She has a favorite book already
She can’t even say “again” yet and already she’s begging me to read the same book over and over and over again. What is it with this book? From the looks of it, it isn’t really anything special. Sure, it’s pretty and cute and there are animals in it but it’s not as cute as Little Bee or as fun to read as Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack or The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And what about Little Ladybug!!! How can this book outshine “Little Lady Bug” who’s favorite friend is you? Not to mention Little Ladybug’s puppet head is totally biteable.
Why does my daughter LOVE this book? It’s the free book that came with the ugly diaper baby bag the hospital gave me when she was born. I guess, technically that would make it her very first book. But still. Why will she carry it across the floor in one hand while her knees and one arm do all the work in a funny lopsided crab crawl just so she can hand me this book? She will wail and cry and let all hell break lose if I take the book from her and just set it aside. Oh no, this book cannot be set aside. She MUST read this book. Her happiness in life depends on it. I’m totally stumped.
I’m happy that she likes to read books already but I’m starting to get a little tired of “one monkey, two deer, THREE mice, four BUTTERFLIES etc. etc.” over and over and over again. I’ve read it backwards, I’ve read it forwards. I’ve read it in a funny voice. I’ve added sound effects and even translated the numbers into Spanish. She never gets tired of this book. I’m VERY tired of it and I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this book.
Maybe I should hide the book.
25 Comments
Jennifer
We have that book too. Definitely not my favorite. I’m not sure where I put ours (cause I’m not organized YET) but maybe I should let it stay lost. Do you think Baby Bug would miss the book if you hid it?
rachel
my daughter’s favorite stuffed animal in the world is the pink teddy bear sent to me in the hospital just after mil found out i birthed a girl. even though we have never emphasized it over the bajillion other stuffed animals that multiply in our home, she loves it best. weird. she also really fixated on a certain book at first and i finally got all firm and said, “ill read this ONE more time, then i’ll read you a different book.” i kept sticking to that phrase and after a few times of sadness she just loved books so much she dealt with it. have you taken her to the library, yet?
Marilyn
That’s so CUTE!!! And that photo of her pleading with outstretched arms…awwww.
Angella
Yep. They always pick the lame books and want to hear them over and over. My boys love one called “The Puffer Train” Lame. I hid it :)
Bethany
The illustrations are neat, though! And at least it’s short. Wait till her favorite book is some 30-page thing with three paragraphs per page about Elmo visiting the doctor in mind-numbingly repetitive detail.
Also, just when you are ready to take the book to the beach and bury it, she will probably latch on to some other book and forget that one exists. Kids are like that. :-)
Kedge
Second verse
Same as the first.
English accent,
Whole lot worse.
I wish I had a recording of Ca’Bil reading ‘Fox in Sox’. If his purpose was to read it fast to get it over with, he succeeded only in making the book more desirable! I wonder if you forgot about ‘Birds eat and eat and eat’?
Karoni
She’ll find another book that you’ll read over and over and over again. Then another. It’s non-stop. My little guy does it everyday. I went to the bookstore yesterday to get him interested in another book, but nope he still wants his Buzz Buzz Bee book. He cries when I stop reading it and jumps out of my lap to fetch it when I put it down.
It’s great that she loves books; just like her mommy:o)
Becky Z
I have that book too. I wonder if baby E will like it :-)
BeachMama
We have so many books, but not that one. They stay a favorite for a while, then they move on to a new one. Just keep showing her all the others you have available, then she will hav a new favourite.
Sara
One of my daughter’s favorite toys is a pair of books that I’ve taped up over and over again. It’s a great thing, although tiresome. Now she reads the books to herself, so it’s a bit easier. I figure she could be obsessed with something like tv or videos, so I’ll take the books!
Gramma
A very long time ago, some 56 years, a little girl named SueBee had a very, very, favorite book. At nap time her mommie would read it to her. At bedtime her daddy would read it to her. When grandma visited, she would read it to her. Mommie would hide it amongst the other books on the shelf. Daddie would hide it behind cushions or under beds or behind other books. She would always find it and insist on its being read again and again and again. It was a Little Golden Book. Back then they cost only 25 cents. I think it was called “A Bird Can Fly.” Part of the story: “Ugh, ugh, I’m a bug.” and “A bird can fly, so can I.” “Swish, swish, I’m a fish.’ It would be interesting to see if there is a copy out there in Never-never Land.
miss lilywhite
Gramma – the book you’re referring to is called “I Can Fly” and it’s been re-published and is available at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/I-Can-Fly-Golden-Classic/dp/0307905489/ref=ed_oe_h/105-1801288-6617216)
I just bought it for my own daughter… The pictures are great – and the rhymes really sweet. There is also a board book version (shorter) for younger kids.
Amyin BC
My sons favorite book was “The monster at the end of this book” starring beloved Grover. I bought a few copies after he showed his enthusiasm. In fact, 13 years later I still have the original copy saved for him. So his kids can torture HIM! ;)
Erica
Oh this is SO classic! You’ve summed up a 10-month-old in one short post!
It’s so funny — the things they do at this age — and while you’re groaning at the “agains,” I’m sure you’re loving that BB enjoys reading with Mama… what a cutie pie.
Anonymous
The Very Hungry Caterpillar was fun to read the first 100 times. The second 100 times, not so much. Also added fun in saying that while the hungry caterpillar can have ice cream, said child cannot.
Leah
Maybe she’ll grow up to be a vet. Or a mathematician! :)
If you do decide to hide the book for awhile, just don’t throw it away. I love looking at books my parents used to read me when I was wee–it inspires a very special type of nostalgia.
Brittany
Cute story and pictures!
Just curious. How many hits does your site get a day?
Julie
awesome post as usual. May I inquire as to where you got those awesome orange pants with the lacy trim?
aunt kathy
No, no, no! Don’t hide the book. But get anyone who comes over to read it to her. And when she finally puts it aside SAVE it for her. I’m so glad she is into books. Reading to her is probably the best way to make her a reader. All my kids love to read and all write well and easily. I believe it’s because we spent hours reading to them when they were babies. Even when they could read on their own they still loved to be read to.
PS Maybe she’s into order. Counting is very orderly. Plus I think the pictures in the book you showed us are beautiful.
aunt kathy
BTW The pic of her holding out the book is priceless! Who could resist that plea?
josephine
thanks everybody. she topped even this post though. last night she handed the book to me in the dark (we were getting ready for bed in the dark) and I read the book to her in the dark without even looking at it BECAUSE I HAVE THE WHOLE THING MEMORIZED!!! Aaaaaagh!
I got the lacy pants at this cute store and they come in every color!
Marissa
I think the two deer – the mommy doe is pooping! Little poop pellets! Maybe you could start counting all the strange things in the drawings, like the teeth on the animals, how many tails on a page, etc. My little sisters liked their puppet doll for the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. We had to change the lyrics from “perhaps she’ll die” to “cry” to prevent any awkwardness. But that thing was a hit. Maybe it’s time for books-on-tape? Let someone else do the voices for you!
Gramma
To Miss Lilywhite…Thanks for the info…I did find the book where you said it was…glad to have reference…when I find my charge card I’ll order it just for fun.
carrien
I”ve hidden books before. The ones that make me want to stab my eyeballs rather than read them again, the books that are 20 pages of kid drivel without end, the ones that get asked for everyday. THey mysteriously go missing for a while so I can get a break. As soon as they’re found they are a favorite again, even after a month or two, but they eventually move on to yet another book that makes me wish I had never learned to read.
nila
It must be a kid rule that what they like most, must annoy mom. Like the song my kid insist on hearing over and over in the car. The 12 Days of Christmas, the Muppets version.
Great picture of BB.