I'm a grandma! Yaaay!
My granddaughter,
currently known as Peanut, arrived a month early, and she can’t keep her eyes
open for long yet - but I can't wait to
introduce her to picture books. Here she is in my son's hands.
I bought her a picture book when she was just a bump. It wasn't planned – I was browsing aimlessly in the shop in the British Library and this jumped out at me:
So, out of all the wonderful picture books in print today,
why did I choose this little board book?
It's a heavily edited, lighthearted version of Jabberwocky
by Lewis Carol - a poem Peanut's
grandfather, my late husband Martin, had to
lean by heart when he was at school. I have very happy memories of Martin reciting
the lines (often in the wrong order) in a funny voice and making our sons chortle when they were tiny.
I hope this book with
its daft verse and surreal illustrations will make Peanut giggle too - and hear an echo of the grandpa she will
never meet.
What was the first picture book you bought for your child or
grandchild?
17 comments:
Oh, oh, oh! She's such a teeny little thing, and so lovely! Congratulations, Grandma Jane, and what fun to have such a special excuse for buying books. I love the bookish link you've made between Peanut and her Grandpa.
I just bought I Am A Bunny by Richard Scarry for a friends baby. Its a beauty. And heartiest congratulations!
Peanut is a darling, Grandma :-) What a lovely way to connect memories of Grandpa with a book. I wonder how long it will be before Grandma dedicates a book to her grandaughter? x
I didn't know anything about picture books when I bought my children their first board books. One of the first was in the shape of a yellow duck and after 20 years I can still remember the beginning: "Little Fluffy Duckling looked around the farmyard. 'I don't like my home,' he said. 'I'll find a new place to live.'
Good grief, was I trying to reassure my son his new home wasn't so bad?! Actually it was just a cute little repetitive, melodic tale that ended happily. And then there was 'Dear Zoo' - was it to blame for so many future pets...
Just remembered It was 'pond', not 'home', in the above quote.! That makes it much better. Oh, the power just one word can have in a picture book!!
I must stop using my phone to type - so many typos. And now it's time for me to be quiet!
I don't know Fluffy Duckling, but yes, Dear Zoo has a lot to answer for - son who has just become a dad spent his gap year (or three) doing stuff like looking for anacondas in Venezuela
Ooh, yes, I love that one, must add it to the list. Thanks, Lucy
Congratulations Jane :)
I love 'I am a bunny' too - it has a beautiful simplicity about it; such a zen book. 'Peepo' is one of my favourites for babies. The illustrations are so evocative and I find rhyming text works well on small ones; it becomes almost like music.
Congratulations, Jane! As a giftbook for new parents I'd recommend Poems for the Very Young, selected by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Bob Graham. A book that gives and gives over a child's first years.
Oh, Jane! HUGE congratulations to you and your family on the arrival of TEENY Peanut! How wonderful. I used to read 'Guess How Much I Love You' to my bumps (aka Bumble and Pumpkin), and 'Tiddler' by Julia Donaldson, just because I so enjoy reading it aloud and I thought they might like the bouncy rhythm. The other one that was a big hit with my two when they were very small (and they still love it) was Jan Pienkowski's 'Shapes'. But I always think of that bit in Three Men and a Baby when Tom Selleck reads the boxing section of the sports paper to the baby because 'it's all about the tone'. Ha!
Congratulations! Gorgeous teeny baby there (I feel broody now!)
The first book I bought my eldest child, soon after the first scan when I felt I was 'allowed' to get something was a board book of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
I also got Eats, Shoots & Leaves For Children: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference by Lynne Truss and Bonnie Timmons before she was born, because it's never too early to start learning to write? ;-)
Aw, she's a cutie - congratulations, Jane! The book I always buy for little ones is 'Sweet Dreams', a fleece cloth book by Taggies. It's so snuggly! I also love 'The Going to Bed Book' by Sandra Boynton and 'The Big Night-Night Book' by Georgie Birkett. Enjoy every minute with Peanut! xx
I love Peepo, too, and Each Peach Pear Plum
Thanks, Moira - I will put it on the list
Thanks, Michelle - Bumble and Pumpkin, aaawww, what adorable names for bumps!
Lol :-)
Thanks Natasha - I've added those books to my list x
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