Top Books of 2008

Aron Greenberg recently requested an "E&Z Top Toys of 2008" list.

We know we're behind this year, but we're going to make it up to you by starting with a lucky strike bonus special "Top Ten Books of 2008" list.

January 2008 (age 16 months)

My First ABC Board Book / My First Animal Book by Dorling Kindersley

These are two popular examples of the many picture books we had around for the girls at this age. Eleni & Zoe liked looking at all the bright pictures and loved to show off their new vocabularies -- at first by pointing at the correct object when we said a word, and later by saying the word themselves while pointing at the object. They were usually on target with their descriptions, but Zoe and I would get into heated arguments over the caterpillar that she insisted was a doggie. I mean, it's not like it was a fox or a wolf, it was a CATERPILLAR. But the girl is nothing if not stubborn, and so we reached an impass. I'm looking forward to her trying to teach the caterpillars to fetch when we move to the suburbs.

February 2008 (age 17 months)

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt

This book brings back...not memories, exactly, but sensations from my own childhood. This interactive book was a favorite for reading together and playing alone. We have "Pat the Puppy" and "Pat the Kitten" too, but "Pat the Bunny" was the standout. The original is also less easy to destroy; the newer renditions have more features that are easily ripped out by a determined 1 1/2 year old.

March 2008 (age 18 months)
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
Thanks to the Bass family, who sent this as a gift when the girls were born, this is one of the girls' favorites of all time -- for Eleni in particular. There are some prerequisites for this book, however: The adult must 1) have some sense of rhythym, 2) have some sense of what a squaredance caller sounds like, 3) be willing to share all of the above, out loud. For example, I love reading this book to the girls; Kostas does NOT like reading this book to the girls. When I started reading this book, I would do a kind of hoedown pat on my leg as I read. Soon the girls were doing their own hoedown pats on my leg. It was pretty fun.

April 2008 (age 19 months)

Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
This is the mostly visual story of a kindly zookeeper who goes around saying "Good night" to all the animals in the zoo, and of the sneaky little gorilla who steals the zookeeper's keys and frees all the animals, only to follow the zookeeper home. The colors are truly lush. As an adult, I see something new each time (for example, each animal has a toy version of themselves...the mouse carries a banana with him all along the way, the balloon that escapes at the beginning can be seen further and further off into the distance, etc.). Fortunately, the girls love it too.

May 2008 (age 20 months)
Red Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton was top of the charts with the girls in 2008, but has been falling in popularity in 2009. Typically, the girls would have one or two favorite books at a time, and the others were completely unacceptable. For example, my even so much as reaching for Hippos Go Berserk would drive Zoe into a screaming frenzy for months, although it later became quite popular. That said, "Red Hat, Green Hat" was pretty consistently acceptable. The weird thing is that I think part of the fun of this book is that your kids are supposed to start saying "oops" with you at the end of each 2-page spread. I always set them up for it, and they always turned, stared, and waited. I continue to believe they knew what I wanted and were just toying with me.

June 2008 (21 months)
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

This book is so good it gives me goosebumps every time I read it; the words are magical and soothing. At least to me. Eleni just loves telling me where the mouse is in every picture, which is probably good too.

July 2008 (22 months)
Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

I find the Clifford books dated in an odd way, but the girls love them and want me to read them over and over and over, so it would be unfair not to include them here. Maybe it's the little blonde girl's feathered hair that creeps me out.

August 2008 (23 months)
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

I cannot tell you how exciting it was when the girls finally became interested in story books, but trust me that it was very, very exciting to finally have a plot. Unfortunately, this interest coincided with a new interest in having the exact same book read over and over and over. As a side note, the girls and I have just discovered the animated "Harold" series on HBO, narrated by Sharon Stone. Very imaginative. I actually enjoy the episodes too...well the first time I see them maybe.

September 2008 (2 years)

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joff Numeroff

Yup. They sure do like these books.

October 2008 (25 months)

Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss

Hooray! We've made it to Dr. Seuss. I find that I have relatively strong feelings about the rhymes in this book. I'm a fan of tweetle beatles, but am opposed to free fleas. I find it interesting that Knox wears a dress.

November 2008 (26 months)
There’s a bird on your head by Mo Willems

From what I can tell so far, the sweet and witty works of Mo Willems are blessings to parents in the world of toddler books. Thank you, Mo. It just kills me that the girls aren't into the Pigeon books yet. I strive to be as sweet and witty as these books.

December 2008 (27 months)

Ten Apples up on Top by Dr. Seuss

The wacky thing about this book is that it is written, but not illustrated, by Dr. Seuss. Which is slightly disconcerting. That said, Zoe is obsessed with this book. And now refers to her head and hair as "up on top," which is pretty amusing. She particularly enjoys my "kaboom!" sound effect for the apple cart collision, so I like to tease her by turning that page very slooowwwwly.