Spring Reads

We have far too many books, so it is necessary to rotate them from time to time to keep the girls from getting bored and/or overwhelmed with the selection. Besides, who wants to read The Grinch who Stole Christmas in July, or Peter in Blueberry Land when it's snowing? I feel like some rotating is probably necessary no matter how many books you have.

Our book rotation system goes something like this: we have three big plastic bins we keep in the basement (that's not entirely true. We have a lot more than three--that's just how many we have that are full of books), and whenever the seasons change, we bring out the books for that season and pack away the books from the season before. This still leaves us with too many books in our book room at any time, but the girls largely ignore what's on the bookshelves which makes it easy to rotate within the seasons as well. I have two file holders that I use to display books facing out. I like to display some of their favorite books along with some "new" ones I think they might enjoy. I'd like to find something a little less industrial looking sometime, but these work fine for now.

In addition to all things Wonder Woman (except when those things are Wonder Girl, Wonder Tot, or The Cheetah, of course), here are some of the books Lissie has been enjoying lately. The Starry Bird and Eggs for the Hunting are both technically Easter books, but we got a late start on the second one and are still enjoying it (Easter or not, I say you can never go wrong with Tiptoes Lightly. And even though Maxine is a bit young for these, she has much affection for Jeremy Mouse). Miss Rumphius is one of my all time favorite books, but for some reason, we only have one other book by that author. Raggedy Ann is more age appropriate for Lissie, but almost always read while sitting between two girls, each cuddling her own Raggedy Ann doll (one large and handmade by my grandmother, the other small and mass produced; both equally loved and disheveled).

From left to right:

1. The Starry Bird by Reg Down
2. Eggs for the Hunting by Reg Down
3. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
4. Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire! by Jane O'Connor
5. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
6. Flower Fairies of the Spring by Cicely Mary Barker
7. The Faerie's Gift by Tanya Robyn Batt
8. Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle
9. The Snail's Spell by Joanne Ryder
10. Listen to the Farm by Mrs. Silas Bowman (this last is very short, and Maxine enjoys having it read to her. By Lissie, who recently started reading all on her own.)

Maxine is currently loving Knock at the Door and Baby Animals by Kay Chorao. The first one is a great resource for simple finger plays (which Lissie really enjoys doing). The Princess in the Forest and The Sun Egg have been in constant rotation since the girls got them for Christmas. Starlight Sailor, Little Fur Family (Ariana's old copy! I can't believe we still have it) and There and Back Again, are all recently discovered favorites. The last one was grabbed from the free bin at a thrift store by one of the girls a while ago. I wasn't at all familiar with it, but it's a cute story about a toy rabbit, and I love the illustrations.

From left to right:

1. Knock at the Door by Kay Choraro
2. The Princess in the Forest by Sibylle Von Olfers
3. A Day in the Forest by Honey Bear Productions
4. There and Back Again by Harold Jones
5. Baby Animals by Kay Choraro
6. The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown
7. The Sun Egg by Elsa Beskow
8. Starlight Sailor by James Mayhew
9. Good-night Owl! by Pat Hutchins
10. Never Say Boo to a Goose! by Jakki Wood
11. Spring by Gerda Muller
12. Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown (not pictured is Goodnight Moon, which we have read almost every night since Maxine was old enough to express an opinion for a particular bedtime story. Runaway Bunny, however, is not nearly as popular around our house.)

Some of these are out of print, but available used for a few dollars on Amazon (or elsewhere, I am sure). The only exception would be A Day in the Forest which is, bizarrely, listed at $384.24 on Amazon. It's a fine book, but hardly worth that! I'd wait and see if it comes down $380 or so.

What about you? Do you rotate books? What are some of your spring favorites?