Books For Baby

I am a strong believer in reading to your kids. Not solely for the purpose of learning to read but for the quiet time spent together before they close their tiny eyes and drift off to Slumberland. But all the cute story books we had all went to live with our eldest daughter and now I am solely left with boys books .. The Other Side of the Mountain and tons of Hardy Boys Mysteries. Which are fine but I was needing something for the younger child .. with shorter stories and tons of pictures. A few weeks ago Husband and myself found ourselves at a new thrift store that opened by us. And boy I am glad I did .. the whole store was 50% off!! The first place I go when I walk into any thrift store is the book section. I wasn't able to find anything I liked for myself but I did find a few finds for our 'Lil Bug-a-Boo'. All were in great shape and for all 6 books came out to $5 .. what a bargain!!

I remember reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin to my little ones. It is a hard book and with a simple and repetitive pattern but it is the visual from illustrator Eric Carle that captures the imagination. Grandbaby and I read this book in front of the goldfish tank and when we stopped on the goldfish page .. she slammed her hand down and stared at the fish and looked at the picture. No joke! 7 months old and she was putting together that somehow the item in the book looked like the animals in the tank .. she is so brilliant. I know .. I know everyone thinks their offspring or grand-offspring is brilliant but I think my grandbabies are.

 

 

 

Now the next book Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride by Kate DiCamillo was more for me than her .. I mean just look at Chris Van Dusen's illustrations. It is so adorable. I just couldn't resist getting it and at $.50 it was coming home with me. It is a story about a pig named Mercy Watson who is loved by Mr. and Mrs. Watson and every Saturday they have a ritual that after a large special lunch Mr. Watson takes Mercy on a car ride in his pink Cadillac and what happens is just some good old fashion follies.

One of my favorite kids show is Little Bear .. I still like to watch it. So when I spotted Little Bear's Friend by Else Holmelund Minarik in perfect condition .. well it was a no brainer. The illustrations by Maurice Sendak are simple and timeless. This particular book has 4 short stories which are perfect for long days when everyone is tired but you are trying to keep the bedtime ritual of reading a story a night. It is a sweet and lovely book to have.

Next is one that I purchased solely on the basis that it is a hard book with simple words. The Tall Book of Colors published by Playmore/Walman is a story of a boy and girl who go around trying on different colored glasses and whatever the color of the lens is becomes the color of the world around them .. except somehow their clothes and dog stay the same color. Not my favorite but again it is in mint condition and $.50 and it is age appropriate .. what else can I ask for.

The next two books I did spend a little bit more on .. $1.50 per book. GASP!! But they are two wonderful additions to any child's library. The first one is Classic Rhyme and Verse an Eric Kincaid Treasury .. which is simply a book of children nursery rhymes. Everything from the simple Little Miss Muffet to longer This is the House That Jack Built. The back of the book has poems/stories such as My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson to Past, Present, Future by Emily Bronte. The illustrations are timeless and captures the imagination perfectly.

Last but not least is Clement E. Moore's The Night Before Christmas illustrated by the wonderful Mary Engelbreit. We already have this story illustrated by someone else but I love Mary's imagination. And for $1.50 there was no way this little treasure wasn't coming home with me. The colors are bright and cheerful and captures the Christmas spirit thru a child's eye beautifully.

 

Linked To:

 

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Someday Crafts