Favorite Books: May 2018

I love finding a book that I can't put down no matter what else is going on (or being destroyed)! Even more than that, I love when my kids find a book that they can't get enough of or want to read a million times over again. These are the ten books that we've wanted to read again, and again this month!

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Chris Van Dusen is one of our family's favorite authors! His writing is almost musical because of the rhythm and rhymes. We recently discovered The Circus Ship, and we can't get enough of it! This is one of those books that my kids never get tired of listening to, and I never get tired of reading. Their very favorite page is finding all fifteen circus animals hiding on the little island. 

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All of the Dino-Sports books are great, but Dino-Baseball is our current favorite. It is written so cleverly, but the illustrations are my favorite part! It is too funny imagining dinosaurs playing sports. I love seeing a tiny compsognathus playing against a giant brachiosaurus! 

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My husband's third grade teacher read this aloud to his class everyday after lunch. Matt said he couldn't wait for lunch and recess to be over so he could get back in the classroom to hear what happened next. John Midas has been given the "Midas touch" and everything he puts in his mouth turns into chocolate. He quickly realizes this might not be as fantastic as it seems.  Matt loved being able to read this to our 5-year-old! We also enjoy pretending that our vegetables turn into chocolate at the dinner table! This is a great book for teaching kids the importance of eating healthy food. 

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 These National Geographic Kids books are very quick reads for adults, but they pack in a lot of interesting information and beautiful pictures. After reading this a few times, Camden was able to read them on his own. He is obsessed with all creatures, but spiders are especially interesting to him. 

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 The Wild Kratts books are really great for my emergent reader! There are new words like "predator" or "camouflage," but the language is very simple and easy to read based on the picture clues. Camden is obsessed with the Wild Kratts show, so naturally, he loves these books too. 

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Everything written by Eric Carle is amazing, but this is a great book for my spider-obsessed little ones. The spider is working very very hard while everyone around him wants him to play. 

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The boys are trying their very best to convince me that we need a pet; I think that's why they identify with this book so much. Camden really wants a dog! I love the irony of a family of frogs going to a pet store to pick out a family pet. 

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This is my 2-year-olds very favorite book! He reads it to himself a dozen times as he falls asleep at night, and demands we read it several times a day. The main character is getting ready for bed while pretending he is Batman. The illustrations are so perfectly done because the little boy mimicks whatever Batman is doing. Like, Batman cleans up the city by locking the Joker in jail, while the little boy cleans up his toys and locks his toy box.  

 

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Camden and Brayden are the best of friends and the worst of enemies. We try to get two of everything, because I'm tired of the bickering and fighting over toys. Anytime the boys start arguing about a toy, I remind them of what happened to Llama Llama when he wasn't sharing. It's been great to apply to our daily lives! 

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This book was my personal fave this month. I love the Read Aloud Revival podcasts, but reading the book helped me gain a much greater understanding of the importance of reading with my children. I felt encouraged and empowered to place books as the center of our family and home. We have always made reading a priority, but after finishing this book, I've been more conscious about making sure we get time to read together. 

Happy Reading!