what we're reading now...july 15 (a belated post)

Inch by Inch.  For some reason, I had the idea that all of the Leo Lionni books were rather lengthy.  I only owned An Extraordinary Egg before Baby A was born, and I knew it would be years before he'd be able to enjoy it.  I could not have been more wrong, and I could not be more in love with the simple titles I have lately discovered.  Inch by Inch is rapidly becoming a new favorite.

Little Gorilla.  I had my eye on this little board book for months before finally succumbing to its 1970's charm.  It's incredibly simple, just a story about a beloved baby gorilla and the jungle animals that watch him grow up.  It felt appropriate, considering Baby A's momentous first birthday was July 5 (tear).

Boy + Bot.  I found this at our local bookstore a few months ago and snatched it up for A's first birthday.  Its greatest features are the illustrations, which are brightly colored but almost vintage in style.  A doesn't appreciate the electronic voice effects SH and I both use for the bot, but some day he'll find them quite humorous.

What Pet to Get?  Like last month's The Cow Who Clucked, this is a book that I might not have paid much attention to had A not yanked it from the shelf.  Yes, he has now taken to joyfully pulling piles of books off the shelves.  It's become a daily morning activity, and when his dad comes in to take over, he'll find A wedged in the space between our reading chair and the bookshelf, the floor covered with books.  As I was haphazardly replacing the books in a spare moment, What Pet to Get? caught my eye.  We've been reading it ever since.  The illustrations are bright and oversized, the pages a pleasing, slick texture, and the story of a boy who has a more "exotic" taste in animals adorable.

The Odd Egg.  My love affair with Emily Gravett continues.  This particular book is probably more notable for its illustrations than the story, which is merely the progression of an assortment of birds waiting for their eggs to hatch.  I'm sure Baby A will howl with glee at the surprise ending when he's a bit older.  For now, I think he enjoys the "flipboard" effect of the pages as each egg hatches.