Picking Out a Book

The process of Jack picking out a book for story time amazes me sometimes, and is completely frustrating at other times.  There are several favorites which are usually sitting out on the floor already.  Sometimes we read the same books day after day after day.  Other times, he goes over to his bookshelves and just stares at them, occasionally pulling a book out a little bit to see if he's found a good one.  Finally he finds the perfect book and I have no idea how he has come to pick it.  It's so cute watching him look at them and wondering what thought process is going on in his head.  

As I mentioned, there are several favorites...these are books which Jack enjoys quite often, but with which I am completely bored.  But to be honest, I'm kind of bored with all of his books.  And Casey's books aren't much better because they're Jack's old books.  At least I can still pick them out for her. 

Jack has a book called 100 1st words and he has really enjoyed it ever since he got it about a year and a half ago.  I'd say he's probably getting too old for it right now but every once in a while he pulls it out of the pile.  There is no story, just pictures and the corresponding words to go with them and he knows all the words now.  I have had to get creative with it over the past few months to try to make it "fresh."  One day I read all the words really fast and he thought that was pretty funny.  I've done that several times.  I've also tried to make up a little story about all the objects on the page.  There is a bathtime page, so we talk about all the different things that we did at bath time, just like in the book.  Today though, Jack took matters into his own hands (literally), and started to act like the different objects on the page.  It was really cute, especially at first, when he was zooming around on the floor like a car and I realized what he was doing.  He also does a pretty good elephant impression.  

Then there are the Lift the Flap books.  These books don't even have any words.  Well, I guess there are a few.  But mostly there are just flaps to lift up and look under.  There is a whole page of shoes.   And there is only so much one can say about shoes.  But in January, while Pat was underway, we read these two Lift the Flap books every day before naptime and bedtime.  That's when I decided it was time to go to the library.  

I really do enjoy reading to him, especially now that it's a little more interactive.  Sometimes lately, he's talking about the pages before I can even get all the words out.  And I guess I'm lucky in that so far I've been able to get away with skipping pages and he doesn't notice.  I've heard that's not the case with a lot of toddlers.  I'll just have to keep getting creative when that 100 1st Words book comes out again.  And be grateful that he loves books so much!