But I realize there is a little more to life than food.
Something else I am very passionate about is literature. And sharing that love with my children.
We try to read together almost every day. Sometimes one book, sometimes ten. And I try to find children’s literature that both my children AND I (or my husband) can enjoy together. Something that won’t make mommy and daddy want to fall asleep in the middle of page two.
There are amazing classics out there, and incredible up-and-coming children’s lit authors yet to be discovered. You really don’t have to read about “Swiper-no-swiping” or the Disney Princess falling in love with the Disney Prince for an hour every night! There is hope. I promise. You might even be surprised at how quickly 15 minutes goes by when you are exploring The Garden of Abdul Gasazi for the first time, or getting Fancy with lessons from Nancy.
Reading often to your children inspires creativity, language and comprehensive development and it’s just seriously fun. Especially when you give the characters funny voices or accents, ask your children probing questions after the story about what they noticed or thought, and let your kids fill in the sight words they might be currently learning in school. It is typically recommended that parents read to their children just 15 minutes a day. Not so hard when even mom and dad are looking forward to it!
I find it is helpful to compile a list of titles or authors I want to introduce my kiddos to before I go into the library. This list usually comes from memories of books I loved as a kid, news of new authors I’ve seen around the web, or recommendations from friends and family.
Sometimes we find a book at the library we just fall in love with, and end up purchasing our own copy after the kids sadly return the original to the library. Amazon.com is an excellent resource for this.
Following is a small list of some of our most favourite authors and titles:
our personal favourites include The Garden of Abdul Gasazi and Two Bad Ants. His illustrations alone are incredible.
We really, REALLY love his stuff – this man is a genius. (for those with younger kiddos like we have – he does use the naughty “stupid” word *GASP* in some of his stories. sometimes we just replace it with “silly”.)
I would really love to know your personal favourite reads, and am thinking we might compile them into a Part Two Post!
chanelle
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Great post!
My son is older now, so he likes to read the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books and even likes old “Hardy Boys” books.
In second grade his school had a huge “Frog and Toad” party! He was WAY into that last year!
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Thank you for the awesome recommendations! We will be sure to check these books out!
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Great post! I love those books, too. I hope to leave my mark on the world by being *that* kind of children’s author. I’d love to know what you all think are the elements that make you and your kids love a book; what is that special something that makes you pick up a book again and again?
Looking forward to Part II!
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My mom just bought Munchkin 1.0 “Knuffle Bunny” and we COMPLETELY love it. We also have most of the Boynton books. Munchkin has REALLY gotten into the Franklin the Turtle books lately and I have to say I like them too. It’s not profound literature, but kids really seem to identify with Franklin and the lessons in all the little stories seem to stick with Munchkin. He makes the connections in everday life so much that it surprises me.
Also find “On the Night You Were Born” by Nancy Tillman and “When the Sky is Like Lace” by Elinor Lander Horwitz and Barbara Cooney. Truly lovely poetry both of them.
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I just started following you on Twitter. I’m Jessica_K.
My sister and I loved “Frog and Toad”. My favorite was “Frog and Toad Together”. If your kids like Shell Silverstein, when they get older you have to introduce them to “Light in the Attic” (especially the poem “Sick”).
I work with a small publishing company. (In the future, they’ll be publishing 2 of my books.) I love two picture books by a couple of their authors. “Rattlesnake Jam” by Margot Finke is a rhyming bunch of fun. “Nothing Stops Noah” is a lot of fun and shows kids they should solve their problems by using what’s available to them.
I’ll be looking at the books you suggested. Thanks.
Happy Valentines Day,
J. Aday Kennedy
The Differently-Abled Children’s Writer
http://www.jadaykennedy.com
http://jadaykennedy.blogspot.com/
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I’m a fan of the Berenstain Bears. We have consulted these books to deal with among other things: transitioning to a new bed; the new baby and being an older sister/brother; going to the dentist/doctor; and many more.
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What a great list! You have many of our favorites on there already. We also love Jan Brett and looking at all of her beautiful illustrations. Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Fly are very funny!
Jen
Creative and Curious Kids!
http://raisingcreativeandcuriouskids.blogspot.com
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