Sophie's Current Favorite Reads

I am so grateful that both my kids have grown to be book lovers. For Will, it was pretty natural. For Sophia, it took a little time to win over her attention span. But now she clearly looks forward to our reading and would probably sit and listen as long as I would continue to read to her. I love to hear what she thinks the titles of the books are when she requests them at bedtime. :) I let her select a book and then she'll hop down off my lap after we finish it and choose another before climbing back up.

She usually has one-four new, library books in her room each week, but here are some of her current favorites that we own. She has many of them memorized and loves to fill in the blanks when I pause to let her say the next word.

I Love You, Stinky Face (or just "Tinky Face", as Sophie calls it) by Lisa McCourt

A wonderful "I'd-love-you-no-matter-what" bedtime story with silly and imaginative illustrations. I love how the little girl says "But mama, but mama..." before coming up with another "what if" scenario to see if her mama would still love her then. At the end, the daughter finally says "I love you, mama." And the mother replies "I love YOU, my wonderful child." So sweet.

Just In Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado
Max Lucado if a wonderful author of Christian books for adults and children. This was one I bought and stuck in Sophie's Easter basket. It's very comforting, even if she doesn't understand it all yet. A father is telling his young daughter how glad he is that God made the very important decision of placing her in their family. He tells her God made that decision so that he (the father) could take care of her whenever she was cold, hungry or tired and teach her about God and heaven. He tells her he she can always come to him and he will always love her... "in case you ever wonder". This book just seems like a message that all children need/desire to hear. That they are put here on purpose, that they are safe and loved, that they will always be cared for and that they have an incredible destination to go to (heaven) after this life on Earth.

The Way I Feel (or "Happy, Sad, Angry" according to Sophie) by Janan Cain

This is an excellent book for introducing feelings to a child. I read it in an appropriate tone for each emotion and the illustrations are excellent at portraying them. I recall the hardcover book we originally borrowed from the library having more feelings described in the book, though. This one is a board book and seems a bit abbreviated. But it covers the basics and Sophie can clearly understand them. I've started asking her how each person is feeling as I turn the page. And I'm going to start doing that in other books now that she's grasping this. I want my kids to pay attention to how people around them (or in this case, in story books) might be feeling to help them learn compassion. Often, when Sophie is displaying an obvious emotion on her face, I'll ask Will how he thinks she is feeling. It's good for him to notice. But he's usually very attentive anyway. Will is wonderful at trying to comfort his sister. He's not always successful, but he sure makes a good effort. ;)

I Like to Be Little (or just "Jumping in the Leaves" according to Sophie) by Charlotte Zolotow

I wanted to own this book so badly in hard cover after falling in love with the library's copy. Amazon only carried it new in paperback so I ordered it used from an external seller and wasn't super happy with the condition the seller described as "good". Also, there was still a thrift store price tag on the back bragging to me that the seller bought it for $1 and some change and then sold it to me for about $13. Not sure I'll make a used purchase from Amazon again... But it doesn't change the fact that I LOVE THIS BOOK! And Sophie does too. A little girl tells her mother all the reasons why she likes being little - things that she can do as a child, that grown ups can't/don't. I love how the little girl sums up "I like being little. I like the things that happen." The mother goes on to tell her daughter how she can relive all of those wonderful things as an adult by having a sweet, little daughter like her. Finally, the little girl one-ups her mother by saying she knows something even better than that. She tells her she likes knowing she'll grow up one day. "When you're little, you know you'll grow up. Grown ups already are." But she likes going to bed and dreaming of being just like her mommy. So, so sweet. I simply had to buy it for my daughter.

The Little White Owl (or simply "owl book" in Sophie's words) by Tracey Corduroy

The little, white owl lives all alone - quite content and happy - with his clock, his teddy bear, his adventurous imagination and his toast and jam. One day, he goes exploring to see the world and comes across some bright and colorful owls who initially find him plain and boring. But he insists that he has lots of colors right here in his heart and lots of stories that his imagination has dreamed up. He starts telling the pretty owls lots of stories and they are enamored with his simple happiness. Sophie picks this one A LOT. I'm not sure what specifically is drawing her, but I love using the colorful owls to help teach Sophie the names of colors. She is being stubborn about learning them. Sometimes she seems to know them and other times she ignores my questions. :)

I like writing these book posts to remember where we were with interests and reading level at various ages. It's my (perhaps delusional) hope that the kids might look at this blog one day when they are grown and say "I remember that book!" I love reading books from my childhood to them and just maybe they will feel the same?