12 titles, 44 left.. More than half-way!

Okay, so, I've had to split what we've already finished reading into two lists, just to make the blogs easier to handle. I actually have twenty-four books that we've read since last time. When I looked at that list, I decided that no one wanted to read about twenty-four books all in one go!

You're welcome! ;)


38. The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster - (★★★) I realized after we read this that the author of this book also wrote The Phantom Tollbooth, one of my favorite childhood books. It was a fun little story about a little girl who visits with her grandparents, and one of their traditions is the Hello, Goodbye Window. They can wave to each other, see the stars, see their reflection on a dark night and see the garden through this window.
I personally did not like the illustrations, in spite of the Caldecott award. The kids seemed to like it, though.

39. The Hoppameleon by Paul Geraghty - (★★★★★) The kids really liked this book, and the adults liked it too. It's about a "strange" creature who doesn't know what he is. (He's a tree frog!) In his journey to find out what he is and to find a friend like him, he notes the similarities between himself and other animals. I won't spoil the fun of revealing his ultimate guess on his name! The kids, especially Miss A, were engaged and frequently tried to tell the frog that he was a frog! Very cute!


40. How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long - (★★★★) A little boy plays on the beach when he discovers a pirate ship just off shore. He tries to bring it to his family's attention, but they're all too busy to notice. So, the pirates take him on an adventure! It's almost too good to be true for a little boy! He doesn't have to brush his teeth or take a bath. He doesn't have to eat fruits or vegetables. He doesn't even have to go to bed until he wants to. But, when he's ready to go to bed, who will read him a story and tuck him in? Certainly not a pirate! This was a good story for my kids. It was interesting and amusing.

41. I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child - (★★★1/2) A little girl is charged by her mother to feed her younger sister, who must be the pickiest child on the planet! The older sister must get inventive in order to compel her sister to eat anything at all. Audrey seemed to take in stride all the older sister's made-up foods. She knew they weren't really called those silly names. This is an issue we've dealt with in our own little family, but instead of making up silly names for food, we simply insist that they taste everything, even if they are just convinced they won't like it. ;)

42. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff - (★★★★★) My kids love all the "If you Give a..." books. We were lucky enough to inherit this book from my sister a couple of weeks ago. The illustrations are colorful and amusing and the cyclical story-telling style is so much fun. My kids have almost got to the point where they can anticipate the final line of each story.


43. If You’re Hoppy by April Pulley Sayre - (★★★1/2) This story takes the basic idea from the song, "If You're Happy and You Know It". The pictures were cute and the kids loved looking at the animals' antics. I only give it a lower score because after the first one or two "verses", the rhythm became harder to apply to that of the song. I struggled with that for the remainder of the story. I'm not completely sure that my kids realized the connection to the song for that very reason. They did enjoy the book, however!


44. I’m Not Cute! by Jonathan Allen - (★★★★★) This story was completely adorable and reminded me of my own little boy who frequently insists that he is not cute (or handsome). A baby owl is consistently accosted with hugs by all the other forest animals because they say he is so cute! He insists over and over again that he is not cute, but a deadly night hunter! His mother, of course, knows just what to say to make him feel better! ;)

45. The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen - (★★★★) I enjoyed the encouragement of imagination in this book. A girl's grandfather moves to the city and can no longer have a garden. So, the two of them create their own garden on the roof of his building. As they add more and more details, the garden comes alive. The final details are added by the little girl, herself. The pictures were lovely and the story completely sweet.

46. In My Backyard by Margriet Ruurs - (★★★3/4) The first picture of the backyard is grayed out but, as each part of the backyard is described and the plants and animals described, the picture comes into full color. This was a very simple, informative book that kept the interest of my children. I, personally, would have liked a little more variety and description of what can be in our own backyards, encouraging discussion with my children, but it was a good book, nonetheless.

47. It’s a Secret! by John Burningham - (★★★) The little girl in this story wonders where her cat goes when he leaves at night. One night she says up to find out and he carefully explains to her that she can go but she must keep it a Secret! Honestly, I was a little nervous about this book to begin with. I know that secrets are an exciting part of the world of children, but with some of the "secrets" adults force upon children, I'm a little sensitive to anything that even hints in that direction. I'm not trying to imply anything about this story. It was a cute little story, if a little strange and had a vague, gently sinister quality to it. Perhaps it was the dark quality of the illustrations that put me off.

48. The King’s Taster by Kenneth Oppel - (★★★★) The narrator of this story is the dog who belongs to the King's Chef. The dog always tastes everything before the King to make sure that nothing tastes bad or is poisoned! But the old King dies and the new King doesn't like anything the Chef makes! The child-king finds crazy and inventive ways to express his displeasure about the food. The Chef and the dog travel the world to learn new recipes to serve the King, but in the end, something else is spoiling the King's appetite!   Yet another great book about letting kids try a variety of food! The pictures were great and the story was fun. The kids really liked it a lot.

49. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn - (★★★★★) I loved this story so much and, yes, it even made me a little teary-eyed. A little raccoon must go to his first night at school and doesn't want to leave his mother. His mother teaches him a way to remember her and feel that she is close by. This was a sweet, tender story that I really enjoyed reading to the kids. I think they really enjoyed it too. Audrey is old enough that stories about love make a deep impression on her. If I ever find this book in the store, I'm buying it!