Fun Picture Books We've Read

Our homeschool is very focused on reading -- reading picture books, chapter books and any other kind of books we can get our hands on. I love to snuggle with the littles and read to them -- and they're beginning to help with the reading (which does a mother's heart good!).

Yesterday we spent the morning reading half of our "haul" from our new library. Living out here in the "country", our library system isn't as good as it was in the "big city", but the kids and I still managed to find some real "keepers".

• Eloise Takes a Bawth by Kay Thompson is a classic about what happens to the Plaza when Eloise takes her bath. The kids love the silly words, the silly drawings and the silly plot line.
• Lego-maniac was asking about woolly mammoths the other day and we chanced upon Wild and Woolly Mammoths by Aliki. This is a wonderfully illustrated book about the mammoths with lots of interesting facts and details (although it does end with a politically correct mention of how they MAY have died out because they were hunted and how there are animals today in danger .... ya-da, ya-da, ya-da).
• For a wonderfully clever look at the world from a worm's eye view, Doreen Cronin has written Diary of a Worm. Starting on March 20 and ending on August 1, this is a diary (with very silly pictures) of life on earth for a worm. Scenes like trying to teach a spider to dig in a hole in the ground or playing hopscotch with giant birds are just some of the journal entries. The funniest is the scene of the school dance and all the worms doing the "hokey pokey". This is a great introduction to insects!
• I love books about books and libraries and the fun of reading. I especially like children's books that show a fascination with books and reading. Sarah Stewart wrote a story, using verse and dedicated to the real Elizabeth Brown, called The Library. This is about a woman who from the moment she could hold a book, would read and read and read. She collected books rather than dolls; she took books to college rather than clothes; she read books and used them as furnishings in her home. This is beautiful book about the beauty of reading -- illustrated in pastels by Ms. Stewart's husband, David Small.

Bam-Bam, not to be outdone and not to be ignored during school time, had his own set of read alouds:

• Franklin Helps Out -- it's a bit p-c, but he enjoys reading about Franklin and his animal friends.
• Lois Ehlert's Fish Eyes: A book you can count on -- where Bam-Bam's mother finds out that her 3-year-old knows how to count (correctly) to ten and knows all his colors. I guess he's gotten it through osmosis! Yet another reason homeschooling is such a great idea!

So, pull your children into your lap, or snuggle on the couch or bed, and READ!