When he was small, my youngest son had a habit of filling his pockets with treasures he encountered in his daily adventures. I didn't always understand the value he saw in his chosen objects -- really, how many rocks and sticks could one boy keep? In his eyes, though, each one was beautiful and important. Life is just like that on a larger scale, isn't it? We gather up the precious bits of our experiences and save them all to learn from and enjoy later. Perhaps you'll find a little something here that you'd like to keep in your own pockets. Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

A bookworm's breakfast - 8


When you have children who devour reading material at a furious pace, it becomes a challenge sometimes to continually provide them with new books before they run out of things to read. Libraries are wonderful places for finding great new reads, but we also like to build our own collection of books at home for the boys to enjoy over and over again. I was really happy this year to find out about a giant used book sale that takes place every spring in our community, where there are rooms full of books to choose from, all for very low prices. After spending about an hour browsing the sale, I came home with a shopping bag full of "new to us" books for about $6.00 (you can't beat that!) and the boys were completely thrilled with my finds.

One of the pleasures of shopping the used book sale was re-discovering books written by authors who were some of my favourites growing up. While these books are "old" by the boys' standards, it doesn't take anything away from their enjoyment of the wonderful stories contained within the books' pages. I thought I'd share some of these "old" favourite authors in today's edition of A bookworm's breakfast.

3-5 year olds: Mr. Men and Little Miss books by Roger Hargreaves


Whether your child is shy or talkative, brave or nervous, happy or grumpy, messy or neat, there is a Mr. Men / Little Miss book to which he or she can relate. Hargreaves' loveable little characters each have experiences that help children to see the benefits and the challenges of various personality traits, and each tale is told in an imaginative, sometimes silly way that children truly enjoy. Find out how Mr. Bump uses his clumsiness to his advantage in the perfect job he finds for himself, or watch Mr. Noisy learn that tiptoeing is actually fun! Your little misters and misses are sure to love Hargreaves' conversational writing style, cheery illustrations, and delightful tales, no matter which Mr. Men / Little Miss book they choose!

6-8 year olds: The Pain and The Great One series by Judy Blume


Most adults in my generation who enjoyed reading as children have fond memories of Judy Blume's wonderful novels that dealt honestly with the issues many of us faced growing up. In the more recent The Pain and The Great One books (each containing several short stories), Blume appeals to primary grade school-aged children with warm and humorous tales about a brother and sister who sometimes drive each other crazy and who each think their parents love the other child more. Young readers are sure to relate to Abigail and Jake's experiences and feelings in everyday situations such as having birthday parties, getting haircuts, playing soccer, and going to the emergency department. What becomes evident in all of the stories is that while there are a lot of lessons to be learned in life, children can count on their family to help them and to love them.

9-12 year olds: The Twits by Roald Dahl


(This week's 9-12 year old book recommendation was written by my 9 year old son, Noah, who is a big fan of pretty much all of Roald Dahl's wonderful books.)

The Twits are horrid people. They're always playing mean pranks on each other, such as sticking fake eyeballs in the other's coffee and putting a toad on the other's pillow. Mr. Twit also owns a monkey circus. The monkeys are fed up with Mr. Twit's dreadful ways and think up a devious plan to turn the tables on him. Roald Dahl's two pranksters are absolutely hilarious to read about. Their mischievous ideas and the reactions they cause are just too silly not to laugh at. If you read this book, one thing will become clear: if you're mean to others, you'll eventually get a taste of your own.nasty.medicine! (Thanks, Noah.)

What books and authors do you remember fondly from your childhood? I hope maybe you can relive some of the magic those books held for you with your own children some day soon....

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