March is National Reading Month

Do you have a time honored, cherished book? Do you want your child to enjoy that beloved friend as much as you do? For me, books ARE friends. They are always there when you need them, they offer a small escape into a familiar world with characters that you may love as much as your... um, friends. For me, I cannot wait until I can share the Ramona books with SweetPea. Growing up, I can remember spending hours on the phone with one of my friends, taking turns reading chapters of those books together. As we got older, we also read the Super Fudge books together. I tried sharing Ramona with Peanut but she just wasn't interested. SweetPea reminds me more of Ramona though and I am hoping that she can identify.

must have classics

For hubby, one of his favorite books growing up was The Story of Ferdinand. He loved hearing his mom read to him about the flower smelling, peaceful bull. In fact, if I close my eyes, I can picture my hubby as a small boy, curled up next to his mom, her reading and him leaning back into her to soak up that special something that mamas and sons have together.

Mistakenly, I bought Ferdinand for our SweetPea, thinking that PorkChop is SO Where the Wild Things Are. Instead, Porker curled up in my lap and listened to two readings about that bull while SweetPea bounded all over the house claiming that "when she grows up big", that she is going to sail away like Max and begin her own wild rumpus.

To see both their excitements over this latest door step arrival, I am determined to comb through every list I can find to bring home more treasured books for the littles. Sometimes, I think that I get too caught up in trending books to remember that some of the fondest memories I have of my own childhood were not necessarily including famed characters, but classic friends.