Jen Robinson's Book Page

Baby Bookworm's First Chapter Book

Today Baby Bookworm and I finished her first chapter book: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Tasha Tudor illustrated version, of course). It took us nearly a month to get through the book, largely because I would tend to get sleepy while reading. The baby would get sleepy too, of course, but I didn't let that stop me.

I enjoyed re-reading the book, which I hadn't read in a while. A couple of sections made me teary (when Ben Weatherstaff cries, and the end). Reading the Yorkshire dialect aloud was a bit of a challenge, but fortunately I had a very forgiving audience. Reading it aloud made me really notice stylistic conventions that have changed since the book was written (use of "which" instead of "that", for example). But overall, it was a success, and (as Mitali Perkins noted on Facebook) an excellent choice for spring.

Baby Bookworm also likes Mrs. Mustard's Baby Faces (thanks Liz M!) and Begin Smart Baby Faces (thanks Kim family!). I tried showing her Goodnight Gorilla, but the pictures were apparently too much stimulation for her. We recite to her (without showing her the pictures) The Owl and the Pussycat (one of my favorites) and The Lady with the Alligator Purse (favored by Mheir, and with thanks to Susan K). While still in the NICU, we read to her a lot from The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. The latter is a compendium of prose and silly poems. Some of them worked for us and some of them didn't, but it was the right book at the right time. When you're reading one-handed, for someone who isn't looking at the pictures anyway, picture books don't work that well - you want something where you don't have to turn the pages as often.

For chapter books, we're reading Pippi Longstocking next. For now, while I'm particularly sleep-deprived, I figure that shorter books are better (otherwise I'll never get through them).

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend!

A Baby Bookworm at Home

I just realized that I forgot to put the word out on my blog that our Baby Bookworm came home from the hospital last week, after five weeks in the NICU. She still has about a month until her original due date, but she's gaining weight like a champ, and doing really well.

I'm still reading her The Secret Garden. She also likes those black and white board books by Tana Hoban (White on Black, etc.). Alas, I forget who recommended those. Her library continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and I'm looking forward to reading more and more books to her over time.

Still not sure when I'll be back to blogging. Right now a higher priority is finding a way to get more than 2 hours of sleep a day. But I do miss you all, and hope to be dipping a toe back into the Kidlitosphere soon.

Thanks again to everyone who has sent our Baby Bookworm good thoughts. I really do believe that they've helped. And all of the positive thoughts (and books) from my Kidlitosphere friends has been a reminder, not that I needed one, that a virtual community can absolutely be a real community. And a very special one to boot.

More soon...

Baby Bookworm Update

Just a quick update to let you all know that Baby Bookworm is doing well. She's one month old today. She's still in the hospital, but the doctors think that she'll be ready to come home very soon. We just need her to eat a bit more reliably on her own, and gain a little more weight. She's up to a pound above her birth weight now, so she's well on her way.

Many thanks to everyone who took time to send good wishes (here, on Facebook, on Twitter, etc.), and to the many friends who have sent our daughter books. She's going to have a wonderful library, made that much more special by having been a community effort.

I actually started reading her first chapter book to her this week: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. She seems to find it calming. I know that I do. I'll provide more updates on our reading experiences, as time permits.

Thanks again for the good wishes! And it seems an appropriate time for me to wish all of the mothers out there an early Happy Mothers Day.