I miss a lot of things about my daughter being little—holding her tiny little hand, her saying words funny, that sweet high pitch giggle and picking out her clothes—just to name a few. However, the thing I miss the most is kids’ books.
Oh, how I love children’s books. Apparently, I always have, because a good chunk of the children’s books I read to Josie were mine from the same age. On the inside cover of each book are my name and the date I received it neatly printed in my mother’s handwriting. It made reading them to Josie all the more special. I have no idea why I did not do this to the books I bought Josie. It’s a lovely tradition. Alas, I dropped the ball on that.
Despite the rather large library of kids’ books I already had—I also had some of my sister’s books—it did not stop Josie and me from buying more books. That kid loves a bookstore as much as her momma. It was so fun to discover new books with her.
Sure, we had all the classics like Dr. Seuss. Hop on Pop was our favorite, closely followed by If I Ran the Circus. We had lots of funny voices for Hop on Pop and I struggled with Seuss’ crazy words during our trip to his circus. We also discovered new classics like Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, a Traver Halloween tradition, and A Cup for Everyone by Yusuke Yonezu, which never failed to bring a tear to my eye. Oh, and we had all the Eric Carle books. What a delight those are!
Of all our favorite kid’s books, the Junie B. Jones chapter books by Barbara Park are nearest and dearest to our hearts. Josie is 17 now and still reads us the Thanksgiving book every year. Oh, how we laugh. This is one of my all-time favorite books of any kind—not just a children’s book. It is hysterically funny and the message is beautiful. Just be grateful—even if it is for toilet paper and Nipsy Doodles.
I love Junie B. so much that I look for any excuse to buy the books. If you know me and have a kid between the ages of 4-8, I have probably bought said kid a Junie B. book. I make no apologies, except to one of my dear friends whose child would only read Junie B. for an extended period of time. He may have also taken Junie’s actions as recommendations rather than cautionary tales. Sorry about that.
We have boxes and boxes of children’s books. Not that I would ever get rid of them, but Josie has made me promise to keep them for her kids. This brings me great joy. Could there be anything better to hand down to your kids than books? I think not.
I remember it like it was yesterday, my sweet little girl going into her closet to the bookshelf and picking out three books to read at bedtime. We would cuddle up with Sam Sunday and the Strange Disappearance of Chester Cats by Robyn Supraner, I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Jane Dyer and Everybody Poops by Taro Gomi and read them together. Josie had her favorites memorized as most kids do.
Books. Dammit, I love them. Kids’ books are just the best. I still look at kids’ books when I visit a bookstore. Josie called me a few weeks ago and told me she went to our favorite bookstore and just sat on the floor and read children’s books for two hours. You have learned well, young padawan.
Angela Traver
What is this blog about? Well, it's a general blog, but it is also a very specific blog. If you get that reference, you get a gold star! I have been a public relations professional and writer of press releases for more than 20 years—primarily in the booze biz. I decided to do some writing for fun and embrace the humor that gets me through most days. Hopefully it will make you chuckle—or at least smile. I’m a certified crazy magnet, and more than a little nutty myself, so buckle up. Also, I have two vices—profanity and red wine/whiskey. You’ve been warned. It should also be noted, that I’m a HUGE Bob & Sheri fan. I’ve been a listener for more than 20 years. This opportunity is a dream come true and it may have made me cry. That being said, I cry at everything. If you are into booze, dogs, food and/or knitting, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (although I’m terrible at Twitter and it scares me) @kyspiritsgal. You can also find all my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com.
