My almost 3-year-old’s approach to literature is 1) make us read a book until the pages are falling off and we’re eyeball-stabbing sick of it and only then 2) move on.

These are his most recent fads:

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Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne

A hit from the start, it’s a story about a girl from somewhere in Africa that decides to surprise a friend in a neighboring village with a basket of 7 fruits. It’s sweet and funny and we love the drawings – so vibrant and full of color (you can almost hear the insects buzzing).

We also have the new in the series – Handa’s Hen – but David hasn’t graced it with the gift of his attention.

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Hora de dormir – À procura do meu pijama by Yoyo Studios

This would translate into Time to sleep – Looking for my pajamas and it’s his current favorite. Not because of the story or the art… he just likes to push and pull the little gimmicky pieces.

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wildWhere the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

A classic and well deserved. I suspect he likes to read it in the days where he’s been wild himself. That first image of Max standing on a pile of books, but look especially familiar. But the thing that really grabs David’s attention, is that Max’s name written on the side of the boat is hidden from view when he returns.

With English books I do automatic translation, but am always uncertain how to translate “Wild Things” – “Bichos Selvagens”? “Coisas Selvagens”? Portuguese-speaking readers: any thoughts?

 

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Un, deux, trois… la grenouille c’est moi ! by  Carlo Alberto Michelini

One, two, three… I’m the frog! This is probably my favorite of the bunch (or the one I don’t almost know by heart?). There’s a certain trippy feel to the book, from the slightly surrealistic poems to the animal’s eyes.

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O Alfabeto dos Bichos by José Jorge Letria

For months we read nothing but The Alphabet of Creatures. Every. Single. Night. One letter at a time, no exception and most definitely no skipping! (I’m honestly a little baffled by the preference -not a bit fan of either the text or the illustrations, but there’s no accounting for taste :P). It caught him at his ABC phase, where it seemed he wasn’t able to say (or sing) anything else except the alphabet. Thanks Tania, for the gift – it’s one of his favorite toys ever!

An honorable mention to Where Is the Green Sheep?, that despite being a favorite is always left behind on our visits to Lisbon…

Any other recommendations? What do your toddles like to read?

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