Favorite Reads for Adult and Toddler

Tommy is very interested in certain books right now. I guess we all go through phases with our reading habits. My earliest recollection of books that I was interested in were The Bobbsey Twin mysteries - 2 sets of twins - brothers and sisters, who always had a different mystery to solve...Nan and Fred were the older twins, and Freddie and Flossie the younger ones. I would read those books over and over again. Beezus and Ramona books were another favorite of mine. Fast forward to the teenage years and it was the Silhouette romance books. As an adult, I've gone through tons of the Nora Roberts' books, Mary Higgins Clark, Danielle Steele, as well as James Patterson, Patricia Cornwall, Barbara Taylor Bradford, and tons of other authors that I could go on and on naming.

Just like kids go through phases, I'd go through phases with who and what I wanted to be reading - be it romance, mystery, medical, etc. I've always been a fast reader too - my record is 9 books during a week's vacation in Puerto Rico in 2007. Since Tommy's arrival, I'm lucky if I've read 9 books total in the past 17 1/2 months! I've also found that I don't read books as quickly as I once did - partly because I don't have the time with everything else a mom has to do when there is a toddler in the house. But I also think that I am trying to truly enjoy and soak up what I'm reading completely as opposed to trying to finish a book as quickly as I can just so I can move on to the next one.

I have had a good run recently getting a lot more reading in for some reason, perhaps because the books were just that good and I would read a chapter every night before bed, or took the books with me while I waited after my allergy shots.

I recently finished reading the Stieg Larsson Millenium Trilogy - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. LOVED this series! I am actually so sad that the author passed away shortly after turning in the manuscripts because I think there were more stories to be told...if you read any of these, wouldn't you agree that there needs to be some resolution about Lisabeth's twin sister??? I've never been one to want to see a movie made after reading a book, but I can't wait for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to come out in theatres!

After this series, I read The Confession, from James Patterson. Again, loved it. Lots of suspense waiting to see how it would turn out, definitely a great read.

Currently, I am on the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. My sister-in-law Maria recommended it; she said if I liked the Stieg Larsson series, I had to read this one. I purchased the set at Costco shortly after the holidays, and just read the first book last week. Yes, I read the first book, The Hunger Games, in one week...I had a hard time putting it down...must be getting my reading mojo back! Currently I'm reading the Catching Fire, and the 3rd book is Mockingjay.

Now, for Tommy's picks. Previously, his favorite book was Little Duck, as it has a puppet that sticks out of the middle of it. He loves to give Little Duck kisses when we read it. For a while, he was obsessed with the books that have the buttons on the side that you press that make sounds or music while you read the story. Currently, there are a few favorites in Tommy's reading rotation:

1. Hallmark recordable books - we currently have 3 of these: All the Ways I Love You, recorded by Oma; Bright and Beautiful, recorded by Opa; and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, recorded by Grandma. The first 2 have been in the rotation for a while, and Tommy really enjoys listening to them and waving good night at the end of the story when Oma and Opa say that to him. Grandma just recorded hers and gave it to Tommy this weekend, so we've just started to add that one in to the rotation. The other night, the kid had all 3 books reading to him at the same time - quite funny!

2. Where is Baby's Birthday Cake? by Karen Katz - this book is one of those "lift the flap" books, something that Tommy REALLY enjoys doing as we read it. I am pretty sure he knows what's behind each flap as I read it. I started counting things behind the flaps (how many balloons?), and he actually starts to point to the balloons before I ask the question, in anticipation of me asking the question!

3. Peekaboo Book - I have no idea what the book is actually titled, but I call it the Peekaboo book. Similar to the birthday cake book, it has the lift the flaps, with the last page being a mirror for Tommy to look into and see himself and say peekaboo. He loves to look in the mirror and give the biggest smile, making himself part of the story.

4. Fisher Price Little People Christmastime is Here by Reader's Digest - while I realize the holidays have come and gone, this book is such a favorite of Tommy's that it has ended up in the diaper bag to bring to church the past few Sundays. He loves to lift the flaps and see what's underneath, even though I'm pretty sure he already KNOWS what's underneath each flap. He can easily find and identify the things we ask him to in this book - frog, bunny, Santa, ball, book, etc.

Grandma loves to read as well, and between her, my sister and I, we are constantly passing books back and forth to one another. So far, all of us are sticking with actual books - none of us have gone over to the Nuk or Kindle. Call me old school, but I love having a book in my hands. Not saying I couldn't adjust to one of these new devices, as I've got a bit of a storage issue going on around the house with all of the books if I'm the last one of the 3 to end up with it in my hands.

Here are some pictures from this weekend when Grandma came to visit, of her reading to Tommy. Tommy chose Goodnight Moon, which was odd since he had not pulled that one off the shelf for a while!

Not sure if this video will work, but it's a cute one of Tommy reading on his own one day recently. Or at least amusing himself with pictures!