So following on from my From Opposite Ends partner here is my little book post.
We LOVE books in this house, Roxy gets books for all her special times, birthdays, christmas, the arrival of a new sister (Snuggle that Baby), and as treats when she has done something big like potty training, so I found this difficult to narrow down. We have favourites depending on our mood, the time of day and how long mummy and daddy want story time to last! We read Roxy books every night before bed and she inevitably always asks for just 1 more. One of Liz’s favourites ‘Time For Bed’ which she gifted Roxy for her 1st birthday, is a good one for these situations.
I have enjoyed reading for as long as I can remember, there is nothing better than a book you can’t put down. Story time is a very fond memory from my childhood, an especially precious one since I lost Dad. He definitely had favourites that he read us and did all the silly voices as Dads do, The Three Billy Goats Gruff was a special one and The Friends of Emily Culpepper. Mum still has all our well-worn childhood books at home. Something else I picked up from Dad is to always write in the cover of a book when you give it as a gift. Books are one of the nicest things to give and receive.
Some of Roxy’s current and past favourite.
A Bit Lost – this was a gift from a good friend for her first birthday and its one of the first ones I remember her really reciting and reading along with me. The illustrations are great, and its a really simple story, we have Chris Haughtons’s other 2 books ‘Oh No George’ and ‘Shh We Have A Plan’
Giraffes Cant Dance- this became a favourite due to her love of animals. With all the African animals featured in here we have to name them all when we read it. And since Gerald came into our life, all her toy giraffes are called Gerald and whenever we see a picture of one its Gerald as well.
Superworm- This one is new to the collection, so its a current favourite, it’s from her Nan for her birthday. Its Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffer and we have a fair collection of their books now, they are listed in the back of each one and she goes through them each time and says ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to whether she has it or not. I’m thinking we are going to have to collect them all.
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?- this one is from my brother ‘Uncle Stretchy Legs’ Roxy has small plastic dinosaurs which she played with in the bath and we were wondering their names so we sent a video to Uncle Stretch, promptly this book arrived on our doorstep. We love it, she can name all the dinosaurs now and he has sent her 2 more for her birthday, How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food and Go to School, some of the names are hard for me to pronounce but she gets it first go!
Oi Frog (in Roxy’s arms)- given to Roxy by my Nanna for her birthday this became a fast favourite, narrated by cat telling frog that he must sit on a log and it is non-negotiable. He explains by telling the frog what all other animals sit on ‘moles sit on poles, newts sit on flutes, lizards sit on wizards’ etc etc because ‘that’s just how it is’ we have discovered from reading this that Roxy and Marlowe don’t really rhyme with a lot!
Marlowe is obviously a little too young to have a favourite, other than the monochrome patterned type that hang on her pram! She seems to enjoy listening when I read to Roxy though and loved it when she was in my tummy, she would always kick at story time so im sure in the not too distant future I can update this with a Marlowe post as well.
These are some of mine and Lukes favourites
The Midnight Library- this is a beautifully illustrated simple story for any book lover about a girl who runs a library in the night for all the animals, we gave it to her for christmas and we loved it from the moment we read it.
At The Same Moment Around The World- when we saw this online we knew it was a book for us, documenting the same moment in all different time zones around the world. The featured countries are also some of the lesser known countries of the world so it’s a great little introduction to different cultures and for us a chance to help Roxy understand that when we are going to bed her cousins are just waking up! The pull out map is great in the back and she will point out where we live and where they live.
That Moose Belongs To Me- along with the other Oliver Jeffers books we own this is witty and funny with a great central character.
I’m quite strategic with where I put her books, if im a little over reading one I’ll put it to the back (don’t worry Liz you aren’t the only one, we read The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child 3 times a day for about a month!) or if there is one I feel we haven’t read in ages it will go to the front and lo and behold that’s what she will ask for at bedtime (not so subtle subliminal messaging) I’ve also put all the ‘find something’ books downstairs as they really aren’t great for bedtime!
I’m also guilty of putting the ones with the nicest illustrations and covers in the front as well, it’s quite a feature in her room and im a bit fussy like that, haha!
I love reading and getting lost in a good book but I don’t get much of a chance these days, whenever I see one that reviewed well or if someone posts about one on Instagram (my vice) I’ll download it to my kindle but the getting time to read it takes a bit longer. This however is my kind of book pile, I wish I was adding to it at a quicker rate but in the last few years we haven’t done anywhere near as much travel with trips back to oz instead and Luke not getting any time off. Hoping he gets some time off in summer so I can add to it once more!
LAUREN
from opposite ends 