Some weeks we get in a good routine of reading a bunch (5) of picture books together after we get home from school and Sam is down for a nap. Other weeks I feel lucky it happens twice during the week and we rarely get to read picture books over the weekend. I always have a STACK checked out from the library and am always ready to get things out of the house, hence I am always looking for library books we can return. That is a HUGE motivator in getting through books around here (and it helps I drive past the library every school day and drop off books at least twice a week).
We've been reading mostly Christmas books lately but I doubt anyone is looking for those recommendations on December 28th (I have THOUGHTS about all the people taking down trees and un-decorating already but even we aren't reading many Christmas books now, although the tree will be up for at least another week). So here are some non-Christmas books we've been enjoying lately, including one that has been in our house more than it hasn't since we first checked it out in SEPTEMBER. That's a lot of renewing happening.
Pete the Cat His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin and James Dean
Luke checked this one out from the school library and when he brought it home he told me "I got the BEST book in the whole library!". We had read some Pete the Cat before and he was fairly indifferent but he LOVED this one. I was not sad to see it go back to the library after I read it so many times! Also, helped with subtraction and counting, always appreciated. (As I am typing this Luke is playing with some new Christmas toys and the words from the song are being worked into a song about Transformers, as he has no idea I am writing about this book.)
I am George Washington by Brad Meltzer
Luke and I both really enjoyed all of these books in the "Ordinary People Change the World" but this one is his favorite. He's a big fan of George Washington now and keeps asking if he can meet him (no), if I've met him (no), if he can meet the president (probably no). He's fascinated by George's fake teeth and can now pick him out of pictures (don't know how we get so many other books with pictures of presidents). I highly recommend all of these, we've read every one our library has and I am waiting for them to get more!
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
This is the one that we've had checked out more than we haven't over the last 3 months. My sister gave it 5 stars on Goodreads so we checked it out as soon as possible and Luke LOVES it. Thanks to books, I've now had to explain 9/11, slavery, segregation, and World Wars to him (in very child appropriate ways). This one is about the man Phillippe Petit, who walked between the two towers in the 70s. That alone is a fascinating story but knowing what happens to the towers not even 30 years later makes reading about this very bittersweet. We didn't read this until after our last trip to New York or we may have taken Luke to the 9/11 Memorial (Matt and I went before we got Luke, less than an hour after we found out about him, actually). It's a fascinating story.
Frank the Seven-Legged Spider by Michaele Razi
In a very different tone from the last book, this one is about a spider who loses one of his legs. I am not a fan of spiders, mostly when they are in my house (or any house where I currently am) but books like this one (and this one) might slightly convince me to hate them less. We read this one around Halloween which was good timing but it's not a Halloween book.
The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
This one is a classic I remember reading as a kid. The postman is making his rounds, taking mail to fairy tale characters and there are actual letters to open in the book. I don't know any kid, or adult, who is not delighted by this, almost as much as I am about actual mail. It was a really fun one to read with Luke.
Have YOU been reading any good picture books lately?
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