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:
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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Where 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
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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January 29, 2016 at 6:24 pm
Mady
Será que reconheço ‘A hora de dormir’?
Se consegues ‘ler livros em inglês’ vou-te arranjar um muito engraçado sobre um ‘gruffalo’. Conhecem?
February 1, 2016 at 2:36 pm
Alex
Sim, foi o teu presente! Ele anda doido com aquilo “pijama! pijama! Temos o Grufalao em portugues mais ainda nao liga muito.
January 29, 2016 at 9:26 pm
Meg
My son is still in the phase of eating books — or drooling all over them, anyway — rather than enjoying their lovely sentiments, so I’m afraid I can’t offer suggestions! But I do love the sound of all these. 🙂
February 1, 2016 at 2:39 pm
Alex
I remember that phase fondly, see this tweet from that time: https://twitter.com/sleeplessreader/status/369507356318507009 🙂
January 30, 2016 at 8:11 am
Deepika Ramesh
Ah, these are so beautiful. ‘Handa’s Surprise’ looks vibrant.
I am a lover of children’s literature, but I still haven’t read Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. Now that David has recommended this, I should acquire my copy soon. 😉
February 1, 2016 at 2:41 pm
Alex
Hi Deepika, Where The Wild Things Are is a really nice one and open to a lot of interpretation, which is always nice for the adult actually doing the reading again and again and again…
January 31, 2016 at 1:36 am
Athira
Oh this is such a good list! I think I just got a lot of good recommendations! I don’t really have any kid-approved books to recommend, but I did just read The Day The Crayons Quit and The Day The Crayons Came Home – both are so much fun. Actually, they do come recommended by my best friend’s two-year old.
February 1, 2016 at 2:43 pm
Alex
We also have that one (honestly just because it was on bookdepository’s bestsellers list for so long that I felt I needed to get it :P), but again, he’s still not curious about it – some complex topics in it, I think. Fabulous art, though – I’ll try again in few months.