Like most Moms, I love to spend quality time with my boy. Sometimes I'll get down on the floor and play with him, but for the most part and I just like to be near him, watching, and talk with him as he plays. But what I really enjoying doing with him is reading. It's a nice, peaceful activity that keeps both of us occupied (ONLY when he's in the mood for it!) and gets him on my lap for a little snuggle time.
I want to share some of our very favorite books with you. These are some great books to cuddle up and read with your kiddos!
Brennan's Favorite Books
Lately, Brennan's favorite books all DO something. They are pop up books, books with moveable pieces, books with textures, and books that talk. The only downfall with these is that he isn't allowed to read them by himself because he'll ruin them and we love them too much for that! I'm only listing a few. These are definitely not the only ones, but if I included them all, this post would take all day to write, literally!
Here's his list of favorites:
DOG-
This book is truly awesome. We got Brennan this book for Christmas and have read it hundreds of times with him! The dogs in this book have fur patches for the reader to feel that demonstrate different textures including, fluffy, scruffy, curly, smooth, shaggy, and silky. You can feel floppy ears and even a sticky tongue! There are also a lot of moveable parts such as several wagging tails, a doggy shaking off after a bath, and a dog scratching himself. I really enjoy the last couple of pages of this book a lot! All of the dogs in this book are pictured there along with their names and their breed. So really, this book grows with your child. They can learn to recognize all of the breeds and become a dog aficionado! This one is soooo worth the price (which isn't bad to begin with!)
The Very Funny Frog-
The pictures in this rhyming style book are just great. They make me smile when I'm reading this book to my son. We both enjoy the rhythm and rhyme and he loves how the pages pop out at him. Brennan loves to learn about all of the garden animals featured in this book including the Very Funny Frog, of course, and many others such as rabbits, a mole, and spiders! A word of warning, though... this book isn't best for grabby little hands! I've already had to make a few repairs to the pictures even though I never let my son read this book by himself!
Hallmark Recordable Storybooks-
Our little man is lucky enough to have two of these awesome storybooks, one from each of his doting Grandmas! He has "All the Ways I Love You" and the classic, "Goodnight Moon". I do let Brennan read these books by himself, but ONLY under close supervision. They are so special, I don't want them getting ruined! If you aren't familiar with these books, they actually record your voice and play it back as you turn the pages. Brennan's face just lights up when he hears his Grandmas reading to him! At first he would look around for them, but now he knows what's going on. To find out more about these books you can visit Hallmark's website,
here.
Lull-a-bye Little One-
Now, this choice by Brennan may surprise you... it doesn't DO anything! However, from pretty early on Brennan has really enjoyed this book. Whether it is the bright, simple pictures or the calming rhythm and rhyme, I'm not sure, but we all like this one. This simple story outlining a typical little girl's bedtime routine with her Mommy and Daddy is very sweet and somehow it always ends up being part of our bedtime story lineup!
Mama's Favorite Kids Books
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear-
This book is an oldie, but a goodie! This one holds a special place in my heart. I remember my Mom reading this one to me all the time when I was a little girl. It is all about how this sweet little mouse can keep the Big Hungry Bear from eating his delicious strawberry! I just love the adorable illustrations. I actually remember laughing when my Mom would 'sniff sniff sniff' to find the strawberry just like the Big Hungry Bear. You can only imagine my own joy and amusement when Brennan laughed the first time I 'sniff sniff sniffed' like the Bear!
God Gave Us You-
This book is really sweeter than sweet. The typical childlike questions that the little polar bear in this book ask make me smile every time I read it, but the answers that the polar bear Mom gives have the opposite effect on me. I always get choked up when I'm reading this book, especially as the Mom talks about the birth of her sweet little baby. As many of you know, I was put under general anesthesia for the birth of my own baby, so I get pretty emotional about that sort of thing! Anyway, it is a heartwarming book that reminds us that our children are God's most wonderful gifts.
You know... I'm sure I could come up with so many more great choices, but I'm going to leave it at this for now. Maybe I'll need to do a followup post with even more of our favorites! I hope you'll check some of these out! Enjoy!
Every time he flipped one of the flaps open, he would narrate, "Is he in the closet?... Roar! No, but thank you!" We heard it on every page! One of my favorites was the page with the penguins. "No, no, no! But thank you, thank you, thank you!"
