler. What are you reading with your kids?
3 comments:
We're reading a lot of Dr. Seuss books these days. My 5 year old got the complete collection for Christmas. Some are real tongue twisters!
3 year old Cavan loves this book called Miss Tizzy about a loving, fun black woman who lives in a pink house overflowing with wildflowers on a street full of same houses with perfect lawns. All the children come play every day- each day is filled with different activities from roller-skating, making a mess in the kitchen, to a parade around the neighborhood. He makes me sing songs about Miss Tizzy and he'd be happy reading it every night. Miss Tizzy dies in the end and, though it's subtle, Cavan absorbs it the ame way he does her exuberance.
The cricket book looks like something he'll love, too, actually. I can't believe how big Owne is!!
I'd love to have the complete collection of Seuss. I know there's still a couple out there that I haven't read. Will had us reading and re-reading the Cat in the Hat and Horton Hears a Who at one point. Do you have a favorite Seuss book?
And Miss Tizzy sounds wonderful -- I think I'll look her up before our next library trip or maybe on half.com.
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