Book Monkey

Aaron is really, really, really into books lately. More so than his Duplos anymore. I have reserved an entire shelf on his bookcase that holds toys in the dining room. We get some from the library and I am constantly looking for new ones.

In the morning, when Thom and I are still trying to wake up, Aaron will bring books over to us at the dining room table. In this picture, Thom is reading Ten Apples Up on Top which involves a lion, dog and tiger balancing apples on their heads. Aaron is pointing to the lion and saying "Aaaahhhhh" which is his version of "Rooooaaaar". The tiger gets a "Grrrrrrrrrrrr" and the dog gets something like "Woof Woof". He makes their sounds on every page.

He loves interactive books. This book is interactive because it has animals whose sounds he knows. His other favorite book is Caps for Sale because he likes to follow along with the peddler in the book (and us) and shake his finger at the monkeys, then shake his firsts at the monkeys, then stomp his feet as the monkeys. If he can't find the book on the shelf, he shakes his finger to say "I want the Caps for Sale book."

The other book we are reading over and over these days is Is Your Mama a Llama. He can't quite say "llama" yet, but he tries. Sometimes it is "ya-ma", other times "na-ma". As we read each page, he points emphatically (his body tenses up and he grunts) to the llama until either I say "That's the llama" or I ask him what it is. As soon as I say llama or he says "nya-ma", his whole body relaxes and he lets me read the page. But as soon as the page is turned, it starts over. Fortunately, it is such a cute book with great illustrations, I don't mind reading it over and over again.

Some other favorites that are not as interactive are:

The Carrot Seed - an old book with simple drawings, but for some reason he enjoys it.

I Love You Stinky Face - a great book I discovered at the library. A little boy asks his mama if she would still love him if he was a smelly skunk or a swamp monster and she reassures him she would love him no matter what. Aaron never picks this one out to read, but when I do read it, he doesn't rush through it, but lets me read each page and he seems to study the illustrations. It's so adorable, I had to order our own copy.

Dr. Seuss' ABC - a classic alphabet book that my mother memorized when her kids were young. And now I can recite it by heart as well. Aaron has already shown an interest in the alphabet and especially this book. No interest in the Sandra Boynton A to Z book, but he wants to read this ABC book every day. Beware - the board book version is a much abbreviated version of the classic I grew up with and even Aaron realizes it is inferior.

I love reading him books and having his sit in my lap. It is so cozy and sweet. But when I am eating breakfast or trying to read a little of the newspaper with my coffee in the morning, I am much happier if he can sit and page through his book of animals or his lift-the-flap farm book. But I know in a few short years, he'll be reading on his own and won't need to crawl into my lap to have me read about the apples and the caps and the llama who wants to know if your mama is a llama.

So if you need any ideas for a gift for Aaron for Christmas or his birthday next year - he would love a book. And we would too. You can only read the same books over and over so many times before you start to go a little nuts.