Book Wrap Up 2010

This is a post about the books the girls and I checked out of the library in 2010.  I think we read a lot during the year, but the ones that we own, we tend to read over and over again.  So I don't keep a list of those titles, but I do keep a list on the girls' bedroom wall of all the books that they've checked out of the library.

Checking books out of the library with Hadley and Harper is what I would imagine what looking for a wedding dress during a Filene's Basement sale is like.  I just kind of grab things.  This is because I need to keep an eye on what the girls are doing.  It's hard for me to page through carefully before I decide whether we'll bring a book home.  Our library has a big fish tank, and large magnetic letters to play with, and a cozy spot with great climbing chairs around a coffee table that the girls hang out at.  They read books at the library, sure, but it's also a chance to roam.

So I'm not always sure of what I'm going to get when we come home and dump out our bag of books.  Which is for me, part of the fun.  It reminds me of what I used to do when I came home from the library when I was a kid.  Something about a big stack of books has always made me happy.

This year, we met some great characters in the books we checked out.  We liked Shakeeta from The New Girl and Me by Jacqui Robbins (Hadley soon wanted an iquana after reading this story). Both Hadley and Harper loved Bernice the pygmy hippo from Ninety-Three in My Family by Erica Perl.  Hadley had lots of questions about how one might take care of a pygmy hippo if one were to have one as a pet.  And we got to know Sophie in Snip, Snip Snow by Nancy Poydar pretty well, too.  We checked this book out a couple of days before the big snow storm this year and ended up renewing the book due to not being able to get to the library on time to return it.

My favorite library book of the year was In A Blue Room by Jim Averback.  I could read this one over and over again.  I love how the mother in the story uses something from the five senses to lull her child to sleep - flowers, a soft blanket, a cup of tea.  I also love the poetry of the story.  My only regret is that Harper was too young to hear this one.  As I re-read it yesterday, the child in the book loving all things blue has real significance for me now as this is true of Harper today.  So I will have to make sure we either own this book or I check it out of the library again so Harper can see that there is another person who loves the color blue as much as she does.

One of Hadley's favorites books from the library this year was Go Bugs Go! by Jessica Spanyol.  Bugs with names like Jo-Jo, Clemence, and Giorgia move around in cars, trains, and planes, and get themselves in all kinds of trouble.  There are about 300 hundred little pictures on every page, with funny dialogue between Jo-Jo and company.  It reads a lot like what Hadley and Harper sound like when they are playing so I can see why she liked it.

We read a lot of great books this year, and I look forward to what we'll check out in 2011.  I was able to grab a copy of Jerry Pinkney's The Lion and the Mouse yesterday when I was at the library, so I am excited to see what the girls think of this one. 

I'll end with a little video of Hadley reading Pete the Cat ("Notes from Naptime" readers, I apologize for the repeat).  This wasn't a book from the library, but it was a favorite of 2010.  The girls got it as a gift this year from their Aunt Kellee and Uncle Geoff.  Just like the books I check out from the library, the books we get as gifts are always surprises, too.  Sometimes it's because I don't know the stories, but other times it's because I don't know how much the girls will enjoy the story.  In Pete's case, he was a true winner this year.

Books Read From the Library in 2010:
Oh No! Gotta Go #2! by Susan Middleton Elya
Truck by Donald Crews
The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow
Say It! by Charlotte Zolotow
Probably Pistachio by Stuart J. Murphy
Crictor Tomi Ungerer
Baseball Hour by Carol Nevius
White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt
Ninety - Three in My Family by Erica Perl
My Very Big Little World by Peter H. Reynolds
One Beanby Ann Rockwell
Watermelon Day by Kathi Appelt
Mama's Coming Home by Kate Banks
Trainstop by Barbara Lenmen
In A Blue Room Jim Averbeck
Go Bugs Go! by Jessica Spanyol
Previously by Allan Ahlberg
Snip, Snip, Snow! by Nancy Poydar
Wake up, Wilson Street by Abigail Thomas
Oh, Look! by Patricia Polacco
The New Girl and Me by Jacqui Robbins
Swimming Sal by Carol Molski
New Shoes for Silvia by Johanna Hurwitz
The Secret of the First One Up by iris Armo
Franklin's Neighborhood by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson
Elephants Never Forget by Anushka Ravishanka
Geraldine's Big Snow by Holly Keller
Fancy Nancy's Fancy Words from A-Z by Jane O'Connor
Summer's End by Maribeth Boelts
The Toolbox by Anne and Harlow Rockwell