Books and Bananas is our weekend routine...but today we had some magical morning time and snuck in a mid-week bonding moment.  Although one look at his face and you can tell just how much joy there was in toddlerville this morning.

Thankfully, our library stack included one of many loved dinosaur books from Jane Yolen. We love reading every single one in the series, and today it seemed most appropriate to read How Do Dinosaurs Say I'm Mad?

Enough said.

But some reading together cuddle time was just what the doctor ordered, and by the end of Books and Bananas he decided I wasn't so bad after all. And I kinda like him too.

Books and Bananas: A Dog is a Dog

Epic mom fail today...I'm overdue on a grocery run, so books and bananas had to happen without bananas this morning.  So sad.  But it didn't stop us from starting the weekend with books, books, and more books!

Despite not fitting in a grocery run this week, we did fit in a library run.  Priorities, priorities!  We found a few new favorites, and some familiar stories that are always fun to revisit.  Books and (lack of) Bananas started off this morning with A Dog is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan.

Since this is a familiar book, my toddler gets excited when he can complete the phrase.  The rhyming pattern and illustrations support his pre-reading learning process.  I love to see and hear the delight as he "reads" the phrase endings.

Random note:  there is a typo in this book, a word that's missing.  I didn't notice it at first since our brains fill it in. See if you can find it!

This morning for Books and Bananas the toddler picked My Mother Is So Smart! by Tomie dePaola.

Of the more than 200 books he's written and illustrated, the title itself of this one is obviously my favorite!

Now we'll see if my son starts using the title to describe me

Books and Bananas: The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish

It's January 1, so I announced to the toddler that it's time to put away everything Christmas.  We've been reading lots of Christmas books at bedtime; The Polar Express will never lose its magic, and  I've really enjoyed The Little Drummer Boy from Ezra Jack Keats (how did I just discover that one this year??).

I had a pile of books ready for books and bananas this morning, but when my favorite toddler crawled in bed with me this morning he rejected all my selections and ran to get The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish. The story doesn't quite get him repeating out loud like he does in the original Pout-Pout Fish, but the familiarity and amusing artwork in this book really draws him in.

As he starts exhibiting early reader signs, familiarity and predictably really make him feel proud!