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Apr 2009

Sweet serenity of books.

April 14, 2009 By 13 Comments
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The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Ah I love this quote! I remember when I was expecting my first, every where I turned it seemed I heard “start reading to him as a baby” so I did, and oh boy does he love to read. It helps that he comes from a long line of readers (on both sides).

Getting lost in a good book… nothing better.

Thinking back to some of his earlier favorites, I can’t help but remember a fave being the noisiest Elmo book out there – but the husband and I reluctantly read it night after bitter night. Now that our bubs is older, he actually enjoys books without noise. We couldn’t be more thrilled! ; )

The importance of reading to our children is something that will be touched on soon by a fabulous guest author/teacher, but I wanted to briefly write about it on a personal level, simply because it has been such a big part of our lives. Our bedtime routine with the boys includes a story, and that is something I hope we have ingrained into their minds… reading is a great way to end the day. The old saying is true, starting them early truly does instill a love of this fabulous gift we have in reading. Even our 9 month old enjoys a good chew on his board books.

I’ll never forget my childhood years reading Henry, Sesame Street Farm, and I love you forever. As I got older, the Boxcar Children, and Little House on the Prairie lined my shelves. I look forward to seeing the books my children choose to read as they grow and change, their interests and passions evolving.

Some current/past loves in our home include:

How about you? What were some of your favorites growing up, or those of your own children?

About Angie


Angie is the founder and editor of The Creative Mama, who lives in the beautiful Bay Area, CA. She also blogs her own personal journey at angiewarren.com. When she isn't writing or taking photos, Angie can be found having tickle fights with her boys and frequenting the local Starbucks.

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  • Becky

    I’m really bad about reading to O before bed. We do read during play time though when she seems to be most interested. Our favorites right now consist of a noisy book about a cat dog and duck.

  • http://theakohlhepp.blogspot.com theadora

    I loved Little House too! My favorite children’s books (this list could be exhaustive so I will keep it to my top five):
    Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, Cloudy with a chance of meatballs by Judy Barrett, Guess How much I love you, by Sam McBratney, In the rain with baby duck, by Amy hest ( Emma loves this one), and stella louella’s runaway book, by lisa campbell ernst. Where the wild things are should be in every child’s room. I agree reading ( and listening to music) while in the womb, definitely is beneficial to your child. I love to read to my kids and the best part is when I hear them “reread” it using my expressions and tone! LOL!!! Happy Reading!

  • Kristi

    Oh gosh, I love children’s books. My favorites growing up were Each Peach Pear Plum, The Little House board book (and yes, Little House on the Prairie books too) and so many others that I can’t remember the names of!! As a pre-teen I loved the True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Anne Frank, Island of the Blue Dolphins…it’s fun to go back and read these with my own children. :) Love the lists and all of the recent creativity, Ang! :)

  • Kika

    My kids and I are all big readers. As a girl I loved “Anne of Green Gables” and the “Little House on the Prairie” series so it has been particularly sweet for me to watch my nine year old daughter reading these same titles this year. We read “A Little Princess” together (aloud) earlier this year and she is now following up with “A Secret Garden”…what fun! Oh, and last year my son (12 ys)and I read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy simultaneously. I didn’t read these myself as a youth but we sure enjoyed them together and then watched the movies afterwards. Reading with my kids, aloud or separately and then discussing them is actually one of the most enjoyable aspects of my life with children.

  • angie

    ah, thank you for the amazing feedback! i love that others are so into reading and it is fabulous to see some titles i have yet to read to the boys :)

  • http://pleasantlychaotic.blogspot.com nikkilee

    jr likes mr brown can moo can you? by dr suess. We have a number of board books he loves to chew on/slide across the floor and flip the pages looking cute and flirty while he does it. we read oh the places you’ll go to him before he was born but now it’s too long of a book. i love to read and hope he gets that love of reading too!

  • angie

    hi nikki! glad to see you here :) that is fabulous that jr loves his board books! mr. brown can moo can you? is a great one!

  • http://www.myexperimentallife.blogspot.com rochelle

    my son loved(s) silly books. as a toddler his favorites were blue hat,green hat by sandra boynton. he’d start giggling in anticipation of the turkey jumping into the pool fully dressed! He also loved Dinosaur ROar by the sticklands. now that he’s older his tastes have matured to dav pilkey and the captain underpants series. my daughter is the true reader of the family and was even recognized in second grade for reading the most books in her entire school- they have a program that allow the kids to take a test after each book they read. recently,she devoured all 13 books in the series of unfortunate events. it’s awesome to see them reading.

  • angie

    rochelle, that is amazing – your daughter! you must be so proud, and what a gift you have given your children :) wonderful!

  • Krissy

    I love that my 2y/o is totally obsessed with his books. Some of our favorites are “My Truck is Stuck,” “Rockabye Farm,” and “The Little Red Caboose.”

  • heather

    We LOVE to read. My 2 year old loves Dora, Dr. Suess and Goodnight Gorilla. My 8 year old loves mysteries, Bible stories, Boxcar Children, Magic Treehouse, and Nate the Great. We all love The Seven Silly Eaters about the Peters family of picky eaters.

  • Rachel

    We love the Shel Silverstein books-The Giving Tree,and Where the Sidewalk Ends. Those are great ones here! As well as Where the Wild Things Are, (they are making a movie of that! yay!)

  • angie

    rachel, yes! my hubbie just showed me the preview for where the wild things are – can’t wait!! :)