Book Week: 7 Sentimental Faves

01. Little Boy by Alison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds.

I stop to read this children's book every time I'm in a bookstore. Or Target. No kidding... I flip through it all the time and even gifted a copy to our nephew Mason last June. Yet we don't have one of our own. Which is a shame, because it reminds me of Buby and all of the little dude moments we've created together over the past four years. The intended audience is infants to preschoolers, but something tells me Buby would love this one always. And we should just get it.

02. Someday by Alison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds.



We've had this treasure a while, but I just started reading it to Bleu. Simply, it's a mom's vision of her baby growing up. Someday. The years zoom by fast when you're raising little ones. This I know. So I like books that remind us to pay attention while we still can.





03. I Love You This Much by Lynn Hodges and Sue Buchanan.



This may very well be the book that started it all. And by "all" I mean Buby's love of bears. I've read the oversize board book to Buby since he was a newby. Now he has a stuffed Mama Bear and Baby Bear who oddly resemble the illustrations in this book, and he tends to them every night. In our house, I Love You This Much is a classic. Ours came with a music CD.




04. I Promise I'll Find You by Heather Patricia Ward.



I plucked this title from a 50-cent yardsale bin last year. It's dedicated to all the missing children of the world and in memory of one child in particular. Right now you're thinking... too sad. But it's not at all. The book is incredibly touching, and it rhymes ~ always a plus in our house. The pages are colorful and alive. God forbid any of our children ever go missing for 3 scary minutes in the grocery store or at a concert, somehow I feel better knowing they've read it. And that we will go to the ends of the earth to find them.

A sampling:

• "If I had a little rowboat, I'd row across the sea. I'd row, row, row and bring you back to me."
• "If I had a little choo-choo train, I'd chug on down the track. I'd chug until I found you, and then I'd bring you back."
• "If I had a little rocket ship, I'd shoot up to the moon. Oh, that would be the fastest way, I'd have you really soon."
• "If I had a little motorbike, I'd ride across the land. I'd find you and I'd reach you, and you would take my hand."
• "And if I had no other way, I'd walk or crawl or run. I'd search to the very ends of the earth, for you my precious one."
• "So remember this my darling, for it is very true. If ever you're apart from me, I'll search till I find you."

05. I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak.

This puffy board book and I joined forces before Buby could even sit upright. It's short and sweet and always seemed to elicit a good laugh from our guy. It could cheer him up nomatter what and is still relevant today.



06. How Do I Love You? by Marion Dane Bauer.

Turns out I'm a fan of illustrator Caroline Jayne Church. This is another lovely board book that My Sweets and I bought for Bleu girl on her first Valentine's Day. It counts all the ways a parent loves their child using basic nature comparisons to which our little ones can relate.

07. I Hope You Dance by Mark O. Sanders and Tia Sillers.



The song by Lee Ann Womack made me cry long before I became a mom. Then I had a baby, a son, and the words took on new meaning. Then I had another baby, a daughter, and the words hit me like a ton of bricks. It's timeless and a must-have for a mom of girls.