Library Haul

 "Home is a house in the country. Or home is an apartment." So begins this delightful book about all the different places (real and fictional) people might call home. I could stare at the illustrations in this book for hours. And it introduces kids to the fact that people live differently that they do, which is an important lesson to learn.

I have seen Du Iz Tak? everywhere! So when it was finally available at my library, I snatched it up. Du Iz Tak? means What is that? in made up bug language. The entire book is written in made up bug language, leaving the reader to deduce what's happening in the story from visual clues and inflection. I have to admit, it was very fun trying to read the made up language aloud with the same casual ease I read English aloud. This book was wonderful and it definitely deserves all of the praise (Caldecott Honor) it's been receiving.

Who knew penguins had such a hard life? Penguin Problems tells the tale of a snarky little penguin who is having trouble just being a penguin. It's cold, everyone looks the same, he's hunted by leopard seals, it gets dark super early, and so on. A walrus overhears his complaining and decides to chime in. He points out all the wonderful things about where they live and and all the great things about the penguin's life, if he would only appreciate what he has. It takes the penguin a while to notice all the beautiful things around him, but he eventually does. This book is funny, beautifully illustrated, and teaches the important lesson that perspective is everything.

Was there ever a fluffier kitty than Papillon? I don't think so. Papillon is so fluffy that he is lighter than air and one day, just floats right out the window and away from home. He gets very lost, but eventually meets a friend who shows him the way home. The illustrations in this book are so stinking cute and I've never seen a kitty cuter than Papillon in my life.  

Egg is the latest book from Kevin Henkes (Waiting, Chrysanthemum, etc.) It's the story of four little eggs, one of which is a big surprise. The text is sparse and repetitive, but it tells a big story - the importance of friendship and acceptance. Told in a graphic novel format, this one would be perfect for Easter, if you gift books at holidays.











What did you check out from the library this week? Anything I should add to my hold list?

Library Haul

Library Lion is the story of a lion who wants to visit the library, but must learn the rules first (no running, you must be quiet) because the head librarian, Miss Merriweather is a stickler for the rules. And since there is no rule against lions being in the library, he's allowed to stay. He returns everyday for story hour and helps Miss Merriweather with tasks like dusting the encyclopedias, licking envelopes, and returning books to their proper place. But the lion and the librarian both learn that sometimes rules can be broken, if you have a good enough reason.

This is one I checked out for myself (it would be waaay over Isla's head.) A Poem for Peter is about Ezra Jack Keats's life, and the first picture book to prominently feature a non-white child, The Snowy Day. Keats had a hard life as the child of immigrant parents who fled Poland to escape persecution as Jews and landed in America not long before the Great Depression. Keats recognized a huge gap in childrens literature - children of color and children in urban settings were not represented at all. So when the opportunity came to write his own book, he wrote about Peter, a little boy exploring the snow in the city. This was a beautiful book about Keats and how he made great strides toward inclusion in children's publishing.

I've featured Sleep Like A Tiger before, but I just love it so much. It's a perfect book to read at bedtime when you're trying to get your kids to settle down, dang it. A small girl insists that she's not tired and does not want to go to bed (sounds like every night at my house.) So her parents tell her about all the things in the world that go to sleep. The illustrations are mellow and beautiful and the text is perfect for reading quietly and slowly. Make this the last book you read at bedtime, and your kiddo should drop right off to sleep. (Well, a mom can dream, right?)

To change course a little bit, Wolfie the Bunny is not a super mellow book. One day, the Bunny family come home to find a baby wolf bundled up on their doorstep. Mama Bunny and Papa bunny immediately fall in love, but Dot isn't so sure. She's pretty certain the wolf is going to eat them all up, until one day when a big bear tries to eat Wolfie. Pick this one up at the library to see the epic - and cute - resolution.

Shy made the rounds pretty hard in the #bookstagram community when it came out last September. I finally see why. This is one of the most beautifully illustrated picture books I've ever seen. It's the story of Shy, an animal who is so shy that she hides in between the pages of the book until the last few pages. She loves book and birds and finally hears a bird sing for the first time, but is too shy to approach her. By the time she works up the courage to emerge, the bird has flown away, and even though she's scared, Shy decides to follow and try to find her. She explores the world and finds that real life, outside of the pages of a book, are even more beautiful than she could have imagined. I'll be adding this one to our collection asap. It's gorgeous.








Have you guys read any of these? What's the best picture book you read this week?

Library Haul

It's been a minute, but I'm back with another library haul post. I know you've missed these, so let's dive in and see what Isla and I picked out this week after the jump.

Library Haul

New week - new library haul! It's a small haul this week because one of the libraries we visit only allows you to check out five item from the children's section at a time, which, personally I think is a crime, but I don't make the rules.

We made the most of those limited choices count though. Here's what we got:

Library Haul

It's time for another library haul! We signed up at a new library this week, you know... just to up the nerd status even more. Now I have two library cards. Woot!

The state of Georgia has a state wide library, Georgia Pines, but not every county participates (i.e. the county I live in.) So, now I have a Pines library card and a county library card and can check out even more books. I guess I'll have to start sharing my Big Reads library hauls as well as my Little Reads. (You can find those on Instagram if we aren't friends yet - @bigreadslittlereads.)

Here are some favorites we picked up this week between our two libraries:

Sleep Like a Tiger is one I've seen on instagram a few times and it lives up to the hype. Just beautiful. And a truly accurate representation of a kid who claims he's not tired and doesn't need to go to sleep. Plus the bedtime story the parents are going to read the child is The Little Prince.

I've been introducing longer books to Isla beyond the simple picture book. So we've been reading 1-2 chapter books each week, trying to stretch them out over multiple days. After The Little Prince, we read The Story of Diva and Flea. I loved it. So did Isla. It's the story of a little dog named Diva and a big cat named Flea who live in Paris and become friends. There was one part about where Flea goes when he goes and how is Diva supposed to know where he goes when he goes - I almost couldn't get through it, I was laughing so hard. 

The second chapter book we picked up for this week is the first Magic Tree House book, Dinosaurs Before Dark. We're about halfway through this one, and we will definitely be picking up more books from this series. It's just fun.

Ah, The Paper Bag Princess, a feminist anthem for little people. Ha! But only kind of. This story is applicable regardless of gender. Elizabeth is a beautiful princess who lives in a castle and wears beautiful clothes and is to be married to Prince Ronald, until a dragon comes along and burns down the castle, all of her beautiful clothes, and carries off Prince Ronald. Obviously, after going through all of that, Elizabeth looks a hot mess and can't find anything to wear except for a paper bag, but that's not going to stop her from rescuing her prince. She rescues him, he has something smart to say about how she's looking rough, and she basically tells him to kick rocks (as she should - don't be so ungrateful and superficial, Ronald. Dang.) This one is a MUST READ. Might even be a must own.

The Scaredy Squirrel is hilarious. This little squirrel is so afraid of anything bad happening to him, that he never leaves his tree and every day is the same. Until one day, he falls from his tree and discovers that he's not any old squirrel - he's a flying squirrel. His life is forever changed.

You-Hoo Ladybug DEFINITELY wins Isla's favorite this week. It's a simple look and find book about a little ladybug hiding among a bunch of toys. Isla, the three year old, was so much better at finding the ladybug than I was, the twenty eight year old. Don't be fooled, that ladybug hid extremely well.

Do you make a trip to the library a weekly event? What did you pick up this week?

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?

Disclaimer - this post contains affiliate links, which if you purchase through clicking, I will receive a small percentage of your purchase price. It doesn't change your price, and would only help to support our book buying habit in order to bring you more reviews and recommendations.

Library Haul

Let's talk libraries. I've mentioned several times before that I need to take advantage of my library more, so I decided to take my own advice and hopefully help my budget out a little bit (provided I return the books on time...) There's just one caveat:

The library stresses me out. I try to take Isla with me, because it's good for her to get familiar with libraries. And I want her to be able to pick out books for herself. But guys, she's so loud. She's only 3, so we're still working on inside voices/outside voices. She's also hearing impaired. I'm not sure if that contributes to how loud she is (she wears hearing aids) or if it's just a kid thing. Maybe it's both. I don't know. She's loud. 

Here's how the visit went: We talked the whole walk from the car to the front door about how we need to whisper inside, but as soon as we stepped in the door, everything we talked about flew right out of her mind. She wanted to talk to the librarian working at the front desk. She was jumping all over the place while I was trying to pay my late fines from last time. She said she had to go potty, even though we literally just went before we left school (that's her go to when she doesn't want to do something.) When we finally got over to the kids section, she headed straight for the baby books, picked up 5 copies of the same book and said, "I'm ready to go home."

And she continued to say that she was ready to go home the entire time we were there.

Plus it's always to hot in there, so between Isla being hella loud, squatting and standing to look on the tiny shelves, chasing her all over the place when something catches her attention, trying to self checkout (recommended by the librarians) and having half my books not scan...

I was definitely sweating by the time we left. But we got some books, so I'll count it as a success.

Here's the best of what we left with. 

Sam and Dave Dig A Hole is so cute. It's the story of two little boys, Sam and Dave, who decide to dig a whole looking for something amazing. They keep changing their path, since they aren't finding anything amazing. Unbeknownst to them, *just* before they change directions, lies something amazing. Also, they dig so far that they fall out of the sky back to where they started. You really can't go wrong with Barnett and Klassen. See below:

Extra Yarn: One of my all time faves. I'll definitely have to feature it soon because it is just so beautiful the way the colors build over the course of the story.

Imaginary Fred, a bookstagram favorite right around it's publication date. It's the story of Fred, the imaginary friend, who has had a lot of real friends, but none that last forever. Until he meets Sam. And Sammi. And Frida. Complete with classic Oliver Jeffers illustrations.

If Bunny Roo, I Love You looks familiar, it's because of the illustrator, Teagan White. She wrote and illustrated the Barefoot Critters books, Adventures with Barefoot Critters and Counting with Barefoot Critters. Her illustrations are just beautiful and this book is so sweet. It would be a good baby shower book, I think. If you like the illustrations as much as I do, Teagan White has a Society 6 page where you can buy prints, t-shirts, pillows, phone cases, etc with her art work on them. The prints would look amazing in a nursery or playroom.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is a fun read. In a very dark, sort of Industrial Revolution era London feeling city live a bunch of formerly wild animals. Formerly wild, because they are all very prim and proper now. But Mr. Tiger is over it and decides to be just a little wild at first. Before he knows it, he's completely naked and running through the forest. Of course, the other animals soon see that he's got the right idea and join him. This is another on that uses color brilliantly. It's mostly black and white at the beginning, with only Mr. Tiger in color, and the wilder he gets, the more color is on the pages.

Knuffle Bunny seems to be a favorite for a lot of people. It's even a Caldecott winner. I thought it was ok. The illustrations were very interesting - sort of mixed media illustrations over black and white photograph settings. But I didn't love the story as much. It's the story of a little girl who runs an errand with her dad to the laundromat, but she leaves her beloved bunny behind. She tried to tell her dad what's wrong, but he doesn't understand her. When they get home, Mom immediately knows what's wrong, so all three of them rush back to the laundromat and find the bunny. 

So, that was this weeks library haul. Do you visit the library? Kids in tow or alone? Please give me tips to make me sweat less at the library!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.