Our Little House in the Country

Both of my children are mad about books.  We have literally hundreds of books in our home.  I have been collecting children’s books for years and years, long before we ever considered starting a family.

My little boy Doodles will read absolutely anything but in particular loves fact based books.  We’ll be taking a look at his book of the week tomorrow.

Oodles, my little 2 year old girl, piles books up beside her bed each night.  We only read 2 per night or we would be there til dawn!  Often she takes a major liking to a particular book and when that happens, yes you’ve guessed it, that is the only book that she will allow to be read to her.  I know 2 books in particular off by heart!!!!

Her book of the week this week is Tony Ross’s “I Want My Mum!.  It is part of The Little Princess Series and you may also be familiar with the cartoon series.

We have the full set of books and they have been a firm favourite with both D and O over the years.  We have two versions of the book but O’s preferred choice is the paperback big format edition.

I love these books as they are about a mischievous little princess, a little like our own little princess!  O, like most young children, loves books with a lot of repetition or at least a phrase that is repeated throughout and in this case it is “I want my mum!.  The Little Princess encounters a number of mishaps in this book and after each one she yells that she wants her mum and no one else will do!  Towards the end, The Little Princess goes on a sleepover and becomes very brave and doesn’t want her mum, but… guess what?  Poor mum is at home and all she wants is her Little Princess!

O thought that this was hilarious and she was gobsmacked that I miss her when she occasionally stays with her grandparents!!!!

So why is this a good pick for a 2 year old?

1. Really colourful, big format
2. Great illustrations
3. Minimal text
4. Short and sweet, maintains attention of a very active 2 year old
5. Repetitive phrases.
6. Relatable to child’s own life – real life scenarios, toddler aged princess
7. Humorous and witty

Other titles in the series include:  “I Want My Potty!”, “I Want My Dummy!”, “I Don’t Want to Go to Bed!”

Tip for choosing books for toddlers: Choose books with a repetitive or rhythmic structure – encourages child to participate and engage with the story!