Confessions of an IT Girl

IT Boy has never been a big reader.  It’s something that has always bugged me, but at the same time, it’s wasn’t something I forced.  I offered books at bedtime, but when he said no, I gave up and stopped asking.  There were always enough issues trying to get him to bed.  I certainly felt guilty, that was I giving up on him somehow, considering how passionate I am about reading.  But since there is always something to feel guilty about when it comes to your kids, I let it slide.

However, once he started Kindergarten, it was like a switch was thrown and he simply had to have books read to him every night.  I’m not sure where it came from, but I was so grateful that he was eager to cuddle up at bedtime and read books with us.  Maybe it was because there was a reading center in his classroom where he could pick up books at any time and paw through them.

We started out by reading to him in our room with a selection of titles that were pulled from his shelves. Quickly, we realized we were going to go mad if we had to read the same books every night, sometimes one book read 4 times.  I know that repetition is a good thing when it comes to reading to kids, but the sanity of the rest of the family was at stake.  Eventually, we moved him into his room for reading.  I went through his book shelf and organized all the titles, removing the ones that were probably never going to be picked to be read (calling all those princess books handed down from his sister here).

Now, bed time reading is a must.  At first, we were afraid the habit wouldn’t stick, but it’s something he looks forward to as much as his nightly shower.  Yes, I have one kid who can’t stop bathing and the other one who could go weeks without.  Go figure.  Once or twice,  we would use books as a threat – meaning, stop pulling your sister’s hair or you won’t get any books read to you.  Come up here and get dressed for bed or no books.  That kind of thing.  Mr. IT and I decided that we didn’t want to use books as reward/punishment because we would be really bummed out if he stopped wanting to read.

So what makes the cut with IT Boy?  I talked about one of his first favorites, “Goodnight Goon“, in a previous post.  Here’s what’s on his reading list now:

He’s a huge fan of the Froggy series of books from Jonathan London.  These are fun and oftentimes silly books about a young frog’s adventures.  He goes through many of the same things that IT Boy does – going to school, playing sports, helping out around the house, and celebrating special events.  The book featured here, “Froggy’s Sleepover“, was his first foray into the series.  Now, after digging around the house, we have 2 others, as well as access to the local library that is well stocked with amphibian literature.

I purchased “The Adventures of Bumblebee Boy” at our school book fair.  I’m not sure if he pulled it off the shelf or I picked it out, but no matter.  It’s in heavy rotation in our house.  Our local bookstore had the “Ladybug Girl” book and I got that for him too.  He’s become quite a fan of all the books in the series.  The thing that I love about them is the illustrations.  They are beautifully done, charming and really capture the spirit of the characters.  There’s a book just about Bumblebee Boy, books about Ladybug Girl alone, a book featuring both of them, and a book about Ladybug Girl and the whole gosh darn bug squad.  All of them have great messages about cooperation and friendship.

So, who doesn’t LOVE Mo Willems?  We certainly do.  Soccer Girl put “Knuffle Bunny Too” in heavy rotation back in the day.  One of the books that I remember Boy did pick up at the book fair was an “Elephant and Piggie” book.  It was the first time I saw that series, but I knew the sense of humor and whimsy that the author brought to the table would make this a good book.  I was right – “Pigs Make Me Sneeze” has to be ready EVERY night, and Boy can read it himself – often he has to read it to us before we can read it to him.

I can’t guarantee these books will show up on his playlist next month as his tastes are constantly evolving.  Already he’s asking for more books in the Arthur series, and has taken a liking to the “Rollie Pollie Ollie” books, even without the TV tie in that drew his sister to the series.  Now, his sister is begging to be the one who reads him the books, which tickles me to no end.

What books are you reading again and again to your kids, that they can’t get enough of?

Disclosure: My company is not the publisher of any of these titles, but the links are through my Amazon affiliate account.