Tuesday, April 25, 2006

"Where The Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak


This book is about my son. Bowden is Max. Of course I have to put this book in, but really, I love this book in a totally different way since Bowden became a wild thing himself.
He loves to have me read this to him, but he's a little afraid of the Wild Things. He's a quite sensitive boy sometimes, when he's not roaring at the birds in our bird feeder.
Everyone knows this book, so I won't say more about it.
Bowden likes the scene where the Wild Things and Max are hanging from the trees during their rumpus.
(HarperCollins Publishers, 1963)

"Happy Baby;Touch, Feel And Say"


There are four books in the collection I own- "Bunny and Friends," "Puppy And Friends," "Duckling And Friends," and "Kitten And Friends." I received them as a baby shower present from someone from our wonderful Trinity Presbyterian Church about a month after we began to attend.
These were the first books I read to Bowden. I'd prop him up with pillows on our bed, and read the little captions, and then move his hand to feel the textures when he was three months old. He would be attentive the entire time- he would be still and quiet and completely satisfied. I think I did it at least every other day. I read it to Lucy now, and have since she was three months old, but not as regularily as I did with Bowden. She gets diastracted if he's around, and so my time to read it without him is limited.
I don't know that I would give these books the credit for Bowden's advanced language comprehension skills, but they made it easy for us to interact at a point when he didn't do much but cryeatpoopcryeatsleepcrysmilecrysleepeateateat. I try to buy these books for new parents.
Bowden still loves these books, and has me read him the set every few days. He likes to growl at all the animals, even if they aren't growlers.

"Old Hannibal And The Hurricane" by Berthe Amoss


This book reads so nicely- so smooth and sweet, and it demands an Irish baroque. I love reading this book to Bowden, and I try to get him to pick it more than he wants.
I don't know of any "bedtime" book for children of Bowden's age that makes it so easy to read the drama. I have no idea where we got this book- probably a hand-me-down from someone at the P.D. judging from the way it just showed up at my house, but I am glad we have it.
Bowden loves a good sea story, but who doesn't?
(Hyperion Books For Children, 1991)

"Danny And The Dinosaur" by Syd Hoff


I can never really figure out if Syd Hoff wrote the story, and then drew the pictures, or if he drew the pictures and put them together into some kind of story. I'm guessing the latter, because this book, and some of his others, read a little like dubbed kung-fu movies.
And I like that.
Apparently, so does Bowden. This book was on the bedtime story rotation for a very long time, and I grew to like it more and more. I love the way the dinosaur is a very soft and fuzzy character...almost like a plush brontosaurus instead of a fierce reptile. I don't even think the dinosaur is a representation of any real dinosaur, but it's a good book.
Bowden now believes that he can find a dinosaur somewhere and take it home.
(Scholastic, 1958)

"Paddle-To-The-Sea" by Holling Clancy Holling


Josh saw this book somewhere and was very excited about it- this was back in our about-to-have-our-first-child excitement, and he really wanted to get it, but at the time we didn't have the money.
Then we saw it in the window of a little shop on Church Street, used, and literally ran in to get it.
It's beautiful...creative... and has Josh's Lake Champlain in it, so how could we not adore it? This book says a lot about what kind of boy we hope Bowden grows up to be.
Bowden likes canoes, and this book has that.
(HoughtonMifflin Company, 1941)

Monday, April 24, 2006

"Horton Hatches The Egg" by Dr. Seuss


I never read this book as a child. It wasn't until someone from the St. Albans P.D. gave us a load of books that I even really knew about it. I think we read this book to Bowden every night for a few months, and it is long.
I got to the point where I was reciting much of it, and not reading it, and I found myself repeating lines to it in my head during the day, like you would with any good poem. One of my favorites,
"H-m-m-m...the first thing to do, "murmured Horton,
"Let's see....
The first thing to do is to prop up this tree
And make it much stronger. That has to be done
Before I get on it. I must weigh a ton."
It's a very handy thing to say when climbing trees with your child. Try it.
Bowden likes the happy ending.
(Random House, 1940)

"Dinotopia" by James Gurney


I first saw this book on a trip to the La Brea tar-pits with my school- it was in the Natural History Museum.
I am not the biggest fan of dinosaurs, but this book is so amazingly beautiful, and the fairytale-ness of it made me adore it. I was 14 or so, and the book was about 50 dollars, so I read it, too long, as the rest of the class went around looking at stuffed creatures and rocks, and then left it there.
When I got to be a big person, as I am now, I bought the book for myself using way too much of a paycheck, but it is worth it- the story is interesting, but the pictures are amazing. Bowden "reads" this book more than any other- he may think that dinosaurs and people actually coexist happily somewhere, but why not? He believes in Widjiwats.
Bowden likes the baby dinosaurs, of course, and the pictures of the "Skybax" dinosaurs and riders.
(HarperCollins Publishers, 1992)

"What Was That!" by Geda Bradley Mathews, pictures by Normand Chartier


Josh and I found out that we were pregnant, and immediately began thinking of the books we wanted to read our new baby- this was one of Josh's favorite books as a child, and conjures up all kinds of glad memories of his childhood. It's about three bear brothers who get frightened by noises in the night, and comfort each other by explaining them as good night-time noises. I love it because of how Bowden gets so into it- he seems worried at the noise, and then satisfied with how they become cozy, pleasant sounds. And it uses the word "skedaddle."
Bowden brings me this book and describes it, laughing in anticipation, with "They skedaddled out of bed and swoosh!"
(Western Publishing, 1975)

"Who Do You See?" by Annie Paulson



My mother is a kindergarten teacher, and when I was growing up she was a preschool teacher, which is why this book came to be. It is very tumbled and crumbled, but that's only because my sister and I loved it so much.
It's easy to do with your kids- my mom went to the zoo with us and had us take pictures of different animals, then put them together, like this,
"Flamingo, Falmingo, who do you see?"
"I see monkey looking at me!"
And so on. (Just as a sidenote, my parents always told my sister and I that we were really monkeys from the zoo who had taken the place of the real Sarah and Rosie, and we believed them.)
The best part in this book is the ending with our dog, Bop. How's that for a twist, hmm?
Bowden loves animals, and his favorite are the flamingos- not the bears or elephants.

"Skippyjon Jones" by Judy Schachner


Once I began reading to Bowden, I discovered that he appreciated any voice I could make up for any character. This is good, since I talk in my own voice only 15 percent of the time.
So when I was walking through Borders and found this book, full of crazy voices and crazier characters (a cat who thinks he's a bird, and then thinks he's a chihuahua?!) I fell in love, and bought it for myself as a birthday present.
I have read this book to Bowden millions of times, to my mom, to random children in the street (well, the kids I sometimes baby-sit) and to our teenage staff kids here at camp, and everyone loves it.
Bowden likes to be called "Mr Fluffer-Nutter" by me, just like Skippyjon.
(Dutton Children's Books, 2003)

"I Am Too Absolutely Small For School" by Lauren Child


I'll admit it- I saw the "Charlie and Lola" cartoon before I read this book, and I loved it, so I bought the book for the monkeys(aka Bowden and Lucy). I love how Charlie is with Lola- he is what I hope Bowden will be for Lucy. Lauren Child does an amazing job- the pictures are mostly collages and some of the patterns used have a little vintage feel.
Bowden loves this book and has an imaginary brother and sister named Charlie and Lola.
(Candlewick Press, 2003)