Kid Lit Spotlight - Repetition in Children's Books

Hey Friends - Here's another post for you from my friend Emily. Isn't she awesome?!?! Thanks again Emily for sharing your favorites with us, and letting us know that we're not alone when our eyes glaze over with the repetition! - Jennifer





If I have to read Grover's Bad, Awful Day one more time, I'm going to scream!!! 

The same goes for The Little Engine That Could, Curious George, and a certain nonfiction firefighting book we have that is, in my opinion, just too darn long! Have you ever felt like this? I bet you have! Kids love to have the same book read to them over and over, and we go through periods of a week or two where all we do is read the same two books. And I've discovered that if I stop in the middle of a sentence, my son can fill in the missing words! He's got it memorized. It's amazing. But then, I could probably read it in my sleep myself.

What books have your kids had you read over and over and over? Do you find that they are books you liked when you read them the first time but not the 100th time? Do you protest reading the same book, or just grin and bear it?

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On another note, I'd like to share a book with you that we really like called Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, illustrated by Kadir Nelson. It's available in both picture book and board book form. Usually I've found that I don't really care for children's books by celebrity authors, but this one I love! 

We were introduced to this book by our children's librarian who read it at a toddler storytime, and then we checked it out. After many readings, it became a favorite and we got ourselves a board book copy. It goes through different times of the day showing what "baby" (a girl who seems to be about 18 months old) does in a funny and familiar way. One thing we do is keep the refrain the same on every page by saying "please baby please" like the title of the book instead of changing it a little each time (which is how it's written: "baby baby, please baby" on one page and "please, baby baby baby" on another). We like the repetition because then our son got to where he would say "please baby please" along with us. The illustrations are lifelike and have just enough details to be able to point out other things going on in the background while staying simple and uncluttered. The perspectives of the pictures make you feel like you're right there in the book. This is a gentle and fun book for both parents and kids.