Sleepytime

Sleep has been on my mind a lot this week. I should say a lot more than usual. We have spent the week helping Emily sleep in her crib in her room instead of in the co-sleeper next to our bed. I have to say I loved having her in our room. I could watch her sleep and reach her quickly when she needed comfort or to nurse. And waking up next to her with her huge smile was absolutely wonderful. But it was time.

She handled it all fairly well, until she started teething and/or getting a cold. I am sooo tempted to bring her back to our room, but am holding firm. Instead, she gets lots of naps in my arms.

Of course, we also cuddle together with books. Here are two sleepytime books that we own and enjoy reading together over and again.

Peter Rabbit Sleepy Time
A lift-the-flap board book with soft colors and quiet words. It's fun to use the flaps to cover up the sleeping animals. Some of the flaps are doors, trees, or even Jemima Puddle-duck's wing. When Emily gets older I imagine she'll enjoy guessing who is under each flap and thinking about them enjoying their rest.

Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones by Claire Freedman; illustrated by Tina Macnaughton.
Safari animals get ready for bed after a long day of playing. A story in rhyme, the words are soothing. The illustrations are too, with soft warm sunsets moving toward dusk and a moonlit evening. The cover is even somewhat soft, so it's a great cuddle-up-and-read book. It's an oversized board book, so it's also good for a small group.

Books We Read Today -- In the Garden

Yesterday my daughter and I had fun in the garden. Actually, at 6 months old, Emily had fun watching me plant flowers and prune bushes as she chewed on her toys. Whenever we go outside I can tell she is listening and watching intently. Is it a bird she hears? A bug whizzing by her? Someday she will be old enough to explore the garden with its flowers, insects, and mud. Until then, we can both enjoy some books on gardening, bugs, and birds.

 The Little Composter by Jan Gerardi.
I had to smile when I saw this book. We compost at our house, but I never expected to see a board book about it! This is a clever lift-the-flap book with a simple story in rhyme. (See the melon, lift the flap, and see the rind.) The perfect book to illustrate composting for your little gardener. Part of the Teenie Greenies series.

In My Nest by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich.
Look closely at the illustration at the right and you'll see it looks just like a nest with a bird in it. The pages are cut out to give the illusion of a nest and the bird is a finger puppet! This is sure to get the attention of a child, and yet it is not gimmicky. It is a wonderful way for a child to explore in a tactile way until you can do it with a real nest.  There are other similar books in this series, such as In My Pond, and In My Den.

 I Like Bugs (a touch-and-feel board book) by Lorena Siminovich
At first glance, this is a very simple book. It's about bugs and counting to five. That's it. Three beetles, four bees.... Simple. But the illustrations make it something fascinating to explore. Done in collage and texture, it has a 3-D feel to it. A lot of thought was put into the illustrations, too. Most of the illustrations match the number on the page. You'd expect four bees to be on page number four, but there are also four flowers and even four leaves on each flower. It makes reading the same book over and over that much more exciting to both parent and child.