Welcome to my Kindermusik space...

A place to refresh your love of music, your wonder in children, and your peace in parenting well.



Tuesday, August 3

Books - a little bit of perfect

I'm kind of bad for buying books thinking that "I should read that" and then put them on my bed-side table where they sit with about 6 other books that I try to read at the same time. I'm not kidding. In fact, 6 is probably an underestimation. There's probably 8 - 10 there right now. Two I've read but still have there because I think that if they are still there, I'll still be thinking about them. And then there are 2 or 3 that I'm actively reading, and a few more on hold for vacation reading.

As you can imagine, bookstores are some of my favorite stores. And my favorite section - my go-to-first section - the kids' books section. I love looking through the stacks of kids books - reminding myself of favorites I've shared with my own kids, or ones I remember from childhood. Or looking for new ones to share with the classes.

The colors of "Chickachicka Boomboom" grab me every time.
The lyrical lines of Robert Munsch's "Love You Forever" are music for the heart.
The spoken, hushed tones of Margaret Wise Brown's "Goodnight Moon", are relaxing as they slowly roll off your lips.
Who can forget the rhythm of Sandra Boynton's "Moo, Baa, LaLaLa", or the imaginative wonder of "The Velveteen Rabbit", by Marjorie Williams Bianco?

When I was putting a book away in the bookcase the otherday, I noticed a book I had found on the bookshelves of a clearance area one year when my son was very young - "Teddy Bear Tears". My son had a tender heart for all "stuffies" and seriously had a bed covered in them. When we read "Teddy Bear Tears" together that first time, you could tell that he totally related to the little boy in the story who had to have each of his four special teddy friends sleep right up close to his head so that they would not feel lonely at night. We read that book sooo many times together, and every time we read it we had special "stuffies" right there with us.

Books create a space where people can step into another person's world, only to see themselves more clearly. They give people an opportunity to give words to feelings that they never knew how to express. They let imaginations grow. They give parents and children an awe-filled, laugh-out-loud, snuggled-up-close, sleepy-eyed, perfect...moment.


What's your favorite children's book?

2 comments:

  1. Right now Ruby is obsessed with Go Dog Go and A Fish Out of Water. I read to all four of my kids (even the big ones who are reading A Wrinkle in Time and the Percy Jackson series) and right now we are loving Buddha at Bedtime. Looking forward to Kindermusik in the autumn.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Has anyone seen the newer version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear at Costco? In addition to the great rhythmic language, there are sliding pictures on the pages that reveal the next animal up!! Awesome!! (You can expect to see that one in upcoming classes...)

    ReplyDelete