I am always on the lookout for books my son will like -- and that I won't mind reading OVER and OVER and OVER. Don't get me wrong, I think learning the names of obscure construction equipment is an important little boy right of passage. He should know the difference between a backhoe and a roller and a cherry picker, right?
Call me crazy -- I'd like him to know up and down, big and little, duck and cow and horse, too. I want him to dream about pirates, and shout "Aaarrrrr" as he uncovers buried treasure in his toybox. But shopping for books with a toddler in tow is not particularly productive. As I pull a book from the shelf and scan the pages checking out the language and illustrations, he pulls books from the shelf just to pull them down. He does so with abandon. Books fly from the shelf. In less than a minute there are so many books on the floor we'd need a Caterpillar D-11R Carrydozer Track Type Loader to scoop them all up. Really.
If you, like me, want to find excellent books for your kids but have book shopping challenges, fret not.
Visit Ethan's Bookshelf (www.ethansbookshelf.com) for reviews of wonderful children's books. Editor Jenny Rich (a reading specialist, teacher, and mom) writes thorough, vivid descriptions of each title she includes, and categorizes by age and by theme to make book shopping easy and fun. This isn't Amazon -- Ethan's Bookshelf includes only the best books for kids. You can purchase individual books directly from the site or select a whole set of books by theme and buy them all with a single mouse click. I'm loving it.
Need to see it to believe it? Try out www.lookybook.com to preview picture books page by page. Once you decide you've found a keeper, you can purchase online or head to the local library to check it out.
