Boy #3 (4 years):
Diego Saves a Butterfly by Laura Bergen
The title is one big, huge, preschool spoiler. Diego... saves... a... butterfly. Our library carries several of these Diego Easy Readers, and the kid loves them all. The plot never wavers. Some animal needs to be rescued. Diego (and if you're lucky, Dora and/or Alicia) goes off in search of some poor critter, overcoming three obstacles with the help of Click the Camera and Rescue Pack. While I can't give a glowing review, because, well... Diego... the books are decent enough... and relatively short. I cringe a little when I see them in my child's hand, but the pain is fleeting, and I can pass it off as a small sacrifice for preschool biology.
*The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
As she weaves her web, a spider passes on several opportunities for fun with friends. At the end of her very busy day, she catches a fly and falls asleep. Eric Carle is a magnificently fun author and illustrator. His distinctive artwork may be the most recognizable of any children's book illustrator out there. His books are fun must-reads.
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
An impulse borrow, the title promised a fun, quirky story. What we got instead... I honestly didn't understand this book. I have four children. We have gone to the library almost every week for the past decade. Ask the librarians: We read a LOT of books. Never in my life have I come across so incomprehensible a book. Dragons. Tacos. Salsa. Dragons at a taco party. None of it really made sense, and not in a good way.
*The Duckling Gets a Cookie by Mo Willems
The Pigeon, long disappointed by the denial of his requests, can't believe someone gave the Duckling a cookie just because the Duckling asked (politely). As is so often the case, Mo Willems reserves a surprise ending (which I will not give away and so allow you to think you don't need to go check out this book). Seriously, whether you go with The Duckling Gets a Cookie, We Are In A Book, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, or Knufflebunny, if you have a child in your house, find a Mo Willems book ASAP. (Insider Tip: I recently read that Mo Willems keeps his illustrations simple so kids can easily draw his characters themselves. Go, Mo!)
The Girl - (almost) 6
*Ivy & Bean by Annie Barrows
A recently-discovered-by-us series, a sort of Ramona meets an elementary version of Lloyd Alexander's Eilonwy, Ivy and Bean are absolutely charming young ladies. The Girl and I alike are enjoying their mischief and adventures. The books are quick and easy, with chapters short enough to read at the end of a long day. Sometimes I read two or three chapters, just because I can.
American Girl Books
Eh. These are rather advanced for The Girl, but she insists. I think we'll both enjoy them more when the issues the characters deal with are more pertinent to her life and she is able to read them on her own.
Step-Into-Reading Barbie Readers
A series of flaky stories that often fail to make literary sense. The Girl loves them, though, and can read them on her own.(MORAL OF THE STORY: FIND MORE IVY & BEAN)
Boy #2 (9 years)
Scooby Doo Reader
Far below his reading level, but he picked it out with no nudging from me, no "Pick a book, any book... FIND SOMETHING!!!!" This is the kid who has the most difficult time finding something he wants to read - though when he finds a book he likes, he devours the series like nobody's business - so when he picks up a book on his own... YAY!
Warriors: The Dark River by Erin Hunter
The second book in (one of) the (numerous) Warriors series, we are working through this sometimes as an independent read, sometimes as a read-aloud. Since I've missed portions of the story, I'm not entirely sure what's going on. The names (lots of So-and-So-Paws and Such-and-Such-Kits) are cumbersome on the tongue and there are a TON of names. Honestly, I'm not sure all these cats needed to be named... On the bright side, the boy is enjoying the book, and since he's kind of picky about what he'll actually pick up and read, I won't complain about this book. Instead, I have explained to my child that, as hard as it is for me to read it to him, I will continue to do so because in our family,
WE DO HARD THINGS
because
WE ARE TOUGH LIKE THAT,
and
SOMETIMES WE DO THINGS WE DON'T WANT TO DO
because
WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
Boy #1 (11 years)
Miscellaneous Star Wars Novels
He discovered the bottom shelf of a tall bookcase, on which sit a long line of Star Wars novels his father has had longer than he's had me. As I am sure I would be lost by the end of page one of any of these books, I trust that they won't harm my child any more than they have harmed my husband, and since I kind of, sort of, really like my husband... I let the kid read to his heart's content.
And then there's me...
Having come to the end of revisions to my novel - or at least this round of revisions - I'm compiling a mental list of books and authors I need or ought to read. I'm just not entirely sure where I'll start...
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