I love me a whimsical tale, BUT! In celebration of this adorable holiday, I thought I'd dish, in general, about my favorite children's books instead {with ridicuously long explanations} and ask you to tell me about yours.
{Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs}
Let's walk down memory lane, shall we? Let's waltz alllll the way back to when I was a wee 5 year old daughter of CoCo + Big M. I remember one special day so vividly - the Kindergarten Book Fair. My classmates and I all had our cute little change-filled envelopes all ready to go. We marched into the library with our pleated plaid uniforms and were told to pick out something fun! I walked past Charlotte, dodged Mother Goose, said {meh} to Little Critters , almost became biffies with Madeline, but happily stumbled upon my one true book love...
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| T-2: "Just smile at the lady, Sis, and maybe she'll leave us alone." |
I earned every single cent that paid for this terrific title. She'll always be my top fave. I could read that book 7,562 times in a row and still want another look. {I have no attention span, so this was major!} My love of graphics started here, I'm 100% sure of it. I used to study every inch of the drawings - line by line, shadow by shadow. I was enchanted. {Entranced! Googly-eyed! Bah!} The Nerd Alert sirens were blasting far and wide.
Obviously, a book that centers around food that falls from the sky was {and always will be} simply magical to me. Call me food obsessed - you have every right! I knows what I likes. I treasured this classic growing up, and I feel that it grew up with me. It was only on the market about 6 years when I bought it, so every time I see it, I get a happy flashback of a younger me. {Gahhhd, I loved being a kid!} I'm not joking when I say the original copy sits neatly tucked away in our safe.
Much to my surprise, in 2009, I heard that it was going to be turned into a movie. I gasped. I didn't want to see it. I have no clue how to explain this, but I didn't want anything to change my version of the story. But...I watched the first few minutes of it. And...promptly changed the channel. I know I'm an adult, but you've got to be kidding me!
{Mrs. Piggle Wiggle}
Grandma RoRo used to take me and Sheesh to the library every single time we slept over her house. {Every. Single. Time.} We loved going with her. We knew that however many books we'd check out {which was the absolute limit they'd allow! 15? 20?}, Ro would read every single one to us. {Every. Single. One.} It was our Grammie/Granddaughter time with her. She never once rushed us when we'd try to pronounce words. She never once smirked when we'd asked her to read us something for the 8,953rd time. She never once flubbed the words or skipped a few pages get to the end quicker.{Oh, how I wish I could only be like her these days! hehe}. Ro spent quality time with us - and if it meant walking a few blocks with her to the 'Brary - we did it - because we knew we'd have her attention {Every. Single. Second.}.
One of our favorite picks was Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. A few years ago, Ro checked it out and gave it to me for my birthday, just for fun. It's so old it still had the card in it that you had to write your name on. The 'Brary peeps must just be keeping it there for sentimental value. {Nice!} That little lady absolutely ruined my mascara! {Sweetheart.}
{Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas}
I'll admit - I heard about it on HBO first! We now own the DVD and every grainy little line that's on it makes my heart skip a beat. It's old, you can see the strings that move the little muppety characters, and the sound is a bit...off...but Jim Henson did a fine job bringing this nifty number to life. Emmett and his Mama both try to figure out a way to buy Christmas gifts for each other. This one gives ya all the feels.
{Anything by Seuss}
Rhymes, man. My rapping foundations started here.
{Where the Sidewalk Ends}
Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout. It's where I learned my fave style of writing...no doubt!
{Little Mr./Miss}
All of 'em. The colors, the faces, the story lines. All of 'em! I like how different they all were. The series taught me about all types of 'peeps. A few years ago, I heard Stella McCartney created a children's wear line that was inspired by these books. Hargreaves even created a signature "Little Miss Stella" character for the invites to her show. {Epic!}
{Amelia Bedelia}
She's a funny loon who takes things super-duper literally and ends up baking something by the end of the book. I totally dig her style and penchant for puns. "Dress the chicken" for dinner? A classic womp womp for sure.
{Berenstain Bears}
This shoe-less family always got into odd situations, and somehow, they always found a way out of them. That's what fam is all about, right? {The one about strangers spooked me to no end though. I credit my paranoia to these goofy grizzlies.}
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| They spoke to my soul. |
{Ramona}
Ohhh, good 'ol Bev penned some tales about the age old big sis/little sis combo. Sheesh and I eventually loved watching the t.v. show version.
{Golden Books}
You couldn't really go wrong with any of them. Almost everyone has either read, seen or heard of these. I recently heard of a humorous take on this series, and someday I'm going to buy this: {Everything I Need To Know I Learned From A Golden Book}. Be sure to click on the picture of the book for a peak inside the pages of this parody.
Honorable Mention: I know it's not considered a "children's" book, but I'd be remiss if I wrote about faves and didn't give a proper shout out to The Baby-Sitter's Club. Raise your hand if you, too, had thoughts about building a little empire in your 'hood. Keep 'em up! Way up!!!
So there ya have it! A little sampling of my faves. You still with me? Hope so! Because I want to spotlight a sweet book company...Usborne Books...and share some swag with you. The wonderful teachers at the Twinado's school ADORE this company. I had never heard of them until last year when they sponsored a Book Fair. Admittedly, I really didn't want to look in to order anything because I had already started a little collection for the chicas...and I knew once I fell, I'd fall hard. I thought I was all set...until the vibrant, colorful, happy covers caught my eye.
Darn it! Here I go again!
Someone pick me up.
I saw volumes and volumes of REALLY neat topics for kids of all ages. Puzzles, flash cards, stickers, activity packs - they even have eBook, holiday, seasonal and SPANISH selections! {O, Dios mio!} The pages are inviting and the perfectly placed fonts are extremely engaging. And, they have apps. So many, many, many apps. I'd babble on, but hop on over and check them out fo' yourself!
Click here!
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| ...able! |
In keeping with tradition, I'm going to note that I'm not a consultant...but I sure know a cool one! Just a wacky broad who likes to spread the good word about fun finds.}
Meet {E.A.} - dear friend, super Mama, all-around chill gal...and might I add, a humbled, super star of an athlete. {I'm not kidding - this girl's athletic prowess is beyond compare and should have its own blog!} If you're interested in earning Usborne classics for FREE, give E.A. a buzz. She'll hook you up with a single order, or she can help you host an in-home shin dig . She can even help you kick off a laid-back Facie event for an even easier way to party! {Think shopping in jammies!}
Out of the 2,000-plus titles in print, E.A. has gifted the CoCo-nuts family with a little prize! Head on over to the Facie page for more details on how YOU could take home this gem.
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| Check out these deets! |
The End!
