200 books: Airplanes, naps and so many chickens!

It’s been a while! Basically, we’ve been on vacation, hanging out on the other side of the country, and we didn’t bring any library books with us. The reason for this decision was twofold:

1. SO MUCH LUGGAGE! If it had just been my husband and me, we would have traveled with two small suitcases. With the baby: We checked 3 suitcases and a car seat base. We also checked a car seat and a stroller at the gate. My husband had a backpack as a carryon, and I had a diaper bag. Oh yeah, and a baby. There was no room for anything else!

2. I had no guarantee that the books would ever make it back to the East Coast. As it was, we left two plastic dinosaurs on the first airplane, a ball in the rental car, and various pacifiers and socks throughout the great city of San Francisco. Library books wouldn’t have stood a chance. And while I do love to support my local library (ahem, with my overdue fines…) I prefer to return the books eventually rather than pay for them.

Our little reader enjoying Chinatown: 

Anyway, we’re back, and we’re reading like crazy! We’ve started a new nap routine that includes reading a story before each nap, and another before bedtime. That adds up to 3 books a day, or 21 books a week. (Although we often reread favorites before bedtime, so it’s actually more like 14 new books a week.)

Which brings us to the third point. SO. MANY. CHICKENS! Check out the books below, and I think you’ll see what I mean. ;)

Our Weekly Favorite:

Title: Bunnies!!!

Author/Illustrator: Kevan Atteberry 

Summary:

“Story time for little ones has never been this exciting! When a friendly monster spots a group of bunnies in the woods, his delight is contagious! And when they're gone, how he misses them so! With bright illustrations and a simple text, this is the most fun type of read aloud and one that mirrors most every toddler's emotional life.”

Why We Loved it: 

• The text is simple
• The pictures are clean, colorful and fun
• The expressions on the character’s faces are priceless, and tell their own stories
• The monster in this story is HILARIOUS! He seriously acts just like a toddler. He had me laughing out loud throughout the entire story.

Other Books We Read This Week:

	Title: Hen Lake Author/Illustrator: Mary Jane Auch My biggest problem with all of the chicken books (other than the sheer volume of them!) was the silly egg-themed puns that littered each story.
	Title: Eggs Mark the Spot Author/Illustrator: Mary Jane Auch The story of a chicken who can lay eggs that have paintings on them... a little ridiculous for me!
	Title: Chickerella Author/Illustrator: Mary Jane Auch and Herm Auch I personally didn't enjoy this book too much. I'm sure the collages took a ton of time, but it seemed like the storyline was created just to showcase the pictures. . . which were pictures of dressed up chickens.
	Title: The Plot Chickens Author/Illustrator: Mary Jane Auch and Herm Auch This was my favorite of the chicken stories, mostly because I thought it would inspire kids to write their own stories.
	Title: The Buk Buk Buk Festival Author/Illustrator: Mary Jane Auch and Herm Auch This one wasn't my favorite. A story about an author who is discriminated against because. . . she is a chicken. It was just a little too unrealistic for me.
	Title: Superchicken Author/Illustrator: Mary Jane Auch and Herm Auch This story was actually pretty funny. A great way to start a discussion about the importance of reading!
	Title: Bantam of the Opera Author/Illustrator: Mary Jane Auch By this point, I was just a little tired of chickens!
	Title: OH NO, Little Dragon! Author/Illustrator: Jim Averbeck I thought this book was cute, but not extraordinary.
	Title: Dream Something Big Author: Diane Hutts Aston Collages by: Susan L. Roth  Although I probably wouldn't read it again, I thought the story was interesting. It made me want to visit the real Watts Tower.

190 Books: One shelf-section down. . . lots and lots to go!

Big milestone: We finished one of the shelf-sections from top to bottom!

I have NOT counted how many more shelf-sections we have to go. If I did that, then I could calculate how long it will take us to finish at the rate we’re going. I don’t think I’m ready to hear that we’re only about 0.5% done. Or that we won’t finish until Emma is about 20. She’ll still like kids’ books when she’s 20, right? ;)    

Our Weekly Favorite:

Title: Stella’s Dancing Days

Author: Sandy Asher

Illustrator: Kathryn Brown

Summary:

 “Stella is a kitten who loves to dance. But as she grows up, Stella dances less and less. Has she lost her passion for pirouettes and pliés? Or is she just busy with other things, like stalking bugs, soaking up the sunshine--and finding a quiet place to have her kittens?”

Why We Loved it: 

• This book was sweet. It was charming and heart-warming.
• Anyone who has had a pet kitten turn into a cat understands what the author means when she says that Stella stopped dancing.
• I was amused that I read two books this week, written by different authors, one about a cat named Stella and one about a dog named Stella. Weird, right?
• I love the sweet ending about Stella’s kittens, who, of course, dance. 

Other Books We Read This Week:

	Title: Little Baby Buttercup Author: Linda Ashman Illustrator: You Byun I liked this book. It was cute, but nothing too special.
	Title: Stella, Unleashed Author: Linda Ashman Illustrator: Paul Meisel This book is a collection of poems, all with unique rhyme schemes. Some of the poems were absolutely hilarious, and some were just ok.
	Title: Creaky Old House Author: Linda Ashman Illustrator: Michael Chesworth As an HGTV addict, I appreciated this book about a small fix which escalates to a whole-house renovation.
	Title: Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs Author: Linda Ashman Illustrator: Lauren Stringer This simple book about animal homes made me smile, but didn't make me want to reread it.
	Title: Maxwell’s Magic Mix-up Author: Linda Ashman Illustrator: Regan Dunnick This book told the kind of interesting, kind of strange tale of a magician who turns people into objects and animals. I think it was meant to be funnier than I found it.
	Title: Here Comes Gosling! Author: Sandy Asher Illustrator: Keith Graves Froggie meets a new baby in this runner-up for our weekly favorite. I think Froggie, who acts like a young child, is really funny. On my favorite page, the baby starts crying and everyone guesses what's wrong- but none of their ideas work. How true to life!
	Title: What a Party! Author: Sandy Asher Illustrator: Keith Graves Froggie performs for his Grandfather's birthday party. Froggie wasn't as funny in this story as he is in Here Comes Gosling!
	Title: Desmond and the Naughty Bugs Author: Linda Ashman Illustrator: Anik McGrory Tiny bugs cause Desmond to do naughty things. I think the concept is genius, and the story is hilarious!
	Title: Just Another Morning Author: Linda Ashman Illustrator: Claudio Munoz  The little boy in this story has quite an imagination. A normal morning is much more interesting through his eyes! I enjoyed the cleverness of the story, and the way the illustrations were essential to understanding what was really going on.

All images are courtesy of amazon.com. Clicking on each image will redirect you to the amazon webpage where you can purchase the book.