There are only two books that I actually bought for him in this picture. The others are all second hand:
The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl - this was one I bought, but it cost like 20p. We had a little bit of a Dahl collection going on even before we found out about the baby, but we've never had this one and it's one of my favourites. Also it has cool illustrations (of course).
The Beatrix Potter Treasury to go with the Beatrix Pottery Nursery Rhymes I bought before. This was donated by my sister :-) He also has a fair few of the individual Beatrix Potter books, but I can never bring myself to include them in a post as there's about twenty of them!
Fairy Tale Jigsaw Book - I found this in a charity shop the other day and it's brand new. It has lots of little fairy stories and then a jigsaw puzzle on the facing page. Obviously he won't be able to do it until he's a bit bigger but it was lovely so I couldn't resist.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (who also illustrated We're Going on a Bear Hunt). I know, I know, I have a bit of an Alice addiction... I think this is our fourth copy? But it was donated by another sister, and we didn't have a proper children's version as such. Also, it's rude to refuse when people offer you free books!
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - this was my copy from when I was really little! My parents have just moved house and I was rummaging around their bookshelves as per usual while we were staying last week and found it, so I thought I'd bring it home for the baby. The dustjacket is a bit ripped, probably due to my phase of keeping books in the end of my bed, but it's got lovely illustrations and I remember being entirely in love with it for years :-)
So that's it for now. Anybody got any favourites that I absolutely must get for him right now?
Oooh, how sweet -- love the Potter collection. I love that you have an Alice addiction!
ReplyDeleteDo you have The Wizard of Oz yet? I'm just reading it for the first time ever, in a smart little Great Reads edition, and it's brilliant! It might need to wait on the shelves a few years until Baby's ready - but I'd be happy to send it over to you when I've finished it... :)
ReplyDeleteI do have The Wizard of Oz! Thank you for the offer though, you're lovely :-) I'm planning to read the whole Oz series for the Classics Club, so I've been collecting them and then putting them on baby's shelf to make myself feel less guilty. Totally rational, right? :-p
DeleteTotally! I think I might have to acquire a few more now I know the first book's so good. They'll be nice reads when I have a headache or I'm having a bad day, I think - I can just curl up with a pile of biscuits and drift away! Only problem is, I keep getting the annoying movie songs stuck in my head... :(
DeleteI've also been collecting books for the babe. Have you seen the Puffin Clothbound Classics? They are SO gorgeous and yummy. One of my favorites from childhood was Mary Poppins by PL Travers. I also love The Little Prince. I haven't seen your other lists so not sure which other ones you have.
ReplyDeleteOooh I'd forgotten about Mary Poppins! :-) Thanks for the reminder - I know there are sequels as well, although I've never been able to find them so I might have to go for a hunt!
DeleteIf you have The Enormous Crocodile, you should get The Giraffe, Pelly & Me too!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite picture book is Otto the Book Bear, all my classes have loved it and it's perfect for bibliophiles. And anything by Oliver Jeffers is gold.
Actually never heard of Oliver Jeffers before, I'll check it out, thanks Sam! :-) Also I remember reading The Giraffe, Pelly and Me when I was a kid, but I don't think we currently have it. I was reading him Matilda (cos they say you should read to them so they get to know your voice) until I realised it was probably encouraging him to behave badly towards his parents... Then I realised, hey, he's not born yet! He's probably not inferring anything from the story at all. But you never know... :-p
DeleteHmmm, some of my childhood faves... Definitely Matilda, I loved it! And George's Marvellous Medicine. I had these little-kid versions of things like Journey to the Centre of the Earth as well, with line drawings all the way through. The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Elmer the Elephant were always staples in our classroom. Oooh, The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark (with little Plop)! And The Indian in the Cupboard! And Swallows and Amazons! Anything with Kipper the Dog (or Spot the Dog), obviously.
ReplyDeleteAnd my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITES were Enid Blyton's Famous Five series, and her little-known but totally awesome Cherry Tree Farm and Willow Tree Farm books. It's about these kids who go to stay with their aunt and uncle on Cherry Tree Farm, and meet a wild man who teaches them all about wildlife, and they learn to look after the farm animals too. At the end of that book their parents buy nearby Willow Tree Farm, yay! I learned all about British wildlife from those books, and I was so jealous because one of the little boys, Barney, had a pet red squirrel!
Okay I'll stop now. :D
Funnily enough, a friend got The Enormous Crocodile for her little one last weekend.
ReplyDeleteThe Hungry Catapillar is a favourite and my neice & nephew love any book that's got flaps they can lift/open to see what's beneath them.