I'll never forget my first overwhelming visit to our local library, with two preschoolers and a baby in tow: trying to maneuver our stroller though the seemingly hundreds of aisles of bookshelves while racking my tired Mommy Brain about where to begin. Let's see, I remember something called the Dewey Decimal System...
My mind wandered as I tried to visualize a book I had loved as a child - was it about a cute house? I spied a small sign: "books arranged by author". Oh no! Now who wrote that book? Was it a woman or a man? I suddenly found myself wondering if I'd eaten a good breakfast this morning - I was having major Brain Fog. I needed help and didn't know where to start!
Since all three kids were with me and it was almost lunchtime, it was impossible to have a nice long conversation with the librarian. And this happened back in the 1980's, so I couldn't just go home and google "good children's books". The next day I called my mother-in-law, who was a first grade teacher. She suggested THE READ ALOUD HANDBOOK
, by Jim Trelease*. Mr. Trelease expounds the many benefits of reading aloud to children and his extensive list of recommended read alouds goes from picture books to novels. After pouring over the contents, I finally felt ready to explore and conquer the children's section of the library, armed with names of authors and hundreds of titles!Our family's journey into the world of read aloud books had begun...
oh, and the author (and illustrator!) of The Little House
book was Viginia Lee Burton. She also wrote Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
, Katy and the Big Snow
, and Maybelle the Cable Car
, to name a few.*JIM TRELEASE HAS A GREAT WEBSITE. MANY OF HIS HELPFUL TIPS CAN BE FOUND IN THESE FREE DOWNLOADABLE BROCHURES. HERE ARE THREE OF MY FAVORITES:
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