A Fish Out Of Water

One of my sweetest childhood memories is of my mother reading A Fish Out Of Water to me. I don’t know why I remember that so clearly, aside from the fact that there’s no counting how many times she read it to me. I can remember sitting there with her, giggling wildly at the absurdity of the story. Who ever heard of a tiny goldfish growing big enough to fill a swimming pool? My sister still has the copy of the book we enjoyed as children; it lost its front and back covers many years ago and the yellowed pages are just barely stitched together.

Like me, my little ones love this fun book! They have a very definite appreciation for the absurd, and this story certainly satisfies that! The responsible mother in me also sees the value in noticing the relationship between actions and consequences presented within the story, but I don’t ever make that a big lecture. It’s obvious enough without mom pounding it into their little heads.

The illustrations are classic P.D. Eastman, with few colors, few objects on the average page, and all of them highlighting the ridiculous moments. I’ve no doubt your children will appreciate the humor in this book just as much as my own have. Enjoy!

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Caps For Sale

I truly hope that this next book is not new to any of you, only because that would mean you and your children haven’t been enjoying it as long as you could have. Esphyr Slobodkina’s Caps For Sale has been a favorite of mine since childhood. I can hear my mother’s voice reading it to me. It’s also been a big hit with my daughters since before they were two years old, and it’s a favorite of my son’s now too.

A cap peddler begins his day the same way he always does, little knowing that in the hours to come he’ll have to deal with the theft of all his inventory and the problem of getting it back from monkeys, of all things!

The very first time I read this charming book to my daughters I made up motions and goofy voices to go with every part. They collapsed into giggles that night and we’ve used those motions and silly voices every time we’ve read this book since. Now their little brother joins in on balancing his stack of caps oh so carefully on his head, peering around the tree to find the missing ones, and shaking his tiny fists angrily at the monkeys who’ve turned into thieves.

If this book isn’t already on your shelf, please go get it now! It’s a fun, silly book that may very well become a family tradition for you as it is now for us. Enjoy!

So Many Cats!

I stumbled across this fun book a few years ago when I was browsing the clearance section of a local bookstore. It was on sale for less than two dollars, and as I glanced through it I decided it was certainly worth at least that much. So I brought it home and read it to the girls, who quickly fell in love with the delightful rhythm and the bright illustrations. Since that day, I have read So Many Cats! too many times to count, and we’ve added another admirer to our family of readers. Now my son sits with my daughters and giggles at the pictures and counts the cats on every page.

This fun story explains how a certain family ended up the owners of a dozen cats. True cat lovers, somehow cats seem drawn to the family members, following them home, scratching at their door, peeking in their window. Even after declaring they are done taking in cats, they discover that they may have room for just one more…

The most appealing aspect of this book is Beatrice Schenk de Regniers’ endearing verse. It’s a very fun book to read aloud, and it’s a very pleasant story to listen to. Ms. de Regniers wrote many books in verse, and clearly knew how to do so very well. It’s simple without being trite, somehow still interesting after being read dozens of times.

The illustrations by Ellen Weiss are almost child-like in their use of imagination, with cats getting into all sorts of mischief throughout the book. My children stop me on every page to point out especially amusing kitties.

I’m so glad I picked up this book on a whim those years ago. It’s been a very fun addition to our children’s bookshelves and caused us to look up more of Ms. de Regniers’ delightful books. I hope you’ll check it out for your own family!

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