Thrifters beware.

We buy a lot of books second hand. Charlotte actually owns very few books that were purchased new. Up until a couple weeks ago, I never really thought of the potential worth of any of these books.

Imagine my surprise when casually browsing Pinterest brought me upon this image:

A book from 1968 which we happened to purchase at Frenchys about a year ago for fifty cents. According to the comment posted under the pin, this book is selling on Amazon.com for 250 bucks!! Well of course I had to verify this for myself, and sure enough, $250.00, in very good condition. As far as I remember, this book was in good condition when we bought it, which would have gone for more than $200. But of course, that was before. Before Charlotte's chubby little hands got a hold of it and tore it to pieces long ago. It is no longer in good condition, or even fair condition.The book has been repaired with packing tape on every single page. The spine is now made of duct tape for goodness sake!

I was pretty shocked to learn this info. Now, I am glad that Charlotte has enjoyed this book, don't get me wrong. But it isn't one of her favourites. Truth be told, had I known the worth of this book, I'm not sure I wouldn't have tried to sell it online myself. At the very least, I would surely have been more careful with the thing!

Thrifters beware! You never know what treasures are waiting to be found!

I feel bad that I stopped posting on this blog. Life with a little person tends to be pretty busy. Looking back at the few photos I posted here makes me laugh. Charlotte was such a chub! She is now 22 months old and has stretched out quite a bit.

A lot has changed. But some things are still the same. Charlotte still loves books. Sometimes, after I read a book to her, she will take the book and say "baby do it" and then proceed to "read" the book back to me. It's amazing and really cute how much of her favourite books she can recite back. Sometimes she only remembers bits and pieces of each page and just fills in the rest with mumbles. :)

Here are a few of Charlotte's favourite books!

Baby reads!

One of the cutest things ever is when Charlotte picks up a book and starts to "read" it all on her own. She points out pictures and babbles as if she's telling the story. Baby sure does love books, and mama couldn't be happier!

This has been happening for the past couple of months and the other day I finally managed to get it on video. Here is a short clip of 11 month old Charlotte's re-telling of a Berenstain Bear story. Enjoy!

Thrift 'em!

I am sure most parents are all too familiar with the bored-with-all-my-toys phenomenon. As the name aptly suggests, this phenomenon is observed when a baby or child becomes bored with the toys they see and play with day in and day out. Of course, this same thing can happen with books!

I've purchased a fair number of board books over the past few months. It's nice having a selection to choose from to keep Charlotte interested. Some books will get hidden away for a week or so and then reproduced to baby's delight. "Hey, that one!" I imagine her thinking. She has yet to forget a book altogether, no matter how long it stays out of sight.

If you take a look at the back of any board book you will notice that building a board book library could easily become quite costly -- especially since this particular type of book will only be of interest to baby for a few short years. Most are around 8 or 10 dollars. No problem, I say! My solution is simple: thrift 'em!

Frenchy's and Salvation Army are gold mines. I have found many books in near-new condition for 25 or 50 cents. The beauty of board books is that if you're worried about the cleanliness of second hand items for baby, they are easily wiped down.

Thrift shops are great for out-of-print gems, forgotten childhood treasures, and new (old) surprises. I love a good vintage find, and have in fact been picking up books for when Charlotte is older as well. Here is a sampling of the fruits of our latest thrift store adventure:

Thanks to our thrifty ways, Charlotte has managed to amass a great board book collection, as well as a cool little vintage library to enjoy as she grows. Pretty impressive for a 10 month old, wouldn't you say?

Doggies

I first read Sandra Boynton's "Doggies" to Charlotte when she was 5 or 6 months old. And boy, this book tired me out!

Boynton takes the reader on a counting journey from one to ten, using barking doggies to illustrate each number. It's an incredibly simple premise: "1 dog. WOOF! 2 dogs. WOOF! Yap yap!" And it goes on like this. By the time you reach number ten, you will have made thirty-three assorted barking noises. Phew!

For the enthusiastic reader like myself, this is not an easy task. I can't simply read the woofs and the yap yaps. I have to get into character. I give it everything I've got.

Of course Charlotte loves this book. What baby doesn't love to hear Mommy make silly noises over and over again? So I read it. Despite feeling like I need a good nap once all is said and done.

I knew baby loved this book from the very first time I read it. When we got to 9 dogs howling on a moonlit night (cue long, drawn out howling noises), Charlotte gave a big grin. In time, she started to howl along with me, and following the "OoooOoooOoo"s on the page with her finger like I do when I read it. Soon, she was howling when we got to the page before the howling page in anticipation. Today, the book will be nowhere in sight. All Daddy or I have to say is "9 dogs..." and Charlotte starts a-howlin'. It's adorable!

"Doggies" is definitely a hit with Charlotte -- and anything that makes baby happy makes Mommy and Daddy happy too. Even if some days reading it feels like running a verbal marathon. WOOF!


Shopping @ SandraBoynton.com

Where's my meatball?!

Last week I decided it was finally time to check out the new children's lit section at our local Chapters bookstore. Turns out it's pretty fantastic. It's colourful and bright and absolutely humongous, with spots for children to sit and read from row upon row of magical, wonderful books. I foresee many trips to this place in my family's future.

I was immediately drawn to the board book section, naturally, intent on buying baby Charlotte something new for her library. I never quite realized it before that moment, but let me tell you, there is a pile of board books out there.

After some searching I spotted a little book on the bottom shelf which I knew in an instant I had to buy. I grabbed it up without hesitation and headed for the check-out with Robert Munsch's "The Paper Bag Princess" in tow and a big ol' grin plastered across my face.

I adored this book as a child. I loved the illustrations. I loved the story. Yep. They made one of my childhood favourites into a board book and I couldn't have been happier.

Until I got home and actually read it.

Sure, the bare bones are all there. The drawings are all the same. But this board book volume is different. Very different. Dare I say it? Maybe just TOO different.

You see, there are a few parts of the original story that were my favourites as a child. I distinctly remember what they are to this day. Probably my favouritest line of all goes "The dragon didn't even have enough fire left to cook a meatball". And you guessed it. While the accompanying illustration is present, there is a distinct lack of any mention of a meatball. I could hardly believe it as I sat there reading. My heart sank to my feet. I read and re-read. Where's my meatball!?

I understand that board books, by their very nature, are short and condensed and so adapations must be altered to fit space constraints. My mother pointed this out to me over Christmas when she read Dr Seuss' ABC to Charlotte and noticed several missing bits. I wasn't bothered by it at all until they decided to mess with MY Paper Bag Princess and the adored uncooked meatball.

This whole fiasco has put me in an awkward position. Do I withhold this version from Charlotte and introduce her to my beloved "real" version when she's older? Or do I simply insert the meatball and any other important missing bits when I read it to her now? I haven't decided.

I do know one thing: read before you buy. Especially when it comes to board book adaptations of childhood favourites. You never know what delicious Italian dish might be missing. Buyer Beware!!

I Love You Through and Through

As a new parent, the one thing above all else that I hope I am able to teach my baby is that she is loved, no matter what.

Little wonder that Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak's "I Love You Through and Through" is one of my favourite board books in Charlotte's library.

This book is sweet. A toddler and his teddy bear illustrate the rhyming story of everything that Mommy or Daddy (or whoever the reader may be) loves about baby. Baby's happy side. Baby's sad side. Baby's silly side, and mad side.

Remarkably, Rossetti-Shustak has managed to write a book which explains the concept of unconditional love in a manner that babies, as they grow and begin to understand language and its meaning, will surely grasp. What more can you ask for in a book?

I have to admit, I have had a misty-eyed moment or two while reading this to Charlotte (which is saying a lot, I'm not a teary kind of person generally).

Caroline Jayne Church's illustrations are fitting and wonderful. The little boy and his teddy are bold and bright, and really stand out against each page's subtle, interesting background. The image on the cover is quite indicative of what you will find inside.

Best of all, baby enjoys this book (almost) as much as I do! When it comes right down to it, I suppose that is all that matters, isn't it?

Charlotte always has a favourite page; in this book, she just loves the page that features a close-up of the little boy's face. She impresses me every time we arrive at this place in the book: she points to his eye and says "eye!" (which admittedly sounds more like "ahh" than "eye". It's cute as heck). She has been pointing at eyes and saying "ahh" for the past few weeks. My eye, Daddy's eye, eyes on toys -- even when I haven't shown her where this toy or that's "ahh" is before. But pointing out the eye here is especially impressive. This eye seems rather abstract. It's a dot, for heaven's sakes!

A second ritual (that she was actually doing long before she ever started pointing out the eye) occurs when we read the "I love your ears and nose" page. She turns around and points to MY nose. It's also very cute.

We love this book. I highly recommend it. Would surely make a perfect baby shower gift too!

Scholastic Canada - I Love You Through and Through
@ Amazon.com & Amazon.ca