g's top 10 (or 11) fav-o-rite books

G around 13 months

I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that G loves to read. And by loves, I mean sometimes he's seriously obsessed. Like, if you don't read this book to him right now, he's gonna hurl it at your face. And then bitch you out. And then go get another book, jerk.

G has 30-40 board books that we keep on low shelves in his room. He has access to these books whenever he wants, and usually he'll go after them at least twice a day. Those are the times he asks us to read to him, and that doesn't involve the times he flips through the books on his own or the times we use them as distraction when he's in tantrum mode.

Sometimes I hate talking about how much my kid loves to read because I don't want to seem like I'm bragging. But with G, reading is just a normal thing to do. And his English major nerd mama couldn't be happier. We always made a point of reading to him several times a day as a baby. I guess something stuck.

Anyway, this post isn't about his love of reading but rather his favorite books. We generally let him pick the books to read, though sometimes I'll prod him to read new ones or my own favorites. I thought I'd make a list of G's favorite board books. Keep in mind this doesn't include any of his favorite non-board books, such as an Alice in Wonderland pop-up book that makes his little heart swoon.

In no particular order, here are Grayson's top 10 okay, so 11 favorite board books.

My Many Colored Days
by Dr. Seuss

It's been read so many times, our copy is worn and falling apart. G loves the bright colors and short rhymes on each page. It's also the inspiration for this blog's name because it's the first book G really fell in love with. I love that it teaches kids that there are many emotions we all experience, and each are okay.









That's Not My... series
by Fiona Watt

There are many, many in this series of books. G's first was That's Not My Kitten. But he also has Pirate, Dragon, Tiger, and Elephant. Each page has a different texture for him to touch. He's big on interactive books right now, so these are perfect for him.

Hippos Go Beserk
by Sandra Boynton

We've only scratched the surface of Boynton's work because she's been so prolific, but G particularly likes this one. It's a counting book, and G likes to point to each number as we read. I like that it works on counting both forwards and backwards. Bonus: this book is fun to read aloud!

Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown

It actually took G a while to warm up to this book. I think maybe he found the picture to be too repetitive because he would ask to read it, then abruptly close the book by the third page or so and put it away. Ha. But once we started pointing to specific things in the pictures as we read about them, he became much more interested. Now he asks to read this one and can find the pictures on his own.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
by Bill Martin Jr.

G is crushing huge on the alphabet right now, so this book is right up his alley. He loves that we point to the letters are we read about them. On the last page, we sing the alphabet song and point to each letter. I'm 100% convinced that this book and a tiny alphabet toy he has are the reason he can now identify almost all of his letters. Bonus: this book is also fun to read aloud!

Airplane Flight!
by Susanna Leonard Hill

G loves pretty much any lift-the-flap book, but this one in particular he goes back to again and again due to its larger size. Bonus points for the multicultural characters!

Toes, Ears, and Nose!
by Marion Dane Baver

Another lift-the-flap book. G loves with one in particular because we combine reading with those darn flaps he can touch, along with asking him to show us each body part as well. Unlike a lot of other body parts books, this one gets more specific, such as teeth or back. This book definitely helped G learn his body parts.

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean
by Kevin Sherry

We've sadly lost our copy (so G is now fixated on Sherry's I'm the Scariest Thing in the Castle), but this book definitely racks high on G's list. I'm not sure what he loves about it, but the short phrases and colorful pictures help keep his attention. Bonus points: it made me laugh out loud the first time I read it.

The Grouchy Ladybug
by Eric Carle

This book may seem like a given on any toddler book list, but G actually doesn't care for most of Carle's books. He likes The Hungry Caterpillar as well, but that's about it. The animal flaps definitely keep his attention, and now that he's older, we challenge him to find the tiny ladybug on each page.

I Love You Because You're You
by Liza Baker

This book is utterly sappy, but something about it captivates G. It has a great message about loving your child no matter what they do, good and bad. It does make me roll my eyes a little, but G likes it, so I do too. Plus, it's kinda cute.

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!
by Dr. Seuss

I could put pretty much any Dr. Seuss board book on this list. (the longer ones don't quite hold his attention yet), but he adores this one in particular (and see MMCD above as well). This board book is tiny, so he can easily hold it in his toddler hands and flip through it on his own. Bonus points for being fun to read!

Also awesome: Mr. Brown Can Moo and There's a Wocket in my Pocket.






Okay, so that was 11, not 10! I could have put 20 books on here, so it was difficult to narrow down the list. Next time, G's favorite non-board books.

friday brain dump - look out below!

1. I'm PMSing like whoa right now. This doesn't give me much hope for getting pregnant this cycle. It's only our first time trying after the miscarriage, but I was hopeful for that January baby. Plus, the thought of having a baby with a due date the same month as my miscarriage (February) gives me fits. Anyway, I'm sad at the thought that I have to wait another month for another chance at baby #3. And the closer we get to baby #2's August 15th due date, the more depressed and hopefully about the whole thing I become.
2. I'm wrist-deep in planning for G's second birthday. This at least gives me something on which to focus in these couple of weeks of nothing I have. Invitations are going out today. Once they do, I'll post the invite here so you can see it! All I have left to do now is plan the food.
3. I'm currently a few chapters into Insurgent, the sequel to Divergent by Veronica Roth. I really loved the first book, so I'm hoping the sequel measures up. So far, it's good but not fantastic because the pace is kinda slow. I hope it picks up soon.
4. I'm bumming out right now about all sorts of stuff (see #1 above for maybe the reasons why). Maybe it's because my life is so in limbo and shifting right now. I have so much want in my heart right now and nothing seems to be getting fulfilled. I'm so bad about reaching out to people when I need something. Except for my Mom and the hubs, who take the brunt of my whining and neediness. And Michael, who will always pick up the phone to listen to me bitch but who's halfway across the country.
5. Meh. Gosh, I'm boring right now. Cute pictures of my kid tomorrow.

13 Ways to Raise a Nonreader

My kiddo may not speak much... at all. But he certainly has a love of reading. We started reading to him regularly pretty much as soon as he could focus on something like a book. Now we can read through 10 books, and he's still begging for more.

I'm working on getting my teaching license right now. In my literacy class, we read this list of what NOT to do if you want to have a child who loves reading. It amused me, and also gave me a few things to think about, such as books on tape.

My comments are in italics. Because I can't help myself.

13 Ways to Raise a Nonreader
from The Horn Book Magazine, 2001

1. Never read where your children can see you.
haha, it's hard to read in front of him because he wants to play with my book

2. Put a TV or computer in every room. Don't neglect the bedroom and kitchen.
kinda guilty? we have one in the living room and in our bedroom.

3. Correct your child every time she mispronounces a word.
reading for fun should be for fun!

4. Schedule activities every day after school so your child will never be bored.
if they don't have time to read, they won't read.

5. Once your child can read independently, throw out the picture books. They're for babies.
as a kid, I loved reading a variety of books - picture books, young adult, and a few from the adult section of the library.

6. Don't play board games together. Too dull.
no problem here. we have a huge collection of board games.

7. Give little rewards for reading. Stickers and plastic toys are nice. Money is even better.
I was surprised by this one. No rewards for a reluctant reader?

8. Don't expect your children to enjoy reading. Kids' books are for teaching vocabulary, proper study habits, and good morals.
no-brainer, right?

9. Buy only 40-watt bulbs for your lamps.
ha

10. Under no circumstances read your child the same book over and over. She heard it once, she should remember it.
G knows which books are his favorite. He usually wants to read Wocket in my Pocket four times in a row.

11. Never allow your child to listen to books on tape; that's cheating.
I'll admit, I sometimes think of books on tape as cheating.

12. Make sure your kids only read books that are "challenging." Easy books are a complete waste of time. That goes double for comic books and Mad magazine.
We have a modest but sizable collection of graphic novels and manga. The Mad magazine comment cracks me up, though.

13. Absolutely, positively, no reading in bed.
oh, but that's the best spot!

10 Things of the New Year

What have I been up to the first week of 2011? Nothing terribly exciting, I'm afraid. Really, you can't even tell that it's all that different from 2010.

1. The hubs and I celebrated our second anniversary by going out to a quick dinner. I had filet mignon. He had fries drenched in cheese and bacon. All was well.

2. I had to adjust to the hubs going back to work on Monday. It's just been g and I during the day. I'm more exhausted than when I have Dave to help me out, but I love having g all to myself. We've been having a grand time.

3. Dealing with g's refusal of sleep. He fights naps, even on teh boob. He wakes up more during the night than he has in a long time. It's rather exhausting. I'm just not in the mood to wake up to my seven-month-old happy-screaming through the monitor at 3 am.

4. On the plus side, G has learned how to pitch himself forward while sitting to grab onto a toy or onto us. It seems like a precursor to what might eventually be something mimicking crawling. Maybe. In any case, he's often successful at grabbing said toy. Sometimes he falls down a lot. Onto his face. He doesn't seem to mind, though, as he's fantastic at rolling back onto his back.

5. He's also wrapping his arms around our necks and smooshing his face into our faces/necks/chests/shoulders. I can't figure out if he's trying to kiss/hug me or eat my face off.

6. We took G swinging for the first time. It looked something like this:

He rather liked it, as I thought he would. This is the kid who loves for his daddy to jostle him about. He's going to love some wrestling later on, I can tell. He was all smiles. (And yes, my kid is not wearing socks outside in January. It was really warm that day!)

7. I started a reading challenge. You can follow the progress here. I didn't really like any of the other reading challenges I'd heard about, so I made my own. My goal is to read all of the Newbery Award winners of each year since the year I was born. 30 (counting this year's winner) middle grade books in a year. I can totally do that. I think.

8. I go back to work on Monday. BOO, HISS. I'm mostly prepared, though I need to finish my second syllabus this weekend. I'm teaching three classes, which is one more than last semester. Teaching a full load (and finding the time to grade) while watching after G almost full time is going to be difficult. I can totally do this too! ...Maybe.

9. Lots of daydreaming is happening around here. About the summer with a one-year-old and oh, all the things I want to do with him. About the beach of Gulf Shores and my cousin's wedding in Miami. Flying with G for the first time. Dipping his toes in the ocean for the first time! Going to the pool. Getting his own kiddie pool. Going to the park and zoo. Is it Spring yet? It really needs to warm up around here already. I'm done with this winter business. My baby needs to go outside!

10. Okay, ten. Let's see. We're taking G to a restaurant for the first time tomorrow. Oh my gosh wish us luck.

30 days of truth: it all started with that book

Because I can.

I've jumped on board the 30 Days of Truth meme in an effort to talk a bit more about my self, not just G. Some of these will be really difficult to discuss, and a lot of them will be real downers, so I've chosen one that's more positive for my first foray.

You can find the complete 30 Days list in the links at the top of the blog. I'll link each day to the corresponding blog entry.

Here goes.

Day 17: A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.

It all started with a book, really. Though it was more like four books stuck together in one set. They sat on the top shelf of the living room in the double-wide trailer where I grew up, above the small fish tank. There weren't many books on that shelf, mostly other odds and ends like an old cigarette container or a metal sailboat.

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. Tolkien is a series that has been sensationalize by the movies. But I first met those stories as a little girl who would stare up at them where they were too high to grab. They belonged to my father, who is someone I've never seen read much, and he wouldn't let me read them. Now, this was quite devastating to a girl who would read anything and everything, especially at the age of ten or eleven. I would read the backs of cereal boxes and shampoo bottles with relish. My dad said I was too young, and so I waited.

Finally, when I was about eleven, he gave me the copies, an old 1960s set in gold, and let me read them. I read them through, and read them again. And read them again. I read them so much that some of the covers fell off. My parents took them away and wouldn't let me read them for a while, but they eventually gave them back and I read them again. I was seriously addicted. I hadn't read anything like it.

Up until the point, I hadn't written much of anything except a few stories for school. The thought of writing had seriously not crossed my mind. But I was so entangled with The Lord of the Rings that when they ended, I didn't want them to end. So I created my own continuation of the story. Yes, the first thing I wrote was LotR fanfiction, though I didn't know what fanfiction was back in the very early 90s. I liked my story so much that a few chapters in I decided to cut out the LotR characters and make it my own. Thus my first novel, The Great Awakening, was born. It really was awful, but it was my first book, and I love it dearly for that. I still have the first few chapters written out on wide-ruled paper in my large childish hand.

There were other careers I wanted as a kid - astronaut, elementary school teacher, marine biologist - but writer overcame all of them. Because of these four books, I majored in English and got a master's degree in creative writing. These books shaped the rest of my life. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today. I wouldn't have the same likes and dislikes, the same life goals, the same wants. I wouldn't be a blogger, I wouldn't have met most of the people I know now, I wouldn't have my current job.

That set of The Lord of the Rings now sits on my own self. We have a whole collection of Tolkien books, including many sets of LotR alone. One day I hope to entice my son to read them. "Not yet, Grayson," I'll tell him when he's little. "Get a little bit older and they're all yours."