the kids are picking away

... and no, I'm not talking noses. (Although that wouldn't be too surprising if I were...) Nope, I'm talking carnival time again over at 5M4B, and this week it's Kids' Picks! This is the monthly opportunity to highlight the books that have been making a big splash with your children lately. This post could probably be 1,000 words long if I didn't watch out, so I'm limiting myself to two books per child, so these are the top of the crop this month.

First up is JAM, and I can't help but chuckle a little at his latest theme. I'm not quite sure how it came to pass, but he has expressed a growing interest in reading mystery books. Yeah, not exactly my genre specialty, so he has been looking at his school library selection for some ideas. Naturally, he stumbled upon those good old boys from yore- The Hardy Boys. Now, I was most definitely not a Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew reader as a child, so I honestly have no idea what these books are all about. They're in his reading level for the school's Accelerated Reader program, and they seem to fit the bill for his mystery needs. These two titles- The Haunted Fort and The Ghost at Skeleton Rock were his latest selections, and he's read them in two sittings! I love that he's branching out and finding his own reading path-- it's so empowering to discover what kinds of books make you happy!

For my little Red, bird is the word. Our study of birds is coming along so amazingly well, and we pretty much wiped out our local library of all their nonfiction children's books about birds. They are now residing in a basket in our hallway, with another basket of fiction books with bird characters right next to them... and my genius almost-three-year-old is actually keeping them appropriately sorted! (Is there an organizational gene? I hope so!) She has taken to copying her big brother and bringing a book to the breakfast table, and it's now literally the first thing she does upon coming downstairs-- she heads to the 'information book' basket and often grabs one of these two books. She calls the first, A Nest Full of Eggs, 'The Robins Building a Nest' book, and the other one, Crinkleroot's 25 Birds Every Child Should Know, she just calls the 'Lots of Birds' book. I love that she's not only beginning to correctly identify several types of birds, but she actually is having these conversations with us about the information she's getting from these books. I haven't even read the Crinkleroot book with her yet, but she has enough on her own that she knows where to find the blue jay and the red-winged blackbird, and she speaks so excitedly about the illustrations. She's understanding that books can convey information and be used as resources-- what a valuable lesson to learn!

And lastly, there's my book-loving Pudge, who sits down next to his book baskets and busies himself with book after book after book. His cry of "Boop! Boop!" can be heard quite frequently, and he doesn't take no for an answer when he wants to be read to! These two books are currently in our living room supply-- Drive is a library book with vibrant illustrations that are just perfect for truck loving kid like Pudge. The text is very simple that he will sit for this entire book, but tell an engaging enough story that Red loves it, too. The 'First Look & Find' book- Pooh and Friends, was a Christmas present to the kids that has seen a whole lot of love since December. Pudge especially loves the page that has many hats all around the page, since that's one of his other new-toddler loves. A fun, and indestructible large board book, with some lovable characters.

That's what my kids have been picking lately, other than their ever-stuffed-noses. How about yours? Join us at 5minutesforbooks for more Kids' Picks, or to link up for yourself!

Sharing the book love again,