Oh, how I wish I had had the foresight to do something like this every so often once Josephine became a book lover! I mentioned a few of her current favorites in the Holiday Giving Guide for the Wee Ones, but it was something I should have kept writing down. I am hoping to keep it up from here on out, because it has been so much fun to see which books stay in her "favorites" rotation and the new books that come out of nowhere and must be read ten bazillion times a day. It has been a lot of fun watching her choose her favorites, and I definitely want to remember them! So here we have what is hopefully the first installment in "Josephine's Current Favorite Books!":
Moo Baa La La La was one of the first books that Josephine "memorized," and she still loves to "read" it to us. Sometime if we're in the car and just say part of the book, she will go off on a big long recitation of all the animal noises in the rest of the book (in order!). She knows what's coming before we even turn the pages. Kills me. My favorite might be her rendition of the three singing pigs who say "La la la!" Love her little La Las.
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late is one of the books I was all excited about ordering for Christmas, and was CERTAIN she would love. And she does! This is another book she has memorized. It is a "bedtime only book" (we have a stack of books in our bedroom that are half all-time "bedtime only," like Goodnight Moon and half that I rotate in a out. Jeremy picks up a stack and lets her pick which to read that night. This is ALWAYS one of the choices!). My favorite parts of her recitation are when the pigeon shouts "I'M NOT TIRED!" and Josie throws back her head and shouts along, and when the pigeon starts yawning mid-sentence. Josie knows EXACTLY when the yawns are coming, and does a great yawn! There is also a page where the pigeon says, "I know, let's count the stars!" and Josie leans back her head and looks to the sky to count the stars.
She also loves Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
and The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too!
She also has these memorized and will randomly shout one of the lines during the day and then we recite the rest of the book together. It's pretty much the greatest thing ever.
We got One Drowsy Dragon as a first birthday present from an Aunt and Uncle of Jeremy's, and I had never heard of it before we got it. The basic premise is one dragon really wants to sleep while the others are being noisy. Josie seems to like the voice I use for the Drowsy dragon, because I make him really disgruntled. She stares at the book until it's time for the Drowsy Dragon to shout something, then she whips her head around and looks at me and laughs. She has requested this book MULTIPLE times a night (also a "bedtime only" book) for the past few MONTHS.
Oh, Dr. Suess. Jeremy loves to tell the story of how I begged him not to read her any Dr. Suess right before bed when she was younger because it got her "riled up." I only wanted him reading sing-songy books to soothe her, but now that she's older, I guess she can handle the zany bouncy rhythms of Suess right before lights out. :) I was shocked the first time she sat all the way through this book (it's LONG!) but she asks for encore performances most nights, and sits quietly listening. Amazing!
This is a sappy, rhyming book that I bought Josephine for this past Valentine's Day, and it has made its way into the "bedtime" pile because she was requesting it. She sits very quietly while we read this to her, and I have to admit that I can make it all the way through to the end, but the last page? I choke up every time and have a hard time getting out the last few words ("I love all that you will be and everything you are" SOB).
The first time I read this book after buying it for Josephine, I was like, Huh. Kids like this? because it is simple and also a little mean (that poor hippopotamus gets left out of EVERYTHING!). The first time I read it to her, however, it was a HUGE hit. The last pages read "Yes! The hippopotamus! ... But not the armadillo" and we have a new left-out animal. For some reason, this is HILARIOUS to her. She loves to recite those two sentences, and her "not the armadillo voice is low and gravely and she shakes her head while saying it, and then she laughs and laughs and laughs. She does it out of nowhere, all the time. In the grocery store, in the bath, you name it; all of a sudden, the hippopotamus and armadillo will pop into her head, and it's all over.
Thanks for taking this very booky journey with me. There are lots more books Josephine loves, but these seem to be our can't-miss hits these days. I love how much she loves them. :)
I loved this book called "Jake Baked a Cake". I knew every word by heart. So did both my siblings. That one book took such a beating over about 10 years, but you know it was loved.
ReplyDeleteWe'll have to get that one!
Delete"Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" was a favorite of Lillian's. Mine, too.
ReplyDeleteI know, it's hilarious! :)
DeleteYes, I remembered Moo Baa vividly the first time I read it to her. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely! When I was in the 3rd grade, my dad helped me start a book log. I have a list of all the books I read from 3rd grade through college (and then I got bad at keeping track). As I got older, the system got more advanced (I rated books and listed books I reread and noted how many timed I'd read them, etc.). Maybe you can do something like this for Josie :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a fabulous idea, Mari! I will definitely be doing that with Josephine!
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