Look at the Library!

As many book lovers will attest, you can never have too many.  That is why no matter how many Barefoot Books I have around as an Ambassador, we still take trips to the library.  My son truly enjoys the experience of searching the shelves for something new for us to read at the nearest table or during storytime before bed.

There are times we’ve spent the entire day outdoors running around and still, we drop into our local library.  Some nights we make it just before closing (that’s when we skip the painstaking scan-yourself process with a small child and leave it to the pros.)

In addition to our library routine, I like to purchase a classic, at least once a month,  There are sooooo many on our wish list and Charlotte’s Web is up next.  

Back at the library, here are the books we picked up on our most recent trip:

• RAH, RAH, radishes by April Pulley Sayre (Comparable titles by Barefoot Books include a wide variety of stories regarding farm-to-table, nature and healthy kids, many of which also include recipes, in addition to our popular Kids' Kitchen card deck!)

• How Penguin says Please! by Abigail Samoun (Great way to teach your child how to say the word “please” in various languages as Penguin travels to different countries.  Comparable titles by Barefoot Books include: If You’re Happy and You Know It, We All Went on Safari and Children of the World Memory Game.)

• Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli

• BIG Little by Leslie Patricelli (Comparable titles by Barefoot Books include: Fast and Slow, Big and Small, Octopus Opposites and a fun singalong Outdoor Opposites.)

• Richard Scarry’s BOATS

• Crocodaddy by Kim Norman (Watch father and son frolicking in the water or... is it really a crocodile?  Great choice for when Dad takes over storytime!  Comparable titles by Barefoot Books include: My Daddy is a Pretzel, Shopping with Dad and Daddy Island.)

You know, whenever we're taking a look at the library, I allow my child to make the selections for himself, whether or not I think the books are excellent choices.  I think it’s important that he decide in order to fully participate in the process.  I will admit, in the early days I wanted to take over and control the situation to make sure we left with what I felt was best or interesting to read.  But then I realized, it doesn't matter because we have to return them anyway, right? 

I learned a lot by letting go in this way and it’s been more enjoyable for the both of us.  For example, we’ve owned several Patricelli books, so we were happy to find a couple we didn’t have.  However, I was surprised by the text in Higher! Higher!  It mainly states only those two words.  As I kept repeating them to my almost four year old, I thought for sure he’d be bored or unimpressed and yet, guess what?  He asked me to read it to him again.   

Later on, he even picked it up on his own to read it aloud by himself and that has always been the goal.  It was a thrill for me to hear him saying "higher" as he pointed to the letters on the page.  He learned a new word and that's a good thing.

Now, I personally enjoyed RAH RAH the most, of course.  With all these picky eaters, who couldn’t use a book about a vegetable chant?  “Thank you, farmers.  Thank you, bees.  Sun and seasons, leaf and stalk.  Know them.  Grow them!  VEGGIES rock!” 

Let's expose our children to all the stories that are out there and include Barefoot Books, too.  

You may browse our full catalog here. 

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