My first library corner

Every couple of weeks, I ask myself the same question:  Will I ever get to just wander the library and pick out really great books?

And the answer typically comes within three minutes:  Not today.

The toddler pulls books off the shelf with gleeful abandon while the preschooler plucks them one at a time, looks them over, and “reshelves” them for the poor librarian who really didn’t want his “help” putting A books in the F section.

Meanwhile, between putting the board books back and the picture books in a pile to on the big cart, I try to grab about ten books to take home with us.  They’re mostly the ones that the children’s librarians have kindly set on top of the shelves for us with a sprinkle of one or two of the boys’ findings.

I bring them home and usually find one or two that I love, five or six that are pleasant if mediocre, and one or two that I have to hide because they are so annoying that they are sure to become the ones Sebastian wants to read eight hundred times.

And each library trip, I think to myself, Self, you should really write reviews of the good ones and list out the rest so others can avoid them!  And then I get busy hiding some books and persuading them to love others and reading a few eight hundred times, so I forget.

But not today!  Today I’ve remembered and had a free moment (such a sadly rare combination), so here is our very first Team Rasler Library Corner!  I’ve given myself permission to make it short because we’re all busy here trying to rescue the poor books from the toddler’s teething mouth.

The fabulous:
(you may love these so much you want to buy them)

Olivia by Ian Falconer
If you have ever had a toddler or preschooler, this book is for you.  I’ve known of these books for a long time, but somehow never read any of them!  Olivia is a spirited little pig who wears out her parents who “love her anyway.”  The text is short but brilliant.  My favorite part is when she tries to imitate Jackson Pollock.  “Time out.”  Hilarious.  Sebastian loved this one, too.

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
This book is too old for my crew, but it’s perfect for the early elementary crowd.  Lilly loves her teacher until he takes away her beloved new purse when she keeps disrupting the class.  Lilly is expressive, to say the least, and throughout the book she writes delightful stories about how she is feeling about her teacher at each point.  The best part of this is all of the little captions next to the funny illustrations.  Kevin Hankes is one of my favorite authors.  If you have a new baby in the house and a jealous older sibling, you’ll also love Julius, the Baby of the World.

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Amy Dewdner
I don’t know how I missed this popular bedtime book all these years, but it’s so good I bought a copy!  Baby llama needs a drink but Mama llama isn’t coming fast enough.  The author manages to rhyme just a few words without making it boring or overly repetitive and everyone who’s lived through the bedtime hysterics will love this book.  Best part:  “Please stop all this llama drama and be patient for your mama!”  You can believe I’ll be using that line more than once in the near future.

Peek-a-baby by Karen Katz
The toddler crowd loves flap books, and our favorites around here are by Karen Katz.  We got this one at the library because Theo has gotten a bit bored with the three we have, and he dove right into this one.  It’s a little nerve-wracking that the flaps are paper so I have to be extra-careful he doesn’t bend or rip these since they’re not ours!  “Where is Baby’s Birthday Cake” is our favorite first birthday present for our kids’ friends.

The mediocre
(why we have libraries:  these are good for a change of scene but then just return them):

Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs by Byron Barton
Typically his books are great for toddlers, and if your kid loves dinosaurs  this would be a good one.

Dodo Gets Married by Petra Mathers

Jake Gander Storyville Detective by George McClements

Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood:
This author’s books illustrated by Don Wood are usually favorites of ours  and the pictures are amazing.  This one is fine, but I didn’t love it as much as  others do. Check out The Napping House or The Little Mouse, The Red  Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear instead if you have little ones or King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub for older ones.

To be avoided
(hide these until you can return them):

The Lighthouse Cat by Sue Stainton
This one is just too long and something about the prose irritated me.  It’s not a bad book, but I didn’t want anyone here getting attached to it.

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All in all, a pretty good haul this week!  We’ll be back in two or three weeks with another Library Corner.  Feel free to leave recommendations in the comments!