Monday multitasking

While I did Reid's hair this morning (I can read and braid at the same time), I read Valentine by Carol Carrick This story about a little girl who helps care for a newborn lamb on Valentine's Day offers a concrete example of love in action without being moralistic in the least.

At gymnastics, after discussing why books would be at gymnastics, we read:

• Winnie the Pooh and His Friends Blackberry Surprise based on A.A. Milne, illustrated by Atelier Philippe Harchy - a much better story than I'd expected. Many Winnie the Pooh stories disappoint me as the characters aren't as I remember them, even in the original stories. Pooh is greedy, Rabbit is grouchy and Tigger is incredibly self-centred.
• Rose and Dorothy by Roslyn Schwartz - Reid's empathy is well-developed. She was said that Rose said mean things about Dorothy and Dorothy moved out of their shared house.
• Tickle Me Elmo by Stephanie St. Pierre and illustrated by David Prebena - I wasn't sure about this one but it turned out to be a fun discussion of what a tickle looks, smells, tastes and sounds like. It's important not to judge a book by its cover - or licensed character.

Reid had insisted on bringing Diego and Papi to the Rescue by Wendy Wax and illustrated by John Hom to read in the car on the way to daycare and so we had it with us, too.

Saturday stories

It was a tv-free day for Reid (Hooray for us!) and so we had lots of reading time. We read:

• The Night Before Valentine's Day by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Heidi Petach - one of a number of books she has written based on Clement Moore's classic but Reid enjoys the rhythm and is beginning to anticipate Valentine's Day.
• If I Had a Big Blue Boat by Susan James Frye and illustrated by Laura Desantis - this is one of the books from Reid's Kindermusik session and so features great sounds woven into the story.
• Tippity Tippity Too by Claire Clark and illustrated by Dudley Mosely - this is the other book for this Kindermusik session and has illustrations that are rich in detail and a strong rhyme.
• Going on a Field Trip, a Read and Roll book - Reid could recite this book if she tried but she still chooses it to be read to her.
• Biscuit Loves Father's Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and illustrated by Pat Schories - this book has a page-tall flap along each right page, which meant that Reid had to open each one while I was trying to read the words. She loves lift-the-flap books but I find them to be a bit frustrating.
• Cat Christmas by B Kliban - the illustrations in this book draw Reid in and I like them, too, but I know enough of the carols that he spoofs to enjoy them just as much.
• Carry Me! by Rosemary Wells - the little bunny in this story has many reasons to be carried, talked to and sung to.
• A Dragon in a Wagon: A Book About Ways to Travel by Jane Belk Moncure and illustrated by Linda Hohag - I like the rhythm of story and the way that the little girl encounters new animals as well as new modes of transportation.
• The Day Snuffy Had the Sniffles by Linda Lee Maifair and illustrated by Tom Brannon - Ken does a great impression of a congested Snuffle-upagus, I learned .
• Love You Love Me - the lines, "Love me, love my bear; Love the oatmeal in my hair" alone make this book worth a read.
• The Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton - I'd told Reid we were done reading but she wanted to read this one to me. When she started, though, it turned out that she doesn't remember it well and I ended up doing the reading. I'm easily tricked, I guess.

Tuesday books

Grandma Joyce, Uncle Roger, Aunt Lisa and Brock left just after supper. Ken, Reid and I were pretty tired but still read:

• Giving Thanks, a Clifford's Puppy Days book by Sarah Fisch and illustrated by Bob Roper - the way that everyone is too busy for Clifford makes me a little sad because it is true that sometimes we are so focused on the trappings of a holiday that we forget the reason for it.
• Hippos Go Beserk! by Sandra Boynton - Reid likes this book for counting and also number recognition (she is odd that way) and I am a dedicated Sandra Boynton fan.
• Someday by Alison McGhee and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds - this book brings tears to my eyes. It might be intended for mamas but Reid and I both like to read it.

Weekend wrap up

We've had guests over the weekend and so while I know Reid has talked Grandma Joyce, Uncle Roger and Aunt Lisa into reading to her (not that they need much persuading), I don't know what they have read since they aren't trained like Ken to set aside books as they read them. At some point on Saturday or Sunday, Ken and I read:

• I Love You Always and Forever by Jonathan Emmett and illustrated by Daniel Howarth - a lovely story about a daddy mouse for his daughter and how long his love for her will last;
• The Grumpalump by Sarah Hayes and Barbara Firth, one of the Discovery Toys Reading Together at Home collection - the animals in this book each have a solution to the "grumpalump problem" that would make this book a good story circle selection as the kids could act out the pushing, pulling and so on.
• There's a Wocket in my Pocket! by Dr Seuss - all these years later, no one does silly as well as Seuss.
• One, Two, Flea! by Allan Ahlberg and illustrated by Colin McNaughton - for all of the books in rhyme we have, this is one of the few that is actually poetry.
• I Spy ABC by Vivian French and illustrated by Sally Holmes - we've read this a few times and Reid still demands to know where that dinosaur is going and why. She is quick to find the animals and their letters, though.
• Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom and illustrated by Bruce Degen - a perennial favourite, this is a story that we love that is nice and short, an important quality when Reid is tired but needing some stories.

Can we count the magazine more than once?

Thank goodness for Ken knowing how to read. ;+) He read:

• a copy of Ladybug magazine that I picked up this afternoon - I'm going to argue that this should count for at least 2 books.
• Which Way to School? a Read and Roll Book - again. It is such a simple book but Reid chooses it often.
  

Short and sweet

Reid and I were later getting back from Melissa's and so we read a few short books:

• Who Lives on the Farm, illustrated by John Green - I wonder why farms and farm animals are so fascinating to small children. The appeal certainly has yet to diminish for Reid.
• Which Way to School?, a Read and Roll book - I wish that it wasn't the girl bus in the trio that get's lost. I try and remember to give a feminine voice to the old pick up truck that helps Sandy find her way to school. For some reason, my default voice for vehicles seems to be male.
• Birthday Monsters! by Sandra Boynton - I can pretty much recite this one from memory. It's a fun story. We read it more when Reid was younger but it was definitely one of the board books I kept when I did the most recent purge of the bookshelves.
• Benny's bus (no author) - This little board book is one that I can recite without even seeing the pictures for prompts. It brings together a few of Reid's favourite things: a bus, a male named Benny (like Ben) and a little mouse that appears in various places in and on the bus.
  

Reading in the tub

When Reid was small, we read many, many book over the course of a day because we would read to her whenever she had a potty break. This was my secret to have a potty trained kid who was only 11 months, by the way. Our lives seem busier now and we've gotten away from this habit. I read 3 books while Reid was in the tub, plus others at other times:

• "Have You Seen the Crocodile?" by Colin West, one of the Discovery Toys Reading Together at Home collection - this book is a bit bloodthirsty in that the crocodile eats all of the animals that were looking for it but then again, maybe it is just realistic. Reid isn't disturbed by it, though.
• The Hairy Toe, illustrated by Daniel Postgate, one of the Discovery Toys Reading Together at Home collection - this book was buried in a pile of books and magazines (because in my house, piles happen) for quite awhile. Reid remembered to quaver her voice when saying "Where's my hairy toe?", just like I've taught her.
• Click, Clack, Splish, Splash: A Counting Adventure by Doreen Cronin and illustrate Betsy Lewin - I love this pair's work. We also have Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type, Giggle Giggle Quack, and Click Clack Quackity Quack. When we last read this book a few months ago, Reid and I counted the animals to determine their number. This time, she recognized all of the numerals from 1 to 10.
• Little Monster's Scratch and Sniff Mystery by Mercer Mayer - the scratch and sniff bits of this book have long since lost their fragrance but the illustrations are full of details to discuss and the story is engaging.
  
• Corduroy goes to the Fire Station based on the character created by Don Freeman, illustrated by Lisa McCue - it's hard to read a lift-the-flap book with so many flaps at the best of times but I tackled this one while braiding Reid's hair tonight. We finally worked out a system whereby Reid opened all of the flaps and then I read the text. We've had this book for months and we've never arrived at this taking turns thing until tonight.
  
• Going on a Field Trip, a Read and Roll book, one of 3 featuring school buses as the main character - these books are for 0-3 year olds but, while Reid is no longer obsessed with school buses, she remains a big fan. It is a favourite to pull out when I say we have time for only a short story.
  

Rain in January makes me want to read

With the unseasonably rainy weather, today was a good one for reading. We read:

• Color Dance by Ann Jonas - Rei d and I both enjoyed the round-bellied little girls who danced with their scarves of red, yellow and blue to make a number of other colours. The little boy who joined them near the end with white, gray and black scarves completed the lesson in learning about colours.
• Before You Were Born by Jennifer Davis and illustrated by Laura Cornell - a lift-the-flap book that details a child's time in utero. It is a sweet story for a mother to read to her child. It's a bit awkward for a dad to read it, as Ken did at Reid's request.
• Splish! Splash! by Gail Herman and illustrated by Bill Basso - since it was a rainy day, this book about a rained out pool party was almost appropriate, though it wasn't quite warm enough for an outdoor swim.
• The Story of Chicken Licken by Jan Ormerod, one of the Discovery Toys Reading Together at Home collection - I don't remember the fox eating Chicken Licken and the rest of the characters in this story from when I was a kid. Maybe it so traumatized me that I blocked it out. Or maybe I only heard the Disney version. Or maybe it really didn't bother me. Reid seemed fine with it.
  
• The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming - I like the rhyme and repetition, especially "and a red cap with a gold snap".
  

Balmy and busy January day

It was a hectic day, with the taste of days to come as lessons have started up again. We read:

• Boo!, a Clifford the Big Red Dog book - Who says that Halloween books can't be read in January? I like to see Jetta being taken down a peg; she can be a bit hard to take. Emily Elizabeth does, too, for that matter.
• Stella: Queen of the Snow by Marie-Louise Gay - Stella is so "knowledgeable" as she guides Sam through the delights of his first snow.
• Dinosaurs' Day Out by Nick Sharratt, one of the Discovery Toys Reading Together at Home collection - this book tells a simple story and much of it references the map that they consult near the beginning. Of all the books we have and have read, this is the only one in which a map plays a key role.
  
• Pocoyo and Friends: A first book of friendship (no author) - this book is for kids who are 18 months or 2 years old, as is the show upon which it is based. Reid used to love watching Pocoyo and I still miss it but we only read the books now.
  

Now that is a good Saturday of reading

We went read many books today:

• The Greatest Parade, a Clifford the Big Red Dog colouring book that Reid got for Christmas. She hasn't asked to colour in it yet but she stopped unwrapping presents on Christmas morning to have me read the sentences along the bottom of the page. Today, it was Ken who was picked for the unlikely task of reading a colouring book.
  
• Clifford's Best School Day, a Clifford the Big Red Dog book, by Quinlan B. Lee and illustrated by Steve Haefele - Emily Elizabeth is oh so perfect, isn't she? We need to see some examples of her doing something wrong and being redeemed.
• Mom and Me by Miela Ford - a book of photographs of a baby polar bear and its mama that has just a few words. It was just the right topic for a girl who was being uncooperative at naptime to ask for when she finally snuggled up with her own mama.
• Santa's New Jet by David Biedrzycki - Reid grins at the chubby and out of shape reindeer and I like to mention the aviation museum references in the illustrations since that is a favourite museum of Ken's.
  
• Mama Loves You by Caroline Stutson -Reid knows that she can sometimes get an extra book before bed if it is a short one and this one is particulary hard for me to say "no" to as it is a favourite of mine.
  
• The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton - It's important to remember to dial back the energy when reading this book. Boynton's rhymes are rollicking.
  

From the library's Sharing and caring: a preschool approach to bullying prevention kit
we read:

• Crabbit Comes to Stay by Julie Hegarty and illustrate by Ritchie Collins - featuring Michelle, a girl's head in a clam shell that seems to be somewhat important since there was a super-title "Michelle in" but I don't know who Michelle is otherwise. Knowing Michelle didn't seem important to appreciate the illustrations and story.
  
• The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister and translated by J. Alison James - This book is an Abby (American Bookseller Book of the Year Award) Winner, I hadn't heard of the award before. I'll have to check out other winners for ideas.
• Franklin is Bossy by Paulette Bourgeois and illustrated by Brenda Clark - Reid is awfully bossy at home with us and if she is like that at daycare, she'll be suffering the treatment that Franklin receives from his friends and I'm not sure that friends are so quickly forgiving in real life.
  
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes - I recognized the illustrations as being similar to books featuring Lily and enjoyed the story as we have enjoyed the Lily stories. The story describes Chrysanthemum's dilemma well. I like the titles of the books that the father is reading throughout the story.
• Is it Because? by Tony Ross - The text offers an interesting exploration of why a person might bully another.
  

It's day 2 and already the titles are repeating

It was our first back to work day and we read:

• Touch and Feel Tractor, a Dorling Kindersley board book that Reid really loves despite it being, well, a board book. She has enjoyed rubbing the smooth hood, counting the lights, touching the chunky tires and bumpy field (differently shaped corrugated board) and a spiky bale of straw for the last 3 years.
• Tummy Trouble, a Clifford the Big Red Dog book, by Josephine Page and illustrated by Ken Edwards - Reid giggles at the silly dogs eating more than they should although I don't think that she has ever eaten so much that her belly troubled her.
  
• Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne, one of the Discovery Toys Reading Together at Home collection - Reid hasn't chosen this book in a while. With all of the zoo visits we made in 2007, Reid and I were able to name all of the African animals in the book. Reid liked "knowing" about the fruits being eaten when the protagonist did not.
• I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child, again, even though Reid gobbled tomatoes happily at supper and even though Ken seems a bit weary of this particular text now that he has read it daily since the 29th.
  
  

Starting the Year off right

Well, it was started off right but maybe not great in terms of reading. Reid was persuasive about writing some of her new dvd shows. Still, we read:

• Santa's Suit: touch-and-feel Christmas fun by Kate Lee and Edward Eaves - Reid is getting to be too old for this book but she is enjoying it but it is probably for 0-3 years old.
• Merry Christmas from Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and illustrated by Pat Schories - Reid got this book through Scholastic and it came with a Biscuit ornament which was given pride of place at the top of the tree, along with Dora and the smallest nesting Santa. This was the first time I read the story and discovered that there were pages at the end to place pictures of our Christmas celebration.
• The Donkey's Christmas Song by Nancy Tafuri - This board book is one of my favourite Christmas stories. The illustrations are lovely and each of the animals offers their song to the baby in the manger, even the donkey with his noisy song, that makes the baby laugh and me, too. Reid likes it, too. It'll be making an appearance next year.
• Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Christmas by Joy Cowley and illustrated by Elizabeth Fuller - The illustrations to this series are odd but appealing nonetheless and the story is bouncy and offers good lines for the cow and the pig and the duck.
• I Will Never NOT Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child - Reid received this book from Melissa and her family. It features Charlie and Lola (characters from a tv show we don't watch) but the story does not depend on knowing who they are. Since Reid is a tomato-lover, it was an apt choice.
• Bear's First Christmas by Robert Kinerk and illustrated by Jim LaMarch - I love this story and its illustrations. Reid was angling for a Clifford book and so I agreed to an extra story if she would sit quietly while I read this one.
  
• The Big Itch, a Clifford the Big Red Dog book, adapted by Allison Inches and illustrated by Robbin Cuddy - Reid received 11 Clifford books for Christmas. They were read at least twice on Christmas Day and are still making appearances.
• The Dog Who Cried "Woof!", a Clifford the Big Red Dog book, adapted by Bob Barkly and illustrated by John Kurtz - We read this one twice at Reid's insistence. She doesn't get the pun in the title but she does love Stinky the Skunk Ghost, just saying it makes her giggle.