Every two weeks we go to the library and get about 15 new books. It’s one of our favorite things to do. And it’s FREE! Like his mama, A loves reading and loves new books – an obsession that would be insanely expensive without the genius of the library.
We have developed a little routine. We walk about a mile and a half to the library (A rides in the stroller obviously), then A returns all the books himself. He loves scanning them and then dropping them into the “hole”. After that he goes straight to the “truck books” picks out his favorites and then walks about 2 feet into the children’s library and sits down in the middle of the walkway immediately ‘reading’ his new finds. While he looks through his haul of truck books, I scroll the shelves for new books I think he might like.
Then, after A looks at all his truck books, he picks random books off the shelves to take home. We head over to check them out, and then he picks a book to look at on the way home.
As soon as we get home he wants to sit down on the couch and read ALL the books. First I have to read them to him, then he likes to look through them on his own after. Within two days he has solidified his favorites from the library selections. (As have I…because there’s nothing like reading the same book over and over and over and over and over to help you decide which ones are enjoyable and which ones you want to conveniently “lose” until it’s time to return.)
Here are our top picks from this library visit!
The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen:
This adorable rhyming book with great illustrations is definitely our number one pick. Chris Van Dusen is the author of some of our other favorites ‘If I built a Car’ and ‘If I built a House’, and this one definitely is as colorfully fun. It’s actually inspired by a true story of a circus ship sinking at sea and the animals coming ashore on the coast of Maine. The village people hide the animals from the mean circus master, and there are even fun opportunities to find the 15 hiding animals mid-story.
Digger Man by Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemesha:
This one is a repeat check-out in our house. A loves it, and I love it too. In addition to being all about diggers and construction, things that make my son’s heart soar, it’s also an incognito ‘you’re gonna be a big brother book’. Digger Man is about a little boy who imagines being a construction worker, making a playground for his baby brother. He talks about when his little brother is old enough he is going to teach him how to be a digger man too. It’s short. It’s sweet. It even inspired A to randomly tell me that when his baby brother or sister comes he is going to show the baby how to play with all his toys. Melt my heart!
Love is My Favorite Thing by Emma Chichester Clark:
This is another great book that teaches a super cute lesson perfect for toddlers. It’s about a little dog named Plummie that Loves LOVE! Plummie loves his family and wants to make them happy, BUT (not unlike a toddler) he often finds himself being a little naughty, making messes, and not doing what he’s supposed to. When Plummie gets in trouble after a particularly naughty day, he is afraid that his family won’t love him anymore…but quickly finds out they love him no matter what! I love that A loves this book, and as a parent I love it myself…because let’s be honest these days I find myself struggling with a naughty toddler more and more, and we constantly talk about how we love him no matter what – even when he’s naughty. So it’s nice to have a book reaffirm that idea for him.
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson:
A LOVES this book – unless it’s in his room and it’s dark at night. Which I find adorably hysterical. The Gruffalo is a sweet story about a little mouse that ‘makes up’ a scary creature called a Gruffalo to fool the animals he comes across into not eating him. Then he comes across an actual Gruffalo! It’s cute and devious along the lines of the classic Stone Soup. The pictures are great and the story is well told.
My Bus by Byron Barton:
Byron Barton is another one of our favorite authors, and My Bus is hands down A’s favorite to read to us. Because it’s so short and simple, A can easily memorize the words and read it on his own. Oh AND my bus also has great counting and early addition/subtraction practice hidden within it’s story. The bus driver picks up cats and dogs at each of his stops and then drops off the cats and dogs in different numbers to boats, planes and trains. I love that this book allows A to start to think about addition and subtraction without ACTUALLY feeling like any math is being done. The pictures are bright and colorful and the story is short which makes it great for the littlest of ‘readers’ and just as great for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarteners.
We are always on the hunt for great new library books, so hit us up in the comments or on social media @rockinmamalife with your favorites for us to check out!
No Comments