A friend's son is turning 2 next week and I'm thinking of getting him an age appropriate book as a gift. I know to look for a pasteboard copy that will withstand toddler handling w/o tearing. He seems to like rhyming stories. Any suggestions for a good book to look for? (I'm a middle-aged "unclaimed jewel" who's never had kids so I'm always way behind in knowing these things!)
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Toddler book suggestions?
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Marnet, My oldest daughter is 2 and she LOVES Goodnight Moon. Also there is Because I Love You. She likes that one too. One of her favorites is a book about Rudolph the red nosed reindeer and he throws a surprise party for Santa. It's a really short book, but we read it almost every night with Goodnight Moon.
Posted 1 year ago by cricketsmama #
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If you haven't done it before Marnet go and visit a Chapters or Indigo book store. (I think they have them in the U.S. don't they) You will not believe all of the different types of books you will find in the Childrens Section. I know it may be a little strange but even though I don't have little ones I get a kick out of seeing how creative the books for young children are now. Some have little gifts in them, or crayons or cards and pictures. It's really eye candy for any age.
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I haven't heard of those book stores but they could be somewhere in the states :)
There is Borders or Barnes and Noble.
They have awesome books now for kids, I agree petpntr! It's amazing.Posted 1 year ago by cricketsmama #
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i have 4 year old twins and i have read them "deputy dork face" by kevin janison. they giggle and love that book. they are a little older than your 2 year old. but the story is great and fun to read. it's also a good book for 6 yar olds. good night moon is also a good book.
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Ask the child's mother for ideas. She knows what her toddler already has and may be able to suggest particular titles that he doesn't have yet.
Posted 1 year ago by Kitten Whisperer #
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My grandson loves "Everybody Poops". Granted, that's probably not the classiest title you can buy, but it does help prepare for toilet training and little kids seem to like it.
Posted 1 year ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
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LOL That last suggestion struck me funny, given how many posters have been on the forum lately with problems getting small kittens to poop!
Anyway, thank you everyone for all the suggestions. I'm sure my foray into the small children's section of the book store will be great fun. I'd pass along a book from my childhood but all those were given away years ago to a children's home or my now grown nephews. I've sent some children's books to my nephews' growing brood but have always felt so out of touch with what really works, as I live so far away and never get the chance to see how the children react to what I send.
I did have the fun of giving a complete set of Winnie the Pooh books and the two poetry books by A. A. Milne to one grand-nephew, who was age 6 at the time, on a visit I made. He eagerly picked out one of the books and had me read to him. Typical of a little boy, he happily fidgeted while listening and after about 5 minutes said thank you but "Momma reads better." Then he dashed off to run in the sunshine. I managed to keep a straight face until he had run off to play, then I broke up. His mother was worried I'd be offended until I started laughing. I thought it was priceless. For one thing, it meant he was used to being read to a lot, so of course he preferred his mom's reading to that of a great-aunt he didn't really know. It was a hoot!
Tonight or tomorrow I'll go browsing the book store with list in hand of y'all's suggestions and see I what I come up with. Thanks again.
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I love dr. Seuss!!! So did both my children! My MIL, who recently lost her husband has found a new calling..... she's a volunteer reader at her neighborhood library! She absolutely loves it, and gets her regular "fix" of "grand babies", since her's are now grown 18 to 32, and she's "waiting" on the next generation!!
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I love Dr Seuss too! If you'd like to look at an animal-oriented rhyming series (and I'm sure these are available in the States, they're an international hit), can I go all patriotic and suggest Kiwi author Lynley Dodd's rhyming books about a small hairy dog -- Hairy McLeary from Donaldson's Dairy -- and his doggy and cat mates (Scarface McClaw and Slinky Malinki...) You could look them up on Amazon first if you're unfamiliar with them...
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The Mercer Mayer series Little Critter books are every popular. My favorite was Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendek. As an English Literature teacher I say any book they are exposed to can cultivate a love of reading. There is the saying, "Those that read, lead!" It is from Scholastic, and I use it in my room.
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Most kids would agree with that. I remember my daughter wanted a suit like Max's from the book-she made us read that one until it fell apart. Her Mercer Mayer books were her lifeline to Dad. He taped all those books before he deployed, so I could play them for her at bedtime. She is a Daddy's Little Girl and loved hearing him read to her.
JCat hold on to that book--they are hard to come by!
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Oh, what a lovely idea -- such a nice way to keep her dad close by while he was away on duty.
Don't worry, SM, I love the pictures so much, that book's going nowhere... But I hope it doesn't feel unloved. Sometimes you think children's books might prefer to be torn, covered with sticky fingers and dropped in the bath a few times. Oh, hang on, that's right, I have plenty of those too, lol...
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Had to go out to pick up Tigger's new heart med at the vet, so swung by the book store afterwards. They were out of Pat the Bunny; the only copy of Good Night Moon was damaged; didn't find any of the others y'all mentioned except for the Dr. Seuss books and Maurice Sendyk but those were priced over my current haven't-had-an-income-for-six-months budget. But I did find a wonderful rhyming pasteboard book titled "Bear Snores On" that is a fun and cute animal story. I got a gift receipt so that it can be swapped for something else if it duplicates what is already in the toddler's books at home.
I had soooo much fun looking through all sorts of children's books. As my future budget allows, I really do need to get back to sending books to the crop of grand-nephews and grand-nieces.
As a kid, I loved the big collection of "Golden Books" and also of "How and Why" books we had. And I loved looking through the big unabridged dictionary even before I could read; I just loved looking at all the pictures and diagrams. To this day, I go to look up the spelling or meaning of some word and end up spending the next hour simply reading the dictionary for pleasure!
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Like my mother before me, I had read the entire children's section at the local branch library by the time I was in the 4th grade and got a special permission card my mother signed for that allowed me to check out books from the adult section subject to approval by the librarian. But my school teachers simply never would believe my book reports on such books as Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Black Arrow" in the 4th grade, Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island" in the 5th grade, or James Michener's "Hawaii" in the 6th grade, or Lew Wallace's "Ben Hur" in the 7th grade. sigh
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Marnet as a 7th grade teacher I have a hard time getting a book report on Pat the Bunny because "Miss it is toooo long! I can't read that much. Is there a movie version I can watch instead?" Many kids have not been read to, for me it is sad. I read Mistletoe a picture book about a cat of a different type the day before Christmas break and those kids ate it up! They don't develop a love of reading unless someone reads to them. Your Mom cultivated a love of literature in you and I bet it is something that will always be with you. I wish that happened more often. I grew up with a Grandma that taught adults to read. She is one of the big influences in my life. To be able to have a book report on Ben Hur would make me estatic! I did have one student read Wuthering Heights and she loved it! She did need help at times-hard to keep character straight-but she loved it and is hooked on the Bronte sisters!
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Marnet, you read Hawaii in the 6th grade???? I am now reading it for the first time. That book is loooooong! I'm on page 736. Only another 275 pages or so to go! :)
Posted 1 year ago by Kitten Whisperer #
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Yep. Sure did. It took me weeks to wade through along with the help of a dictionary and lots of questions to my mom about certain subject matters in the book. I personally think it was the best of Michener's books.
Fellow employees where I worked about 20 years ago thought I was looney because just for pleasure I spent several weeks reading an 800+ page history book at lunch time on the rise and fall of the Ottoman empire. On the other hand, when I want something easy but fun to read, I read Louis L'Amour westerns; not exactly grand literature but they are good storytelling, even if often obviously not well edited or even gone through a rewrite after being dashed off in one draft.
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I had a kid read a book with short stories from Louis L'Amour and I didn't know he did short stories. I asked where the book came from and he said the library--the school library. I was amazed. Dad has so many of his books! I think those are good stories and that makes it good literature!! Those stories told you right from wrong and did not glamorize criminals. Marnet ever thought about teaching??
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Actually, I'm thinking of looking into what it would take to get teaching certification and make such a career shift. I've a BA in Business Communications. I think I could teach English, Writing, Communications, or History with decent proficiency. I'm just not sure how well I'd do working with kids, given I've never had any and, being the baby of the family, and having not been allowed to baby sit as a teen, I simply am quite ignorant of dealing with kids of all ages. I'm the example of a middle-aged "old maid" (although I prefer one friend's tag of "unclaimed jewel" LOL) and would likely be seen as a imcompetent to deal with small kids and a total bore by older kids.
I've never had a true career, having spent most of my adult life providing elder care for my parents. The other notion I have is that there must be an increasing number of people, especially the elderly, who need patient advocates to help them navigate the current mess of our medical care system and insurance paperwork drowning them. In job hunting, I'm researching if any such companies/organizations exist in the area.
Lastly, I'm thinking of applying for one of several open positions as a Public Safety Dispatcher with the County. Their 911 dispatcher jobs pay below what other area agencies are paying but they are the one's hiring and they are willing to take on novices and provide the training. I've sat a shift observing and quite enjoyed it. With my little bit of experience as a volunteer dispatcher for the Red Cross during the floods of 93 and 95, a year's experience working for a commercial/residential alarm monitoring center, and a tech level ham radio license, I like to think I could master being a good 911 dispatcher. I'm just not sure I can handle the rotating shifts.
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Back to books, one of my favorite authors is Ellis Peters, the nom de plume of Edith Patager (sp?). She wrote the Cadfael series, 20 books about an 11th century herbalist monk who had been a Crusader. I read and re-read those often. Another favorite author is Barbara Tuchman. She wrote history books as fun and fascinating as any novels.
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Enmerish is a company here that provides such care for the elderly. They take them to appointments and help with all paperwork. They assist in shopping and handling household chores. It is a rewarding career working with people that need care. I think you have more job experience than you think--your life is job experience. As for kids--they need teachers that are consistant and caring and you have much practice in both those areas. I think who ever hires you will be blessed with an amazing employee!
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