Throughout this summer, Sophiapea and I are participating in our library’s summer reading program.  That doesn’t really change anything about our reading habits, except that there are incentive prizes, and who doesn’t like incentive prizes?  Anyways, since we’re reading so much now anyways, I thought it was high time that I introduce a weekly post about the kids books we’ve read from the library.  Obviously, these aren’t the only books we read, I just want to make a note of the kids’ books that I end up liking, and which ones I never, ever want to read again.

First up this week is “What Does the Fox Say?” By Ylvis

As you may be guessing, this is just an illustrated version of the Youtube hit song.  I thought it was tremendous fun, both reading and singing. (Who knows what all the words are now?!  This girl…)  Fun fact that is probably instigating a healthy amount of my interest in this book: We taught Sophia to say “Ding, ding, ding” when we ask her what the fox says. I love having kids! 😀

The illustrations were kind of quirky, but entertaining.  Like the song.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Secondly, we have Crafty Chloe by Kelly DiPuccio

This was pretty cute.  It’s all about a little girl creating a present for her friend, and I like the idea of encouraging kids to make presents rather than having to buy everything.  Sophia got it into her head that Chloe was a princess, and so we had to read the “princess” book several hundred times.  I didn’t completely hate it by the time we took it back to the library, so that is always a bonus.  It had some cute dialogue, and I think it stretched Sophia’s attention span, which is always a good thing!

The illustrations were great too, and there were plenty of little things to discuss in the pictures. Dogs, stars, and LOTS of colors.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Find the Constellations by H. A. Rey was fantastic.  It ended up being a little beyond Sophia, but it was such an amazing, educational book, that I’ve added it to a list of books that I actually want to buy when my kiddos are a little bit older.  It had great illustrations of the constellations, tips on finding them in the night sky, and short quizzes throughout the book.  I think it will be a fun summer “class” in a couple more years.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

It’s a Firefly Night by Dianne Ochiltree was another cute one.  It made me really nostalgic, because I remember loving the fireflies and being so excited the first night they came out in summertime.  It makes me a little bit sad that there don’t seem to be any fireflies in Washington State, but we’ll be back in the south in a few years, Lord willing, and there will be plenty of time to show the kids the wonder of fireflies.  Plus, it rhymes.  I love kids books that rhyme!

My rating: 4 out 5 stars