Books We're Reading

Today I'd like to sing the praises of author Eric Carle, writer and illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?  These books have all the stops and there's a reason they've sold millions and millions of copies. They both have bright beautiful pictures in a collage medium that makes me nostalgic for Ezra Jack Keats', The Snowy Day. The Hungary Caterpillar teaches the days of the week.  It teaches numbers.  It promotes healthy eating.  It demonstrates metamorphosis.  And Liv loves putting her little fingers in the holes as he eats his way through the pages.   When she picks up the book she goes straight to the last page and coos at the beautiful butterfly.  She adores Brown Bear, Brown Bear, equally.  She loves the sing-song rhythm of the verses and the big animals on every page.  Mom loves the idea that horses can be blue and cats can be purple.  It promotes imagination and simple, clean design.  Not only is it fun to read aloud, it is visually stimulating, as well.  We brought a handful of English board books down for Liv, and these are the two she spends the most time with.

Some of my clearest first memories were reading books with my mom.  I'm excited to perpetuate this important tradition with my own little girl.  She shows great interest in her books and I can't wait to cultivate the richness of language in her life.