Bookshelf: Mo Willems

As a reader, if I liked one book, I would try to read everything by that author.  Sometimes I find gold, and other times I realize, 50 pages in, that I'm glad I get to take some of them back to the library.

Long ago, one of the children's librarians at our local library recommended Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.  Since then, we have been enchanted by so many of his works.  Find them at your library, or click on the pictures to see the Amazon page:

Bookshelf: Kids' Mystery Books

Have I mentioned how much we love to read?  When we go to the library, we check out lots of picture books (like those by Mo Willems), but we also enjoy children's mysteries.  Although our boys are still learning letter recognition and are at the very beginning stages that will lead to reading, we have found that many of the early reader books are perfect for their attention level and curiosity.  The mysteries they like most are those that contain 3 or 4 chapters, where each chapter is an individual problem-solution case.  However, there are a number of series where the entire book of 4 chapters contains a single story line- those are great for Jason, but Jackson tends to wander off before the end.

The short mysteries we currently love were all found at our local library.  If you click on the pictures, you can find more information on Amazon:

The Detective Dinosaur stories are my absolute favorite of these: 

"Meow," said the paper bag. . . . "A snake!" he cried. 

My boys squeal with delight every single time we read this story! They cannot contain themselves until the page is turned before they yell out, "No!  It's a kitty!"

Jason was drawn to Aunt Eater's Mystery Halloween just as he is drawn to all Halloween books, all year long.  It is great to see how, after a few readings, the boys really notice foreshadowing details, and they begin to anticipate the plot twists.




High Rise Private Eyes expands the clever, simple mystery story to allow a number of chapters for each mystery.  There are more people involved and more clues, but it is still a short story just the right size for kids.






Nate the Great is a series of mystery books for beginning readers.  The series started in the 70's, and are still being written today.  Jason loves these stories, but Jackson is usually not engaged enough to sit through the entire book.  There are false leads, too many or too few clues, but there are always pancakes involve.  Nate the Great loves pancakes.

Bookshelf: Kids' Books

I loved reading from a very young age.  As soon as I knew I was pregnant, I couldn't enter a bookstore without buying a book I loved as a child.  In fact, those are the books that I still never tire of, even after the fiftieth reading.  One of the most significant authors in this category is Arnold Lobel.  His stories are simple and a bit silly, like his illustration style.  I find them absolutely charming!

Here are our favorites.  Look for them at your library, or click the image to find it on Amazon.
     

We love all of the Frog and Toad stories.  When my husband read, "The Dream" to my boys, I had a flashback to reading and re-reading that story so many, many times.  I also adore the story in Mouse Tales where a mouse gets a new pair of feet.  There aren't moral issues at play most of the time- this is truly reading for the love of reading.  That is exactly what I wish to share with my lovely boys!

Do you read your own favorite books to your kids?  What books were most special to you when you were little?

Bookshelf: Babies

Once my first baby arrived, there was much less time for reading, but I have still found a few wonderful books that I love to recommend to new parents.

Siblings Without Rivalry is now my favorite gift to give friends who are expecting a second child.  I read it when my sons were 18 months and 2 months old.  Halfway through the book, I thought, "This will be great stuff for the boys' future relationship, but it isn't helpful right now with two pre-verbal kids."  The next day, I read the section about what to do when one kid hurts or bullies the other:  instead of admonishing the aggressor, comfort the one who has been hurt while leaving the presence of the aggressor.  Jason had recently tried sitting on Jackson's head and stomach, and all I knew to do was try time outs.  The next time it happened, I completely changed the dynamic by giving Jackson all of the attention, which had an immediate affect on Jason.  In the months since then, Jason still test us from time to time, but very seldom, and it seems more out of curiosity than anything.  When Daddy and I coo over Jackson afterward, Jason quickly gets the point, and directs his attention elsewhere.

The Baby Book was a gift from my sister-in-law, who has two little girls.  It is a general reference book about what to expect during the first 2 years of your new baby's life.  The book is geared toward Attachment Parenting, and encourages breastfeeding, babywearing, and listening to your instincts.  There are also chapters that detail child development through various stages, bottlefeeding, sleeping, and first aid.  It was a great book to have around at 2 in the morning, when you have no idea if the 'blood' in your newborn's diaper is really blood or urate crystals (urate crystals are orange in daylight, and blood will turn brown before too long). 

Einstein Never Used Flashcards details the importance of play in child development.  Chapters focus, individually, on the process by which babies, toddlers, and kids learn math, speech, and reading, and how they develop a sense of 'self'.  One part that really hit home for me was that I didn't push my boys to find their hands, roll over, walk, or talk, but I encouraged it, and provided whatever stepping stones I felt they needed.  Activities like math and reading require similar fundamental abilities that I cannot speed up or slow down, so there is no reason to push the process faster, and no harm or shame in some of the steps taking longer.  This book really encouraged me to relax and allow my boys' natural curiosity to lead the way. 

For those who haven't seen the Baby Sleep posts, I have to plug these books once again.  Even when things aren't going well, it really, really helps to have a plan:
The No Cry Sleep Solution
The No-Cry Nap Solution
The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers

25 Things Every New Mother Should Know is a short-but-sweet book that gave me a lot of confidence in my new motherhood.  It is focused on the attachment parenting style, and enforced my ability to go with my instincts even though others might disagree.  In a sense, it allowed me to hold my baby, listen to him, and do everything I thought I could for him.  It also reminded me to take care of myself and avoid perfectionism.

Baby Sleep 1

My toddler, Jason, sleeps like a dream:  we have a short bedtime and naptime schedule, we lay him down (very recently on a mattress on the floor), cover him up, and leave the room.  90% of the time, he sleeps at least 2 hous for naps and 11 hours at night with no further help from us.  This is not luck, by any means.

Like many new parents, we struggled with how to get more sleep for our baby and ourselves.  While I am happy many families have more rested lives due to the many cry-it-out methods, we wanted to find a less stressful way to teach our baby how to sleep.  Cue The No Cry Sleep Solution. In this book, author Elizabeth Pantly provides a process for teaching babies to sleep on their own. She even has editions specifically for toddlers and for nap time.  The information in the book was very helpful, but we didn't have a great deal of success until we stopped feeding him at night -a transition he didn't fuss about at all- around 9 months of age.  The timeline is rather foggy, but by 11 months, we were all sleeping soundly most nights, and Jason knew that if he needed us at any time of the day or night, we would respond.

Enter: the second baby, Jackson.  For the first 5 months, he has slept in a cosleeper attached to our bed or in our bed.  Now that big brother has moved out of the crib and loves his new room, it is time to move baby to the crib. He currently naps, swaddled, in his carrier/car seat, but he is quickly outgrowing it.

First goal:  napping in the crib twice a day, at least 45 minutes each time
Ultimate goal:  sleeping all night in the crib, napping over an hour in the crib

I plan to write a series of posts about the process- to keep me focused on the goals, to share the progress with friends, and to see what comments are made.

Bookshelf: Pregnancy

There are few conversations that don't have me running to my bookshelf or the local library website to recommend books to my friends. Since the same books come up over and over, I'd like to summarize them here, and I hope to get to reviewing my favorites in due time.

Let me preface this by saying that after two unmedicated labors, I am well aware of why epidurals and other pain killers are used during pregnancy. What is the right choice for me is certainly not the right choice for everyone. While there are many books about unmedicated labors, I have yet to read one that doesn't vilify hospital deliveries. I have experienced a hospital delivery where I was respected and well cared for by midwives and nurses who supported me throughout a long, slow labor. I have good friends who have had similar positive experiences at other hospitals.

Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally is my favorite pregnancy book. It tells you what is going on with your body in a more relaxed way (there are websites galore that can provide the week-by-week updates, but that is overkill for some of us), and lays the path for a natural birth.

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth was an amazing read. If you only read one book about labor, this should be it! The first half of the book describes personal stories of many women who experienced out-of-hospital births. If you question your ability to birth without drugs, the stories give you many examples of how normal birth can be. The second half of the book shows how powerful the mind-body connection is- what you expect in birth greatly affects how you experience birth.

Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation is about finding the power within yourself to have a positive birth experience. If the first part of the book about birth art is a bit too fruity for you (I, admittedly, learned a bit about myself when I got past my skepticism), there is still more useful information in the later part of the book. This was the book my husband and I actively discussed the most.

Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers can make your first weeks with your baby easier and more rewarding. Roughly half of new mothers will experience difficulty establishing breastfeeding. Every mommy-baby breastfeeding relationship is unique, so I recommend this book for any pregnant woman, even if you have successfully breastfed other babies. For new moms, this book explains why breastfeeding is important, what to expect the first few days and weeks, and what changes to expect over time. It also gives tips for getting past problems along the way. For experienced breastfeeding mothers, I would recommend reading about the first few days and weeks because this stage may be hard to remember, and proper technique can save you a lot of pain. If you EVER experience pain during breastfeeding, please contact a lactation consultant. It is not supposed to hurt!

What pregnancy books have you read? What did you like? Did you read anything you wish you would have avoided?

Update 11 Feb 2010:
I can't believe I forgot to mention Mothering Magazine when I listed Having a Baby, Naturally.  It is a great bi-monthly publication with lots of articles for parents and parents-to-be.