Books emma loves

I must say that some of Emma's reading tastes have changed and some have remained the same. As a baby she loved all lift the flap books, especially all of Karen Katz' books. I bought pretty much her entire collection. The illustrations are big and bold and the story is simple. Now Emma only wants to rip the flaps off and shows little interest in Katz' redundant lines.

As a baby she also loved touch and feel book, especially anything with animals and not illustrated animals, but books that used actual photographs of animals. Her favorite book was this book that came from the bargain section of Borders that was is literally called "Book of Baby Animals" and cost 5 dollars but it has withstood her sticky hands and she will still sit and flip through the pages, naming all the animals. Babies are very tactile so you can’t go wrong with touch and feel books. Any of Matthew Van Fleet books are also a hit especially "Tails" , "Cats" or "Dogs". His books have it all, lift the flap, touch and feel, scratch and sniff and even make noise. They are intended for older kids, who know how to properly handle books; I would say 3-5 year old if you care about your books lasting, but even the under three age range love his books. Just be prepared for it to be destroyed and since they come at a higher cost than other books some parents might want to hold off on this one, but that being said, I have yet to see a child not respond to his books in a positive way.

Emma still adores Olivia and is now into the latest book in the Olivia series by Ian Falconer-"Olivia goes to Venice" The story is so charming as she and her family visit Venice and eat a LOT of gelato. It is very Olivia and Emma. I just need to buy Emma her own copy and she is man handling my first edition.

As I stated earlier Emma responds to books with animal photographs and one of her other favorite books is Knut. Her science dad is happy about this one because Emma also shows interest in informative books and not just story books. This is the true story of how Knut came to be such a loved yet hot topic bear of the last decade. It is hard to read this one to her so I just make up stories of the Oso and his "papa". She really digs the bear and has even fed it on occasion.

I am sure she will also love this book, which I have in Tampa. It tells another true story that is both heartbreaking and uplifting story about a baby hippo who lost its mother in the Tsunami and seeks comfort with an old tortoise. The two eventually become inseparable and form a family of sorts.

Finally, another book that has stood the test of time is Goodnight Gorilla. The story is very simple and the animals are drawn in such a sweet manner that Emma still will sit through is book from beginning to end, and read it over and over.

So there you have her favorite books from a year ago to now. I wonder where her tastes will be in the coming year.