Day 234: Owl Babies

My cousin passed this book along to us a few years back, but for some reason, we didn't read it much until recently.  My daughter pulled if off her shelf a few weeks ago, and it's been one of her most requested bedtime stories ever since.

Three owl siblings, Sarah, Percy, and Bill, awake one night to discover that their mother is gone. Sarah thinks their mother must have gone off hunting ("To get us food!" Percy adds), while Bill, the youngest, simply cries, "I want my mommy!"  Together, the three owlets watch and wait, hoping and wishing that their mother will return.  Sarah remains the reassuring optimist (at one point suggesting that they all sit on her branch), Percy seems to follow Sarah's lead (I love when he reaches out to hold Bill's wing!), and poor, worried Bill continues to cry, "I want my mommy!" In the end, of course, the mother owl does return to the sheer delight of her little ones, comforting them with the knowledge that she will always come back. I love the way the owls' personalities show through in Martin Waddell's charming story, and Patrick Benson's illustrations are remarkably expressive.  I adore listening to my daughter chime in as Bill each time we read, too.  It's natural for children to feel a little separation anxiety from time to time, so they will likely find both comfort and humor in this sweet, lovely bedtime story.  

Day 147: Barnyard Dance!

"Stomp your feet!  Clap your hands! Everybody ready for a barnyard dance!"  It would be an understatement to say that my daughter (now 20 months -- I can't believe it!) is obsessed with Sandra Boynton books at the moment.  We have a dozen or so of Boynton's books, all of which have taken up a permanent residence next to our reading chair in little E's room.  If a book is not on the table there, it's inevitably in her crib, as she routinely insists on bringing one of them into bed with her.  My daughter insists on reading each one before her afternoon nap and bedtime each night.  And I mean every. single. one.  Fortunately, I don't mind, since I happen to like all of Boynton books that we own (and they're quick reads.)  When we finish a story, E will flip the book over to look at the pictures of the other books on the back, pointing to the one she wants to read next.  It's really quite cute!

Sandra Boynton has to be one of the most well-known authors of children's books, and with good reason.  She has written over forty board books for young children, and her cute rhymes and colorful, playful illustrations make them fast favorites of babies and toddlers everywhere.  We've already featured a few of our other favorites (Moo, Baa, La La La, Snuggle Puppy, and Blue Hat, Green Hat), but I couldn't resist writing about Barnyard Dance, too.  It's definitely one of our favorites.  My daughter loves the way the animals play and frolic about, and my son loves to act out the story as we read.  "Trot with the turkey.  Leap with the frog!  Take another spin with the barnyard dog."  It's fun and interactive, with rollicking rhymes that make it read more like a song than a story.  Both of my kids just love the window feature of the book's cover, too.  After four years and hundreds of readings, I still enjoy snuggling up to read this book with my kids.  If that isn't a sign of a great book, I don't know what is.

Day 124: Baby Beluga

A few weeks ago, I took my children to the fabulous Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT.  If you ever get a chance to go, you must!  It is such a gorgeous facility and both my son and daughter loved everything about it.  We also had the pleasure of going on a Friday in October, so there were no crowds whatsoever.  Some of the first marine animals you see when you enter the complex are the beluga whales.  Their tank is right inside the entrance, and you can watch them from above or below, through underwater viewing windows.  As soon as she saw a beautiful white whale swim by, my daughter was obsessed!  She LOVED those whales (as did I -- they are just so gorgeous), and would point enthusiastically toward them anytime she saw them that day, even if they were only in a photograph.  When I saw that the gift shop sold a Baby Beluga board book, I knew I had to get it for her.  It has been one of her favorite books ever since!  She held on to the book our whole ride home, and asks to read it whenever she sees it.  I knew the song before I realized that there was a book to go along with it, having first gotten it on cd when my son was my daughter's age.  We LOVE singalong stories, and Baby Beluga is a perfect book to read and sing along to at bedtime.  I usually find myself still singing the song to my daughter even after we've shut out the light.  The verses are soothing and simple, and the lyrics are accompanied by lovely illustrations of the baby beluga and his Arctic friends.  "Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea.  Swim so wild, and you swim so free.  Heaven above, and the sea below.  And a little white whale on the go."  My son usually comes running in to read with us if he hears us singing the song, too.  I particularly love the page that shows the baby belugas hugging fish under their flippers as night time draws near.  It's just so cute!  With soft, gentle lyrics and engaging illustrations to match, Baby Beluga is a wonderful singalong story that your baby is bound to love.

Day 115: Big Red Barn

This was one of the first books my mom gave to my son after he was born.  The way I saw it, any book picked out by someone who had raised three kids over twenty years and read hundreds of children's stories along the way just had to be good.  It took a while for this story to become one of my son's favorites, but as he neared his first birthday, he fell in love with it!  Thank goodness it comes in board book form, as it wouldn't have lasted two days otherwise.  This is definitely my favorite of Margaret Wise Brown's books, and I only recently made the connection that illustrator Felicia Bond is the same artist for the "If You Give a Mouse" series. Big Red Barn is a perfect story for toddlers, telling the story of the animals' day on the farm in gentle, rolling verse with cute, charming illustrations.  "By the big red barn in the great green field, there was a pink pig who was learning to squeal.  There was a great big horse and a very little horse.  And on every barn is a weathervane, of course... a golden flying horse."  My son used to ask me to read it to him over and over in the car as he turned the pages, and he just loved all the sounds the animals made on the farm.  I think there must have been at least a two-month period in which he wanted to read this several times a day.  (My daughter is just now starting to love this book, as well.)  My two favorite pages show the animals playing together in the field, then later seeking the warm shelter of their barn to settle in and sleep for the night.  It's a wonderful bedtime story, and although I think the meter could be a little better at times, it is soothing and perfect for lulling little ones to sleep. 

Day 75: Goodnight Our World series

These adorable board books are a perfect way to introduce some of your favorite places to your little one.  My geography teacher self might be a bit biased towards these books, but I really think they are a great way to help teach children about the world and places around them.   There are over 30 titles to choose from in this series, many of which are based on various U.S. states or cities.  There are others that are more general, though, such as Goodnight World, Goodnight Lake, Goodnight Zoo and Goodnight Beach.  Each book brings its readers to various places in and around its title location throughout the course of a day, highlighting various landmarks and wildlife along the way.  The illustrations are colorful and cute but not too busy, making these stories appealing to even the youngest readers.  Whether they are about a place you or other family members call home or a favorite vacation spot, these books are a great way to reminisce about some of your favorite locations.  They are also great "preview" books:  if you're going someplace new, see if there is a Goodnight book about it.  It would be a great way to introduce that place to your child before you go!   I also find that even if we haven't gone anywhere special, it's nice to snuggle up and talk about all the fun things we did that day after we read these stories at bedtime.   For a complete list of available titles, you can visit the Goodnight Our World homepage at http://www.goodnightourworld.com/