Library Haul

I did something a little different for this weeks library trip:

I went alone and requested most of my pickups online so they were ready when I got there. It was much less stressful this way. I know Isla needs to go with me, but man was this easier.

I picked up a few things I was excited to read and a lot that I knew she would love.

Mercy Watson, the porcine wonder. Isla loves these books. Mercy Watson To The Rescue was the first chapter book I ever read to Isla and she absolutely loved it (when we were in the car and she couldn't escape to do anything else. Ha.) But she does request it every time we're driving to her great-granparents house. So I picked up the third installment, Mercy Watson Fights Crime, because my library only had the 3rd, 4th, and 7th books. Why? Get more books, library! Mercy Watson Fights Crime certainly doesn't disappoint. Mercy gets tucked into bed one night, and wakes up a while later hearing the sound of someone making toast in the kitchen (her very favorite snack.) Turns out, no one is making toast, it's a little cowboy wannabe who is robbing the place! Mercy Watson accidentally saves the day, as she usually does. It's a cute book with just enough illustrations to hold the attention of pre-readers. Plus the page numbers are written on little slices of hot buttered toast.

There is a Tribe of Kids is a beautiful little book about what groups on animals are called: a colony of penguins, a pod of whales, a parade of elephants, etc. The illustrations are just delightful with a small child going on a journey with each group of animals, acting as they do. Is he just exploring with the animals or searching for his own tribe? In the end he finds a tribe of kids he can belong to.

Grandpa Green is also by Lane Smith. It the story of a little boy spending time with his great-grandfather. The little boy is basically telling the story of his great-grandfathers life. His great grandfather is a wonderful horticulturist, and the story is told through his carving and shaping of bushes and trees. This was especially sweet to me since Isla is so close to her great-grandfather. It's a sweet story with beautiful illustrations.

Can you believe I've never read The Little Prince? This may be a little over Isla's head, but I've never read it and I want to watch the new movie on Netflix. So I'm reading this to Isla little by little over the week and I hope we can watch The Little Prince for next week's family movie night.

We can never go wrong with Elephant & Piggie. I think it may have been a mistake to check these out from the library - I should have just bought them, Isla loves them so much. My favorite from this stack is Waiting Is Not Easy. I love the star scene at the end. Isla's favorite is I Really Like Slop, because of Gerald's reaction to trying slop. So funny.

Journey is the first installment in a three book series of wordless picture books that are Harold and the Purple Crayon for older kids. A young girl, bored one day in her very grey world, draws a red door on her bedroom door and goes through to a colorful forest with lanterns hanging in the trees. She comes to a stream, so she draws a little red boat. The boat goes over a waterfall, so she draws a hot air balloon. She has quite the adventure and meets a friend who is as imaginative and creative as she is. I love wordless picture books because the story can change with each reading. And even if your littles can't read words yet, they can read these books just by describing what's going on on the pages. 

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend is the story of an imaginary friend who is tired of waiting for his person, so he decides to go find her. This book uses color beautifully, vibrant and wild in the imaginary world, then grey everything in the real world, until he meets his friend. It's a lovely little story about going after what you want instead of just waiting around for it to happen (a lesson I need to be reminded of regularly.) And also about making friends - it's not that hard, you just have to put yourself out there.

I picked up All the World because it had a pink spine. (It's hard to search through all those books in the library - the pink stood out.) This was the only pick this week that rhymed. All the World is a simple, but beautiful, story about everyday life. It's about family, food, and nature and the illustrations are beautiful. Pick this one up for a calm read in the midst of silly ones like Elephant & Piggie. It would be great as the last book before bedtime.

What did you pick up at the library this week?

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