What are we reading today?

I love to read, absolutely adore it. My idea of relaxing, even in between exams, has always been to read. I’ve never owned an MP3 player, and don’t use my phone (much to the horror of one of my friends) for music because….I just plain ol’ love to read.

And I’m hoping to pass the love of reading on to Roz and so far I must admit that we’re not doing too bad.

Then again, maybe when she gets too old for books with pictures, this whole thing will die down.

But that’s very pessimistic of me, isn’t it?

At the moment, Roz’s shelf of books is now spilling into two shelves, which is great and I thought I’d share some of her favourite books tonight

1. The cat in the hat

  This is our go to book.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Dr Seuss books and The cat in the hat was one of the very first books I ever read as a child. We have tons of Dr Seuss books and I ope to add more, but The cat in the hat is definitely my favourite.

I love reading it to her and get a thrill every time she tells me to finish the whole book. We also love Green eggs and ham and use that one especially to get Roz to try out new foods. Works every time.

My favourite line from TCITH?

it is fun to have fun, but you have to know how.

Why? I don’t know. I just love the way it seems such a serious phrase but is so silly. If I ever have another child, I’m definitely crocheting thing one and thing two jumpers for them

2. The way back home

This was the first Oliver Jeffers book we ever got and now we also have Lost and found (another firm favorite) and How to catch a star. Lost and fond was made into a short animated movie and is also worth having. only 30 minutes and very calming.

The only reason we don’t have more is that we like the board back versions and only seem to find soft cover versions.

I like how he tells enough of a story to make it funny for both the parent and the child and his illustrations are terrific.

3. Safe at home

Krys is always surprised how much Roz likes this book. It’s a book full of the dangers around the house, from drawers full of knives to getting tied up in curtain cords, but Roz just likes it a lot.

I think it’s the flaps that she likes because this is the only flap book she has.

And the polar bears are adorable, what’s there not to like?

Not much of a story, actually no story at all, but hey, Ikea are a furniture/home store, not a book publisher for a reason I guess..

4. Whatever next?

This is a great night time read about a baby bear’s trip to teh moon in a home made rocket ship.

Every time we read this book, Roz tries to build her own rocket the next day and packs herself a picnic for her trip.

I love how it’s really slow and soft and gentle and makes me sleepy too.

5. The haunted house

I adore this book!

We don’t have it in the house, it’s actually in our Doctor’s waiting room and every time we go there, we read it over and over again.

I would have thought Roz would be afraid of a story about ghosts but she just loves it.

And I enjoyed the plot twist as well… and for a circa ten page book, it’s hard to come up with a good plot twist but Kazuno pulled it off!

6. How to heal a broken wing

We have three Bob Graham books. This one, Max and let’s get a pup! 

Roz likes them.

Big, lots of colour, lots of small details…

The stories are okay and Krys likes to read this one to her a lot but I’m not a great fan. I like story, not pictures.

I do like the fact his books have really good messages though and the illustrations are beautifully done.

7. Comet in Moominland

I used to have all the Moomin books as a child.

This has very few pictures but Roz likes it.

My sister got me a collection of the stories last year for my birthday because I lost all mine years ago either to her scribbling over them or them getting lost, so I was really touched by the gesture.

I started reading them in December and Roz told me to read them out loud to her. We could only manage a chapter or two before she got bored as they are actually pitched for preteens, but she really likes this book.

Strange.

I enjoyed reading them to her anyway, despite the fact there are very few drawings, I used my imagination and voice to bring the book to life.

It was fun. And so nostalgic.

8. The Magic Finger

Okay, so Roald Dahl is one of my all time favourite writers.

I hadn’t read this book before and came across it on the bookshelf of the house we rented last year in Spain.

Krys was out hiking and Roz and I curled up on the porch swing and read teh whole book from start to finish.

I read it, closed the book, a few seconds passed and Roz said,

“Mummy, can we read it again?”

And I did, twice more.

When we got back home, I bought it for me ahem her and it was well worth it. This book is fantastic and when you add voices and gestures, it rocks!

From the moment I read The witches when I was eight, I have loved Roald Dahl.

We tried reading fantastic Mr Fox but Roz loves the movie so much that the book leaves her flat.

I can’t wait till she’s old enough for us to read The twits, Mathilda, George’s marvellous medicine, the BFG, Charlie and the chocolate factory and so many many more of his books. Especially Revolting Rhymes which just cracks me up every time. The man was a genius.

And Quentin Blake’s illustrations…well, I can’t imagine the books without him.

9. Duck, death and the tulip

This is a strange one.

Roz and Krys went for a walk in Glasnevin cemetary and then went to the library to look up a book about death.

This is what they found and it’s beautiful.

It basically says death is with us all our lives and we just have to get comfortable with it, which is a lovely philosophy to have.

It’s pitched at children and is really beautifully illustrated and doesn’t offer any answers,it’s great for introducing the topic of death which let’s face it, is our constant companion.

And after spending the last four weeks writing an essay about  bereavement and loss, I find that I am more willing to make this an every day topic in our lives.

Being humanist/atheist, death is always the heartbreaking end because I know that will be the end, but it is part of life, so nothing to be feared and I can’t run away from it.

After all, the statistics on death are astounding. 1 out of every 1 person dies, so we have to get talking about it.

10. Big mean mike.

This is Roz’s all time favourite book.

Krys took her to our favourite bookshop last year and asked her to pick out a book for herself and she chose this.

He asked was she sure and she said yes!

And seeing as how once you give someone a choice, you should really keep your word, he bought it for her.

It’s a fantastic book.

eIt’s about Mike, the biggest meanest dog in the neighbourhood who drives a big mean car that he loves to rev several times.

He wears big spiky boots and a spiky collar and that’s the way he likes it. Again, excellent plot twist that had me laughing out loud. It’s a great book, I can’t recommend it enough.

So, what was meant to be a short post has turned long., but I enjoyed that.

I hope you get a chance to read some of the books and if you can recommend any to me, I would love to get more for Roz.