Books Luke (7½) & Sam (2½) Like

I've been doing these quarterly book posts for the boys (just Luke for a long time) for FIVE years now.  I did not realize it had been that long.  Every time I go to do one I have to check that I haven't already shared any of the books.  There are definitely times that library books stick around for nearly 3 months (or FIVE months, in the case of one of Sam's that quarantined with us and so got very extended due dates and then we renewed it as long as we could.) because one of the boys (or me) like them so much.  This is the first time I am knowingly repeating one, one that first appeared on Luke's first list here five years ago and now is popping up on Sam's.  It's fun seeing Sam repeat so much of what Luke did/wore/liked!

Luke (7½)

Jasper & Ollie Build a Fort by Alex Willan

This is one we renewed for a very long time and Luke would have had me reading it to him nearly daily if I had allowed it.  Jasper and Ollie are a fox and sloth, respectively, and in this book they are building tree forts.  Jasper rushes through his project.  Ollie takes his time.  One lasts longer than the other.  I appreciated the little lesson of taking your time (I say this as I try to rush through this post before school pick-up) but Luke probably mostly liked the tree forts.

Goldfish on Vacation by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Leo Espinosa

This one is based on a true story of a fountain in New York City that was overgrown and uncared for.  Then someone cleaned it up and in the summer, for many years, kids brought their pet goldfish to vacation in the fountain and then picked up "their" goldfish at the end.  I find it hilarious that this actually happened and just strengthen Luke's want of his own pet goldfish.

The Three Billy Goat Gruff by Jerry Pinkney

I was surprised this one hadn't made one of these lists yet because we've checked it out multiple times AND Luke even requested it, completely unprompted, this summer on a drive up to the lake.  It has fantastic pictures and he just really likes the goat knocking the troll in the water.  

The Wizard in You by Steve Behling

We watched Onward for family movie night over the summer and Luke LOVED it.  He watched it again in chunks and then we had to get all the Onward books the library had...which was 4.  We read those 4 A LOT though and even Sam was requesting them.   

The Berenstain Bears and the Ghost of the Theater by Mike Berenstain
We are will working on reading every single Berenstain Bear book I can find (there are SO MANY) and this was a newer easy-reader one that Luke, probably because I've forced him to like Berenstain Bears since we've read SO MANY of them, and also because there is a slightly haunted aspect (that isn't actually scary). I read this one many times too. (Note: we've read 270 Berenstain Bear books and we still haven't hit all the non-chapter books yet.)

Sam (2½)
Daniel's Day at the Beach by Becky Friedman, illustrated by Jason Fruchter
This is the book that was on Luke's very first list 5 years ago and now Sam is discovering Daniel Tiger too. I run with Sam two mornings a week after Luke is at school and then he gets one episode of tv while I shower, either Daniel Tiger or Curious George (episodes we've had on the DVR since we recorded them for Luke!). He's only picked DT a handful of times but he still really likes all the books we've gotten about him. And I have a certain fondness for this one since I read it so many times with Luke too.

Jack-Jack Attack by Disney
Sam loves the Incredibles, mainly these little figures that were Luke's but he passed onto Sam. Sam's maybe seen one of the movies once or twice. But he LOVES this book about Jack-Jack and even noticed when I snuck it back to the library the first time we had it checked out. There is just something about Jack-Jack making messes and getting into trouble that appeals to my 2½ year old...

Run, Remy, Run! by Kitty Richards
So many movie characters on the list today but it's what my boys are requesting over and over and over again. We watched Ratatouille for movie night a couple weeks ago (actually, broke up over 2 nights) and both boys loved it and then we had to get those books too and this is one Sam's really latched onto. It's also one Luke reads him sometimes which is very sweet. I don't know how much Sam is picking up on a fake rat's cooking journey in Paris...but he likes it.

C is for Camping by Greg Paprocki
I really like this alphabet book series but unfortunately our library only has a handful of them (I've since bought a handful more of them for us). This was one of Sam's adoption day presents and while he's only ever camped once, over a year ago, it's still a good introduction/reminder of it. It at least brings back happy camping memories for me and Sam frequently picks it for a "before naptime" read.

Scuffy the Tugboat by Gertrude Crampton, illustrated by Tibor Gergely
When we had Jack-Jack Attack, Sam started picking out on the back cover all the books we hadn't read...which was all of them. So we got this from the library and have read it A LOT and now Sam picks out "Tugboat!" on the back of many of the Little Golden Books. It's a long-ish book but he really likes his "Tugboat!" book.

Have YOU read any good picture books lately? (I'm not sure I could even call these all good, but I like documenting what the boys are really into!).  I'm always on the lookout for more to read!