What Riley’s Been Reading – Highlights of Summer

Chimpanzees for Tea! by Jo Empson

This is such a silly one that Riley had us reading EVERY SINGLE NIGHT we had it out from the library. It’s basically like the game Telephone if you played that in elementary school. The little boy in the story is given a list of things to purchase at the store but things go awry when he loses the list and has to go from his memory. Riley loved this humorous book and I did too — especially to playfully be able to talk about rhyming words in the story like mistaking “rice” for “mice” and seeing if she remembers the list. Really playful and fun illustrations!

When Charley Met Emma by Amy Webb

This is a book that every parent should read with their child — seriously a must-own for your library! Riley asked for this one every day and had so many questions and thoughts and it was the perfect way to talk through all the things that goes through a kid’s mind when they see someone who is different than them. The little boy in the story sees a girl in a wheelchair, who also has limb differences, and he has a lot of questions and is confused which all bubble up out loud. Once he begins to talk to her he learns that, though they are different in some ways, they had a lot of the same. I really loved this thoughtful, discussion worthy book. We’ve had so many good conversations thanks to it and it’s a really good starting point to talk about disabilities, differences, being inclusive and kind.

Pete the Cat: Rocking In My School Shoes

We are back on a Pete the Cat kick again over here after I rotated books and she discovered “I Love My White Shoes” again. We got this one out for the library when we were talking about her going to preschool but, alas, I pulled her from preschool for this Fall. However, yet another delightful Pete the Cat book. She’s been listening to this podcast on Spotify that reads a bunch of the Pete the Cat books while she looks at the pages and this one is on there so she’s spent lots of time with this one. You really can’t go wrong with Pete the Cat in this house!

It Was Supposed To Be Sunny by Samantha Cotterill

While this book was written specifically for kids on the autism spectrum to talk about change in routine, Riley really got a lot out of this as I imagine many preschoolers will. It’s really brilliant. Riley and I had a lot of discussions about this one and talked about how to cope when things don’t go how we wanted them to. She’s been having a hard time lately with things not going how we told her they would and disappointment when the plan changes in ways she doesn’t want (especially during These Times) so we’ve had some great conversations thanks to this book. Absolutely will be checking out more in this Little Senses series and honestly think I might get them for our shelves as I think they will provide great conversations for years to come — particularly when it comes to being empathetic towards our friends who might have a harder time with disruptions and change.

Grace and the Box by Kim Howard

A really cute book about a girl and all the creative adventures she gets up to with a big refrigerator box and how she, when box seems on his last leg, fixes him up to continue their adventures. This book is everything I loved — full of creativity, imagination and fun! Sweet book that makes me nostalgic for those pretend play days with my sister and how creative we could be with the simplest of objects (something I LOVE about kids).

Ninita’s Big World

Our love for this book knows no bounds — it’s so sweet! It’s based on a true story of a deaf pygmy marmoset who was orphaned and then rescued. Honestly I get teary about this one — Riley was so sad that Ninita’s parents would not want her and her eyes welled with tears which made me cry lol. She loved watching Ninita explore her habitat and eventually make another friend (while still visiting her humans). We are big on primates right now in this house and so we watched many videos after reading this one and “awwwed” a ton.

You Be Mommy by Karla Clark

This was such a cute and funny book — though I suspect I might have liked it a smidge more than Riley because it felt like a tribute to all we do as mamas even when we are bone tired. The mommy in this book is TIRED so she playfully tells her child that she can be mommy for the night. It’s charming, heart-warming and a little silly in a good way. Good rhyming, beautiful illustrations and a great ending.

Yes & No by Elisha Cooper

I’m not going to lie — I’m currently sick of this book and told Riley it had to go back earlier than it did because I was tired of reading it every night. SORRY I AM NOT PERFECT, Y’ALL — we’ve had it out several rounds and it was picked every single night. I genuinely do think this is a cute book but Riley loved it WAY more than I did. It’s about a cat and dog who are VERY different and have different ideas of what they like to do all day but in the end they find a moment just being together that they both enjoy. It definitely seemed like it is supposed to parallel siblinghood — something that went over Riley’s only-child head for sure. It required, at this age, a lot of talking about the illustrations and expounding on what’s happening on my part because the text is sparse but those illustrations really do capture SO much.

Itty Bitty Kittycorn by Shannon Hale

I purchased this book based on a recommendation the owner of my favorite local children’s bookstore and she wasn’t wrong — this was a hit! Kitty thinks she is really unicorn in her heart and her friends try to tell her she isn’t. Her hopes are dashed until she meets a real unicorn who helps her feel acceptance. It is a deceivingly charming book about acceptance and friendship and identity that is so perfectly NOT heavy handed. I honestly couldn’t believe how teary I felt in the end over Unicorn’s compassion. Riley LOVED it and thought the kittycorn was so cute!

Norman Didn’t Do It by Ryan T. Higgins

I was a provided a copy of this book for review consideration and all opinions are my own.

We love this author (the Bruce books are holy grail around here!) and so I was excited to see this show up on our doorstep! It’s about Norman and his best friend (who is a tree) and what happens when Norman gets a wee bit jealous of a new friend — something not-so-nice– and how he fixes it. I loved this book and think it will grow with Riley because it does delve into some complexities about friendship and feelings we might have. A nice way to also, at this age, talk about how we can own our mistakes or wrongdoings. Riley did NOT think it was very nice what Norman did at all but in the end she was happy that he made it right.