I was looking at the pile of books in my to-read pile, and thought it would make a neat photo.
I can’t resist books.
Feeling them, holding them, smelling them, reading them, staring at them…
These books are not just my to-read pile, however. In an ideal world, they would be my entire to-do list.
So I made a fun little graphic. Enjoy. :)
Harry likes to get dirty and he hates taking baths. Typical man dog. :)
Anyway, this is a much requested book in our household. Both of my girls love reading about Harry. We have a few other Harry books, but the original is our favorite.
And, I just found out there’s a stuffed version of Harry:
How cute is that?
My girls and I love Frank Asch.
His books are magical. Entertaining but subtly profound: teaching life lessons and practical thinking in a way that children enjoy.
And I enjoy reading them.
Anyway, this particular book takes place at night, so the illustrations are a little dark (although that may just be because I’m reading an ancient copy). The pictures are beautiful but a little hard to make out in the video, thus Moongame is one that I certainly recommend following along with a copy of your own. Although (like all the others I’ve read) it’s still a great story to share with your kids – even if you don’t have the book yet.
But if you’d like the book, you can find it here.
Enjoy!
Ten Apples Up On Top was written by Theo. LeSieg, or, as he’s more affectionately known, Dr. Seuss.
There’s a lot of repetitiveness to the story, but a good rhythm and my girls love it.
It is often requested at home, so, here it is:
My next Roaming Rosie Reads video is of Sand Cake, by Frank Asch.
This is a great favorite of mine, and, of course, of my girls. We’ve even brought it to the beach with us!
Watching Little Bear solve this puzzle brings me joy every time. :)
Owly was my favorite book as a child. Still is.
I read it to my children often.
But as my divorce progresses, things have become difficult in ways that I never imagined. Like having to say goodbye to my children at the end of every other week.
One day, as their father was about to pick them up, I was talking to my 3-year-old and telling her that I’d miss her but that she was going to have a great time. I try not to say “I’ll miss you” or “I miss you” too often, because I don’t want her to connect any negative emotions with the time she spends with her father. But I’m human. It slipped out.
And she smiled at me and said, “you can read my books while I’m gone.”
It was such a grown-up sentiment. It was all I could do not to cry. I’d once told her she could hug a stuffed animal if she was missing me, and now she was giving me the same advice. And with books! As a writer (and a reader), story time with my girls is SO special to me.
This happy memory blossomed into the idea of me reading the books to a camera, so my girls could still have me read to them even when I wasn’t around.
And then I thought – why not share them?
Books are a gift, after all. A wonderment. A comfort. And certainly worth sharing.
In the spirit of privacy, I had already decided not to make the stories too personal, (including their names in the video, for example), so I simply added a title onto the front of the video.
Seemed pretty nice.
Nothing too fancy, though. The books themselves are magical enough. And I wanted it to be like when we curl up in bed or on the couch or on the floor together and read the book, page by page, sharing a simple moment. Books are powerful enough on their own with no need for special effects or soundtracks.
So the videos will be just me. Reading.
Here is my first video, Owly:
I hope you – and especially your children/grandchildren/etc – love it! Please let me know what you think. :)
And if you’d like to follow along, you can find Owly on Amazon.
Roaming Rosie 