some of our favorite books...

most days, you can find elijah and me curled up on the couch (or on his bed) reading. we go through lots and lots of books in this house and try to visit our local library weekly. i was just thinking today about the books i was reading elijah last year ('trying to remember' is more accurate) and wanted to record some of our recent favorites. in no particular order:

"fletcher and the falling leaves" and "fletcher and the springtime blossoms"

by julia rawlinson

illustrated by tiphanie beeke

it's a rare treat when we find books that both elijah and i enjoy. these are two that were found at the library...i think we've checked them out at least three times. they're situated quite close to the curious george books so inevitably, if we go home with one of those, we most likely will bring one (or both) of these home too. it's probably about time i added them to our own library, i guess. they are beautifully illustrated with wonderful prose...i can't wait until the winter and summer stories join the collection.  

 

"curious george" (the original) by h.a. rey

speaking of curious george, elijah loves this little story too. while he likes any and all stories about this adventurous monkey, nine times out of ten, he will choose the original book over all the others. i'm not quite sure why...but i find it interesting. i think it's great that this book was published in the 1940s and it's still read and cherished today...

"hansel and diesel" by david gordon

this is an updated version of the old fairytale, hansel and gretel...except in this story, the protagonists are trucks out looking for fuel in the junkyard instead of children out looking for food in the forest. elijah loves it...and got a copy of his own for christmas. the author has also written "the three little rigs" and "the ugly truckling" that we keep meaning to check out from the library but haven't yet. someday soon...

"smash crash" by david shannon, loren long, david gordon and jon scieszka

co-authored by david gordon (of hansel and diesel fame), this is a perennial favorite. there is a whole series of these books out, but this one is elijah's favorite, no question. thank you baba for this wonderful addition to our library (it was a present for his second birthday from my mom)!

and what about me? well...i've got quite the stack going. included in the bedside pile are:

   "the sweetness at the bottom of the pie" by alan bradley (a mystery...might be on my 2010 favorites list)

   "at home in mitford" by jan karon (a reread that i just can't put down!)

   "a homemade life" by molly wizenburg (haven't started this one yet but looking forward to it!)

   "animal, vegetable, miracle" by barbara kingsolver (started this but put it down in favor of "sweetness"...will pick it up again soon...it's good!)

   "walking on water: reflections on faith and art" by madeleine l'engle (my all-time favorite author)

what are you reading these days?