My second subject is now
over. This last week was an introduction to statistics, and I am wrecked (there were tears). I have two
weeks off before I start a six-week statistics intensive (there will be more
tears). So, to recover/prepare, I am writing about something I feel like I actually understand: Here is a review of our family’s favourite books
for kids aged 1-4ish, just in case you need tips for gifts or have nothing
better to do with your time.
AGE 1: Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek
Oh man - I love this book so much (even
more since reading Mem Fox’s ‘making-of’ post). Moses loved it, and Hazel now
loves it, too. When I first started reading it to Hazel she was only interested
in the page with the train on it, because I would point at each animal on board
and make its noise (all but the snail, the pelican and the rabbits. I’ve no
idea what noises they make). Now that she’s older, I’m allowed to read through
the entire book, after which she says, “More!” and I go back to the beginning
and read through the entire book again, after which she says, “More!” so I go
back to the beginning and read through the entire book again, after which she
says, “More!” and I say, “Hmmm, let’s maybe read something else for a bit
instead.”
AGE 2: Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton
This book is lots of fun.
It’s a great one for learning (basic) colours, and the simple words have left Mo convinced that he’s able to read it all by himself.
AGE 3: The Waterhole by Graeme Base
Moses was obsessed with
this book for yonks when he was around three years old. Maybe two-and-a-half. I can’t remember (aren’t you glad I’m back? Thank you. Thank you very much). In the end we stopped reading the words and instead spent all of
our book time pointing out animals in all of their memorised hiding places. The
pictures are beautiful, the animal-spotting is quite fun, and the story’s an
important one (not that a younger Mo paid any attention to it).
AGE 4: The Book With No Pictures by B. J. Novak
This is a clever and cool idea for a book, although its lack of illustrations did mean it took a
little while to convince Moses that it really was a kids’ book and I wasn’t
about to scar him for life by reading him something intended for much older audiences
(he doesn’t trust my judgement on these things! I find this offensive!). I’d
seen a video of Novak reading the book to a group of cackling kids,
and I worried that perhaps reading it to only one child wouldn’t have the same
effect. It had the same effect. (Thanks, Aunty Zillah!)
The downside to this book
is that it requires some performance on the part of the reader, and there are
nights when neither Alan nor I have the necessary energy to pull it off. Also,
like joke books, we can only read it a certain number of times before Mo’s laughter begins to sound somewhat forced – that’s when we hide it away for a while again.
Books that I’ve liked way more than Mo did:
1. Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen
Our method for choosing
kids’ books from the library mostly consists of Hazel picking random books from
shelves and plonking them on a pile, all of which we then borrow. It used to be
Moses who’d make the pile of random books, and it was in one such pile that we discovered
Good Little Wolf, which is such a gem
of a book that I’ve remembered both the title and author’s name despite the
fact that it must have been about a year ago that we read it. The ending was so
surprising and hilarious that I couldn’t read the last page because I was laughing
too hard; it was refreshingly unpredictable and non-didactic. Mo didn’t get it
at all (possibly I confused him with all of the snorting). I’ll have to find it
at the library again to see how Mo reacts to it now that he’s older.
2. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas
This is such a beautiful book
on so many levels – two levels, actually: Julie
Vivas’ illustrations are absolutely gorgeous (as always), and the story of young
Partridge’s relationships with the residents of an old folks’ home is just the
sweetest thing ever. At the end of the book, Mo’s always like, “Okay, whatever,”
while I wipe tears from my eyes. Every. Time. I love it.
Bed time. We’ll chat again soon.
