Picture Book Challenge Week #1

So we are done with week #1 of our 300 picture books in 2014 challenge hosted by Child Led Chaos. This week was pretty easy since all books read were considered “new,” at least the first time we read them this week.  I’m only counting them if I’ve actually read them to one of the girls, and this week I’ve read 15. That’s a pretty decent number, especially considering that these days J is usually reading to me from one of her longer books. I enjoyed keeping track of what we were reading on Goodreads.

Looking at the books now, it really is a random smattering of books – some pulled from our shelves, some library. As they get older, there really does seem to be a desire to only read new picture books, so  most of J’s books are ones we picked from the library and E is pulling randomly from her bookshelf at bedtime. Some of these books I love and some I dread when I see them for the umpteenth time.  I’m not going to go into great depth on all of them, but I will say a few words about some.

Corduroy is always a favorite. Classic, timeless and always wonderful.

Isabella: Star of the Story is a fun book that I talked about on a previous post. Every time we go to the library, E pulls this one off of the shelf. It is currently still in the “new” section so it is really easy to find, but she just loves it. The pictures are bright and colorful and it takes us into so many stories that we already love.

Fairy Houses is was a wonderfully sweet book. A little girl goes on vacation with her family and her parents tell her there will be a special treat waiting for her. The treat is that people have built fairy houses and that people are encouraged to build more houses as long as they adhere to the rules of not using pieces that are alive or artificial. The girl, Kristen, starts to build a house and each day she adds to her creation. Each day, she also comes back and finds animals enjoying the pieces that she has put onto her fairy house. It is wonderful reminder to be kind to nature and to find joy in outdoor activities

Bear Snores On is the first in a series that a close friend gave us. This is my favorite of all of those books and incredibly fun to read. A cast of animals comes into a hibernating bear’s cave and have a party while he sleeps. When he wakes up unexpectedly, he is very upset to have been left out of the fun. It has great rhythm and places to use voices. A great winter-time book.

The Mitten is also a great classic tale that is winter appropriate. A little boy asks his grandmother to knit him a pair of white mittens and when he loses one in the snow, a number of animals find their way into it, stretching it way past capacity. It is fun to look through the pictures and see what other items you can see and to watch the little boy in the side images, completely unaware of the home his mitten has become. I love that at the end he gives his grandmother both mittens – one completely stretched out and one normal.

Sunshine Makes the Seasons, Mary Walker Wears the Pants, I Want to Go to the Moon and Manfish are non-fiction picture books that I will be talking about on a slower basis for my non-fiction picture book challenge. We got a lot of really great books at the library to end our winter vacation and will continue to have great fun with this challenge.

To see more of the week 1 linked blogs, click here.