Tapioca Dance

There is big news in the family - Dan’s sister is having a baby! We’re very excited for her, and I can’t help but start thinking of things that are probably way to early to start thinking about. Making baby blankets. Throwing a baby shower. Being Cool Aunt Nicole. And most importantly, picking out the coolest gift for the bebe.

And I think I figured it out. Dan said we should save money each month so we can afford to buy her something like a car seat. But I’m thinking about something that would last longer. I’m thinking about 10 years worth of books. From picture books to beginner chapter books. Do you know expensive those things are? And by the time the kid is 10, books will be obsolete with that scary e-ink.

So off the top of my head, here are a few I’d like to find for her (in no particular reading-level order):

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barret
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg
• < a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0399208534/qid=1117591329/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-2669675-1042359?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• The Boxcar Children Collection by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss

Oh the list could go on and on. I may even include my own set of Childcraft Worldbooks. Probably not, though. But here’s a couple I don’t think I’d include: Charlotte’s Web and The Velveteen Rabbit. Kids just should hear about animal, real or stuffed, dying.

So in between sewing baby blankets, crocheting baby blankets, and practicing being cool, I’ll be hanging out at all the garage sales hoping to find some classic kids books. Let me know which ones you think I should add to the list!