I have been secretly reading a chapter book before my five year old gets finished with our current before bedtime chapter book. We picked out two from the library to choose from on Thursday and I just had to read one of them.
When I was a girl I had a copy of The Borrowers by Mary Norton that I read over and over and over again. I remember doing a diorama for a book report with a clay figure of Arrietty sitting on a spool in the midst of a bunch of items that I found around the house that had been mentioned as things that are “borrowed” in the book.
I never knew there were other books beyond the first one, so now I am making up for it with my kids. I could give the excuse that I am just reading it before I read it to my daughter, like any good parent should. But, in truth, I am reading it because I want to know what happened to Pod, Homily, and Arrietty.
I happened upon another book I had as a child while at the library. “Could Be Worse!” by James Stevenson has a grandfather whose comment to everything is, “Could be worse!” Boy, you wonder how it could be when you see what happens with the grandfather. Just check out the cover to get a taste….
My three year old daughter chose Snow by Uri Shulevitz. She enjoyed reading this book with me. She especially liked searching for and counting the snowflakes on each page. This book shows the optimism of children (and how weathermen don’t always know the weather.)
Finally, I chose a book with thoughts of February’s upcoming ASL playgroup in mind. When You Are Happy, written by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Geraldo Valerio, is a lucky discovery. The poetic words paint pictures in your head, while the brilliant illustrations make you want to read the book again and again. My three year old had me read this to her several times in a row and I had no problems doing so.
What did you discover at the library this week?
You might also try Dog Breath: the horrible trouble with Haly Totsis