We don’t currently own a TV, so we do a fair amount of reading in our household. That’s true of Peter and me, but it’s also true of our children. So I thought this week’s “What I’m Reading” should include the picture books that I get to enjoy on a daily basis. 

If I ask the kids, “What’s your favorite book?” Penny will answer either Ladybug Girl and Bingo at the Beach (not exactly the title, but close enough–Penny can “read” every page of this sweet story about a little girl’s first outing to the beach) or Curious George (which, when she says it, sounds like Serious George, and by which she means the collected stories that come in at a whopping 300+ pages. She is intimately familiar with every page, even though her parents somewhat disapprove of many of George’s adventures, including the time he drinks ether and passes out). William will say, “Machine Go to Work!” a fold-out picture book from his Nana that includes the sounds each machine makes. Wa-pa-pa-pa, the helicopter, is the highlight of his reading day. 

A few others we enjoy: 

Library Lion: A wonderful story of a lion who makes friends in his local library and helps one of them even though it costs him his entrance to the library, for a time. 

Quick as a Cricket: One of William’s (age 2) current favorites, and Penny used to have it memorized in sign language when she was his age. Memorable images and rhymes as a young boy finds himself in animals all around.

Remy the Rhino Learns Patience: The illustrations are the best part of this book (I’m a big fan of the tattooed hippo, although I’m not sure our kids have picked up on that detail yet) that tells the story of a rhino whose horn gets stuck in a tree and forces him to learn patience. 

Harold and the Purple Crayon: A whimsical story of a boy who uses a purple crayon to draw his way out of his house and back again. Fascinating for children, and it never ceases to make me smile when Harold “draws up” the covers at the end of the story, and goes to sleep.

Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom: A lyrical alphabet story that makes learning letters fun!

The Frances Stories: Another one of Penny’s current favorites, complete with songs and healthy sibling rivalry and simple household concerns like picky eaters and friends who don’t want to play. 

Read Aloud Bible Stories: We have three of the four books in this series. In fact, the picture above is from two summers ago, when Penny spent many hours memorizing their contents. Simple prose and illustrations bring Bible stories to life. 

So–enjoy some summer reading for yourself and for a little one in your life!