Little Book Worm

Yes, yes, we've been hiding! I'm blaming it on a case of the Rosies ... Roseola, that is. It's a nicely-named virus that causes a not-so-nice high fever and rash and earned Maribelle the title of Miss CrankyPants 2010 for about a week. It wasn't the worst sickness she's had, but it seriously turned her into a crankpot like no other. All I could do was hold her on my hip, STANDING (because sitting was no good for our little sickie) and walk around the house while she whined and pointed at everything in site. Poor babes. At least she has encountered the bug and shouldn't get it ever again, fingers crossed. And I totally blame it on the mall play area that she visited with her daycare a few days before she got sick. Totally disgusting. Those communal play areas (and the toys at doctor offices, restaurants, book stores, etc) freak me out and cause the germaphobe in me to hyperventalate upon impact. I know that I can't deny her those play opportunities, so I'm trying to get better about it. However, coming down with Roseola probably won't help my paranoia.

But enough about germs and bacteria-infested play surfaces ... let's talk books. One of my favorite blogs has been showcasing children's books all week, and so I wanted to do a quick post about some of Maribelle's favorites. (And does anyone know of a 12-step recovery program for those addicted to buying children's books? Because I honestly can't stop buying them and have enough to open a small children's library.)

At the moment, her go-to "READ THIS TO ME NOW!" book is the classic Goodnight Moon, and she loves it a million times better when Jeremy reads it to her. It's amazing how enthralled she is by this book and its simple illustrations and language. She loves pointing out the red balloon and the little mouse, and always gets very still when it comes to the brush/mush/hush sequence in the book. And Jeremy swears that she yawns every time he finishes the last page of the book. Just the response we're looking for!

After receiving a copy of Where's Baby's Christmas Present and Where's Baby's Birthday Cake as gifts this past winter, she now loves any of Karen Katz's lift-the-flap variety of books. These were her go-to books before the Goodnight Moon obsession began, so I recently added Where's Baby's Belly Button to her collection. She has other lift-the-flap books, but there's something about this series that really keeps her attention. However, Jeremy doesn't approve of the fact that some of these books use the word "no!" a lot because, well, baby's birthday cake and/or Christmas present can't be behind every flap, so the answer is only "yes!" on the last page of the book.

I have a HUGE weakness for any book in the Little Golden Book series, especially the older, more classic stories. Maribelle has inherited my collection of Golden Books from when I was a kid, and she's received quite a few of these little gems as gifts this past year. Her favorite, however, seems to be Baby Farm Animals. It's simple and fun and really tests the reader's animal impersonating skills. And I'm pretty sure that's why she likes it best, because watching your mom and dad impersonate a donkey, duck and a guinea pig (?!) is LOADS of fun.

We have so many other great books in our personal library for little people, and I can't wait to see what her next favorite book of the moment will be. I've been gently nudging her toward a children's book of illustrated poems that was mine when I was little, but as of yet she has no interest in Frost or Wordsworth. And I can't say I blame her.