With lots of outdoor activities, spring sports, and later-than-usual bedtimes as we approach the summer months, we still make time to read with the kids nearly every night before bed. Check out our current favorites in this month’s Time to Read! round up.
As always, we encourage you to shop local and hit your favorite indy bookstore or local library to pick up these tomes! In Philly we love Headhouse Books and in Brooklyn, a couple of our faves are Greenlight or Word, but you can check out Indiebound for a local bookseller near you. Find your own favorite!
Good Morning, Digger
Written by Anne Rockwell; Illustrated by Melanie Hope Greenberg
Definitely a great read for the toddler set, this sweet book chronicles the building of an urban community center, making it especially great for city kids who have an affinity for stopping foot traffic in front of every single construction site they pass. Boys and girls alike will enjoy making the sounds of the digger, dump truck, and cement mixer as they toil and build.
“Grrr-Clank! Grrr-Clank! Grrr-Clank Clank!”
The Day the Crayons Quit
By Drew Daywalt; Pictures by Oliver Jeffers
A Crayon’s life is never easy. Designed as a series of letters from the Crayons to their owner, Duncan, this hilarious and creative look at life from the their point of view will not disappoint. From the feud between Yellow and Orange about the color of the sun, to Peach being embarrassed about being naked without its wrapper, you’ll get to read firsthand about the trials and tribulations in the life of these well loved art supplies.
“It’s me, Peach Crayon. Why did you peel off my paper wrapping? Now I’m NAKED and too embarrassed to leave the crayon box.”
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The House on East 88th Street
by Bernard Waber
It’s no accident that one of my favorite childhood reads is now in regular rotation with the kids. After all, what child doesn’t love the idea of finding a crocodile in the bathtub of your new home who turns out to be a spectacular and amazing pet?!?! In this first book of beloved the Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile series, we meet the Primm family and their unique and caviar-loving pet crocodile. There are heartbreaking moments when Hector P. Valenti (Star of stage and screen) returns to East 88th Street to reclaim his abandoned crocodile and take him on the road with him. But, as these things often do, the story ends happily with Lyle back with the Primm family where he belongs.
“Every home should have a crocodile.”
My Subway Ride
Written by Paul Dubois Jacobs & Jennifer Swender
Illustrations by Selina Alko
Our kids have been reading this one since the days when we traversed one end of NYC to the other on the F and A trains. I’m fairly certain that the subway system and this book have a lot to do with my older daughter learning her letters at such an early age. This rhythmic book will take you from Yankee Stadium to the Statue of Liberty and everywhere in between. It’s a great addition to the library of city kids everywhere.
“It is sound and rhythm,
a pulse, the pulse,
a heartbeat,
a jazz riff,
a constant sea.
A mama’s belly whisking us home.”
A Child Grows in Philly editor Mollie Michel is a South Philly resident and a Philadelphia public school parent. A recovering non-profit professional, Mollie is also an experienced birth doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, and the mom of two awesome girls and a sweet pit bull named Princess Cleopatra. In her spare time, she is usually trying to figure out how Pinterest works, training for a(nother) half-marathon with her dog at her side, or simply trying to keep up with her increasingly wily daughters.