Month: October 2007

100 Books your Child should Hear before Starting School

I recently found a post by Emily at Homespun Light about a list of 100 Books Your Child Should Hear Before Starting School. My oldest son just barely turned 3, so will not be starting school for a few years, but it’s never too early to get started! We’ve read less than 30 of them, so it’s nice to turn here for my trip to the library on Friday. The ones we’ve read are in Bold, and the ones I really like are in red.

1. Where’s My Teddy? by Alborough, Jez
2. Miss Nelson is Missing by Allard, Harry
3. Happy Birthday, Moon by Asch, Frank
4. Ten, Nine, Eight by Bang, Molly
5. Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Barrett, Judi
6. The Three Bears by Barton, Byron
7. I Like Myself by Beaumont, Karen
8. Madeline by Bemelmans, Ludwig
9. The Mitten by Brett, Jan
10. Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Bridwell, Norman
11. Stone Soup by Brown, Marcia
12. Goodnight, Moon by Brown, Margaret Wise
13. Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by Burningham, John
14. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Burton, Virginia Lee
15. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Carle, Eric
16. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Christelow, Eileen
17. Miss Rumphius by Cooney, Barbara
18. Freight Train by Crews, Donald
19. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Cronin, Doreen
20. Today I Feel Silly by Curtis, Jamie Lee
21. Strega Nona by De Paola, Tomie
22. Bed Hogs by DiPucchio, Kelly
23. Are You My Mother? by Eastman, P. D.
24. Feathers For Lunch by Ehlert, Lois
25. Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Emberley, Ed
26. Olivia by Falconer, Ian
27. Lunch by Fleming, Denise
28. The Magic Hat by Fox, Mem
29. Corduroy by Freeman, Don
30. Millions of Cats by Gag, Wanda
31. The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Galdone, Paul
32. Barnyard Song by Greene, Rhonda
33. Is Your Mama a Llama? by Guarino, Deborah
34. A First Picture Book of Nursery Rhymes by Harbour, Elizabeth (Illustrator)
35. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Henkes, Kevin
36. Where’s Spot? by Hill, Eric
37. Bread and Jam for Frances by Hoban, Russell
38. Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue? An Adventure in Color by Hoban, Tana
39. Miss Mary Mack by Hoberman, Mary Ann
40. Rosie’s Walk by Hutchins, Pat
41. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Johnson, Crockett
42. Splash! by Jonas, Ann
43. Jump, Frog, Jump! by Kalan, Robert
44. The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Kasza, Keiko
45. The Snowy Day by Keats, Ezra Jack
46. The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Kent, Jack
47. Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock by Kimmel, Eric
48. Leo the Late Bloomer by Kraus, Robert
49. The Carrot Seed by Krauss, Ruth
50. Over in the Meadow by Langstaff, John
51. The Story of Ferdinand by Leaf, Munro
52. Tacky the Penguin by Lester, Helen
53. A Color of His Own by Lionni, Leo
54. Frog and Toad are Friends by Lobel, Arnold
55. Froggy Gets Dressed by London, Jonathan
56. Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Martin, Bill
57. All By Myself by Mayer, Mercer
58. Guess How Much I Love You by McBratney, Sam
59. Make Way for Ducklings by McCloskey, Robert
60. Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! by McPhail, David
61. Martha Speaks by Meddaugh, Susan
62. The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Neitzel, Shirley
63. The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Noble, Trinka
64. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Numeroff, Laura
65. Amelia Bedelia by Parish, Peggy
66. The Kissing Hand by Penn, Audrey
67. The Rainbow Fish by Pfister, Marcus
68. The Little Engine That Could by Piper, Watty
69. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Potter, Beatrix
70. Good Night, Gorilla by Rathmann, Peggy
71. Curious George by Rey, H. A.
72. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Rosen, Michael
73. The Relatives Came by Rylant, Cynthia
74. Grandfather’s Journey by Say, Allen
75. Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Scarry, Richard
76. Where the Wild Things Are by Sendak, Maurice
77. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
78. Duck on a Bike by Shannon, David
79. Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Sharmat, Mitchell
80. It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Shaw, Charles
81. Caps for Sale by Slobodkina, Esphyr
82. Imogene’s Antlers by Small, David
83. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by Steig, William
84. And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Stevens, Janet
85. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Taback, Simms
86. Who’s Counting by Tafuri, Nancy
87. Pigsty by Teague, Mark
88. Polar Express by Van Allsburg, Chris
89. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Viorst, Judith
90. Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Waber, Bernard
91. Farmer Duck by Waddell, Martin
92. Mouse Paint by Walsh, Ellen Stoll
93. Noisy Nora by Wells, Rosemary
94. Knuffle Bunny by Willems, Mo
95. I Went Walking by Williams, Sue
96. A Chair for My Mother by Williams, Vera B.
97. The Napping House by Wood, Audrey
98. Owl Moon by Yolen, Jane
99. Seven Blind Mice by Young, Ed
100. Harry, the Dirty Dog by Zion, Gene

Weekly Children’s Book Review

Boo to a Goose by Mem Fox – Almost Favorite, I wasn’t a big fan of these pictures, but the book was fun. My son really liked it. The ending is hard to figure out and was a silly surprise to see why the boy won’t say boo to a goose.

The Whole Night Through by David Frampton – OK Favorite, this was just an ok book. I liked the fact that after the Tiger talks about staying up all night, he eventually admits he’s tired and goes to sleep…a good message to our children that everyone gets tired, and must go to bed.

Firebears: The Rescue Team by Rhonda Gowler Greene – OK Favorite, this was a cute little book with nice pictures. My son enjoys fire trucks and he also likes teddy bears, so it was a nice rhyming read. Nothing too special though.

My Last Chance Brother by Amy Axelrod – Almost Favorite, this book had a good message at the end about brothers loving each other even after picking on each other all day. My son really thought it was a funny book, and hopefully he won’t start to harass his younger brother like the older brother did in this book.

I Knew Two Who Said Moo by Judi Barrett – OK Favorite, I thought the author did a great job of finding so many rhymes in this book, but my 3 year old didn’t enjoy it that much. I think he enjoys good storylines as opposed to rhyming ones that are silly.

A Taxi Dog Christmas by Debra Barracca – Almost Favorite, I really liked this book and the idea of believing something as far-fetched as Santa driving a Taxi through the sky instead of a sleigh. It made me excited for Christmas and my son liked it too.

The Moon Might Be Milk by Lisa Shulman – Almost Favorite, this was another enjoyable book. My son was interested to hear the different things that the moon might be made of. And he loves cookies, so to find out the moon is probably a big sugar cookie was a fun idea.

Happy Birthday, Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff – Almost Favorite, my son has a birthday this weekend, so he’s rather excited to read about birthday parties. I think we’ve read this before and it’s nothing special, but my boy likes dinosaurs and birthdays so it was good for him.

RecoMonday: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Well, I know I’m one of the last to finish the Harry Potter series, but I thought I’d write a quick entry about it anyway. I absolutely loved the 6th and 7th books of this series. I read both of them in the last few weeks and do not remember the first 4 books being that good! If I had remembered how good they were, I certainly would have been as excited about the new books coming out as others have been. I might go back and read through all of them again to remember everything from before. I read the original 4 books back in college, probably 5 years ago. Then I waited a few years and read the 5th one after it’d been out a while. The last two were a great climax and finish.

J.K. Rowling really came up with a great story and wonderful characters and twists along the way. I was wretchedly sad to think that Harry Potter would have to die at the end of the novel and was happy to find out he didn’t. Ginny and him end up together, which was what I hoped throughout the series, as well as Ron and Hermione. Of course others had to die along the way, but that is the way it goes. Overall a wonderful series that I look forward to reading with my own children when they get old enough.

Weekly Children’s Book Review

A Present for Mom by Vivian French – Almost Favorite, this was a sweet story about 4 children finding Mother’s Day presents

The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five by Stan Berenstain – OK Favorite, I never knew that the Berenstain Bears had another baby until I found this book! My son isn’t as excited about the Berenstain Bears as I am – they were my favorite growing up.

Curious George at the Baseball Game by Margret & H.A. Rey – OK Favorite, we’ve read this one before, but my son still likes George

Beatrice Doesn’t Want To by Laura Joffe Numeroff – Almost Favorite, this was another entertaining book from Laura Numeroff…not one of her best, but a good idea

Santa Claus: The World’s Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee – Favorite, this was a very fun book about Santa Claus with good illustrations

Down the back of the Chair by Margaret Mahy – OK Favorite, this book was a little crazy, but ok for a few reads

Night-night, Emily! by Claire Freedman – Almost Favorite, a story to show how important it is to sleep with our favorite stuffed animal each night. It made me remember how much I liked having my teddy bear when I was younger.

Beady Bear by Don Freeman – Favorite, we’ve read this one before too and it’s one of my son’s favorites

Weekly Children’s Book Review

Walt Disney’s Classic Storybook – Almost Favorite, this book has many abridged Disney stories like Lady & the Tramp, Peter Pan, The Three Little Pigs, etc – my son really enjoyed reading a story each night before bed

Marvin K. Mooney, Will you Please Go Now! by Dr. Seuss – Almost Favorite, Dr. Seuss’s rhyming stories are fun to read sometimes…this one wasn’t too long so we enjoyed it

Little Bunny Foo Foo by Paul Brett Johnson – Favorite, we’ve never sang this song to my son before, but now he loves it! This was a fun story depicting the well known song about “Little Bunny Foo Foo hopping through the forest, scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head”

You’re a Bear by Mavis Jukes – OK Favorite, we’ve gotten this book before and for some reason I got it again thinking we’d liked it…but when I opened it and started reading I realized we hadn’t liked it. A little boring and long for my son who usually likes bear books

It’s Halloween, Dear Dragon by Margaret Hillert – OK Favorite, I think my son liked this because it was about Halloween, but it was a little dull

The Five Chinese Brothers by Claira Huchet Bishop – OK Favorite, this is an old classic story I read growing up, but a little long and confusing for my almost 3 year old

The Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Eggs by Stan Berenstain – OK Favorite, this was a fun easter story with Brother and Sister Bear. My son has been pretending to hatch out of an egg like he’s a little bird in this book