Monday, August 15, 2011

Picture Books-Great Baby Shower Gift!

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."  ~Anna Quindlen 

Every nursery should have a shelf of the best picture books.

Isn't this wall of books from Frugal With a Flourish amazing?


The next time you are invited to a baby shower-think about giving one, two or more of these treasures as your gift.

The next time you host a baby shower-think of having a Book Shower!

I LOVE PICTURE BOOKS!
Because I am a School Library Media Specialist-I KNOW PICTURE BOOKS!


And hey....you don't have to wait for a shower to give a book to a child!
Sometimes the best reason to give a child a book is "Just because I want you to have one!!!"
Read on...I will share some of my recommendations for some of the best picture books as well as some links to great book lists.

One of my favorite little girls took me to lunch for my birthday last week! (Thanks Tulla)
I had a copy of this book (What Do You Do With A Tail Like This?) in my gift cupboard.  So I took it to lunch to give to her.

Tulla: "But it's not my birthday, so I don't get a present!"

I gave it to her anyway....and when the wait for our lunch got kind of long-we had the best time reading together!

Cost: 99 cents
Value: Priceless
________________________________________________
The book section is always my first stop in a thrift store!
I shop with an eye for CONDITION...and I am often rewarded with some great finds.
My daughter shopped my gift closet last week to add these 2 books to the other books she was giving as a shower gift.


The idea is to pick books that are a little unique.

You can never go wrong with classic Mother Goose or Nursery Rhymes!





Sweetwater Style Top Ten Picture Books You Might Not Know!



Caps For Sale-Esphyr Slobodkina
This classic book, first published in 1938, still holds the attention of little one with it's repetition and humor.  




Harry The Dirty Dog-Gene Zion
When Harry sees the scrub brush and knows he is going to get a bath, he runs away! After many adventures, he returns home unrecognizable as a "white dog with black spots".  He is glad to have his bath so that his family knows it is really him!




The Day the Babies Crawled Away-Peggy Rathman
The sing song text and delightful pictures make this book a fabulous read a loud.  Children delight in finding the tiny shadow images on each page as they follow the hero along as he "Saves the babies"!





The Snowy Day-Ezra Jack Keats
Peter's simple adventure after the snow falls is completely delightful.  This book (and any other by author Keats) has the added bonus of a wonderful child of color as a protagonist.





Make Way For Ducklings-Robert McCloskey
When Mom and Dad Duck need to find a place to lay their eggs, they discover the Pond in the Boston Public Garden with the giant Swan Boats.  Although the book was written in the 1940's, it still has great charm.  Older children find it fun to do an internet search and see the bronze statues of these famous ducklings.



The Napping House-Audrey Wood
This cumulative tale is a hilarious read.  The silly pictures grow more preposterous on every page. 





Kitten's First Full Moon-Kevin Henkes
Even non-cat people will fall in love with the sweet little cat in this simple, almost wordless book. 


My Friend Rabbit-Eric Rohmann
Rabbit is one of those friends.....great ideas, but sometimes a bit troublesome!  Everyone will giggle at the illustrations showing trouble brewing when Rabbit says "Not to worry Mouse-I've got an idea!"



Alphabet City-Stephen T. Johnson
One of my all time favorite alphabet books.  The graphic nature of the illustrations and the unique words make this out of the ordinary.










The Story About Ping-Marjorie FlackPing is a little duck who lives on the Yangtze River.  When he runs away to avoid a spanking, he finds many adventures and some danger.  All is well by the end when Ping realizes that being home is best of all.

These are just my suggestions.  

Here are links to other lists that might be of interest to you!
100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know (New York Public Library)



I would love to have you add your favorite read aloud title in a comment so we can all share.
Have YOU read to YOUR kid today?

Sweetwater Junior
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38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great list! I'm a library media specialist too!

theDIYlifestyle said...

Adding to the baby shower idea, instead of buying a card for the present I think it is a great idea to use a book instead. You can write a message to the baby on the cover and that can be used instead of a card.

Kari said...

Mary,
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I love children's books and I love your list! Thanks for the great suggestions - I will definitely be using these when I'm purchasing my next baby gift :)

Sweetwater Style said...

I love the idea of using a book instead of a card...cards get thrown away! Books don't and your message in the book will be a reminder every time the book gets read!

Ces said...

great list! I love giving books as part of a gift.

silly eagle books said...

What a great post idea--I'm always picking up books at thrift stores and we love our local library. :) Haven't read the Day the Babies crawled away yet, though. Now I"ll have to look for it. Thanks!

vanessa

Amanda Joy Petersen said...

Such a great display! I will have to check out Alphabet City... the concept sounds fun and my kids will love it.

annies home said...

my grandkids love reading books with pictures they amuse their selves for hours I love little green books and the david series the best come see me at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

Kimberly said...

A book baby shower is so fun, I did one for my cousin a few years ago. I LOVE Harry the Dirty Dog, that was one of my favorites growing up and now my kids enjoy it, too. We also like Click, Clack, Moo, although I can't think who the author is right now.

Kimberly @ The Brown Eyes Have It

Melanie @ bear rabbit bear said...

Love this!

I'd love for you to link up to our Crafts for Under Twenty Somethings Party going on now until noon Saturday! It's a party specifically for kids and teens stuff, so your post would be perfect!

Melanie
http://bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com/2011/08/crafts-for-under-twenty-somethings_17.htm

Brie @ Darling Doodles said...

That you for the list! I'm trying to collect books for future use and this was so helpful! Found your blog through the happy hour projects link party!

Brie from darlingdoodles.blogspot.com

Sweetwater Style said...

Kimberly mentioned Click Clack Moo. It is written by Betsy Lewin. She has written 4 more in the series. And some of the titles have been translated into Spanish! They would make great gifts too! Maybe one in English and the same title in Spanish.

Heather said...

A gift closet full of books! I love it!!! I'm always the "book lady" when I go to baby showers & I love giving them as gifts to the children in my life. My fiance & I both love children's books!! This was a great post!

Visiting from Home & Family Friday :)

Blessings,
Heather

Becca Ross said...

Do you want to be my BFF? I LOVE this post! Thanks for linking up to Home and Family Friday. By the way, have you stopped by my other blog? It's lovelaughterandliteracy.blogspot.com.

Becca

Jenny @ Simcoe Street said...

Love love love this!

April said...

I love childrens book and this is amazing girl!!! I hope you will link up here...
http://www.thegingerbreadblog.com/2011/08/sweet-saturday-v1.html

The mum of all trades said...

So many great memories are reading a nice picture book to my children

Amy@One Artsy Mama said...

I love that wall full of books...wow! My son just turned 3 and reading together is one of our favorite pastimes. Thank you for all of the great book suggestions...we will have to check them out at our local library! I also think the book as a shower card idea is fantastic!

April said...

thank you so much for linking up! I hope to see you next week!
xoxo

Jamie said...

Hi I just love childrens books! I used to be a primary teacher... I love that shelf. Its amazing! Ive been trying to think of a way to get people to give her books for her birthday...

Jamie

SJ @ Homemaker On A Dime said...

Really appreciate you linking up this fantastic post at the Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop. Hope you'll continually share your creativity with us at the weekly party :)

Terry said...

Love this idea! My daughter is expecting my first grandbaby and we all love to read - so I love this! Thanks for linking up, I'll be featuring this project and hope you stop back and link up again.

AmyH said...

You were the most viewed link at the party! I'll be featuring you on Friday at "naptimecrafters.blogspot.com"

Oh...and I love Harry the Dirty Dog! There's another Harry book I love too- "no more roses for Harry" or something like that.

Other favs...Each Peach Pear Plum, Chicky Chicky Chook Chook, Good Dog Carl series

muddywaters12strg said...

Children's book make for great gifts no matter what. Even as an adult I fondly remember always getting new books for birthdays and even the ones that were hand-me-downs I always read. Yes they make great gifts for baby showers but, they really influence a person all through their life. I'm sure others here will agree that even beyond childhood you can keep reading these books and always get something new out of them. As I tell others even though the books were written for children, they were all written by adults.

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hi Mary...

I couldn't agree more, my friend! I think that books make great gifts for children of all ages...even big kiddos like me! wink! Thank you for sharing this list of picture books with us. Of course, I recognized Mother Goose right off...that is a wonderful old classic and every child needs that book! Thank you for sharing this sweet post with us for the Sunday Favorites party today!

Sending you and your family warm wishes for a blessed and happy Thanksgiving, dear friend!

Chari @Happy To Design

top baby shower gifts said...

Hi all,

Really,you have created a nice site about baby showers. They are usually full of love and joy and you get to look at lots of cute baby clothes. Guests bring small or large gifts for the expectant mother. Typical gifts related to babies include diapers, baby bottles, clothes and toys. It is common to open the gifts during the party. Thanks a lot......

Netherland said...

This is an excellent book"Alphabet City" . Not only does it lend itself perfectly to learning the letters of the alphabet but it also provides a wonderfully stimulating feast for the eyes.

nancydotslash said...

Thank You! I have always LOVED children's books, they're not just for kids! I would like to suggest the Hairy McClary books by Lynley Dodd. Such as the first one, "Hairy McClary from Donaldson's Dairy." They are such fun and became my daughter's favorites, which is saying a lot because we have loads of children's books! And I have to honestly say that I'm not sure who enjoys them most!

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