Ellie's Favorite Books

"I Love My Daddy Because"
aka "Daddy Book"

This is the first book that Ellie has requested I point to each word as I read it. She'll even take a turn to do the same, pointing to each word as she recites the memorized words. She seems to really get the pictures and how even animals have special relationships with their Daddy like she does. For me, it's especially exciting to see her so interested in the individual words and pretend to read them herself. (27 months)

"How Do You Feel"
aka "Bear Book"

I've recently decided that every child should have a book talking about all the different types of feelings we can have and this is the one I ended up with. Ellie completely relates to most of the feelings (Happy, Sad, Lonely, Grumpy, Loving, Excited, Scared, etc) and loves talking about the reasons behind why each bear feels the way they do. This has turned out to be one of the more interactive books we have since Ellie talks so much about each feeling. (25 months)

"Polite as a Princess"
aka "Pincess Book"

Everyone knows that a princess is a very polite young lady. Being polite is very important because if you're nice to others then they'll be nice to you. This is another book that Ellie likes to comment on a lot. She loves to choose which princess she is today and thinks that the Beast (from Beauty and the Beast) is a "funny giraffe". Much like "The Polite Elephant," there are lots of examples of good manners, but currently Ellie seems to relate to this one more. (25 months)

"Bluebird's Nest"

This is a fantastic book that combines a cute story about animals helping bluebird build a home for her family with a real nest that the kids can watch and touch as it's being built up. Ellie loves waiting for the page where the eggs appear and finally, on the last page, the babies jump out of the book! (24 months)

"It Could Have Been Worse"
aka "The mouse book"

A cute little mouse has a horrible day tripping and falling, but doesn't realize that each fall saves him from being eaten by other animals. Ellie loves getting worked up about the mouse's safety. "Oh Oh! Nake almos eat mouse!!!" (24 months)

"Ten Little Ladybugs"
aka "Lazybug book"

Ten little ladybugs disappear one by one as animals come by. Ellie likes to pretend to be scared that the animals are eating the ladybugs, but she's always anxious to reach the end when she sees that they're actually safe and everyone is friends. She loves to count the ladybugs herself and even guess at the number of ladybugs remaining after each page. (24 months)

"Cars, Trucks, Planes and Trains"
aka "Tain book"

A lift-the-flap book that lets Ellie find different colors and shapes, count monkeys and find the hidden animals (her favorite is the "ocopus"). This book makes Ellie feel so smart when she can locate things on her own. (20 months)

"Way Out in the Desert"
aka "Deeser book"

A book about all the animals found in the desert. Ellie likes the rhyming of the book. She also likes to see the animal babies with their mommies. She especially loved the Gila Monster page and would rarely let me read the others. She has recently enjoyed finding the numbers hidden on each page. (20 months)

"But Not the Hippopotamus"
aka "Hipp-ocapus book"

The poor hippopotamus always gets left out of the fun because his name does not rhyme like the other animals' names, until at last he can join them at the end! I'll admit that this has been my favorite book ever since Cracker's mom gave it to me when I was pregnant. It is absolutely adorable. Ellie likes the funny rhymes and seems to relate well to the fact that the hippopotamus is sad and the other animals are happy. (12-20 months)

"How Do Dionsaurs Play with their Friends"
aka "RARRR!"

A cute book about how dinosaurs play nicely with their friends. I'm sure that this one will become more relevant when Ellie is older, but right now she loves seeing the monsters on each page. Every new dinosaur results in a great "Rarrr" from the little girl and it's just adorable. (16 months)

"Polite Elephant"

This little elephant is very polite and knows how to be on his best behavior when he's with his friends and family. Ellie likes to see elephants because she can make the sound and knows the sign (she trumpets like an elephant and holds her arm up like a trunk). She also likes the page where the polite elephant says "please" when he wants something and "thank you" when he gets it. She can sign and/or say both of those words so she understands that well. (12-18 months)