About Sweetmama Editor
Nadine Silverthorne’s love of journaling began in Grade One with the entry, “I am the greatest dancer!” Two babies (and countless diaper changes) later, she has found her home away from home as editor of SweetMama. Don’t miss her humorous bi-weekly accounts of the joys and pains of working while raising them fabulous.
I have read to both my children since they were in my belly. It shocks me that people need to be reminded to read to their children, because as long as you're literate, it's probably the easiest quality time you can spend with your kids. It's a quiet, sit-still, snuggly time where the door to their imaginations can be unlocked. It also reminds me of a lot that's lost in our lives once we become adults. (Illustrations in books for one.)
We're at a great stage right now. At 4.5 and 2, I'm finally able to read to my children together at bedtime. Lucy will sit through 10-15 pages, so long as she does the choosing. And Nate is only JUST getting to the point where certain books are deemed "too baby."
As our resident bookworm, The Book Fairy reviews only the newest children's literature out there, (and this week she's got a sleepy recommendation) I thought I'd talk about some beloved bedtime books on my kids' shelves.
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A Pipkin of Pepper, by Helen Cooper
There are three books to this series about a bossy cat, a middle-manager squirrel and a duck who makes bad decisions, but the best pumpkin soup around. This one's about getting lost and my kids just love the action, the pictures and the cadence of the story. (I also recommend Cooper's Tatty Ratty for anyone whose lost their favourite toy.)
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The Robot and The Bluebird, by David Lucas
The first time I read this book, I couldn't get through it without sobbing. (I was pregnant, I'll admit.) It's got a haunting Hans Christian Andersen feel to it that stays with you after every read. The robot with the broken heart gets put in the rubbish pile, until one day a bluebird takes shelter where his heart used to be. I can't imagine my kids get the hidden message, but the illustrations are unbelievable and my enjoyment of it must rub off, because they keep handing it to me.
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Lost and Found, by Oliver Jeffers
This is one in a series of incredibly illustrated books about a boy with a HUGE imagination. Inventive and touching, we love that this one's got a penguin in it, but love even more when said penguin has a cameo in the next book, The Way Back Home.
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Munsch More! and Much More Munsch!, by Robert Munsch
Robert Munsch is to Canadian kid lit what Gretzky is to hockey. These two compilations aren't the be all and end all of Munschism, but they will give you walk down memory lane and remind you of all that is good with our school system. Various illustrators do the work justice, but I love Michael Martchenko best for the little details that dot the stories like Easter eggs for the astute reader.
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The Going to Bed Book, by Sandra Boynton
If you're having a baby, you might as well stock up on Boynton books now. The woman was put on this Earth to captivate the minds of our wee ones and she never disappoints. We love this story about the bedtime ritual of pyjama-wearing animals on an arc, rocking to sleep.
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Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale, by Karen Katz
Lucy was enamoured by Karen Katz lift-the-flap books as a baby (like Boynton, Katz has the recipe down). Now that she's older she still loves Katz's signature look and digestible-for-kids wording. Friends of ours gave Nate this book (about Katz's own journey through adoption) right before they flew to Russia to adopt their son. Nate loves learning about different families, and starting this conversation is much better than having to answer anything biological about where babies come from.
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Of course this pile changes according to the mood and the night, but I find these are ones that have stood the test of time in my house. What bedtime books are you loving these days?