Day 238: The Going to Bed Book

My daughter and I have been revisiting a lot of our old bedtime favorites these past few weeks, and I have realized that some of these gems have not yet been featured here on the blog. How I managed to overlook these, I don't know, but they certainly deserve a spot on our list of best books!

The Going to Bed Book is one of the first books we ever had in our children's library collection. It was a gift from one of my husband's high school students when we were expecting our son way back in 2007. Sandra Boynton books are well-known classics in the kids' lit world, and rightfully so. Those little board books are fun to read with their lively rhymes, colorful, short (perfect for the attention spans of the littlest readers), sturdy, and, if our copies are to be believed, great for chewing. While my kids have loved many of her books and several have been featured on here already, this is one of our favorites. My kids love seeing the classic Boynton animals get ready for bed, and my four year old daughter has decided that this is the book she likes to read to ME at bedtime.  I love it.

I loved these books when my children were babies, and they did, too. At the time, though, I underestimated these stories, thinking that they would be some of the first books my children would outgrow because were so short and simple. I have been so delighted to find that they continue to be favorites, but wonderful literacy resources, as well! These were some of the first books that my son read aloud on his own (he loved reading to his baby sister), and they are the first books with which my daughter has shown some of those important early literacy skills (such as pointing out words across the page from left to right as she "reads.") If you have fallen in love with these books when your little ones are babies, hang on to them. You just might find that they become your child's favorite bedtime stories to read to you one day. 

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 110: Blue Hat, Green Hat

My daughter (14 months) cannot get enough of this book lately, so I figured it was well-deserving of a post here this week.  Seriously, it is the first book she wants to find when we sit down to read stories, and she'll reach and squirm and fuss until she has it in her cute little hands.  I'd say we read it repeatedly for a good 5 to 10 minutes before she'll be content with moving on to another book.  That's how much she loves it!  Now, I'll admit that there are other Sandra Boynton books that I personally like better (Moo, Baa, La La La is one), but the simple silliness of Blue Hat, Green Hat makes it perfect for little readers.  There are four characters in this book -- a moose, a bear, an elephant, and a turkey -- and each page features them wearing an item of clothing in different colors.  Big as they are, the animals all seem to be able to manage getting hats on their heads and pants on their legs, but not the turkey!  Try as he might, he gets it wrong every time.  He stands in his hat, puts his pants on his head, wears his coat backwards... and when he finally does manage to dress himself properly, he commits the ultimate "oops" and jumps into the pool with all of his clothes on.  My daughter loves the simple, bold illustrations and the brevity of this book (she's a speedy page-turner), and my son finds the turkey to be simply hilarious.  In between the giggles and cries of "oops!", children also learn some of their colors and items of clothing, too.  Sandra Boynton has a seemingly endless collection of  board books that are particularly adored by toddlers, and this one gets an emphatic seal of approval from our littlest reader. 

Day 42: Snuggle Puppy

Time to feature my daughter's favorite book at the moment, Snuggle Puppy.  We have many of Boynton's classic board books, and both my son and daughter love her fun rhymes and silly illustrations.  I'll admit that Snuggle Puppy was not an instant favorite of mine, mostly because I couldn't quite figure out how the song was supposed to go and the rhyming meter seemed a bit off, but eventually I just made up my own tune and the story grew on me.  (I have since heard how the song is supposed to go -- it's on Boynton's Philadelphia Chickens cd and can also be found on youtube.  I think it's much more fun to sing the story than just read it aloud!)  My son likes it, but my daughter LOVES it.  Next to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, it is her favorite book to read at bedtime, and she even gives the puppies wet, slobbery kisses on just about every page.  The message is undoubtedly adorable:  "Oooh snuggle puppy of mine, everything about you is especially fine.  I love what you are, I love what you do.  Fuzzy little snuggle puppy, I love you!"  I also love how throughout the course of the song, the mother and her little puppy make chocolate chip cookies together.  Reading stories, singing, and baking cookies are three of our favorite things to do!  My daughter loves the delightful, colorful illustrations and I know it's one story she is always happy to read over and over.  We hope you and your snuggle puppies love it, too!

Day 13: Moo Baa La La La

Go to the board books section of any book store and you're bound to see rows of Sandra Boynton titles.  We have many on our bookshelf, too, but I think this one is definitely one of our favorites.  In the classic Boynton style, it's rhyming lines are silly and fun to read, and the pictures are charmingly simple -- a great combination for little ones.  This was one of my son's early favorites, and I'm convinced it helped us all survive a road trip to North Carolina when he was only 4 months old.  If we can read a story that many times and still like it by the end of the trip, it must be good!