Kid Lit with my Kidlet: 3rd Birthday Haul Favorites

Hidey Ho, Bookworms!

You’ll probably recall that the tiny human I grew turned 3 about a month ago. Having him out of daycare for the last 6 months while we attempt to work from home has been an ADVENTURE. And, while we had to celebrate the boy’s birthday in shifts so he could see a small handful of relatives (we had a quarantine-length gap between visiting each side of the family because we’re not about to be unwitting COVID vectors) Sammers had a great time. And that great time came with some awesome new books, which we’re going to talk about today. Why? Because I haven’t finished a book yet this week that isn’t a child’s storybook. And also because kids books are super fun. So. Shall we?

M Is for Monster by Mike Wazowski (there’s no real author listed? I’m not entirely sure how this all works, TBH. Publishing is confusing.) At some point in the spring when we still thought summer might cause COVID to chill out, I decided I’d plan Sammy’s birthday party. I chose a Monsters, Inc. theme because that week he’d been watching Monsters, Inc. and/or Monsters University endlessly (Disney+ might be my best pandemic purchase to date.) So I ordered supplies and whatnot only to be stymied by this stupid pandemic. Whatever. We still used the decorations, it was just a super small affair. Hi, I’m the kind of mom who always gets her kid a book themed to his birthday party. It started by accident- Grandma got him an Elmo storybook/guestbook for his first birthday. This year nobody signed the book, but it’s the principle of the thing. Anyway, the book is really cute. It’s just an alphabet book, but it rhymes and has fun illustrations. It’s also chock full of Monsters, Inc. references for the discerning tot. And, yes, P is for Paperwork, Roz.

There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight by Penny Parker Klosterman, Illustrated by Ben Mantle- There exists a line of books with matching pajama sets that are impossibly cute- it’s called Books to Bed. We had another set a few sizes back- Snowmen at Christmas, I believe. I did some googling and they show up at different department stores- I haven’t found a way to order direct from the company. I am always on the lookout for bookish kid clothing and toys. I’m not sure where exactly Grandma acquired this set, but we’re very fond of it. Remember that somewhat creepy kid song, “There Was Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly?” This riffs of of that concept, but in medieval times with a dragon, knight, and a steed (who gallops around at a terrible speed.) After a while, the dragon gets a tummy ache (Sam has taken to repeating “he started to bloat!” at odd times, so that’s a fun side effect) and proceeds to burp up the majority of his meal. Just gross enough to intrigue a toddler. Plus, Sam now knows what a moat is. He’s getting an education at home. An odd one, perhaps, but he’s learning things.

He’s reading a different book here, but these PJs!

Fiona, It’s Bedtime by Richard Cowdrey- My BFF lives in Cincinnati and despite the distance manages to spoil my kid rotten. If you’ll recall, a few years ago, the Cincinnati Zoo got pretty famous for delivering a premature hippo baby named Fiona. They now have a line of children’s books, clothing, and other fun things bearing Fiona’s name and visage. The Bestie has been sending Sammers Fiona swag since his birth- it’s kind of like getting one of those “Somebody in ______ Loves Me” t-shirts, but cooler. This is his third Fiona book and my favorite so far. It’s got fun rhymes and it’s an excellent way to wind down at the end of the day. Plus, they totally mention the zoo’s penguins. (Oof sometimes I remember that Sam has never met a real live penguin yet and it makes me sad. Our local zoo is very small and has no penguins.) Hopefully when effing COVID dies down we can make a trip to Cincy to visit Fiona the Hippo, the penguins (obviously), and the world’s greatest BFF (whose wedding got postponed, due to effing COVID. GAH I HATE YOU SO MUCH, COVID!!!)

This post could go on and on, because as per usual, Grandma got Sam a whole slew of new books. Still, I’d like to publish a post this week and if I keep gabbing, that might not happen. I should be back to talking about books without pictures next week. If you have little kids in your life, what are/were some of their favorite reads when they were 3? I’m always on the lookout for new stories!

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