The Wind in the Willows ~ Kenneth Grahame, Illustrated by Michael Hague

This is our bedtime reading for the forseeable future.  We've only enjoyed Chapter One so far, but Luke is already enchanted with the Mole and the Rat.  Living on the river ourselves means that every time we've been in sight of the water today Luke has openly wondered if Rat and Mole were out in their boat.

I've never read this and I understand it is a "childhood classic."  So far, the illustrations have been strange, but beautiful and the story itself is very charming.  This is not an easy read-aloud and I could wish for more pictures, but we're doing rather well at the outset.

Christmas Tree! ~ Wendell and Florence Minor

This is easily Luke's new favorite book.  If I can find it, then we will have a copy under the tree for Christmas morning.

It all starts with asking, what sort of Christmas tree would you be, Luke wants to be a North Pole tree.  From there rich illustrations and simple one sentence texts show Christmas trees in unexpected places.  A mouse's cheese tree, a tree on the Statue of Liberty, sail boat trees, cat trees, dog trees. 

This is really a wonderful book.  The art is incredible and the story itself is a delight.

Too Many Toys, A Christmas Story ~ Betty Clark

Another recent read, this one is about the joy of giving.  One little boy has too many toys, he can't even put them all away.  This year, a glitch in the system has left Santa without enough toys to give away.  The little boy gets to ride with Santa and give away his own toys, so that every child has something under the tree.

Sweet story, beautiful illustrations, and a must have if your child has too many toys.

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow ~ Shirley Neitzel

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow

We read this book today and Luke really enjoyed it! 

Nearly every page has a few words replaced with pictures for some shared reading fun.

Layer by layer, winter wear is introduced in a fun rhyme.  Towards the end, all the layers come off and an errant zipper is dealt with.

A really fun book.