Tales of life with a girl on the go

It was a busy day today but still we read:

• Chirp: Let’s Make Art edition. Reid noticed an advertisement for Dora on the back cover and was entranced by it;
• Dora’s Spooky Hallowe’en (no author), just to show that Reid isn’t bound by convention that might otherwise suggest this book should be read only in the fall or maybe it was just the fact it was Dora;
• Corduroy’s Valentine’s Day (no author), which I am considering still timely since we are still in February;
• Little White Dog by Laura Godwin. a book with animals blending into the background, like the white dog of the title standing in the snow;
• Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do by Eileen Christelow, a book about monkeys who are tasked with cleaning the bathroom, their bedroom and the carpets when they complain about being bored but all of their work is undone when they come back muddy from picking berries and have to wash up and change their clothes. Personally, I think the mother should have sent them for the berries before she had them clean up.;
• On the Farm: Lift the Flap Book by Alastair Smith, twice. This book has long been a favourite of Reid’s;
• Max Found Two Sticks by Brian Pinkney, with strong, oil pastel illustrations and the story of a boy who finds sticks and plays on a variety of “drums” including hat boxes, a garbage pail and pop bottles; and
• Mama Loves You by Caroline Stutson, a book whose pages show much-love and many readings.

At bedtime, Reid was in the mood for repetition and so we read each book twice:

• Shiny Dinah by Susan James, Reid enjoys this book and so I will have to suggest we play with her train set tomorrow. It doesn’t get as much attention as I had hoped;
• Care Bears Nighty Night (no author); a book where each page has a part that is fuzzy and talks of a bear that denies her tiredness even as she is yawning and rubbing her eyes, not that Reid ever does that; and
• Dad Mine by Dawn Apperley, which talks of fast and slow dads and high and low dads among others. Reid likes to name the animals, hear the rhymes and see the Dad and androgynous kid hugging at the end.

These latter two books had been secreted away on the shelf of a night table in Reid’s room that I had cleverly turned sideways a while ago for a reason that made sense at the time.

In the morning, we read Your Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton, or rather I sang it (to use the term loosely). There is a notice on the front cover that you can hear Davy Jones sing the story. We haven’t ever listened to it but I try to put it to a Monkees-ish tune. We also read Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom. Reid’s excitement every time we see the page where Daddy bear comes home is funny to see. She doesn’t remember when I was on mat leave and we used to wait eagerly the last half hour or so for Ken to come home. Or maybe she does. She often comments on how Mama bear stays home with Jesse but I go to work. It doesnt seem to bother her, she just notices the difference.

In the evening, we read:

• Don’t Forget to Come Back! by Robie H. Harris about a little girl who is left with a babysitter (after many protests) and then has a nice evening. We may need to refer to this one if the stars ever align just right so that we find a babysitter. Reid doesn’t consider staying with relatives to be anything but a visit without Ken and I to interfere;
• There’s Only One of Me! by Pat Hutchins, which was as good as I hoped, if a bit tongue-twisty as the little girl was her “half-brother’s half-sister” and her “stepfather’s stepdaughter” and each page contained all relationships that had been identified previously;
• I started The Gift by Kristine L. Franklin but there were too many words for Reid and Ken kept making fun of the little boy’s name – Jimmy Joe;
• Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch, with which Reid really identifies. I will have to offer her Stephanie-style ponytails from now on; and
• My Little Book of Sharing by Marjorie Decker.