friday's five

This morning saw me cross-checking our online library accounts and our bookshelves, for tomorrow is a "big return" day. I don't know what we'd do without our library!  Here are five current check-outs that the kids are adoring.

1. Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes -- While I had heard of this book, I don't believe the kids had ever seen it until a friend recommended I check it out. I'm a big fan of the illustrations- so soft and gentle with a muted color palette. The story could almost be described the same way! The realism of the library setting contrasts with the clearly unrealistic lion character resulting in a whimsical story in a very familiar setting. Everyone gives it a thumbs up.

2. Princess Bess Gets Dressed by Margery Cuyler, illustrated by Heather Maione -- This book sat atop the low shelves in the kids' section of the library, and apparently it called out its siren song to Red from across the room. We were actually just running into the library to pick up a bunch of books on hold, and were not going to browse the shelves, but an exception had to be made for a book that was covered in pink bows. It's a cute story about a young princess who is forced to wear a bunch of fancy clothes, when she really likes wearing something much less formal... can you guess what?

3. I'm a Truck Driver by Jonathan London, illustrated by David Parkins -- Well, if my four year old daughter is predictable in her book choice, then the same can certainly be said of my three year old son, as the cover of this book shows. Pudge is a big fan of any type of transportation book, and this book presents a whole bunch of different vehicles with four-lined accompanying rhymes. We've read this one, oh, only about seventy-five times, and both kids love it each and every time. If you're looking for another fun truck book to share with your kids- look for this one on the library shelf!

4. Let's Count Goats by Mem Fox, illustrated by Jan Thomas -- Okay, let me just say that whenever I see a book with Jan Thomas' signature illustrations on a book cover, I shove the book into the library bag immediately. They never fail to make me giggle with their goofy big-eyed characters. This one is a crazy silly counting book, complete with goats having many different types of wacky adventures. Laughing and practicing counting skills makes this a favorite pick from the shelf right now.

5. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter -- What can I say about this classic book that hasn't been said before? It's just precious, and the small size is highly attractive to Red, who loves grabbing as many Potter books at the library as she can. Of all that we've read, though, this one remains her favorite, and I happen to agree. It's the most basic story, with a nice selection of "fancy" words, but not so many that the flow of reading the story is interrupted by repeated explanations. And of course, the best part of these books for many readers is Potter's delicate and detailed illustrations that capture realistic aspects of nature in a truly beautiful manner. Yay!


Since we're bringing a big bag of books back to the library tomorrow, that means we get to come back with it chock full of new selections!

Happy reading,