These are some of the books that we’ve been reading and reading since spring. I considered posting others that he liked but weren’t as good and to put my “Not Recommended” notes on them, but thought it might be more productive to post books here that are KEEPERS.

Celebrates the dad-child relationship especially at this age. Dad’s all about fun! And going fast and faster! Great fun for kids, very imaginative. Loved reading this aloud, softly at first and then going into a crescendo.

Heee…. the mishap-prone child. Yena expressed concern that we were reading this to Nino; she was afraid it would put it into his head that he’s nothing but trouble. I say very astute for her age. As for Nino, I have no such concerns because I read the book to him with the spirit that kids make mistakes and get into trouble, yes, but messes can also be fixed. Trying and failing aren’t necessarily bad things.

Nino’s been on a turtle kick, so I’ll be posting several more turtle books. It all started with The Voyage of Turtle Rex and snowballed from there.

This one is more about origami than about pirates, but what a clever way to tell a story *and* remember how to make an origami boat and then shirt. Adorable.

A simplified retelling of the original. I’m not too enamored of this type of art, where the outlines and colors are bold and vibrant (I prefer soft and muted) — but Nino loves this book. In fact he loves it so much he took the scissors and cut several pages into little bits — so I had to get a replacement for the library. Sigh.

Sigh. Yes, this is one of those books that just makes you say that. Lovely, lovely illustrations and simple words, lots of details here and there in the pages that invite one to look, observe, enjoy. This is definitely one of those books we’ll be reading and rereading in spring.

This is one perfect book for my little boy. It’s sooo boy and so typical and fuels his natural interest for dragons and knights and swords and castles. Nino just gets lost in this book. The book is designed to fill the mind with imaginings, good ones. And then the ending, the parents, the child, the trust, the love…. what else could you ask for in a book?