6 Books Ella Currently Loves: Part 2
picture books worth reading
The Black Rabbit by Philipa Leathers – I checked this one out after I saw it recommended on The Horn Book, but Bart was the one who read it to Ella. And, oh my, did it hit her funny bone. Also, mine. Cute, quick, and clever (three of my favorite things a picture book can be).
Minnie and Moo by Denys Cazet – I’d never heard of this series until I was a librarian in Massachussets and one of the libraries had a whole slew of them. Now, in our local library, they happen to be on the shelf that Ella can just perfectly reach, so we come home with a new one (or five) almost every week. They’re a little long, since they are easy reader chapter books, but she’ll sit through the whole thing. They’re so goofy, they make me laugh too.
Max and Milo go to Sleep! by Heather & Ethan Long – This is a totally silly book about two little brothers going to bed. One of them, of course, can’t get to sleep and decides to read. But then he needs a light. Which makes him too hot. But the fan makes his mouth to dry. Etc, etc. The other brother is patient. For a while.
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson – This was one of the books that my in-laws gave my girls for Christmas along with an audio recording, and I have fallen in love with it all over again. When Ella says to me, “She was a wise mother, even if she was a cow,” I die a little. (Also, did you know that this team wrote another book? I just saw it featured on Design Mom and it’s top of my list to check out when we get new library cards in Durham).
Ten Sleepy Sheep by Phyllis Root and Susan Gaber – This is such a sweet bedtime story, but we read it all day long, thanks to Ella’s obsession with numbers and counting.
When the Elephant Walks by Keiko Kasza – I have no idea where this little board book came from, but suddenly Ella was declaring it was her favorite book every and I read this many times on our way down to Galveston. And then Ralphie’s oldest girl read it many more times to her (bless her).
And if you’d like a printable copy of this list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
Ferdinand has always been one of my favorites, too. I bought my own copy when I first got an Amazon account years ago. Ella has good taste 😉
I did a search for lyrics (http://www.metrolyrics.com/ferdinand-the-bull-instrumental-lyrics-sean-watkins.html) to a song about Ferdinand (you can actually listen to it on this page http://www.philnel.com/2011/09/17/ferdinand/) that I learned in my childhood (no, it was not new then) and discovered this Disney video of the story of Ferdinand the Bull http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGTVRbpAuRo
By the way, I think that it is the same Robert Lawson who won the Newbery for Rabbit Hill.
The Black Rabbit has been one of our favorites so far this year.
I recently read Wee Gillis (the other book by Leaf and Lawson), and it exuded the same kind of charm and sweetness as Ferdinand.
I'm always on the lookout for new easy reader chapter books for my son, so I'm going to go put a couple of Minnie Moos on hold right now. Thanks for the suggestion!
This is perfect timing. The next item on my list is to buy a book and a toy for my nephew's birthday. I will buy one of these books – you've just saved me hours whiling away reading Amazon book reviews!
I love these posts! We always find at least one winner.
When your in-laws send a recording of a book, is it just them speaking? Or is it a video that E and A can watch while "reading" as well? I love this idea and would like to suggest it to my folks.
Ferdinand! I love that story!
I refer to these posts whenever I need a new book for Noah. Love!