Book Recommendations for You and Your Kids

I have been regularly going to Booksale ever since Aki was born. The sections that I love are 1) children’s books, 2) magazines 3) cookbooks and 4) parenting books. I discovered late last year on one o those nights when traffic was so bad, you’d rather wait until the mall closes before leaving, that there are other sections, waiting to be discovered.

There’s the assorted topic section. Here you’ll find books about pop culture to painting, history to horses, carpentry to cancer and many more. My last good find was for Aki. He likes science so this Weird but True by NatGeo Kids is perfect for him.

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Update: Top 100 Children’s Books of All Time Collection

Whaaaat?!!! I only added 3 books to my top 100 children’s books of all time collection (top 110 actually since the list has 10 runner-up books) in the last 6 months?!! In my defence, I really should not be buying anymore books for now. Aki is now reading on his own and loves reading books that are familiar. And when he likes a book, he reads it over and over and over and over.  Plus, I am now collecting New York Bestsellers and Caldecott Award winning books.

For my easy reference, these are the 24 books that I still need to hunt for.

 

ABC3D: 89
Blueberries for Sal: Robert McCloskey 27
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!: Mo Willems 18
Fancy Nancy: Jane O’Connor 26
Flotsam: T David Wiesner 28
Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book: Rufus Butler Seder 65
Go, Dog, Go!: P.D. Eastman 22
Harold and the Purple Crayon: Crockett Johnson 15
Have You Filled a Bucket Today: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids: 94
Hop on Pop: Dr. Seuss 75
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat: 93
Library Lion 105
Not a Box: Laura Vaccaro Seeger 35
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!: Dr. Seuss 32
Open the Barn Door, Find a Cow: Christopher Santoro 70
Pat the Bunny: Dorothy Kunhardt 9
Peek-A Who?: Nina Laden 12
Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day: Richard Scarry 44
Russell the Sheep 98
Sector 7: David Wiesner 107
The Dot: 83
The Rainbow Goblins 103
Tuesday: David Wiesner 50
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears 99

Books for Less Warehouse Sale Haul

Last week, I took a vacation leave from work so I can go to the Books for Less Warehouse Sale in Pasig. From Shaw Boulevard, I rode a Pasig Palengke jeepney. That was the first time I had ever been to that side of Pasig.  Normally, I want to lie down in the couch the whole day when I am on leave but on this day, I chose to work! All for the love of books! Anyhoo, don’t believe the jeep driver if he tells you that La Consolacion and Immaculate Concepcion are one and the same. Those two schools are at least 15 minutes away from each other. From Immaculate, I got a tryke which brought me to La Consolacion which is right in front o the warehouse.  The sale officially opens at 8AM but I was there by 7AM. At first they asked me to come back. I told the kuya’s that I had no idea on which part of Metro Manila I was and had no where to go.

Fast forward to 11AM, I had 70 plus shortlisted books and extremely dirty hands. I was having the time of my life!  From 70, I chose 43 books to take home. If I weren’t commuting, I would probably had bought more.

Here are my tips so you can make the most out of our excursion to Pasig

1) Go there early. Books are stacked neatly in the morning, making it easier to go thru each pile systematically.

2) Shop with a friend. My very good friend Rachel was there with me. I helped her look for Clifford books for Coco and she helped me spot Bible stories for Aki.

3) Find a newbie book-hunting mommy. Not to brag but Rache and I have been shopping for books even before our boys started eating solids. We have extensive knowledge on highly recommended books and authors  for kids 5 years old and below. Hehe. It was great meeting Kristine, a fellow N@wie. Whenever we saw great books for young toddlers, we passed them to Kristine.

4) Ask for a box. If you find something that you like, just dump them into your box. Once you are done going thru the piles, just got back to your box and sort.

5) Ask for help. I can’t remember her name but one of the ate’s can help. If you are looking for a particular book, just tell her.

6) Wear comfy clothes. Wear shorts and a loose top.  You’d also want to put your hair up so bring a scrunchy or a hair clamp. If you are allergic to dust but want to take the risk, wear a mask. Don’t worry, there is a bathroom with a sink where you can wash up and change before leaving.

7) When it doubt, BUY!! Everything costs only 10 pesos.

8) Bring large eco bags. Or better yet, bring your KJ husband so someone can carry the books for you. There are no cabs in the area so if you are commuting, you really have to carry your mini-library all by your tiresome but highly satisfied self.

 

Without further ado, here is my loot

Update: Top 100 Children’s Books of All-Time Collection

In case you have not yet heard, Books for Less if having their month long warehouse sale this month.

 

I am planning to go as soon as we are done with Aki’s periodical exams. For now, we can’t afford to have any distractions. Hehe.  Honestly, I am just waiting for the perfect timing to ask my forever-reluctant-impatient driver to drive all the way to Pasig. Wish me luck!

 

I am updating my list in preparation for the trip to the warehouse sale. The ones in bold letters are the books that we already have. This list contains 10 runner-up titles. So out of the top 110 books, I just need 20+ more! Yey!

 

 

ABC3D:  89
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day  7      
Amazing Grace:  86
Animalia: Graeme Base   19
Are You My Mother?:  P.D. Eastman       31     
Bark George     100

Whale Hero

Instead of our daily A-Z and Franco-Akira-Helio-Endaya-x4 writing exercises, Aki wrote a letter.

 

Aki had always had a soft spot for endangered animals. It was no surprise when he was deeply affected after we read the My Friend Whale book.

Here is the letter that Aki wrote

My Four Year Old’s Favorite Books

Happy blogging anniversary to me!

Here are the books that my 4 year old is obssessed with. We, actually just him because I would rather read something else, can go read these books on and on and on and on.

My Puppy Is Born by Joanna Cole. We bought this book for only PhP5.00 at MCS Booksale. Aki’s evening prayer goes something like this. Thank you for giving Daddy Mxxxxxxx. Thank you for the special gift for Mummy’s office friends. Thank you for giving Ate a house. Please give my mummy a baby. Please give Tita Yana a baby. Please help the victims (of Typhoon Yolanda). Please make me a good and healthy boy. And (pause), give me a dog. Aaaaaa-men.

And look what we saw on the last page. The previous owner of this book was a girl named Emily. It is a sign.

Tacky and the Winter Games by Helen Lester.  Also got this for 5 pesos! It’s brand new by the way (san ka pa!).  We love the Tacky series. Tacky is an unconventional penguin. While his peers are very formal and conforming, Tacky is unique, clumsy and adorable in his own way. This is a great book to teach kids to love their own individuality.

Shopping Guides from Toy Stores. Aki can spend countless hours daydreaming about the toys that he want. He even has this close-your-eyes-and-let-your-finger-show-you-which-toy-you’ll-give-me(as he directs my finger to his dream Beadman toy) game. Am just thankful that he is contented with just looking at the pictures. When we go to toy stores, he does not even us ask to buy him anything.

Winnie the Witch by Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas. This is one book that I have been waiting to hit the Booksale shelves for months. Winnie loves her black cat so much but is having a hard time seeing him because her whole house is also black. She uses her magic to solve her problems. And just when she thought her problem is behind her, she has to come up with another solution again. The small details in the illustrations make this book a feast for the eyes.

Update: Top 100 Children’s Book of All-time Collection

Good morning! The neighbor’s rooster chorale has been practicing since 3AM!

Thank you to everyone who appreciated our 2013 family photos by Caslow Photography. I agree that the Booksale set is oh so lovely.

Speaking of Booksale, here is an update on our collection of top 100 children’s books. Except for the ones we got as gifts, we purchased almost all of the books from Booksale.

Please give me a round of applause because we now have 74! We did not go to Booksale last year as often as we used to but we still managed to add 20 books to the collection. Happy me!

ABC3D:  89
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day: Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz  7      
Amazing Grace:  86
Animalia: Graeme Base   19
Are You My Mother?:  P.D. Eastman       31     
Bark George     100
Blueberries for Sal:  Robert McCloskey  27
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?        14     
Caps for Sale:  48
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom:        24
Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type: Doreen Cronin  40     
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: Judy and Ron Barrett         5      
Corduroy:       29     
Counting Kisses 110    
Curious George:         37     
Dear Zoo;       78
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!: Mo Willems         18
Eleventh Hour: Graeme Base      52
Everyone Poops:  Taro Gomi and Amanda Mayer Stinchecum  21     
Fancy Nancy:  Jane O’Connor     26
Flotsam: T David Wiesner        28
Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book: Rufus Butler Seder         65
George and Martha       97     
Go, Dog, Go!: P.D. Eastman      22
Good Night Gorilla      25     
Goodnight Moon  3      
Green Eggs and Ham:  Dr. Seuss  4
Guess How Much I Love You       8      
Harold and the Purple Crayon: Crockett Johnson  15
Have You Filled a Bucket Today: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids:    94

It is Starting to Feel Like Christmas!

Speaking of traditions, one of my favorite Christmas traditions is our holiday book collection. Every year, our collection grows and grows. When I was still starting this tradition, I’d buy books so long as they look interesting. Now, I only choose books that are age-appropriate and interest-related. Here are some of my newest finds.

A Houseful of Christmas. The illustrations look familiar because this book came from the same illustrator who did Click, Clack, Moo. Unlike most Christmas book, Santa does not appear in this book. The story is about how Christmas brings the family together. Very Filipino. It reminds me of my family because in my mom’s house, even if there are only 3 rooms, we always have room for all my aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces.

The Twelve Days of Christmas. I love the vintage-ness of the hand drawings of this book.

Santa’s Favorite Story

Santa’s Book of Names. I got this book because the main character, Edward, is also a new reader, like Aki.

Books! Books! Books! and Some Book-hunting tips

In just a matter of 6 days, I managed to amass these many books! Please don’t judge me. hahahaha.

How?

Three. Booksale. Trips.  Bow.

Hehehe. I went to BS SM Bicutan on Sunday, Starmall on Wednesday and Makati  Cinema Square on Saturday. Booksale branches are blackholes to my wallet. Good thing I don’t carry much cash most of the time. And thank God, they don’t accept credit cards.

I’ve actually been to Booksale at least 5 times since I took these pictures. If I blog about my newest new books, I will probably need 2 days.

Let’s start with the reading materials that I got for myself.

I am addicted to Cook’s Country and Test Kitchen magazines.  I probably have at least 20 already.
This book on recommended read aloud books could not have arrived in the shelves at a better time. I actually was browsing online minutesbefore that fateful Starmall visit because I want to collect other highly recommended books outside the list that I always refer to.

I love these workbooks from FlashKids. There are a lot of printable worksheets online. However since I don’t have a printer, what will I do with them?  Besides, why settle with black and white worksheets if colorful and engaging sheets are available in Booksale? Aki abhors writing so anything that will make the activity more interesting is very much welcome.

If you guys come across the Maze Workbook, let me know, okay? Aki loves mazes nowadays.

Here is another workbook that I recommend.

These are the latest additions to our Top 100 Children’s Book collection.

Gift Wrapping for Baby W and Baby X

When was the last time I blogged about gift wrapping? December?

Several of Aki’s classmates celebrated their 4th birthdays this year but I have been a very lazy gift wrapper. I just turned to my go-to spiderweb design.

Last Sunday, feeling inspired because of the gifts my boys gave me, I excitedly wrapped the books for Baby W and Baby Z.

For Baby W, I individually wrapped each book using craft paper and Japanese paper, stacked them  and bundled them.

The gifts look nice from the aerial view but something seemed missing if you look at them from a far.

So, I made a half pompom. See tutorial here.