We interrupt all this heavy lifting to do a bit of bookblogging – mostly children’s books.

For new readers – we do this occasionally here. I have 2 young children, and reading stories is a big part of our life – and since I have older children as well, it’s been a part of my life for 24 years now. Which means that I have just about had it with some stories, and am always on the look out for the new. Moreover, I generally am hostile to morals – as in "..a Story About Sharing" or "…a Story about Belonging" or "…a Story about Tolerance."

So, a few recent finds:

Wolves – by Emily Gravett. Clever. Teaches you all about wolves. As in what they like to eat – the narrative being framed as a story being read by a rabbit in a book that’s slowly turning into a wolf.

With an alternative ending for more sensitive readers, we should add.

The Adventures of Dish and Spoon – in which Dish and Spoon, run off to try to make their way in the Big City, and do for a time, as a successful vaudeville act in the 30’s.  The get rich, then broke, then fall in with a bad lot, which gets in trouble with the law and…many years later, they reunite. in teh 50’s.  The world has changed, as it is wont to do, but cracked, crazed and worn, Dish and Spoon find they still have it. Clever, intricate pictures, a nice retro feel.

Young children – even five year olds – love stories about babies, especially babies doing funny things, which babies do, quite dependably. Here are two recent hits:

Baby Got the Zapper. This one is short, but Joseph just loved it – collapsed into giggles on every page. Story: Baby gets the remote, a remote than can do more than change channels, and each achievement is punctuated with a succinct: "Baby did that."  He has adventures – but in the end, Mama gets the Zapper – and…"Mama did that." It’s cute and satisfying.

Shoe Baby – the baby travels in the shoe, has requisite adventures, until two giants – papa who has lost his shoe, mama  who has lost her baby, appear – and both find what they’ve lost. Again, much laughter and a sly, slow smile as Joseph gradually figured out where it was all going.

(The Baby Brains books are also popular around here.)

This one isn’t new – although it was new to us, and I just really liked it – Edde B. Pigboy. It’s just really simple – about a little boy who lives on a farm. He has a job – when the mama pig and her babies escape from the pigpen, it’s his job to go after them, grab one of the piglets and run as fast as he can (because mama pig runs fast and bites hard) back to the pigpen, shove the piglet in and close the gate after mama and the rest rush in after their brother. Mama checks to see if her baby is all right, Eddie gets a quarter, buys ice cream, content in knowing he’s done a good and important job.

Well, that was almost a moral. Almost.