I have just started letting MM check books out at the library. It’s been a long time coming, I know, but he is very rough with his books and I wanted to wait until I thought I could trust him – and even then I had to make some pretty hard core rules – like no library books in his bedroom without adult supervision. Seriously. Are your kids rough on their books?
Anyway, here are a few of the books that have been in constant request mode at nap time and bedtime story sessions:
The Magic Raincoat by Ryan David – This is our most recent library pick. MM spotted the fun cover from seemingly a mile away and had to have it. The book tells the story of Emily whose mother gets her an orange raincoat (she’d wanted a yellow one!) that turns out to be magical. At first she goes nuts, wishing for all sorts of silly things but soon she learns that her wishes have real consequences and she vows to use it’s powers only for good, but then…
I love the beautifully detailed illustrations by Sibylla Benatova in this picture book and I thought the story telling was sassy and fun. MM was riveted by the book and asks to read it frequently. This is one I’d definitely consider buying for our personal collection. MM wants to add that he loves all of the umbrellas in the book which is slightly irrelevant but there you have it!
Mudge Wants to Play by Cynthia Rylant – This is a pretty simple story about Henry and his puppy, Mudge. Henry is reading a book quite happily when his puppy Mudge comes in wanting to play. Mudge does everything he can think of to get Henry to stop reading and play with him, mostly by acting out. Eventually Henry gets the memo, stops reading, and they play together.
I actually found myself thinking about when the kids act out for my attention – it is so easy to get wrapped up into whatever I’m doing and sadly I frequently find the kids start acting out more – vying for my attention. That’s when, like Henry, I need to remind myself to just put down whatever I’m doing and spend some more quality time with them. A good lesson to learn at any age!
This book is very basic and easy for kids just starting to learn how to read – it features lots of repetition and simple words. MM quickly memorized the book so although he cannot actually read yet, he can pretend to read by memorizing what’s on each of the pages. He loved to “read” this book to Dan and I at bedtime when we had it checked out from the library.
Richard Scarry’s A Day at the Airport – This is actually one of the books from our own collection, but it’s one that MM has seemingly just discovered and is infatuated with. Did you read Richard Scarry books when you were a kid? This is one that I actually remember from my own childhood so it’s a lot of fun sharing it with MM now.
Richard Scarry books are always fun because of the little captions all throughout the book telling you what all of the little details in the book are – like labeling the different kinds of airplanes or mapping out the layout of an airport. This is especially timely for us right now since we just took the kids on their first ever airplane ride at the beginning of the summer.
What books have your kids been reading? I’m linking this post up to 5 Minutes for Books Kids’ Picks. Feel free to join in and see what other kids have been reading this month.
Mommablogsalot 
10 responses to “Kids Book Reviews: What Our Kids Have Been Reading”
@ Connie : He has LOTS of his own books – those are the ones we learned he was rough on lol.
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Does he have his own books? We have a small bookshelf for each child and have kept them stocked since they were very infants. They learned to take care of their own books, and we never had a problem with library books.
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I, too, have hesitated in letting my 4-year-old get out library books. We’ve done it a few times, but I’m *very* strict with the library book rules once they are in our home. 🙂 So sometimes, it’s easier to just stick to the books we have. The Richard Scarry book looks great. We have one of those books and love it…might have to see what other ones are out there.
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I learn lessons from kids books and movies all the time. That’s one of the great things about sharing books with our kids.
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I LOVED Richard Scarry’s books when I was a kid (especially Loly the Worm – he was my favorite!) but I could never get Kiddo interested in them. 😦
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I love those Ready-to-Read Pre-Level One books. My daughter adores Mudge. Thanks for sharing your books!
Lauren from 5MinutesforBooks.com
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Richard Scarry books never seem to lose their appeal. Both my kids like browsing through them and we’ve even lent our copies to some playmate pals because they love the books, too.
My daughter checked out a Cynthia Rylant book from the Annie and Snowball series this week, but even though Mudge and Henry make an appearance I think she prefers the original Henry and Mudge books. Haven’t heard of The Magic Raincoat but sounds like one my daughter would love.
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My husband is a much bigger fan of Richard Scarry’s books than I am, so the ones that we have are best read by him to the children. 🙂 And, I think we’ll have to find some Henry and Mudge books at our library, because my daughter is about the age now to really enjoy them.
-Dawn, 5minutesforbooks.com
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My kids aren’t too bad on their books, though we do have some that have pages missing and ripped tabs. Zach seems to be better than Alex was.
I loved Richard Scarry as a kid! I distinctly remember the Rainy Day Book, so much fun.
Alex loves the Henry and Mudge books but this is one we haven’t read. The boys love books about dogs so I know they’d enjoy it.
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Thanks for sharing all of the great titles!
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