Of Reading & Books

Tiger loves his books. Sometimes he chews and bites. Occasionally he throws them but that's what board books are for. Some of the precious paperbacks did not survive the attack.

I cringe when he is rough and bite my tongue so that I don't shout, "NO!!!"

Tiger is a very strong-willed and independent baby. Except when he is teething or after he has woken up from a nap, he is rarely clingy. He prefers to 'read' by himself. On rare occasions, I will be able to read an entire book to him because he usually snatches whatever book I have in my hands.

He runs his fingers under the print and reads with a funny voice. I am in love whenever he does that cause he is imitating Mommy. I pray my love of reading is passed on to him. Yes, I am a Nerd but i like to think that i am a HOT nerd   :O

Here are some of our favorites at 14 months in no particular order:

1. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

This is one of our earliest books. I went on a mad woman search for it in Malaysia. Borders, Kinokuniya & MPH didn't have it at that time. Anyways, it is one of the classic must have. The rhythm of the words is soothing and perfect to wind down for bedtime. The spooky thing about the book is I find that my voice becomes softer and softer with each page. Here is a Youtube video of Susan Sarandon (the actress) reading the book:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKqV9uuXa0Y

2. Snuggle puppy by Sandra Boynton

Tiger's all time favourite. Got it for RM 8 during MPH sales. Woohoo!! At first I made up my own song (the sub text says ‘a little love song’), then I found out it IS a song. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gixrmvP_OU

I probably sang this song a million times and hum it in the shower without realizing it.

3. The Very Hungry Caterpilar by Eric Carle

Ok, I admit that I am the one who really like this book. It teaches so many things. I am going to list it down.

1. Simplified life cycle of a butterfly

2. Days of the week

3. Counting

4. Different types of food

5. Sensorial: the book has holes in it

6. Colours. All of Eric Carle's books have spectacular colours

7. Teaches the child not to be greedy and to eat well.

How's that for a multitasking book? This book is so popular that there are websites for it and tons of printables online. This is the official website:

file://http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html

4. The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson

If a book's been well loved for 60 years and still in print, it must be good right? When I opened the book for the first time, I must say that I was shocked. The colours were BORING and it had so few words. Then I read it and I fell in love. Seriously. Tiger's in love too, it seems. There is so much charm in it. Teaches determination and perseverence. Go, buy the book..

5. Odonata Books 100 Words Series

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This is like the Peter & Jane series in Chinese. Highly recommended for its repetitive text and colourful illustration if you want to teach Chinese. There are 5 sets in total. They come with CD and flashcards as well. Available in MPH and Popular.  
Here's the link to the distributor:

http://www.odonatabooks.com/webshaper/store/viewCat.asp?catID=21

6. Where's Spot by Eric Hill

A lift-the-flap book. Tiger says 'Eeehhh?' whenever we lift the flap. I think he likes it cause Spot is a dog. If Spot was an ostrich, it would have been a different story.

7. "More, More, More" Said the Baby

Latest favourite book. This is his showman book. After 'reading', he will then close the book and applaud his own effort. And yes, he expects everyone else to clap as well. Beautiful colours but the words are coloured too. I think it is a bit difficult to read.

8. Dinosaur Hide and Slide book by Egmont Books (Uk)

This is a really cute book. You slide the pages to find the dinosaur. Got it at MPH at 3 for 2 price.

9. Feed Me by Ladybird 

 

Cover

You can slide open the cover too!

This book is also a toy. I don’t get it read it because Tiger wants to ‘play’ with it. There are only four pages (excluding covers). The animals are monkey, penguin, tiger and hippo.






You feed the animals chips of banana, fish, sausage, and flower respectively. Then, you close the mouth.

When I first read the book, I thought, hmmm why is the tiger eating sausage? Well, you can’t have the kids feeding the park ranger to the tiger, can you? Hehe..so sausage it is. Good for fine motor practice too.


10. Simple ABC and counting books

There are probably thousands of these in market. Can you believe that I didn't have these until recently? He loves the simplest ones with white backgrounds and real life pictures.

And that's our list :)

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I use the Ikea spice rack and a book basket to display our books in rotation. Allow children to see the cover of the book to draw them in.

Other book display ideas that I love:

1. Rain gutter book selves but I lack the space :(

The link: http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/oliver.html

This picture from: http://satorismiles.com/tag/rain-gutter-shelves/

 Ahh...book heaven.

2. Book Sling:

 This is to die for..

Tutorial to make a sling here: http://pennycarnival.typepad.com/penny_carnival/2009/02/tutorial-hanging-book-display.html

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If you can't imagine doing all these crazy unschooling work while working full time with your little one, the least that you can do is read to your child everyday.

It is never too late to start. I started reading to him when I was pregnant. I read the entire Harry Porter Series, The Magic Faraway Tree (my absolute favourite) and Mother Goose Collection. I try to stay away from dark novels that I so love.

We have a monthly book allowance (books are very expensive in Malaysia) and i am happiest in a bookstore. (libraries in Malaysia are honestly, a joke). If I raise Tiger to love a bookstore more than Toy R Us, then I can say I have done an excellent job.