Favorite Books

The other night I went to a cookout at a friend's house who is the proud mommy of a beautiful 6 month old baby girl.  While I was there she asked me about finding children's books and I promised her a list of some of mine and Sophia's favorites.  The thing about making this list is that I am a book collector.  I have well over 500 books for Sophia.  They are piled on book shelves, in the floor, in drawers.  And I don't stop buying them.  If I see a good book I buy it (assuming the price is reasonable).  I like to buy books from yard sales and used book stores, but I'll rarely pay more than a dollar or two depending on the book. 

I loved being a member of the Chilren's Book of the Month club.  Yes, it's a mail order book club, but they don't randomly mail books out to you and charge your credit card and over all you get some great books at half or lower than retail.  Here's a link:  http://www.cbomc.com/  I got some great books and spent maybe $150 total.  Of course I paid more than a dollar or two, but some of the books I got retail for up to $12. 

Being a native Tennessee- Sophia was born in Knoxville- we also belong to the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library which is an awesome program.  I hope when I have extra money to give I can give to this program because it's been wonderful for us.  A book every month of Sophia's life until she's 5!!!!  I think it's only for Tennessee residents, but other states should follow suit if they don't have a program like this.  THANK YOU DOLLY PARTON!!!!  Here's a link to the Imagination Library if you're not already signed up: http://imaginationlibrary.com/.  I'm hoping to sign up the new baby when he's born.

I have to give credit to Chick Fil A for their contribution to our book collection including the Laura Numeroff collection.  Sophia has mostly grown out of the "under 3 board books" but they have been great additions and quick easy reads for her.

Ok.  List of books we love.  I might have to come in and edit this adding titles, author info or whatnot.  Post any questions you have on anything I post and I'll answer with any details you need.

For the Toddler:
Any of the "Spot" books are great for toddlers.  They usually tear them up, but they're well-worth the expense.
"Biscuit" books are less intelligible, but kids seem to enjoy them.
Sandra Boynton books are great fun to read.  We like:
        Pajama Time
        What's Wrong Little Pookie
        Blue Hat, Green Hat (which guarantees giggles with every "Oops")
        Doggies
        The Belly Button Book (we don't own this one, but have read it many times)
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
On The Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier (honestly, this one is more for the parents than the kids)

For the older toddler/preschooler:
We all know Dr. Suess books are fabulous.  But not all Dr. Suess are equal.  These are the ones Sophia loved:
The Foot Book
Green Eggs and Ham
The Eye Book
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?
Fox in Socks (fun for parents too- challenge your significant other to read it as fast as he/she can)
My Many Colored Days

Some PD Eastman books from the Dr. Suess collection:
Are you My Mother?
Ten Apples Up on Top

Berenstain Bears Books:
The B Book
On The Moon

Any of the Berenstain Bears books are great books.  The character of them is that Stan and Jan Berenstain wrote the books for their kids and you can buy the books in sets to grow with your child's reading attention and ability.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch is a must to any library.  It's another parent's book
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (I suggest the individual books because the all-in-one collection is hard to hold with a child snuggled in your lap.)
Momma Will You by Dori Chaconas
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (an absolute must-have)
Curious George by H.A. Rey  (It's a bit old fashioned, but the kids don't seem to notice.)
Every child should have one "Classical Fairy Tales" book.  It's not necessarily important which one as long as it covers the classics (Three Bears*, Three Little Pigs, Tom Thumb, Hansel and Gretel)
*I got a great Goldilocks and The Three Bears book adapted by Jan Brett from the Imagination Library.  Her illustrations are phenomenal and worth buying it separate.

Jane O' Connor has created the best girlie books ever- Fancy Nancy.  If you have a little girl, get these books.  Beware of the actual Jane O' Connor books and the "adapted from" books.  I noticed a difference enough to bother me although Sophia didn't seem to mind.  We like:
Fancy Nancy
Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy
Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly
Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas
We have Fancy Nancy Exporer Extraoridnaire, but I find this book tedious to read and maybe would be better when your child can read it herself.

Olivia books are great for little girls too.  We have the original Olivia as well as Olivia's Christmas.

Pinkalicious by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann is a good girlie book.  If you get the series (which I recommend) beware of Purplicious because it's very... dramatic.  My drama queen picked up on all of the extreme drama.

 Laura Numeroff books are wonderful:
If You Give a Moose a Muffin
If You Give a Pig a Party
If You Take a Mouse to School
etc.  They're all pretty fun to read and I think help kids see the cycle of thinking and interrelatedness.

Another amazing children's author is Doreen Cronin.  I haven't found a book of hers that wasn't great.  Her books have that great humor that appeals to kids AND parents.
Click Clack Moo
Duck For President

Mo Willems has the monopoly on dual humor
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed
Knuffle Bunny (We don't own this book, but have read it many times.)

If you at all celebrate Christmas (religious or not) you must own "Twas The Night Before Christmas".  Be sure to look at the illustrations because the story is so common, but the illustrations can really *make* the story.

Other non-religious Chirstmas books to own:
Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (get the book before the movie)
The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck

A book we own now, but I wish we'd owned when Sophia was little is The Big Book of Farmyard Tales by Heather Amery.  It's a great book to read and has some starter reading potential.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (although it can be scary for little kids at that nightmare age)

Corduroy by Don Freeman (I've seen there are other Courduroy books, but I haven't read any of them so I can't comment.  The original is just wonderful though.)

Beatrix Potter books are fun to read.  The Tale of Peter Rabbit is one we enjoy as well as Jemima Puddle Duck.

I think every kid should have a book of Mother Goose, but again, the illustrations can make or break the book.  I recommend the Mary Engelbreit version.  Her illustrations are colorful and interesting.  The Real Mother Goose by Blanch Fisher is BORING and DULL and I ended up getting rid of our copy.

If you're interested in Bible stories, children's Bibles are the scariest!  I asked around and somehow ended up with three copies now of The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories.  The illustrations are cute and it covers all of the stories kids should know.

This list is hardly complete, not to mention the fact that I keep adding to our collection as fast as I can and they keep writing awesome books.  Plus, Sophia is learning to read faster than the bullet train so we're having to add more and more "grown up" books.  In any case, this list should get anyone started with their collection.

Homemade Waffles anyone?

I used to buy Bisquick.  It's easy, it's quick, it's a box.  But once I ran out and I wanted waffles and I had no money to run to the store and grab a box of Bisquick.  So, I made some from scratch.  Yes, ladies and gentleman, from scratch.  It sounds waaaaay harder than it is.  It's actually extremely simple and you could even make a big batch of the dry ingredients and save it in tupperware for later use.

Here it is for you waffle-y yum-ness.  Note:  I have pictures in this post.  I've added pictures to a few other older posts in case you really want to see my masterwork for yourself.

Wonderful Waffles
3T unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
2T sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

I just throw it all in a bowl

Then put it on my favorite waffle iron from Williams Sonoma using a ladel

I usually keep my iron on about 4 or medium to get the best waffles.  Too high and they're too cripy and kinda dry, too low and they aren't done.  Perfectly golden is what you're looking for.

They really aren't that bad for you I suppose until you add the butter and syrup (which I always do), but if you want to add a little health and/or just make breakfast taste extra special, serve with some fresh cut strawberries and milk.  I made this beautiful breakfast for Sophia and me.

Alton Brown once said you can freeze homemade waffles for L'eggo my Eggo type waffles you can pop in the toaster.  I haven't tried this, but I do put them in the fridge.  We try to eat them within the week and I usually toast mine lightly to bring back some of the "crunch" they lose.  This is so simple I haven't bought Bisquick since.  Shhh... don't tell Bisquick.