Several months ago, I posted about Mem Fox's Reading Magic, a book about the importance of reading to your children. In the post, I listed some of the most-loved children's books at our house and received a lot of great comments with the beloved titles in other families. You can check out that post right here.Our list of favorites is always changing, but a new primetime player in the reading rotation around here is Mercer Mayer. Mayer writes and illustrates the Little Critter books. After a trip to my parents' house where Bub wanted to read Mayer's Just Shopping with Mom over and over, I decided we should check out some more Little Critter books from the library. We brought two home and read and reread those suckers until both of us had them almost memorized. I was so charmed by the stories and wrapped up in Bub's enthusiasm that I purchased two Little Critter collections at Amazon.
Just a Little Critter Collection was published to celebrate thirty years of Little Critter. I had to smile because the first Little Critter book was published in 1975, the year I was born. I actually don't remember reading them when I was little, but I am so thrilled to be sharing them with Bub and Little Bit now. Anyway, the collection includes seven different "books" in one volume for $9.99. Bub's favorites are I Was So Mad, All by Myself, and When I Get Bigger. Just a Mess and Just Go to Bed resonate with me!
I also ordered the Little Critter Storybook Collection, which includes seven "books" for $11.99. Little Critter is a little older in these stories (in school, having projects, etc.), but Bub is still into the stories. Bub's favorite in this collection is Bye-Bye, Mom and Dad where Little Critter and his sister stay with their grandparents for the weekend and do every fun thing you can imagine, including going bowling and to the movies (which seems to be a highlight for Bub). Bub also loves how Little Critter makes lunch for everybody: "When we got home, I made a special lunch for everyone--peanut butter and pickle sandwiches . . . with potato chips, marshmallows, and chocolate syrup on top. Grandma and Grandpa said it was the best lunch they ever had." As is always the case in Mayer's books, the fun and charm come in the way the text and the illustrations tell two different stories. The stories are always told from Little Critter's perspective, but you can get a sense of just how "tasty" those sandwiches are by looking at the illustrations. It's really fun when Bub picks up on some of the differences, as in: "Little Critter is not helping. He's making a mess." One more bonus is that there are really little critters--a mouse and, in later books, a spider too--hiding in each scene. If you want to stretch out the reading experience, you can pause to find them as you go.
My personal favorite Little Critter book is Just So Thankful (unfortunately, not in either collection). A new critter moves to town and has "everything"--the scooter Little Critter wants, a pool, a big house, servants, tons of sugar cereal, a cell phone, and a limo to bring him to school. When Little Critter invites the new kid over for a day of getting muddy with his dog, playing checkers with his little sister, helping set the table, and a cookout with the whole family, including Grandma and Grandpa, his friend has the best day ever and Little Critter realizes how much he has to be thankful for. I cried the first time I read it aloud. Sure, the early pregnancy hormones factored into the tears, but still, there's a great message and story there.
Check out Little Critter at the library if you get a chance and, if there are any toddlers or preschoolers on your holiday list, consider one of the collections as a gift.* Paperbacks of individual titles are usual $3.99.
One of my status updates on facebook a few months back was about Little Critter books and lots of people chimed in to name their favorites. So, do you have a favorite Little Critter title? What are some other favorite kiddie reads at your house? Please share in the comments.
*No one is paying me to write this post, just to be clear. I just really love Mercer Mayer books.
7 comments:
I remember Bridget and I had a lot of these books when we were kids. I remember "Just Go To Bed" and I remember some of his other books about Frog-
Good stuff.
It took O. a while to grow to love Little Critter, but he's on board now. There's one about a Dinosaur exhibit that he loves, and we also rediscovered a related title that was my brother's at my parents' house: Little Monster Goes to School.
I just read The Mouse and the Motorcycle to O. It was really more for me than him, but I was amazed that he had the attention span to listen. He is also getting into listening to the Magic Tree House series.
N.'s current favorites are Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Lois Lenski's The Little Train, Goodnight Little One (a lift the flap book), and a Little People Seek and Find that she calls "Farm One"
mep wanted to let you know that Mercer Mayer was one of our favorites when T&K were little. You can probably guess why! So sad that they grow up way too fast! I still have our entire collection of Little Critter Books, along with Dr. Seuss, Stan and Jan Berenstein(sp?)"The Berenstein bears", and we couldn't live with out A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh). Our favorites were "When I get bigger", "All By Myself", "The one in which Pooh and Piglet hunt for woozles"! So many others I can't remember their names. Many, many hours spent reading at our house! I do miss that! Can't wait to get some out next time you are here and share with Bub and Little Bit! Another one of our favorite reads when they got a little older was The Mouse and the motorcyle and all of the Junie B. Jones series.
clm
p.s. love reading the blogs every day!
mep wanted to let you know that Mercer Mayer was one of our favorites when T&K were little. You can probably guess why! So sad that they grow up way too fast! I still have our entire collection of Little Critter Books, along with Dr. Seuss, Stan and Jan Berenstein(sp?)"The Berenstein bears", and we couldn't live with out A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh). Our favorites were "When I get bigger", "All By Myself", "The one in which Pooh and Piglet hunt for woozles"! So many others I can't remember their names. Many, many hours spent reading at our house! I do miss that! Can't wait to get some out next time you are here and share with Bub and Little Bit! Another one of our favorite reads when they got a little older was The Mouse and the motorcyle and all of the Junie B. Jones series.
clm
p.s. love reading the blogs every day!
I don't know how I didn't know about the Little Critter books back in the day. Clearly we did a lot of reading. Just shopping with Mom is cute and all the grandkids love it. You are right, they just want to reread it rather than move on. m
Our favorite Little Critter book is Just a Mess, but I will be purchasing the Thankful book soon, seeing as just reading about it brought me to tears.....it's exactly the ideal that I want my kids to embrace as they age. Other favorites at our home are "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" and "How I Became a Pirate." We continue to love "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Wacky Wednesday." The all-time favorites are the Curious George adventures. I'm thinking we might own nearly all of them at this point. Happy reading! Rita
I've been Little Critter fan since my kids were little. Little Critter's website has lots of things for kids to do and a pretty good books list of what's available. And, I just downloaded the new APP for the iPhone and iTouch! It's great!
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