Rating: 4 stars
When Lorelei was about 2 1/2, I read a book aimed at parents by Mem Fox called Reading Magic. In this book, she talks about the huge emotional and intellectual impact reading aloud to children has on their own ability to read and their own intellectual development. I read that and was completely inspired to share my own love of books with our kids, and to record some of those little adventures with books here on this blog.
It was with Mem Fox's books that I started. While we vacationed as a family to the beach three and a half years ago, when Lorelei was nearly three, Ben was some months over one, and Kiefer was a conversation yet to be held, I wrote my first blog post about Koala Lou. It is a delightful book about the love a mother has for her baby, regardless of whether she wins or loses.
Here's my 500th post, and I'm returning to Mem Fox as a way to thank her. Life always come full circle anyway...
And while I'm paying tribute to Mem Fox, it really is illustrator Laura Ljungkvist who shines in this book. The text is a simple little rhyme inviting us, the readers--and you'll be hunting right alongside your child--for the lady bug in each picture. And those pictures are gorgeous invitations to forget everything else going on around you and dive right in to hunt for the silly little ladybug hiding from view. The pictures are like our playroom at the end of the day: full! Full of toys, slightly messy, proof that fun has been had. And Ladybug stays silly til the end, when your kiddo will spot her zooming away in a yellow toy car.
P.S. Fun fact: Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug was actually written and published as Yoo-Hoo, Ladybird in Fox's native Australia. Clearly, we Yanks a) get it all wrong and b) demand the book be written for us!
No comments:
Post a Comment