What We Are Reading

This week in addition to our chapter books, we found some delightful picture books to enjoy.  Our trip to the library this week was very short and we did not have time to browse like we usually do so I selected a few promising looking books from the "Librarian's Choice" section.

The absolute winner was A Beasty Story by Bill Martin Jr. and Steven Kellogg.  Froggy loved pointing out the rhymes and how the story was told both through narration and the the character bubbles. The characters, a family of mice, modify the story as they discover things.  The illustrations are cute and fun. The text helps a new reader with rhyme and a younger sibling with color identification.  My special bonus came in watching Froggy read the story to Acorn (our resident kidlet, a 4yr old special needs child currently demonstrating a developmental level of approximately 20mnths). My only regret was not having the camera at my fingertips to capture the moment, all too rare since Acorn is rarely still.

The runner up of the week and another wonderful timely find is Little Monster Did It.   The timing of the story was perfect since Acorn often appears to Froggy as a little monster whirling through her house.  The story is one of a little girl's gradual and difficult acceptance of the new baby Mom brings home from the hospital all with a new little monster for the little girl.  All kinds of mischief when the baby first arrives that "the little monster" did. The monster is adorable and the grudging loving acceptance that arrives in the end is perfect. 

An honorable mention goes to Nathaniel Willy Scared Silly.  Nathaniel's grandma goes to extraordinary lengths to conquer his fear at bedtime when it really is a very simple solution.  Froggy liked the crescendo style of the story as well as the repetitiveness.  I did not care for it at all. But since it got so many requests this week I felt a need to be honest and include it in the round up.