Thursday, October 09, 2008
I have now and again tried to imagine the perfect environment, the ideal conditions for reading: A worn leather armchair on a rainy night? A hammock in a freshly mown backyard? A verandah overlooking the summer sea? Good choices, every one. But I have no doubt that they are all merely displacements, sentimental attempts to replicate the warmth and snugness of my mother's lap.
Mark's mom gave me this quote awhile back. I loved it because I've always loved snuggling up with my kids and reading a good book and also because some of my very best memories are of my own mother on our old, faded brown couch, surrounded by eight little kids reading us a bedtime story. Anyway, we've come across some pretty great books lately and I thought I'd share. If you're like me, when I go to the library with three small children, I like to know what I'm looking for. And I rarely have the time to look at books one by one and figure out which ones are good and which ones are just okay. But I guarantee, if you take this list with you, you won't be disappointed when you get home. They all are wonderful for kids but they are also good for grown-ups too. And if you can't find them in your local library, check out Alibris. They have old and hard-to-find (used and new) books all priced within reason. We found Kipper's A to Z at the school library and loved it so much I wanted to buy it. But when I tried finding it online, I couldn't find it anywhere. Lucky for me, Alibris had it and I got it for less than $10.00 hardcover, brand-spankin' new.
So here's to good books--thank Heaven for them. And here's to an afternoon snuggled up on the couch with the one's you love best reading some of my new most-favorite children's books ever. Enjoy!
The Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
The Farmer by Mark Ludy
Kippers A to Z by Mick Inkpen
The Full Belly Bowl by Jim Aylesworth
The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
posted by Shana # 7:15 PM 
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