Books

I think that books are so, so important for kids. They can teach them so many things educationally, but they also help them to learn about pretend and exploring their imaginations. I have well over 100 kids books, I started collecting/buying them when I was in my teens while I was working at preschools and in the school districts (I knew I'd have kids eventually!) Maddie goes through phases where she isn't into books and won't sit still through a couple pages let alone an entire book. But then randomly she'll jump into a phase where she is ALL about books, they are all over the house, she has at least one in her arms at all times and she constantly wants to be read to. I have no idea if this is normal and if other kids go through phases like this.....it seems to me that other kids like to be read to....all the time, but I could very well be wrong.

Anyway, right now she is in one of her major book phases. It's nice for me because I LOVE reading, and even more, I love snuggling up with my girl and reading to her. The only issue that I have is that she wants to have me read the same books over and over and over again. I try and introduce new ones, but unless I read the new one first, she doesn't want to have anything to do with it.....she will push it aside and tell me she wants Corduroy, or her wild animals book. After a few times reading a new book, she will start to like it and let me throw it into the rotation, but in the mean time, I get to the point where I have 5 or 6 of her books memorized. Right now her most favorite book is I Love You As Much.... by Laura Krauss Melmed. It is a fantastic book and I honestly could read it over and over again and not get bored of it. The illustrations look like water color paintings and they are beautiful. And I never get tired of Maddie asking for "Lu you much." She loves all the animals (she's really into animals right now) but her favorite is the piture of the mama and baby at the end. Sometimes I walk in on her when she is supposed to be napping and she'll have the book open to that last page with the mama and baby and she's just looking at it......I wish she could tell me what she is thinking when she looks at it. I went to a childrren's consignment sale today and got some clothes and shoes and a doll that has buttons and zippers and laces and of course some new (used) books one of which is Animal Lullabies by Pam Conrad and I am really excited to see if she'll like it. It's another beautifully illustrated book.

Do you have any children's books that your kids adore and you would recommend?