the dusty bookshelf: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

what dusty bookshelf is complete

without a copy of Eric Carle's famous book?

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

is on my toddler's list of must read on a daily basis.

and with pages looking like this...

what parent and child would not love the book?

it promotes learning and counting on it's lovely hard pages.

i, for one, am a BIG FAN of Mr. Carle.

a few of his books are sitting quite nicely on our dusty bookshelf

waiting to be pulled out by the little and littlest man.

the dusty bookshelf: Caillou Books

there are three things my little man is head over heels in love with.

the first being his brother (ok, that's a person)

the second are his trains (be it thomas, chuggington or whoever else)

and third is Caillou.

yes, Caillou.  he just adores Caillou.

we have netflix at home because they have the complete

four seasons of Caillou and for his down time,

the little man get to watch his favorite show.

of course, what little boy who loves Caillou

would be complete without having a few choice Caillou books on hand?

this set includes the following selections:

Caillou Dresses Up!

Caillou Goes Birdwatching

Caillou's The Hiding Place

Caillou Rides a Bike

Caillou Rides on the Plane

Caillou Walks a Dog

of course, not a day goes by that we do not read 

ALL six books.

yes, we've have them memorized by heart already.

the dusty bookshelf: Baby, I Love You

written by:  Karma Wilson

illustrated by:  Sam Williams

i find that having a toddler at home

who is in the process of learning to appreciate books

is a fantastic time for me

to also fall-in-love with children's books.

Baby, I Love You is now part of our "must reads" for bedtime

and my Dylan gets to say the "I Love You" parts

complete with a tap on my nose 

in a squeaky little voice.

i just adore books ---

and i adore that my son is loving them too!

the dusty bookshelf: Goodnight Moon

written by:  Margaret Wise Brown
illustrated by:  Clement Hurd

Goodnight Moon is our favorite bedtime book.

i remember years ago

when this was first introduced to my baby brother.

he loved this book so much

and has memorized it cover to cover.

it was only appropriate then

that the book became my baby brother's present

to my eldest little boy

for his dedication (baptism).

we have a hard copy of the book

and it is so worn out that you would think 

that it has been passed down a few generations.

but that is how you know a book is good.

because it gets so much use --- too much reads.

and Lord knows how much my son loves it.

that much like his godfather, my brother,

he now has it memorized cover to cover.

the dusty bookshelf: Busy Little Mouse

written by:  Eugenie Fernandes

illustrated by:  Kim Fernandes

i am trying to instill my love of reading to my darling boys

dylan is at the age where he is now enjoying short stories

repetition is the key at his age so i try to pick out books

that he is able to quickly grasp and recall

we are currently in-love with this book.

not only does it have a cute story line

it also has some lovely illustrations 

that any kid will surely love

this is a must-have in your bookshelf

if you have little ones.

the dusty bookshelf: Goodnight Moon

when my (not-so-baby) brother was about three or four years old, my mom came back home from a Chicago trip and along with her was a copy of Goodnight Moon that was a gift from our aunt.  it was my baby brother's most treasured possession and now, at 20 years of age, he still proudly has his copy of said book --- tattered cardboard pages and all.

fast forward to now, after hassling my brother to lend me copy of said book, he finally relented not by lending me his but purchasing one for his one and only nephew.

every night, the little man and i will lie on the bed as we pore through every page of this book.  we will say goodnight to the little house and young mouse, to the cow jumping over the moon and the three little bears sitting on chairs.  we wave goodnight to the light and kitten and mittens.  we also say goodnight to the comb and brush and the lady whispering "hush" (complete with my little bhubba's finger on his lips as he whispers "hush" with me).

this book truly is our favourite book --- enough that i have memorized it and will quietly go through the words with my son even without the picture book when we are in the car on the way home late at night.  it truly puts him in a calmer state knowing that it's time for bed.

so for now i say,

Goodnight stars, Goodnight air
Goodnight noises everywhere...

the dusty bookshelf: 3 books in 1 day!

my love of reading started in the summer i turned 10. i distinctly remembered my mom bringing home a borrowed copy of the Sweet Dreams Book #1 entitled P.S. I Love You by Barbara Conklin.

i read and re-read that book and poured over every word... i still recall giggling over the character's first kiss and crying with her as her heart broke over "P.S." --- what more, i fell in love with reading.

it seemed only appropriate that i create another feature on my blog --- THE DUSTY BOOKSHELF --- now that i am picking-up again on my reading.

here's a few books i picked up last monday (please bear in my my love for trashy romance novels!!!)

i heart books`

Twice a year, the Richmond Public Library hosts a Book Sale and this weekend, I just happen to pop by in time to pick up massive amounts of books!

I am an avid reader --- and though you can give me just about any genre of book, I am not ashamed to admit that I have much love for the trashy-romance-novel-type of books!

Hence.....

And of course, I just happen to snag some amazing finds in the classic section ----

With $34 dollars gone from my pocket, I have all these wonderful books (plus a hoopla of children's books for the little man). I can't wait to dig into these selections!

next on my list

i cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of this for the weekend:



i have always loved James Patterson and his work --- his book, The Jester, which he co-penned with Andrew Gross is second on my list of all-time favourites (Until You by Judith McNaught being the first). now, i really can't wait to read Sundays at Tiffany's as i am quite excited about the plot!


what have you read lately?

the tale of...

When I was younger, my mom came home from a Chicago Trip and brought home one of my most favourite children's classics... The Tale of Peter Rabbit. I distinctly remember opening a bag from FAO Schwarz and screaming in delight to find a new book for me to read.

Fast forward to today --- coming back from a trip from Vegas, I picked up a copy of said book along with a plush toy of Peter for my little man. And where else would I go to get it? To FAO Schwarz, of course! I was so excited to find both book and toy because I loved Peter as a child and a I know that my son will have the same appreciation for him.