Reading Books on Repeat
When one book is stuck on a loop track - read it again!
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Which books could you read with your eyes closed? Or at 3 PM on those days when you desperately needed that afternoon coffee but didn’t get it so you are doing that head-jerking fall-asleep move while your kids are nestled in your lap on the couch? For me, it is Goodnight Moon, The Gruffalo, & Big Red Barn. (That Margeret Wise Brown has some rhythm to her stories!) I have read them so. many. times. Now that I think about it, I probably have most of Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site down pat. How much of my (spotty) brain is set aside for the memorization of children’s books?
When I was in college and working part-time as a nanny, taking a full course load, and sometimes bar-tending at my friend’s tavern (WHAT?!? Oh, to have the naive energy of youth ) I would sometimes get reprimanded by the boys I nannied for because I wasn’t reading the book “right.” I would be falling asleep as I read, mixing the words up with whatever I was starting to dream. That made for some VERY strange variations.
Luckily, my life has settled down a bit from my college days, but I am still prone to falling asleep while reading aloud (nothing says sleep deprivation like having two small children), and jumbeling the stories with my dreams. When I do, my ever-eager 4-year-old is there to correct or question me. He knows the storyline.
LIT TIP
“Read it again!” hollered enthusiastically, just as we close the book. “Again?!” I ask, exasperated before I flip back to the start and go again. Reading books on a loop track can be tedious, no doubt about it, but it is also great for reading comprehension, word recognition, and fostering a love for reading. You know how you hear a song on the radio the first time, and you aren’t even sure if you like it, but by the 15th time you hear it, you are belting it out at the top of your lungs and you feel the love? Read books so many times to your kids that they could read them back at you at the top of their lungs with the windows down - they’ll fall in love with reading this way.
FROM THE STAX
SPY GUY THE NOT SO SECRET AGENT by Jessica Young Illustrated by Charles Santoso
Trying hard to sneak, but running into trouble with being quiet and with being seen, this sweet father & son story has a good rhythm and rhyming schema, adorable pictures, and a fun-loving message about getting creative and not giving up.
HIGH FIVE by Adam Rubin Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
A colorful high-five ape Sensei helps teach the reader how to give the very best high five of all. Easy to read again and again, anything by Adam Rubin is a hit in our house. This one has the added bonus of being interactive, asking your kid to practice their high-fiving skills with the protagonist.
BRING ME A ROCK! by Daniel Miyares
A very bossy and not very kind grasshopper demands all his buggy neighbors bring him rocks so he can build himself a tall thrown. When the smallest rock brought by the smallest bug is scorned, the smallest bug feels sad about it. But when the tall tower starts to tip, it is the smallest rock that saves the day. Sometimes the books fun to read on repeat just have silly phrases that are fun to holler. This is one of those.
VERY GOOD HATS by Emma Straub Illustrated by Blanca Gomez
Top hats, baseball caps, knit caps, party hats, there are so many kinds of hats! But what about bowls? Acorns and berries as hats for fingers? This book explores all kinds of creative ways that hats can be made from the things around you. This book will inspire many funny hats in the days after reading it.
DINOSAURUMPUS by Tony Mitton Illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees
The dinosaurs are coming, get ready to romp! High-kicking, stomping, jumping, and boogying dinosaurs gather at the swamp for a dance party. My youngest loved this book - it has a very musical repeating refrain, and my littlest loves to groove and boogie. A winner for those who are into dinosaurs and like sing-song books.
Thanks for being here! What books do y’all read on repeat? Which ones could you read with your eyes closed? Don’t forget to share your thoughts with me in the comments and then share this newsletter with a friend - like sharing a good book.
See y’all next week and happy reading!
Boy does this hit home! I have stories seared into my brain and my tongue now operates on muscle memory, reciting out words before I even realize I'm halfway through the story.
Oh gosh anything Curious George. We have several anthologies and my son loved those--also, Bunny My Honey by Anita Jeram, any of the Skippyjon Jones books, and yes--Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site. :)