4 Books We Have Enjoyed This Month

 The Very Clumsy Click Beetle is part of Eric Carle's "The Very..." series.  I had never heard or read this one before, but it was really cute (just like his famous The Very Hungry Caterpillar).  The end of the book makes clicking noises which is fun for the kids.  The illustrations are great and the predictability of the text makes it fun to read with the little ones.

 We got "Room on the Broom" by Julia Donaldson because it was one of 2 left in the Halloween section at the library.  This is a really cute book!  The premise is that various animals ask the witch if they can ride on her broom.  She says yes, but it gets so full that it breaks and they all fall out of the sky.  A dragon comes to eat the witch, but she is saved by a mysterious swamp creature (i.e. all the animals together in a disguise to scare the dragon).  I thought it was a fun Halloween book and not scary at all.

 I didn't know "Two Little Trains" by Margaret Wise Brown was a classic when I checked it out.  I just saw trains in the title and thought a boy would like it!  The illustrations are really well done.  They have a Chris Van Allsburg feeling about them.  Very simple text, repetition and cadence make this book a fun one to read.  I think it was originally written in 1947 or something like that.

This last book "Iggy Peck Architect" was Jack's favorite of the bunch.  The illustrations have a vintage vibe (kinda like If I Built A Car) but in a different way--more 1920's than 1950's.  Anyway, the story is about a boy named Ignatius Peck who loves to build buildings from the time he was in diapers.  When he gets to second grade, his teacher forbids any architecture in her class and he is bored to death.  They go on a class picnic and something happens than enables Iggy to save the day (I won't spoil it for you). The whole story rhymes which makes it fun to read and the illustrations capture the young audience!

One Tractor A Counting Book Author Alexandra Siy

This is a very short book (it only counts to 10), but it is super cute and Jack memorized it during the 3 weeks we had it.  It was a long time ago, but I can still remember the first page, if that's any indication to you.  It's rhyming and counting and is also about a kid's imagination.  (I guess I'm starting to see a pattern here!) There's ships, planes, pirates, bikes, trains, all the things a boy loves playing with.  The illustrations are great, as you can see from the cover.  I highly recommend it!

If I Built A Car, Author Chris Van Dusen

This is a really cute book about a boy and his imagination.  It has a cool retro/vintage vibe and is all about a kid riding in the back seat of the car imagining what kind of car he'd build. The car has a swimming pool, instant snack bar and is able to be a boat, submarine and rocket.  It sounds pretty cool to me!  Jack loves reading this one and it's not because the main character's name is Jack.  Another thing I like about it is that it rhymes. The reading teacher in me loves to read any book that rhymes because I know it helps children develop phonemic awareness.

Monkey with a Toolbelt, Author Chris Monroe

This is a very fun read.  Author/Illustrator Chris Monroe does an excellent job of putting lots of details on each page to make it interesting to see what's going on.  Depending on your child's interest level, you can delve into each picture, or just read the text and go quickly through each page. (I do the latter, mine's only 3). It's kind of like a comic book, but not the super hero type.  There is a sequel called "Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Sea-side Shenanigans".  We actually found that book first.  I doesn't matter the order you read the stories as they are completely unrelated.  She also wrote "Sneaky Sheep" and we enjoyed that story as well.

Checking out picture books from the Public Library

So if you are like me, you enjoy getting new picture books from the library every 3 weeks because it means a new repertoire of books to choose from for the nightly routine. I'm fortunate enough to have only 1 kid with me when I go, so I am able to really take my time and read every single stinkin' spine to find the books that my kid will actually be interested in reading.  I've talked to a lot of my friends with little boys who find it difficult to either spend the time to find those perfect books, or have a hard time finding ones that are worthwhile.  I realized I already have this forum that I can use to share some of the great books I have happened across from the library.  Maybe this will help you find some to check out. You can even put a hold on them and check them out without having to go searching yourself!  So, let me know if this is useful to you at all and what your kiddos thought of the books too.  I can't guarantee I'll post frequently, but we do go to the library about once every 3 weeks, so I should have a new batch to report on! :) Happy Reading!