What we read {for World Book Day}

In honour of world book day, which *almost* coincided with Sachin reading his first ever sentence this past weekend (I'm not emotionally ready to deal with that yet), I thought I'd share some of our current favourite books. M and I are big readers, and I suppose that made it sort of inevitable that Sachin would be too. Books are so special to me. I have so many memroies of days spent in the library when we were little (we were pretty poor, it was free and a great day out) getting lost in other worlds with new people. Since he was born we've always encourged him to pick them up, look at them, often lick them and  read aloud to him. It's one of our favourtie things. So here we go, a few of our current (and long standing) favourites.

These first two books are favourites by authors who feature heavily in our book rotation, and probably come as no surprise to anyone with kids.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy 

by Oliver Jeffers

First up, Oliver Jeffers. Not only are all of his books sweet and smart, but they are also very beautifully illustrated. We have quite a few of his stories, but last week we got 'The Incredible Book Eating Boy!" from the library, and Sachin has requested it numerous times since. The story of a boy who starts to eat books, but wisely switches to reading them instead. I love the little details of illustration in this; each page is slightly collaged to with pages of old books. Other favourites we own are "Lost and Found" and "Up and Down", which revole around a boy and a penguin and their friendship. 

 The Snail and The Whale 

by Julia Donaldson

  

Secondly, it's Julia Donaldsons "The Snail and The Whale". We've had this book a longtime and it's still a pleasure to read. She has a great way of rhyming poetically and this is probably the best example of that. A snail hitches a ride on the back of a whale, and they travel the world. The snail realises how small she is in the grand scheme of things, but discovers that being small doesn't mean you can't make a difference. 

'And she gazed at the sky, the sea, the land,

The waves and the caves and the golden sand,

She gazed and gazed, amazed by it all,

And she said the whale, "I feel so small"

Other books of Julia's which we love; The Gruffalo, Superworm, Zog and Tabby McTat.

The Diabolical Mr Tiddles

by Tom McLaughlin

I saw this on Amazon and loved the fact that it didn't shy away from using complicated words. And really, diabolical is such a great word. Harry always wanted cat, but when Mr Tiddles arrives he gets more than he bargained for. There are some funny little details scattered throughout, including the horse named Alan which is never fails to amuse me.

Don't let The Pigeon Drive the Bus!

by Mo Willems

  

I bought this for Sachin for a few reasons; I love the illustration, it's simply written but funny and encourages interaction, and it's written by a Seaseme Street writer. It's brilliant. Sachin loves telling Pigeon he can't drive the bus and has often quoted "I never get to do anything!" Mo Willems has some other books too which I'd like to get, 'Don't let the pigeon eat a hotdog!' is probably next on the list for name alone.

Stanley's Stick

by John Hegley

  This was a gift from Sachins Grandma and it is lovely. A story about Stanley who plays imaginative games with a stick. It's written by John Hegley, a poet, and it shows. It's very lyrically written, which makes story time a pleasure. The illustration is also wonderful. One of Sachins favourites. 

I'm Not Cute

by Jonathan Allen

Sachin loves these books. There are a few in the series (we get then from the library) including 'I'm not Sleepy!' and 'I'm not Santa!' They're simple and easy to read and are all about a baby owl who thinks he's a little more grown up than he is. I particularly like this one just to hear Sachin walk around saying 'I'm NOT cute!' to himself. 

A Bit Lost

by Chris Haughton

We don't actually own this book, but some friends who we spent a week with did and Sachin requested it every night. That was last summer, and yesterday when we were in a book shop Sachin saw it, remembered it and requested we read it right away. It has to be a good book when a three year old still remembers it 7 months later... It's such a sweet book, with great graphics too.

These are just a few we love. Others include Dr Suess, I Want My Hat Back, Winnie The Pooh, the Funnybones series etc. What do you love to read together? Were always on the lookout for more good book suggestions, the more the merrier!

All artwork will take you through to a link to read more about the books.

To do:

{Image: The Elegant Abode via The Kitchn. Click the photo for a great bar starters guide, too}

So I did the deep and reflective post on the coming year, now time for all the little things which I have resolved will make this year all kinds of awesome.

1. Build a good home liquor stash
It seems I'm not alone in this new years resolution, if the ladies of twitter are anything to go by (and they are). There is just something very grown up about having some good, tasty, hard liquor in the house, which you intend to drink in moderation*. I mean come on now, I'm not 18 anymore. A cider and black just won't cut it. What's your favourite grown up drink? I'm a rum kind of girl.

2. Print more photographs
So, I take a lot of photographs. I mean, thousands. It's stupid really, and another of my resolutions really needs to be to self edit more. But in the mean time, what I really need to do is actually print the Goddamn things and fill our house with all these memories that I lovingly take and edit and then leave on the hard drive. For shame. Also included in this resolution is the need to start and finish Sachins baby books. Before he turns 18.

3. Grow stuff
Last year, I feebly tested the 'growing stuff' waters. We ended up with lots of herbs, some salad, a few tomatoes and some strawberries. This year I'm going to really get my hands dirty and plant so that we can have an abundance of fresh food this summer. Wish me luck. Oh and all tips gratefully recieved!

4. Read. Lots.
I have always loved to read. Probably because I spent a good part of my childhood in a library - I mean it was free and full of amazing places to escape to, my Mum knew a good day out. Since having Sachin though, reading has taken a back seat. Mostly because when I do get time to read, I'm so tired that as soon as my eyes hit the page, the words wash over and calm and...yep, send me to sleep. But I'm a lot more awake now (thank God, I mean he's two!) and in the past month alone have read three whole books. I might blog about them a bit too.

5. Learn to knit.
Ok so this one is a bit of a funny one. Because you see, I did learn to knit. My friend came over and taught me the basics and left me with the needles and the wool and I practiced over and over until I got a whole test square perfect. Then I meant to go buy more wool, and didn't. And now I've forgotten how to do it. So I need to learn again, then actually do it.

So by my reckoning, this will mean that by the end of the year I will be:

A woman drinking rum, in a house filled with memories that made it onto the walls, whose eaten lots of home grown produce, sat next to a massive pile of books (all of them read), wearing a wooly hat created with her own bare hands.

What are your fun things to do this year?

*you know, most of the time.

How to draw a Penguin

We LOVE Oliver Jeffers in this house. His books are charming and thoughtful, and well, beautiful really. I thoroughly recommend his books as a great addition to adult and child libraries. I also recommend busting out the crayons (having a child present is optional) and following these instructions on how to draw a penguin.

Oliver Jeffers - How to draw a Penguin via The Guardian