52 Books: Oliver Jeffers' Once Upon an Alphabet

For anyone that is a fan of Oliver Jeffers' work, there is no need to explain why Once Upon an Alphabet is one of the most awesome alphabet books in existence today. Each letter of the alphabet has a story that was written for it, and the stories begin to intertwine as you read through the book. It's not hard to read through the entire thing in one sitting, but we usually like to pick a couple of letters from the inside of the front cover -- for letter recognition -- and read those specific stories. The letters "C" and "K" are my personal favourites -- although I do enjoy when we stumble upon the owl and the octopus.

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52 Books: Gene Zion's Harry the Dirty Dog

I purchased Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion long before my son was even a thought in my mind -- I have always enjoyed children's books -- but as book number seven on our 52 Books journey, it has quickly become a favourite. If you are tired of taking baths, and want to follow along on an adventure with the cutest little dog, then this book might become your favourite too -- but you're allowed to change your mind about the baths.

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52 Books: Christopher Franceschelli's Alpha Block

The sixth book in the 52 Books series is one of my favourite alphabet books. Alpha Block by Christopher Franceschelli is simple and follows the formula of "A is for...B is for..." but the illustrations are fantastic, and it's almost like a lit-the-flap book in that you need to turn the page of the giant letter cutout to see what "A" is really for. I was sucked in by the sheer size of the book during a visit to the book store. Though it's not very tall or wide, it is very thick paper, like a board book, making for a rather large book. I really like the seemingly interactive quality it has, as well. A few of the letter spawned a learning session, and we watched some videos of a violin because of it.

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52 Books: Steve Antony's The Queen's Hat

Book number five in the 52 Books series was a fun find at the bookstore last year -- you might remember it from one of the 52 Weeks portraits. We love reading this book because it takes us around London, England to different tourist sites -- and a little bit further, too -- following the Queen and her men, with the help of one of her Corgis, as they chase after one of her beloved hats. But I won't spoil the ending for you, as it's rather delightful and you need to find out for yourself.

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52 Books: Lindsay Ward's Please Bring Balloons

Book number four in the series 52 Books is another wonderful book from our personal library. It's called Please Bring Balloons and is by the author and illustrator Lindsay Ward -- I mentioned her once before here, and we also have another wonderful book of her's that we enjoy called When Blue Met Egg.

Please Bring Balloons tells the sweetest story about a little girl named Emma and a polar bear from the carousel in the park. It all starts with a simple note that Emma finds tucked under the saddle of the polar bear, and continues into the most fantastic adventure. This is one of the sweetest stories that I have read to Little Boy, and it has such fantastic illustrations. I love Lindsay Ward's use of a variety of papers and mixed media.

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52 Books: Lois Ehlert's Eating the Alphabet

I recently started a new blog series called 52 Books where I plan on sharing, that's right, 52 children's books with you. The books could be from a selection that we have made at the local library, or they could be part of our library here at home. One of my addictions is taking my son to the book store and purchasing at least one book while we are there.

One of our favourite books to read right now is called Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert. I first heard about it at a conference I went to about the importance of teaching children about moving their bodies, and putting the right kind of food into their bodies. I knew as soon as I saw the book that I had to get it for myself. It's quite amazing how many fruits and vegetables they have for some of the letters, and it has started a trend at our house to discover and try the fruits and vegetables that are in the book. This week we chose a papaya at the grocery store. To me, this kind of expansion is part of the importance of books.

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52 Books: Helen Hancocks' William & The Missing Masterpiece

Last week I started a new blog series called 52 Books where I share some of our favourite books to read to our son -- find the first book here. Not only is this series to share some of our favourite books, but it is a way for us to discover new children's books together. The world of children's books is a vast one and I feel like I will never find out about them all, but it's a challenge that I am definitely up for. What are the children's books that you enjoy most, or have enjoyed reading to your children?

Another one of our recent library discoveries was William & The Missing Masterpiece by Helen Hancocks. This is an absolutely delightful caper about a cat detective that helps a museum find out what happened to one of their most famous paintings -- the Mona Cheesa. The author takes us on an adventure around the city while William discovers clues. It's a pretty fun book, and I highly recommend it if you are a fan of Oliver Jeffers.

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52 Books: Herve Tullet's Help! We Need A Title!

Today I am starting a new blog series called 52 Books. We love reading books to our son every day, and he's got quite an extensive library of books that I have collected for him over time -- some are even mine and my husband's from our own childhoods -- and I want to share some of our favourite ones with you. That is why I have started the 52 Books blog series, so we can discover the most wonderful books together.

Children's books are one of my favourite things, and there are so many amazing and beautiful books out there for them to read. While Little Boy's collection is growing, it is also a lot of fun to go to the library and find new books to look at -- without the added cost. 

We picked up this Herve Tullet book called Help! We Need A Title! this past weekend on a library date with a friend of mine and her two little girls. We really enjoy Herve Tullet, so I thought it might be fun book to read one night. It is all about how a story is put together, and what is needed to make it all work -- including an author. It is pretty cute, and quite interactive -- but you wouldn't expect any less from Mr. Tullet.

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