Off to the Library Again!

We're a family of book lovers, as has been mentioned before. The kids have piles of books up at Grandma Karen and Grandpa Tim's place. Grandma Vicki sends us packages with great new books that we are always very excited to receive. One of my favorite garage sale finds? More books for the kids. One of Grandma Julia's buying weaknesses? Books for the kids. Something that Daddy likes to stop at the store once in a while and buy for the kids?

Books! Books, books, and more books! You can't find a room in this home without at least a couple piles of books in it. And that's a beautiful thing. We read in the morning. We read in the afternoon! Daddy always reads a couple books (and then lets himself get suckered into a couple more!) at bedtime. And when Daddy's done often Jake & Bentley try to sneak off to Grandma's room to get in a couple more! We love reading. The twins have gone through phases where they're more or less willing to sit and read but lately they're starting to catch the reading vision. Bentley has always been happy to sit and read - even weighty tomes his Dad selects (Stephen Hawking sound like light reading to anyone??).

I prefer board books. Not too many words, and lots of pictures to talk about. They're clever (some of them!) and to the point. Any fellow Sheep in a Jeep lovers out there? Daddy buys books with lots and lots of words. I let him read those lovely Disney stories over and over - he bought the book, he can do it! :-) *** Note: I do know how to read those books with more words! And as the kids are getting bigger we're reading more longer books - but those Disney ones? There's just something about them... !

Bentley and Jake have been loving Curious George lately. Bentley can finish the sentences on every page in a few of his George books. Jake really likes animal and car books (like a certain other little boy I can recall...). He sleeps with his big book of animals. Viva? I'm not certain that she has a favorite book. We're still teaching her not to rip books or stand on them. She has a bit of destruction in her nature. Grandma might say more than a bit of it. We have some books about Lola & Charlie(a fun series) and Genevieve insists on calling Lola Dora. There's my Viva trivia. :-) My new favorite is Madeline - a classic, I know, but one my Mom found today. The books rhyme. They're clever and cute!

Bentley reads to the twins sometimes. He reads Bill Martin & Eric Carle's Polar Bear, Polar Bear book to them. It's cute. On a side note he's teaching Viva to count. They get to 4 and then her attention wanders and he gets irritated. But what can he expect?? He's working with an almost 2 year old!

Okay... back to the original inspiration for the post. Yesterday our library kicked off their summer reading program for kids with a big outdoor event on the library lawn. We have a gorgeous big library here in Anchorage, and we try to make use of it frequently. The kids saw parrots and dogs, watched some juggling, listened to some music, checked out the polar bear exhibit, and attempted to pose by the fountain. It was a sunny spring day, and a fun activity!

And, of course, the kids signed up for the reading program. Because you're never too young for reading, and lots of it!


Did I mention we love books and reading?