Books Galore

I don't buy my daughter an overabundance of toys, but I don't think you can ever have too many children's books. There are so many great books out there that I find it hard to control myself. I'm always finding new ones at the bookstore, reading about them on blogs or hearing about favorites from friends.

I recently posted my list of favorite kids books but as I'm sure you experience, the little tots discover new favorites every few weeks (much to my relief actually because if I had to read some of them one more time I might go crazy insane!). The book Is There Really a Human Race is still a top contender, but here are some other current favorites...

Caps for Sale
Esphyr Slobodkina

My friend Whitney just shared some of her favorites and one is the delightful book Caps For Sale. Originally copyrighted in 1940, it is a clever little tale about a cap peddler and what happens to his caps one day during a snooze. My daughter and I thoroughly enjoy it. And any time she starts to get bored, I remind her that there are monkeys in the tree and she simmers back down into my lap. Fun little children's book.

A Bear and His Boy
Sean Bryan (Author) & Tom Murphy (Illustrator)

I can't remember where I first came across A Boy & His Bunny but my daughter and I both love it. Now she is loving another book by the same duo, A Bear & His Boy, and we've read it a couple hundred thousand times. We've liked them so much that I just ordered A Girl & Her Gator, and my husband and daughter are reading it now as I get a break to blog. I'm sure we'll be reading it ALL day tomorrow.

Peekaboo Kisses

Barney Saltzberg

My friend Nicole first told me about Animal Kisses when her daughter fell in love with it. I picked one up for my daughter and she is also a fan. Come to find out there are several more including Baby Animal Kisses and the favorite in our house, Peekaboo Kisses, because it has different fabrics/textures like the other books AND it has flaps for the kids to flip. If you just get one, that would be the one to try. Fun for little ones!

ABC: A Child's First Alphabet Book
Alison Jay

And finally, I'm sure you've heard of all the wonderful picture books by Alison Jay. I love her ABC book because each page is full of items starting that page's letter and it's fun to go through and point everything out. We also like her book Picture This.

So ... what to do with all those children's books you're collecting??? In addition to them being strewn throughout the entire house, I've collected three little bamboo shelves to store my daughter's books. You can find them at antique stores from time to time and they have a little more character than a plain set of bookshelves. And if you're lucky you can get a good deal on them so you're spending less than a traditional set. These two are from Pacific Galleries Antique Mall in Seattle.

Would love to know what your favorite children's books are so please post a comment and share!