literary masterpieces (in the eyes of a toddler)

Holy cow, this kid is so cute. These pics are from August, but they show what our post is on today:

Reading.

I love that I've instilled a love of books into my little toddler's heart. When it's time for bed and I say, "Wesley! Let's read some books!," he races over to the bookshelf and reaches up for whatever he can grab. (We try to keep them out of his reach, or else they're always on the floor.)

He "loves" books so much he rips pages, chews corners, and bends bindings. But, I'd rather they be considered a toy and part of his life than nothing at all. It touches my heart that he can find a spot and sit and look at books. He even rights them when they are upside down. He turns pages like he's devouring the words and stretching his imagination. One day, our boy will be a true reader.

For now, mom and dad are the readers. But we don't mind. I love how I grab a book and he automatically comes to me, turns himself around, and plops down on my lap. It is so sweet to cuddle up close to him and enter a magical world with a story.

I have a few favorites:

• Sheep in a Jeep: "Beep beep! Sheep in a Jeep on a hill that's steep!" The first words of this book should tell you how AWESOME it is. The whole book rhymes with "sheep." I love it.


• Sometimes I Pretend: This is a book I rescued out of my mom's attic. It actually belongs to my brother Kurt -- from 1985. I love that it's getting new life. "Sometimes when I have to get a shot from the doctor... I pretend I'm a robot and it doesn't even hurt." What a cute book.


• Goodnight Seattle: I found this baby on eBay. I wanted it badly. "Good morning Puget Sound! Good morning Seattle friends and families!" Then we visit all the sites of Seattle as the day goes on... finally the sun goes down, and we say "Good night, Pike Place Market. Glitter bright, city lights, have a good night. Thank you for sharing a wonderful day." It rocks.


• The Very Hungry Caterpillar: At first Wesley didn't like this classic. Then he discovered the holes in the pages. He loves to poke his little Wesley finger in there. Haha... anyway, when I'm feeding Wesley during the day and he seems to have a hollow leg or something and I have no idea where all that food is going, I sometimes start to say, "On Monday he ate through one apple, but he was still hungry... on Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry..." and on and on.

Here are some of Wesley's favorites:


I can't explain what it is, but there is just something about some particular books. He just LOVES them. He sits quietly and looks at all the pages and wants to read them over and over again. They mesmerize him.

• Dr. Seuss' ABCs: This book rocks. I have it memorized. Once on a long car ride to the TriCities it was dark and late and Wesley was getting fussy and tired, so I started reciting books from memory, and this one was the first. How cool is that? It totally calmed him down. I love that I know every word to this book. My favorite letter? "W, W, W... Willy Waterloo... washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo AND WESLEY!"


• Goodnight Moon: This book is baby crack or something. He has loved it for ages. The rhythm and the words and the images are just magic. The book is so smooth and if you read it just right, just quietly, it gets him ready for bed. I love it... and I love that he loves it.


• Who's on Board?: This book has "pull up" pages. It asks, "Who inside the Car 1?" and a little rhyme about the animal in Car 1, and then Wesley not-too-long-ago figured out how to lift up the pull tabs. And voila, a new favorite book. The author, Salina Moon, actually did another book we have which is also a sure-fire winner. So I'd say she's pretty talented.


• Kiss Good Night: Another book that I can't explain why he loves it. Sam the bear is getting ready for bed, and his mom does everything in the good-night routine, but he won't go to bed because he's waiting... waiting... waiting... until she kisses him goodnight. It's so cute. Aunt Leslie watched Wesley one night for us and she said she read this book to him 11 billion times. I totally believe her. Wesley loves it. And I always kiss him at the end!

As you can maybe tell, bedtime books are a BIG part of the routine. I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for good books that talk about getting settled for bed. We read 3 non-bed books and 2 bed books EVERY NIGHT. Plus sometimes we read other books which count as "scriptures," books that teach about the Book of Mormon or Bible.

In case you're wondering what's in Mom's bag on Sunday... it's all of these... and sometimes more...


We go through the "Articles of Faith" book page by page during the Sacrament. I'm glad it's a big book. We usually go through the Jesus books, too. The Cheerios book rocks; it has little spots on each page where I can put Cheerios and Wesley grabs them up to eat. My goal is to fill the spots on the page (a checkerboard, or wheels on a car, or buttons on teddy bears) before he can eat them. The other books are for him to play with while I try to pay attention and pray he doesn't start growling or chirping or pooping. (All of which have happened.)

Lastly, Wesley's ultimate favorite, the Dump Truck book (I don't think it actually has a title):


The story is about the busy dump truck that digs, carries, and dumps all day long. He LOVES THIS BOOK. He carries it around with him everywhere. He reads it all day. He has broken the binding twice. It is being held together with non-toxic craft glue and packing tape. I need to look online and find another copy of it, so when this one goes out, I'll have another!!

One last story. We have this book, "The Going to Bed Book," which is about all these animals on a boat getting ready for bed. At the end of the book, it reads, "the moon is high, the sea is deep, they rock and rock and rock to sleep." Every time I read that, I put my head next to Wesley's (he's on my lap) and we swap back and forth. The other night I was distracted and forgot to sway... and he started rocking back and forth on his own! How AMAZING IS THAT! This little guy loves stories and books. He listens. He knows the words as well as I do. I'm just so thankful we have this magical world that we share.

Ahh, reading. I very much support reading with children.