For those of you who have not yet met Mo Willems' delightful Knuffle Bunny, just pop back to the children's section of Barnes and Noble and give it a quick read. It is truly one of the most charming books I have read since No David by David Shannon.
Elyas agrees.
He adores Knuffle Bunny. When he is upset, he cries not for mommy or daddy or Shelby, but for Bunny. When he crashes into a wall, smashes into the floor, or falls off tall objects, he is calmed by Bunny. And when he was running a 104 temperature last week, all he wanted was to sit on someone's lap and read Bunny over and over and over again.
Each of the Little Rutherfords has had a book they couldn't live without. For Shelby, it was The Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang. Dawson read No David over and over. Isabelle carted around My Cowboy Boots by Crystal Bowman while Tucker wanted to read The Little House by Virgina Lee Burton at least three times a day. Keats and Aidan both adored Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky and between the two of them I think it must have been read continuously. Abigail had Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor memorized by the time she was 2.
Shelby and I probably read Knuffle Bunny to Elyas with the most frequency, so when she stumbled on a stuffed version of Knuffle Bunny while browsing on Amazon, we were both excited. We generally don't buy things "just because," but the only new things Elyas has had since he was born are one pair of crocs and some jammies. I felt like maybe we could make an exception and we ordered it.
It arrived a few days ago, and now the two of them are inseparable. He snuggles with his bunny while waiting for someone to come read to him. At nap time and bedtime, he wraps his arms around his bunny and sighs contentedly. And throughout the day, Elyas tends to travel with Bunny safely tucked under his arm. I love it.
One of my favorite things about experiencing the children growing up is watching their personalities develop. For each of them, blankies may have been their first love but it was always a book which gained favorability second. Each of the OARs still fondly talk about their favorite childhood books and when they read them to a Little, it is a with a deep sense of "passing on the torch."
Of course, Scott and I have had our own Passing of the Torch moments such as Shelby recently beginning to read The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan and when Isabelle read The Little House Series. Dawson and I very much enjoyed laughing together over a favorite book of mine, The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg. And I can't even begin to describe the sense of deep satisfaction when I look up to see Dawson handing a Shakespeare play to Shelby or Isabelle with the comment: "You have got to read this!"
I love this quote from the movie You've Got Mail:
When you Read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.
I wholeheartedly agree.
Elyas agrees.
He adores Knuffle Bunny. When he is upset, he cries not for mommy or daddy or Shelby, but for Bunny. When he crashes into a wall, smashes into the floor, or falls off tall objects, he is calmed by Bunny. And when he was running a 104 temperature last week, all he wanted was to sit on someone's lap and read Bunny over and over and over again.
Each of the Little Rutherfords has had a book they couldn't live without. For Shelby, it was The Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang. Dawson read No David over and over. Isabelle carted around My Cowboy Boots by Crystal Bowman while Tucker wanted to read The Little House by Virgina Lee Burton at least three times a day. Keats and Aidan both adored Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky and between the two of them I think it must have been read continuously. Abigail had Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor memorized by the time she was 2.
Shelby and I probably read Knuffle Bunny to Elyas with the most frequency, so when she stumbled on a stuffed version of Knuffle Bunny while browsing on Amazon, we were both excited. We generally don't buy things "just because," but the only new things Elyas has had since he was born are one pair of crocs and some jammies. I felt like maybe we could make an exception and we ordered it.
It arrived a few days ago, and now the two of them are inseparable. He snuggles with his bunny while waiting for someone to come read to him. At nap time and bedtime, he wraps his arms around his bunny and sighs contentedly. And throughout the day, Elyas tends to travel with Bunny safely tucked under his arm. I love it.
One of my favorite things about experiencing the children growing up is watching their personalities develop. For each of them, blankies may have been their first love but it was always a book which gained favorability second. Each of the OARs still fondly talk about their favorite childhood books and when they read them to a Little, it is a with a deep sense of "passing on the torch."
Of course, Scott and I have had our own Passing of the Torch moments such as Shelby recently beginning to read The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan and when Isabelle read The Little House Series. Dawson and I very much enjoyed laughing together over a favorite book of mine, The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg. And I can't even begin to describe the sense of deep satisfaction when I look up to see Dawson handing a Shakespeare play to Shelby or Isabelle with the comment: "You have got to read this!"
I love this quote from the movie You've Got Mail:
When you Read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.
I wholeheartedly agree.
5 comments:
Our family is also big fans of "Knuffle Bunny", owning all three books, a stuffed knuffle bunny and the video with mo willems narrating. But now for the "knuffle" vs. "kuh-nuffle" debate. We are a "kuh-nuffle" family.
It's totally kuh-nuffle!! Really - what is there to debate?
when the author read it, how did he say it?
The author says to give it the hard K sound, so Kuh-nuffle. It means snuggle in dutch (which I didn't know before you asked, Laurie!)
So my roommate and I have been known to make trips to the children's section of Barnes and Nobles purely to read through all of the Mo Willems books available. <3
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