Caldecott Board Books

Ladybug loves turning pages in the books we read, and non-board books drive me a little crazy these days. It takes time to peel normal pages apart, and she is always grabbing the entire book and turning to the end if the book is printed on regular paper. I enjoy letting her look through the books without worrying about torn and bent pages. There's a reason board books were invented, and toddlers are that reason.

I also really enjoy the art in Caldecott award winners and am always looking for quality board books to add to our collection. With that in mind, I have created a list of the Caldecott medal or honor books available in board book format:

2009 Medal Winner - The House in the Night
2004 Honor Book - Ella Sarah Gets Dressed
2003 Medal Winner - My Friend Rabbit
2001 Honor Book - Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type
2001 Honor Book - Olivia
1999 Honor Book - Snow (Available as a board book October 2012)
1993 Honor Book - Seven Blind Mice
1990 Honor Book - Color Zoo
1985 Honor Book - Have You Seen My Duckling?
1984 Honor Book - Ten, Nine, Eight
1981 Honor Book - Truck
1979 Honor Book - Freight Train
1976 Honor Book - Strega Nona
1963 Medal Winner - The Snowy Day
1961 Honor Book - Inch by Inch (Available as a board book June 2012)
1957 Honor Book - 1 is One
1945 Medal Winner - Prayer for a Child
1944 Honor Book - A Child's Goodnight Book
1943 Medal Winner - The Little House
1940 Honor Book - Madeline

I am excited about several of the books on this list. Some of them I was unaware of, like My Friend Rabbit or A Child's Goodnight Book. Ladybug has started recognizing shapes, and Color Zoo looks like a brilliant way to continue talking about them. 1 is One is a counting book written in rhyme, complete with pretty pastoral illustrations. Not every board book is an appropriate read-aloud for a young toddler. I know that The Little House has a lot of text that Ladybug probably wouldn't sit through. But she has surprised me in the past with how quickly she accepts longer stories. I'm sure we'll be reading them soon.

On Ladybug's Bookshelf:

Gorgeous woodcut illustrations with pleasant, simple text. This makes a great bedtime story. At first I was underwhelmed by the prose, but it has grown on me. My favorite page reads, "On the moon's face shines the sun," and is illustrated with radiant beams streaming from the sun. Ladybug always strokes the sunbeams. I imagine that eventually I will teach her that line is not only poetic, but scientifically accurate. The illustrations are full of familiar, everyday objects to point out. Bonus: Van Gogh's Starry Night hangs on the wall in child's bedroom.

Loving Language and Corduroy

Ladybug and I read together all the time, and she is adamant about her role of turning the pages. Up until recently, it has taken her a little time to get used to a new book. She might have lost interest before the story was over, or demanded to flip through the pages more quickly. As she became familiar with the book's pictures and plot, her attention span increased. This process took a little time, and I found myself adding new books to our collection at a rate of about four per month.

Last week she startled me by developing a stronger thirst for language. I noticed it first when Jamberry became an instant favorite, no breaking-in time needed. She requested the book constantly, and I must have read it a dozen times a day. She honed her usage of the word no to reject other books in favor of Jamberry. The last page of the book sends her into a fit of giggles that warm my heart.

Now her book requests have ramped up. The other day she brought me ten books in a row. It looks like this: Toddler approaches, book in hand, and pleads, "Dee! Dee!" Mommy reads book. Toddler slides off Mommy's lap to fetch another book. Repeat. I worked out a system where I fold one diaper in between each reading so I can still get the laundry put away.

One of the books Ladybug pulled into our fetch and read rotation is Corduroy. I bought this one several months back, not realizing how much text it has. I introduced it to her by summarizing pages, just talking about the pictures, and only getting through half of the story before her interest was gone. Back then I put the book aside, not wanting to annoy and overwhelm her with something so long. She's a tiny kiddo, after all.

Well, that concern has passed, because Corduroy is now the #1 book in our household. Ladybug points at me when we read about Lisa's mommy. She grins in anticipation before the "Pop!" as Corduroy pulls the button off the mattress and points to her own arms as we read how Lisa carried Corduroy. She hums, "Hommmm," after Corduroy declares that he has always wanted a home.

Between the massive number of book requests and absorption of a longer storybook, I can see that the demand for more involved stories is high. I'm excited! I have ordered Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Madeline. It can only get more fun from here.

Spanish for My Toddler - The Background

I would love for Ladybug to learn Spanish. What a great opportunity we have to teach her a second language now, while her language acquisition is so rapid. We are not a Spanish speaking household, and we don't have any Latin heritage. I am simply one of those people who believes that Americans don't do a good job learning foreign languages and that we'd be better neighbors and thinkers if we did.

So here's the rub. Despite my noble belief that Americans should learn more foreign languages, I don't speak one. I have under my belt one year of college French and one continuing ed. Spanish class, taken as part of my senior year of high school. This is a perfect example of a time when I want my daughter's education to be superior to my own. But I also need to fess up and face my fears. I feel utterly, nakedly, stupid when limping along in a foreign language. I realize that I am not alone and that many (most?) people feel this way. That realization is no comfort, and I have shied away from serious language study as a result.

A quick web search tells me that Ladybug is not going to learn a second language if she isn't speaking it regularly with a real human being, preferably a parent. I am in luck! While I have a lame track record with language, my husband is a super-star. He has done serious dabbling in Italian, Japanese, Arabic, French, German, and Latin. He has done more than dabble in Spanish and is at a respectable conversational level. He can speak with fluent speakers and got by just fine in Brazil on the similarities between Portuguese and Spanish.

Okay, Daddy will teach her Spanish then, right? Well, it turns out that Daddy is also a "lazy bum" who is working nonstop to finish his Ph.D. When that is done, he'll be working full time to support his family, so his wife can stay home and teach their child. It is a shame that I married such an unsupportive slacker, but I have accepted my lot in life.

Seriously though, I believe that if a project is important to me, it's my job to do the work. My husband does read to Ladybug in Spanish, but I am with her full time, and I am taking on the bulk of the homeschool instruction. Here is a great opportunity for me to improve myself, triumph over a fear, and benefit my child. Let's learn Spanish!

I love how motherhood inspires me to be my best.