Dads Read Too

JER: “ Little Bear’s Big House ” by Benjamin Chaud is a playful re-telling of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. Here, little bear goes off on an adventure, and ends up playing in a Big House that he discovers.  He explores and plays until falling asleep in a bed, only to be woken up by “three bears”, who turn out to be his parents and baby brother, but due to the dark shadows they end up scaring each other and meeting back up at their home in the woods.  I love the illustrations by Benjamin Chaud.  They are packed full of small details that keep little eyes searching the page for hidden animals and subplots #thebearsseries 

JER: “ Tickle My Ears ” by Jörg Mühle is one of the best interactive children’s books I’ve come across.  Ejler caught onto the interactive cues really quickly: you need to tap Little Rabbit on the shoulder, clap your hands, say “Hoppity-hop”, give Little Rabbit’s ears a tickle, gently stroke Little Rabbit’s back (Ejler’s favorite), and more before telling Little Rabbit to “Sleep tight”. This book is definitely worth tracking down for a 1-3 year old.

JER: “ Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Fancy Words ” by Jane O’Conner and Robin Preiss Glasser is part of the Fancy Nancy series that includes 80+ books. What I love about Fancy Nancy, is that she doesn’t shy away from being eloquent, and using “fancy words”. I also really appreciate the dynamic between the understated, plain parents and Fancy Nancy’s love for all things fancy and glamorous.

A:   Mingo the Flamingo    by Pete Oswald and Justin K Thompson. I am so happy we stumbled upon this one at the library! It is such a great story of separation and reunification, but more importantly about unexpected friends. I am sure we can all relate to finding ourselves among strangers and the anxiety that goes along with that. We forget that kids feel this way, A LOT! Here is a book that teaches them getting to know people (who can become new friends) is very rewarding! And I love the page that teaches that practice doesn’t make us perfect, it makes us stronger for sure, but never perfect! Sometimes we need that extra help to reach our goals!! Lots of   for Mingo!! (From two very accomplished authors, thank you guys!) I really hope Mingo has some more adventures!  ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Primary Theme: Unexpected friendships Secondary Themes: Separation and reunion, practice makes you stronger but not perfect, what friends are for ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Summary: fro...

It's rare  that a book begins an adventure with backcountry skiing and ends with Trolls, but that is why  "Lucia and the Light"  by author  Phyllis Root  and illustrator  Mary GrandPr é   is one of my favorite  children's books.   One of my passions is  backcountry skiing/ski mountaineering , it has been a dormant passion for quite some time, but being with a few friends in mostly unoccupied wilderness, slowly ascending a narrow track on skis fitted with  climbing skins  is one of my favorite places to feel "a return to a genuine and simple way of life" and tap into  my inner Tao .  My love for the mountains, skiing, and being self-propelled all factor into my love for this book, but it also has another strong feminine role model my daughters can look up to.  The story of "Lucia and the Light" involves a mysterious loss of light, and a young girl's quest to set out on skis to climb to the top of the mountains...

What I love about  "They All Saw A Cat" - by  Brendan Wenzel , is that it beautifully captures the concept of "perception".  What we perceive with our senses, mind, preconceived bias, and background might not be "reality", the way that others perceive us with their senses, mind, preconceived bias, and backgrounds might not be what we "perceive" to be an accurate portrait of ourselves.  Finally, is there such a thing as objective reality, or is everything just a mixture of perceptions, cultural constructs, and past experiences.  The book begins with the "cat" walking through the world "with its whiskers, ears, and paws". The "cat" may have its own internal experiences based on its internal perceptions, but we are left to experience the "cat" through the eyes and perception of a child: Through a blury-eyed "fishbowl parallax":  Through the frightened eyes of a mouse: Th...