Everett's Top 5

Photo by Megan Marie Photography

I feel extremely fortunate that my son Everett seems to have picked up on my bookworm ways.  That's not to say that he doesn't run around like crazy throwing balls in the house while yelling at the top of his lungs like any another 1 1/2 year old, but luckily he seems to settle right down when you mention the word "book."  We read with him at least twice a day (once in the morning and once at night) for 15-20 minutes, but often he grabs books from his bookshelves and brings them to us saying "book?"  We really can't refuse, so he's read to quite a bit throughout the day as well :)  

Although we own TONS of children's books, Everett tends to play favorites.  He'll choose a top 5 (or so) and want to read those titles every day (over and over and over).  Therefore, I've decided to dedicate some posts to "Everett's Top 5"... aka the current books my husband and I know by heart because we've read them sooo many times.

1. Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

This is his FAVORITE right now by far.  Every time we mention books, he says, "Blue truck?"  I love this book because it teaches animal noises, colors, and the importance of kindness.  He loves this book because of animal noises, colors, and the fact that he can say "beep!"  There is also a sequel Little Blue Truck Leads the Way which Ev is also crazy for, but I personally like the story of the original better.

2. Drop It Rocket! by Tad Hills

ANYTHING by Tad Hills is a favorite in this house.  Everett has always loved Duck and Goose books (although the picture books are still a bit lengthy for him), but a couple weeks ago we took him to the bookstore and he found this beginning readers Rocket book and fell in love.  No, it's not in board book form, so it's already pretty beat up, but he loves the story.  The repetitive words and the simple sentence structure makes it fun for him because he can memorize the words to "read" along.


3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle

We have the slide & find version of this book, and I highly recommend getting this rather than the basic board book.  It's slightly more expensive, but Everett loves sliding the little door open to reveal the next animal.  This book definitely helped Everett learn his primary colors and animal names.  After each page we make the animal noises for each animal too which he loves.  He also loves Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See in the same format.

4. Fox In Socks by Dr. Seuss

The board book version of this book is great (and not *quite* as tongue twistery as the complete story).  The book makes zero sense to me, but Everett laughs every time I read it. It does focus on rhyme which makes it fun, and Everett likes to experiment with different sounds after hearing it.  One day he was walking around the house saying "bluey... gooey...ooey," and it wasn't until bedtime when we read this book that we realized why!  So fun!



5. Hug Time by Patrick MacDonald

This book might be my favorite board book ever.  I bought it for Everett before he was born and read it to him practically every night since he was born.  It's the story of a kitten who is determined to make everything better by giving the whole world a hug.  He travels through different places and hugs all kinds of animals/plants.  It is the sweetest story.  
Fun mommy memory for me: there's a page in Hug Time with no words that shows the kitten hugging a polar bear, and I would always say "awwww..." when we got to that page.  One night when we were reading (Everett must have been about one or a little younger) we get to that page and he suddenly says "AWWWWW."  Melt my heart.  He doesn't want to read this book every night anymore, but he still requests it a decent amount (and I love it when he does!).

I'm sure I'll post more children's books soon as Everett's favorites tend to change each week!  What are your little one's favorite books?  Or what was your favorite book as a child?