Georg Hallensleben

My favorite illustrator is Georg Hallensleben.  I bought two of his books, Mommy Hugs and Daddy Kisses, before the arrival of the WB, and they are gorgeous.  

They are board books and each page shows a mommy or daddy animal hugging or kissing his or her baby animal.  The illustrations are gorgeous and allows for wonderful interaction as you can hug or kiss your WB.  Reading them has become a lovely bedtime ritual, which allows me to hug and kiss WB to my heart's content right before I put her down for the night.

I have also purchased Mommy Loves, which has the same wonderful illustrations and text, but also includes counting as each page has one more baby animal than the previous page.  It is a small addition and doesn't take away from the illustrations or the story, but adds a little something.  I'm planning on buying the fourth book in the four-book series, Daddy Cuddles, for my wonderful husband for his first Father's Day.  

I then checked out Close Your Eyes from the library.  It is a wonderful book.  The story is about a baby tiger, whose mother wants him to go to sleep, but he wants to stay awake and see everything around him.  His mother keeps reassuring him that if he closes his eyes, he can see even better things.  He confesses that he is scared, but his mother promises him that she will be there.  Ultimately, he goes to sleep curled up with his mother.  It is a lovely store and encourages dreaming.  And the illustrations are breathtaking.  I highly recommend it.

I note that Mommy Hugs, Mommy Loves, and Daddy Kisses are written by Anne Gutman and Close Your Eyes is written by Kate Banks, and all the texts are wonderful.  

Cows Going Past

Today we also checked out Cows Going Past by Bruce Balan and Scott Nash.  I have to admit that I am sucker for farm animals, especially cows, so I was predisposed to like this book.  I was not disappointed.  The pictures are winsome and the writing is clear and interactive.  The story is of a boy traveling in a car and watching everything pass by, mostly cows.  

I grew up in a farm state, and I miss driving by livestock.  This book makes me want to take the WB on a car ride to see some cows.  Hopefully after reading this book, the WB will feel the same way I do.

The Everything Book

Today, I checked out The Everything Book by Denise Fleming.  I really liked this book and so did the WB.  The pictures have such vibrant colors, so they really caught WB's eyes.  She was fascinated.  This book will grow with her, too.  Some pages focus on words, or numbers, or the alphabet, but others have rhyming poems and still others are just about the pictures.  The book is somewhat long (over 60 pages), but it is not overwhelming and can easily be sectioned into smaller bits.

My Wee Being Reads!

I have a wee being and she reads!  Yeah!  My WB is 5 months old and already loves books.  Of course, I love books, so I have been reading them to her since she was very little.  This blog is designed as a place for me to review books that the WB and I have read together.  I want this to serve as a journal of the books WB and I have read, but also what we liked and didn't like.  

While this is mostly designed for us, I would love to share ideas and recommendations with others.  Please, jump in and let me know what you think!