Goodnight Moon

Like you need me to tell you anything about Goodnight Moon. We have two copies, and I'm sure you have more. But I have to tell you this story.

We've been reading Corduroy and Goodnight Moon religiously twice each day for a couple of months now, right before sleep. A long time ago a professor advised that I should always tell the name of the author and illustrator of each book I read. So I do. Why not?

Well, Nana babysat last night. When we came home she said she picked up the two bedtime books and read the title, "Goodnight Moon". Maya immediately said, "Marget Wi Brown, pictures Clem Hud." Which is her translation of, "By Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd."

She always waits to show off to the new guy I guess.

Speaking of bedtime, here's how I found Maya the other morning. How does she sleep like that?

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

Okay, it's time for one of those gratuitous dad posts. Our little girl's world has been pretty small thus far, but it's getting bigger all of the time. She's meeting more kids and adults, and she's just beginning to learn how to get along without Mama or Daddy. The little milestones that occur each day make me very emotional. I want to absorb everything for her, but I can't. I'm thankful that I know she has someone bigger than me holding onto her.

I'm talking about this after taking another look at Kadir Nelson's He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. It's such a beautiful book. I'm going to be keeping my eye out for this illustrator.

Amazing scenes of a family interacting with their world accompany the familiar song. We start big with a view of the heavens, then the San Francisco skyline at daybreak, then right to a boy holding a picture he drew of his family. "He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands." It just gets better from there.

I highly recommend this inspiring book to all families.

Here's our little one out in the great, big world. As my grandmother used to pray over me, "Be round about her, Lord." God be round about you, too.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

Well, I think we now have another genuine favorite. Maya is getting to the other end of her stage where she cannot sit still long enough to read even the shortest book through. There are a few that really hold her interest, like All About Ama (see below) or a new pop-up of The Wide-Mouth Frog.

But Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, by Mem Fox and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, is the grand champion. Maya pulled this book off the bed and asked me to read it for her (Patty says she did the same with her the other day). So we read it. Then we read it again. And again. And again. Four times in all. I tried other books a couple of times. But we kept coming back to this one.

And something I noticed was that she seemed to be really concentrating on the illustrations. The spreads are indeed lovely, and the babies (Maya says, "Baby" when she brings us the book) are pudgy and cute.

The text is very sweet and engaging.

There was one little baby
who was born far away.
And another who was born
on the very next day.
And both of these babies,
as everyone knows,
had ten little fingers
and ten little toes.

The formula repeats itself several times introducing more babies two at a time. With each new pair, all of the previous babies look on as they show their digits.

The final baby is special. This baby is your own. And besides ten fingers and ten toes, this baby gets "three little kisses on the tip of its nose."

I think Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes is growing on me, too.

Hush Little Baby

So I like the melody of Hush Little Baby, but I've always been bothered by the words ("Daddy's gonna buy you"). Have you felt the same way? Well, luckily Sylvia Long has. Her version of Hush Little Baby I really like.

I'm going to assume she would be happy to have you sing this to your child instead of the materialistic one, and that you will want to go out and get the book with the pleasant illustrations once you read it. Here's a sample of the song:

Hush little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to show you a hummingbird.

If that hummingbird should fly,
Mama's going to show you the evening sky.

Isn't that great? I once tried to change the lyrics myself when I was rocking Maya to sleep, but mine were too snide, especially when I got to diamond ring. Long's words are so gentle.

The image of rocking a baby to sleep, singing a lullaby is one of those that brings up feelings of warmth, peace, and love. But we all know sometimes bedtime can be anything but peaceful. Maya, like all babies, is so beautiful when she's sleeping. But occasionally she sprawls herself out like a drunken frat boy. Here's a photo of my little cherub sleeping.

Good Night, Little One

Good Night, Little One, by Salina Yoon, is a lift-the-flap book with great repetition and lots of animals your little one will enjoy.

Each page asks about where a different animal sleeps. You lift the home to see the baby animals inside. "Where do ladybugs sleep? Under flower petals, with pollen to eat." "Where do zebras sleep? In tall grass nuzzled with the herd."

When your children are wanting to know everything about animals, this will be a fun book with lots of information to talk about.

Carry Me!

Hallelujah! We had two breakthroughs this week. Maya took her first steps the other day, and last night she did a lot of walking. She has a long ways to go before she's running around the playground, but she's on her way. I know everyone says we'll be wishing for the days when we didn't have to chase her around, but after five months of Maya walking all over holding onto our fingers, our backs are a little sore. I'll see if I can get some video on here tonight.

Rosemary Wells' Carry Me! is a touching book showing parent and child being close even as the child grows and becomes more independent. It comes in three sections: Carry Me!, Talk to Me!, and Sing to Me!

In the first section, the little bunny sings to her Mom and Dad, "Carry me into the garden Under the plum tree's shadow. Carry me over to hear the bees. Stuff my pocket with early peas."

In Talk to Me!, the little bunny can stand with help and is learning to be by herself, but she longs to hear her parents' voices. "Red eyes blink from moonlit wings. Tell me a story about these things."

In Sing to Me!, she can run and play on her own. "Sing me a winter song I'll sing you right along The old song we know...."

As Maya grows I know I'm going to miss those cuddly times, so I'll just make sure I'm there waiting when she comes looking for a pair of arms.

Here's a great daddy song for Father's Day. I change the words liberally to make it Maya's and mine.

Dance to Your Daddy

Dance to your daddy,

My little laddie.

Dance to your daddy,

My little lamb.

You shall have a fishy

In a little dishy.

You shall have a fishy

When the boat comes in.

Dance to your daddy,

My little lassie.

Dance to your daddy,

My little lamb.

You shall have an apple.

You shall have a plum.

You shall have an apple

When your daddy comes home.

Daddy Hugs

Hey, another daddy book. I know, there are a lot of them out there, but I can't help but get excited. And Daddy Hugs, by Karen Katz, is really touching. It's helped me to pause and think about all the little moments that Maya and I have throughout the day. It's easy to just plod through the day, trying to get this and that done between naps, feedings, and diaper changes. Every so often I need a reminder to slow down and take the time to interact with Maya during even the mundane activities (well, maybe not naps).

Daddy Hugs is a counting book, from one to ten. "One 'I'm so glad you're my baby!' hug", "Two teeny, tiny finger hugs" and so on. The best part comes when I get to say, "I love you!" ten times.

And the book ends with a good night hug, making this a great bedtime book. Maya and I used to read after her bottles. But now that she's moving on to solid foods, bedtime is becoming our reading time. So a good night book is a welcome addition to our repertoire.

And moms, don't be jealous. There is also a Mommy Hugs.

MA! There's Nothing to Do Here!

Now here is a novel idea, and funny to boot. MA! There's Nothing to Do Here!: A Word from Your Baby-in-Waiting, by Barbara Park and illustrated by Viviana Garofoli, is an ode from a baby waiting impatiently to be born to Mom. Put this one at the top of your list of possible gifts for expectant friends.

Baby is bored, bored, bored in the womb and complains, complains, complains. There is a very long list of grievances. "I'm all in a heap here. My feet are asleep here. I'm flat out of space. I've got knees in my face. And I'm totally bored with this dumb bungee cord....I'm NOT kidding you...there is NOTHING to do!"

Baby dreams of life outside the amniotic pokey, and what is to come after being set free. Is Mom prepared? Does she have all of the necessary amenities? A crib? A night-light?

Finally, Baby decides to wait it out, to grow bigger and stronger. "Kiss Pop for me...I'll meet him soon...."

I can't think of other kids books about an unborn baby talking to Mom. I imagine it's been done, but this one is a winner. You'll be laughing, I promise.

Someday

Here is another of those sweet, gentle books. Put Someday, by Alison Mcghee and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, on your list of gift books for new parents, especially new moms with a baby girl.

The book spans the life of a daughter, from birth to old age. The mother of a school-age girl first reminisces about her daughter as a baby and toddler, first snows and holding hands while crossing the street.

She goes on to contemplate the changes her daughter will likely experience in life, the first time she experiences sorrow and her world getting bigger as she goes off to university. She imagines one day her daughter may have a little girl of her own, and when the daughter's hair begins to gray, she will remember her mother.

Mcghee and Reynolds (an author also) know how to create touching, memorable books. This is a good example.

I'm going to add the label parent. I'll look back for others. This is also a great book to read with your daughter.

Mama Outside Mama Inside

Years ago Patty and I read a great article in Orion magazine by a new mother who had watched a nest of birds outside her window throughout her pregnancy and felt a sort of bond with the mother bird. I don't know if this author read that article, but it's a great theme, and I'm glad it's now in a children's book.

Mama Outside, Mama Inside, by Diana Hutts Aston and illustrated by Susan Gaber, is a gentle story, which juxtaposes two mothers, one bird and one human, bringing new lives into the word.

Aston shows how the mothers both prepare, one building a nest while the other sets up a nursery, both with the father’s help. One baby cries “Cheep-cheep-cheep!”, the other, “Waaa-waaa-waaa!” After the babies arrive, the mothers feed them. Eventually the two families take notice of each other.

The language is gentle and the parallel structure of the text stays true throughout.

Gaber’s gentle acrylics match the soft tone so well that at first the pictures could be mistaken for watercolor. The layout complements the text perfectly. Scenes showing the two mothers together in one frame fill the page; only pages with separate images have white space. The introductory pages pan into the setting, and the end pages pan out, with the birds flying off into the distance.

Runaway Bunny

The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, is another classic suggested by Natascha.

It's a sweet parent-child book along the lines of Guess How Much I Love You. The baby rabbit says it may turn into various objects to get away from it's mother. For each declaration, however, the mother rabbit says it will turn into something else as well and follow the bunny. Finally, the bunny decides it might as well stay right where it is.

If you'd like to pair this with a new book, one of my favorite new author/artists, Peter McCarty, has a wonderful new book, Bunny on the Move.

Sometimes I get caught in the trap that I always need to be presenting the newest books to kids. But something to remember is that if you love a book it will come through to the child you're reading it too. Especially for those parents that haven't read much to their children but want to start, I feel it's important to start with the books they remember. What better way to get them charged up.

Tonight I was at a meeting for the Read to Me program at the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility. It's a program where volunteers and librarians meet with residents of the facility and talk with them about the importance of reading with their children and bringing them to the library. At the end, the parents read books onto a disc and it is mailed to the children. Many previous participants in their testimonials talked about favorite books from their childhood they were excited to read to their children.

Thanks Natascha. Keep reading.