I'm loving rediscovering the books I enjoyed as a child. Before our son was born I went through my mother's extensive library and wrote down all the books I had thought wonderful and have been collecting them ever since. It's awful that some of them are out of print now but (big thank you Amazon) you can buy some second-hand and they are very much worth it - well, except for the fabulous Apple Pigs, now on sale for £60 - I sort of draw the line at that kind of price for a picture book - perhaps it could be reprinted if there's that much demand for the few remaining battered copies? My mother very kindly donated her copy to the baby's bookshelf. Books too old for him that are still in print I wait to buy but if I spot any that are out of print I buy them up, they may have gone entirely by the time he's old enough.
Reading books at bedtime is great - we're reading books more suited to five years old plus but then he doesn't care, he just likes the pictures, and if the stories are good enough we get to enjoy them too.
Today Jenna and the Troublemaker arrived, a lovely book with illustrations by Tony Ross. I noticed it was out of print and hurriedly bought a second hand copy. It's the story of the Troublemaker, who makes and delivers everyone's Troubles. When little girl Jenna sobs that her Troubles are too much, he lets her choose from amongst everyone else's Troubles. Of course she ends up choosing her own. The pictures are great. I read it to the baby as soon as it arrived and he laughed like a drain throughout. He obviously has no Troubles of his own!
Some great books we're enjoying reading at bedtime: many are now out of print but very worthwhile buying second hand.
Stone Soup - there are many versions, this one is Tony Ross again and my husband's favourite. A clever hen outwits the Bad Bad Wolf by making him a delicious soup out of a stone, while he cleans her house.
Apple Pigs - a little girl tends an old fruit tree which showers her with apples as a reward, precipitating a party for Man and Bird and Woolly Beast in an effort to eat them all.
Strega Nona - An Italian witch and her magic pasta pot cause chaos for her dim-witted assistant Antony.
The Wild Washerwomen - Quentin Blake illustrations really make this story of seven wild washerwomen who run away from their enormous pile of washing and terrify the neighbourhood.
Dr Seuss books - the baby really likes the rhymes, I think because of the bouncing rhythm. Horton the Elephant is a lovely story about an elephant who takes his parenting duties very seriously. Other rhyming books he's liked are Peepo and Each Peach Pear Plum, classics for babies.
Meanwhile a cloth book called Woodland Animals from Mothercare donated by my sister that his cousins used to have has actually taught him to turn pages, which is remarkable. He tries to turn paper pages now, a bit trickier but he has the right idea!
Reading books at bedtime is great - we're reading books more suited to five years old plus but then he doesn't care, he just likes the pictures, and if the stories are good enough we get to enjoy them too.
Today Jenna and the Troublemaker arrived, a lovely book with illustrations by Tony Ross. I noticed it was out of print and hurriedly bought a second hand copy. It's the story of the Troublemaker, who makes and delivers everyone's Troubles. When little girl Jenna sobs that her Troubles are too much, he lets her choose from amongst everyone else's Troubles. Of course she ends up choosing her own. The pictures are great. I read it to the baby as soon as it arrived and he laughed like a drain throughout. He obviously has no Troubles of his own!
Some great books we're enjoying reading at bedtime: many are now out of print but very worthwhile buying second hand.
Stone Soup - there are many versions, this one is Tony Ross again and my husband's favourite. A clever hen outwits the Bad Bad Wolf by making him a delicious soup out of a stone, while he cleans her house.
Apple Pigs - a little girl tends an old fruit tree which showers her with apples as a reward, precipitating a party for Man and Bird and Woolly Beast in an effort to eat them all.
Strega Nona - An Italian witch and her magic pasta pot cause chaos for her dim-witted assistant Antony.
The Wild Washerwomen - Quentin Blake illustrations really make this story of seven wild washerwomen who run away from their enormous pile of washing and terrify the neighbourhood.
Dr Seuss books - the baby really likes the rhymes, I think because of the bouncing rhythm. Horton the Elephant is a lovely story about an elephant who takes his parenting duties very seriously. Other rhyming books he's liked are Peepo and Each Peach Pear Plum, classics for babies.
Meanwhile a cloth book called Woodland Animals from Mothercare donated by my sister that his cousins used to have has actually taught him to turn pages, which is remarkable. He tries to turn paper pages now, a bit trickier but he has the right idea!
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