Some Kids Books You Shouldn't Have to Give Up

After I confessed the other day that cleaning out my daughter's picture books to make way for the "big girl" chapter books made me cry like a very NOT big girl, I realized there's another facet to this whole mess.

I was sitting with a copy of the latest Llama Llama book from Anna Dewdney when it hit me. See, the book ended up in my house more by happenstance than anything. It came from a publishing house, but I don't really write about the kids its targeted for anymore. My daughter is 7, and I stopped writing about toddlers for The Stir ages ago.

And yet, it's been sitting in my dining room for months because I just couldn't bear to let it go.

The problem -- if you want to call it that -- is I'm loyal. If you believe in all that horoscope mumbo jumbo, it's because I was born under the Sign of the Crab (the symbol for which is probably a better descriptor of me half the time). But it's true.

I stick to the same old brands of toothpaste and mayonnaise. And I like to read the watch the same TV shows and read about the same characters.When it comes to children's books, the latter is pretty easy. When a character gains even a hint of popularity, the publishers direct authors to keep it going for as long as they can, nudging children toward myriad skills and behaviors at the behest of a lovable little critter with whom they're already familiar.

In some (OK, many) cases, that means things get ridiculous after book three or four.

But I have to commend Anna Dewdney here. I don't have a toddler in my house anymore, but when I paged through Llama, Llama Time to Share, I was reminded why all the Llama, Llama books survived the major clean-out.

Her rhymes are simple but clean, the characters impossible to dislike. I can't help but feel like I'm Mama Llama talking to her little Llama when I'm reading one of Dewdney's books. You can tell she's been there, that she's a parent. They simply capture what it's like to have that back and forth with your kids.


After reading the whole thing, I even did what I know I shouldn't ... I walked upstairs to her room and placed it on the newly re-organized shelves. Come on ... it's just ONE.

What book series are your kids hooked on that you can't give up? 



Have you "liked" Inside Out Motherhood on Facebook yet?  


Disclaimer: Although I received a free copy of Llama Llama Time to Share, I was not compensated for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.