As I wrote in last week’s post, I’ve been doing a lot of re-reading lately, so I don’t have enough of my own books to share this month. But I HAVE been reading some great new things with my three-year-old son.
Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color by Julia Denos
This is one of the most beautifully illustrated children’s books I’ve ever seen. The story is about a girl who collects colors in jars in her room (it reminds me of Roald Dahl’s BFG collecting dreams). But then one day, one of the colors tells her to stop, and that’s when Swatch realizes that color needs to be wild and untamed.
Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry
A fun sequel to the original Little Blue Truck; in this book Little Blue goes into the big city and teaches the other cars how to behave. The rhyming is fun and well-done. I only have one complaint for these authors: why was it necessary to make the mayor of the town (the only human in the book with a speaking role) a stereotypical white, rotund male? Why not a woman, or a person of color?
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
Edwin loves Dr. Seuss; his favorite has always been The Lorax. I was surprised to find him requesting this one over and over again, because it’s so much simpler than the other Seuss books, and doesn’t have a real story. It’s just a collection of related rhymes. But the rhymes have a musical quality, the trademark rhythm of Seuss that everyone loves; and the big, short words are helping Edwin to understand how letters become sounds.
Mix It Up by Herve Tullet
This is a super-fun book for anyone who loves art and color. It taught Edwin how primary colors create other colors, and what black and white do to colors. The illustrations are fun and occasionally beautiful. And it’s interactive, just like Tullet’s more popular Press Here.
What are your favorite children’s books? These are ones I’ve discovered as a mom, but I also read Edwin many of the books I loved as a child, particularly the Berenstain Bear series (he LOVES those) and the Frances series.