January Reading

These are some of the books we've been enjoying this month:

A Birthday for Frances by Russell Hoban - This one launched us on a re-read of all the Frances books, there's a Frances craze at our house right now with us singing little bits of the great quirky songs in the books constantly.

Penny and Patch from the Breyer Stablemates series. M has a large collection of horses that include everything from realistic Safari Farm models to the purplest, glitteriest My Little Pony's you can imagine and they are one of the toys she plays with consistency, typically daily. Horsey school (where the horses go to preschool) and horse doctor a lot.

Big Green Pocketbook by Candace Ramsom - this has been a library favorite for over a year and we're thrilled to have our own copy now

Time for Ballet - another library favorite. M has been taking ballet since August and she typically adores it although she's been less entusiastic about class lately.

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems - M had this one memorized in a matter of days. The pigeons excuses for not going to bed sound so much like her that we've all been thoroughly amused. We have a copy of Willem's Knuffle Bunny and it is a frequent read at our house. We'd never read any of the pigeon books, but we went to the library days after she received this one and checked out The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. They are also hits.

Mama Coming and Going by Judith Caseley - M loves to laugh at the mom in the book who feels like she's loosing her mind after having a second child. She keeps asking me if I'm going to be crazy after our baby is born and I tell her I probably will.

Henry and Mudge and the Big Sleepover by Cynthia Rylant - This is one I would never have predicted M would like since all the characters are boys and she is generally anti-boy right now, but she loves it.. She picked it off the shelf because it had pictures of kids having a sleep over, something she keeps asking to do and my already sleep-deprived self resists.

The Pea Patch Jig by Thatcher Hurd - A group of mice have a party in the garden where they live but the baby keeps causing trouble.

Sugar Snow - a Laura Ingalls Wilder picture book adaptation

Math for all Seasons by Greg Tang - This book has great counting and simple addition exercises. I wasn't sure what she'd think but M keeps asking for it again and again.

Little Rabbit Goes to School by Harry Horse - We love all the Little Rabbit books!

I'm A Big Sister by Joanna Cole - This is a positive take on being a big sister. So many of the big sister books I've found were just the older siblings complaints. I'm trying to be realistic with about how much time the baby will take, but I don't want to set M up to be resentful.

More Adventures of Amanda Pig - We discovered Amanda and Oliver last summer and we've had fun reading through their adventures. This was one we hadn't read yet.