Remember These: Curious George, The Huffin-Puff Express, The Happy Man...
We recently moved to be closer to our grandchildren. For the past week, I've been given the gift of days with my grandson, Sweetie-Pie, a very active two-year-old. I lost count of how many times I have run around outside calling his name and, "Where are you?"
In a desperate hour one afternoon, I pulled out a stack of books saved from my son's childhood and introduced Sweetie-Pie to the experience of afternoon story-time nap. I learned this from my mother in her desperate hours, and I had done the same with my son.
We had thought Sweetie-Pie too active for reading, but when I pulled out these old classics that I had read to his father, he displayed surprising interest. Snuggled down in Nana's bed, we discovered that he has definite tastes about books. He adores anything with wheels. His current favorites are 'Curious George Rides a Bike' and 'The Huffin Puff Express'. The past week, he became interested in 'Tootle', the classic Golden Book about the young train.
Today I spent a number of hours at bookstores, searching for new books for Sweetie-Pie. I am not impressed with the current modern offering. In the toddler section are shelves of board books. Sweetie-Pie has those, and he is not interested. He appears drawn to real paper books. He is also not interest in books that present photographs or drawings of letters or items. He wants a storybook, and generally one with repetitive rhythm. While he is too young for listening to each sentence, he will listen to Nana summarizing.
Have you seen the current offerings based on the popular young ones' cartoons? Sponge Bob Square Pants-- good heavens! The drawings are enough to scare a child, or at least a Nana. While Sweetie-Pie watches the cartoon, a book is a different thing all together.
Thank goodness I came upon 'Curious George and the Dump Truck'. It is illustrated in the style of H. A. Rey. Simple and understandable not not only young ones, but we older ones, too. I was delighted to find Little Golden Books still publishing. They had a Thomas the Train book with charming illustrations, not photographs as so many of the Thomas editions. And Little Golden Books still publishes old classics: 'The Happy Man and His Dump Truck', first published in 1950, and still today.
I'll let you know if these offerings meet with Sweetie-Pie's approval this week during those desperate hours when Nana very much needs to lie down in peace.
In a desperate hour one afternoon, I pulled out a stack of books saved from my son's childhood and introduced Sweetie-Pie to the experience of afternoon story-time nap. I learned this from my mother in her desperate hours, and I had done the same with my son.
We had thought Sweetie-Pie too active for reading, but when I pulled out these old classics that I had read to his father, he displayed surprising interest. Snuggled down in Nana's bed, we discovered that he has definite tastes about books. He adores anything with wheels. His current favorites are 'Curious George Rides a Bike' and 'The Huffin Puff Express'. The past week, he became interested in 'Tootle', the classic Golden Book about the young train.
Today I spent a number of hours at bookstores, searching for new books for Sweetie-Pie. I am not impressed with the current modern offering. In the toddler section are shelves of board books. Sweetie-Pie has those, and he is not interested. He appears drawn to real paper books. He is also not interest in books that present photographs or drawings of letters or items. He wants a storybook, and generally one with repetitive rhythm. While he is too young for listening to each sentence, he will listen to Nana summarizing.
Have you seen the current offerings based on the popular young ones' cartoons? Sponge Bob Square Pants-- good heavens! The drawings are enough to scare a child, or at least a Nana. While Sweetie-Pie watches the cartoon, a book is a different thing all together.
Thank goodness I came upon 'Curious George and the Dump Truck'. It is illustrated in the style of H. A. Rey. Simple and understandable not not only young ones, but we older ones, too. I was delighted to find Little Golden Books still publishing. They had a Thomas the Train book with charming illustrations, not photographs as so many of the Thomas editions. And Little Golden Books still publishes old classics: 'The Happy Man and His Dump Truck', first published in 1950, and still today.
I'll let you know if these offerings meet with Sweetie-Pie's approval this week during those desperate hours when Nana very much needs to lie down in peace.
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