Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Five Favorite Board Books to Read Aloud

Today's challenge for Bout of Books was Five Favorites. 

Everybody loves sharing favorites and now we're giving you free rein to do just that. Pick the topic of your choice and share your 5 favorite books that fit. Topics could be a favorite genre, a favorite trope, book boyfriends, or ANYTHING. There's no limit to where you can take this!

I have two small children with colds so I am very late in getting around to this, but since I read so many of them, I wanted to share five favorite board books that I enjoy reading to Little Miss Muffet (age 2.5) and Little Bo Peep (7 months). These are not my only favorites, just five of the many! 

  • My Lucky Little Dragon by Joyce Wan
    As someone who often calls her children affection names like "monkey" and "wombat," I enjoy the way this book uses animal names as pet names for young children. My kids have also both loved looking at themselves in the mirror on the last page of the book. I reviewed this book in 2014, and called it "an absolutely perfect book for baby story time." 
  • Peek-a-Who? by Nina Laden
    This book is so short and small that it is easy to dismiss, but it impresses me that so few words can be used in such a clever way. The rhymes still amuse me, even though I have read the book many, many times, and it's the perfect length for a little baby with a very short attention span.
  • Dig Dig Digging by Margaret Mayo
    We haven't looked at this book in a while, but it's a fun rhyming introduction to diggers and other types of vehicles, including fire trucks, garbage trucks, and even helicopters. I also discovered that most of the text can be sung to the tune of "Going to the Zoo" by Raffi, which makes it that much more fun to read!
  • Larry Loves Washington, DC!: A Larry Gets Lost Book by John Skewes
    Since we live not too far outside of DC, this book is a great way to introduce some of our local landmarks to our little ones. I really enjoy the vintage-style artwork, and my toddler enjoys asking me, "What is Larry doing? What is the boy doing?" as she turns the pages.
  • Lullaby and Kisses Sweet: Poems to Love with Your Baby edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins
    As evidenced by our recent poetry picnics, we are poetry lovers in my house. This book, a poetry collection in board book format especially for babies, was a gift for Little Bo Peep's first Christmas. The poems are very short, but each one captures an important emotion or milestone in the life of an infant. Some of the poems have only just recently become relevant to our lives, as the baby has begun to crawl and eat solid food, but others have been appropriate for her since birth. Poetry is a great way to sneak some reading into your baby's day, so this book is really ideal for the age group. 

Bout of Books Progress Day 2

Bout of Books

The second day of Bout of Books got off to a better start than day one. By noon, I had already read one book! Unfortunately, it took me all day after that to finish my second one, and my total for the day was only 5 books:
I skipped the Show Off Your Shelves Photo Challenge. 

#ArmchairBEA 2016, Day 1: Introduction

Armchair BEA

Armchair BEA begins today! This is my introduction post, with answers to questions chosen from the official list.

What is the name you prefer to use?
How long have you been a book blogger?
Have you participated in ABEA before?

I'm Katie, I've been blogging about books for 5 and a half years, and this is my third year participating in ABEA.

Do you have a favorite book? If you cannot choose a favorite book of all time, pick your favorite book today - just this second. Remember that favorites are allowed to change if something affects you deeply enough.

I have a lot of different favorite books across different categories. My favorite novel written for adults is Empire Falls by Richard Russo. My favorite YA novel is That Summer by Sarah Dessen. My favorite picture book (at the moment, anyway) is a toss-up between Where the Wild Things Are and All the World. My "official" favorite children's novel (the answer I give when I'm asked in a professional context) is Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. Konigsberg, but I read so many, my favorite changes every week. My favorite of this year so far is Mission Mumbai. I also love The Moon By Night by Madeleine L'Engle.

What is your favorite genre and why?

Though I am doing my best to branch out and get to know other genres, my favorite will always be contemporary realistic fiction. I feel most comfortable in the real world, and I especially enjoy reading fresh and new descriptions of everyday emotions and events.

What book are you most excited for on your TBR? What are you most intimidated by?

Bout of Books is also happening this week, and I have a lengthy to-read list to get through. Of those I haven't started yet, I'm probably most excited for Carney's House Party and Winona's Pony Cart by Maud Hart Lovelace. I'm most intimidated by Return of the Twelves, which I'm planning to read for Fumbling Through Fantasy, but which is not something I would typically choose to read

If you could choose three characters to have lunch with, who would they be and why?

I could probably give ten different answers to this question, but I'll go with Kinsey Millhone from Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries (because she isn't particular about food and would have many interesting stories to tell), Sumner Lee from That Summer by Sarah Dessen (for comic relief), and Vicky Austin from Meet the Austins (and sequels) by Madeleine L'Engle.  
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