Lately, I have been looking at my youngest child.........Malachy.......who will be eleven years old in October........and realizing that our days of picture books are on the wane. He still loves for me to read them to him......but we never read enough. Not enough for my tastes. Not enough for his.
And then, for the past year, I have taken to perusing my picture book collection.....one that I add new finds to as I discover them.....and I realize that I need to move fast to get them read to my boy.
At the beginning of this summer, in attempting to figure out how to inspire myself to read more pictures books to my little man.......various ideas crossed my mind.
Eventually, my idea came to include Willa and her two youngest boys. Of course. I do that.......drag her along with me, sometimes. :) And why not.....her two little boys are getting big, too.
The Plan:
I challenged Willa to come up with TEN Picture Books a month, at the beginning of each month.......and then we would read them to our little ones.
Monthly theme or not.
Picture Books from our home library or borrowed from the public library.
Doesn't matter. We just need to read. And read........and read.
I think it will be doable, even with my crazy life. It has to be.....or it just will not work.
Possible themes:
A general subject........
Fall
Apples
Pumpkins
Water
Saints
Our Catholic Faith
Science Topics
History Topics
Biography
Art History
Composers or music
Black History Month
Woman's History Month
and so on........
Holidays...
Advent
Christmas
St Valentine's Day
Easter
and so on.......
Authors or Illustrators.....
Robert McCloskey
Virginia Lee Burton
Jane Yolen
Steven Kellogg
Patricia Pollaco
Jan Brett
Tomie de Paola
Allen Say
Bill Peet
Diane Stanley
Russell Hoban
Jerry Pickney
Bernard Waber
Maurice Sendak
Arnold Lobel
Munro Leaf
William Steig
Beatrix Potter
Paul Zelinsky
Marjorie Flack
James Herriot
Cynthia Rylant
and so on.....
Willa and I are hoping to do this every month for this school year.......and we cordially invite all of you to join us. We challenge all of you to choose TEN Picture Books a month....to read to the little ones in your life........or the big ones.......or even to yourself. :)
In the first week of each month, both of us will post our TEN Picture Book choices on Take Up and Read. Please feel free to grab the Picture Book Challenge button shown at the top of this post to place on your own blog and link back to us.....with your TEN Picture Book choices.
Are you ready to read? Let's go, then!
Blessings,
Chari & Willa
P.S. We know that reading aloud to our younger set of children is not quite to the quantity of time or books that is was with our older set.....we hope this can make up for some of that deficiency and create lovely memories for our little guys. Join us!
Thank you for this Chari - it was just the inspiration I needed for another delve into picture books. It has taken me until the end of the month but I finally posted a list: http://ukbookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/tuar-picture-book-challenge.html.
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