Here is Rowan and his dad, and Rowan’s great mate, Jake, when we babysat him the other night. By the look of Rowan’s ‘Shhhh!’, I’d say they are reading Doggies by Sandra Boynton. Reading three, four or more books is a much-anticipated part of Rowan’s bedtime routine and a lovely time for a cuddle.

Doggies is great for dog-loving babies and toddlers. It’s a counting book with a difference; a fantastic read-aloud, as the reader gets to perform a rendition of barks of all kinds… Rowan loves it.

Check out Lou’s previous post for her Top 5 Going to Bed books, including another Sandra Boynton title…

Rowan’s current favourite book is Hug! by Jez Alborough.

Hug! tells the story of a little gorilla called Bobo, who notices other animals in his jungle having hugs. He starts to feel sad because he realises he doesn’t have anyone to hug.

The story uses minimal words – on most pages, there is just one word, ‘hug’, used by different speakers and with different types of emotion. Rowan really responds to this concept and also to the illustrations. He really empathises with little Bobo, and mirrors all the emotions of Bobo on his own face. No matter how many times we read it, he always has a huge smile on his face when Bobo and Mummy are reunited!

One of the joys in my life at the moment is watching Rowan engrossed in a book. Here he is outside on the weekend. I think the book is upside down but that doesn’t really matter, hey?

Much as I try to avoid stereotypical ‘boy’ books, my sister, Clare, convinced me that the Child’s Play edition of Down by the Station (Classic Books With Holes) was worth a second glance as we perused the shelves of Borders one day.

I’m glad she did, as it is a favourite of Rowan’s and introduced me to a great series of books based on rhymes and songs.

We’ve since seen lots of the others in the series through our weekly classes with our fantastic music teacher, Rebecca. Rebecca always incorporates a rhyming or sung story into her classes, as well as giving the children some quiet time when they can read board books on their own.

We have since bought Over in the Meadow and Down in the Jungle, and there are lots more titles in this ‘Books with Holes’ series. There’s lots for Rowan to look at and grow with. At the moment he still loves sticking his fingers through the increasing number of holes in the pages, and there are sound effects and attractive colourful pages to keep him entertained. I have my eye on There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly and The Farmer in the Dell next…

Is it just me or do Mothers Day and Fathers Day seem to be ripe for a battleground of parental proportions? I’m still not sure how far to go with the commercialism of these days. And when you have a child too young to ‘get it’, it’s hard to resist entering into a competition about who buys better presents on their behalf. Or, like I said, maybe it’s just me…

Anyway, for Brad’s second Father’s Day, I decided to buy a couple of books with some fatherly significance. My favourite was this one, Conn and Hal Iggulden’s The Dangerous Book for Boys.

The book contains a range of different sections, including useful trivia and factual explanations about everything from the Seven Wonders of the World to Cloud Formations. But I reckon the best bits are the things to make and do, like tripwires, codes and ciphers, and making a go-cart. Check out this cute trailer for the US edition. The Australian edition has Australian history and botany/zoology sections and explanations of Australian sports.

Despite the appearance of their names, Conn and Hal are two British brothers. Conn is a bit of a history nut, and has written several historical novels. He says of his own dad, “My father flew in Bomber Command in WWII, then taught maths and science. Perhaps crucially, he also loved poetry and cracking good tales. My father loved working with wood and equations, but he also recited ‘Vitai Lampada’ with a gleam in his eye and that matters, frankly.” Conn is writing a new book with another brother, David, called Dangerous Heroes, using the five extraordinary stories from the Dangerous Book for Boys as a starting point.

Rowan’s obviously a bit young for most of the information and activities in this book, but I’m a sucker for books with this look and feel. The timeless character of the its design and the good old-fashioned activities will hopefully last many years.

The obvious question is of course, what about the girls? Quicker than you can strike a conker, the publishers are onto it, with the publication of The Daring Book for Girls due in time for Christmas. In a lot of ways I don’t envy the two American authors of this spin-off. Let’s hope they manage to carry it off with all the spirit the girls deserve.

My monkey, Rowan, was given a copy of Monkey and Me by Lou and Ned for his first birthday last month. He loves it! Better still, I love reading it to him, and every time I do, I discover something new in Emily Gravett’s playful illustrations. The rhythmic repetition of the words, combined with its short-and-sweet length, means it’s perfect for toddler-sized listeners. I’m pretty sure it will be one of the first books that Rowan will be ‘reading’ back to me.

‘Me’ is a spunky little girl with an ever-so expressive face, and accompanied by her toy monkey, she enthusiastically recounts a visit to a collection of animals. The pair mimick the animals’ movements along the way – an ideal way for kids to anticipate what comes next. Apparently Emily wrote the book for a fidgety little friend of hers and it’s easy to imagine why.

This is Emily’s fourth book, and many people would know her previous titles: Wolves (winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2005), Orange Pear Apple Bear (inspired by Lynn Truss’s Eats, Shoots and Leaves!), and Meerkat Mail. Her latest book is due out in Australia in October – this one has flaps and a fold-out map! Can’t wait to read it… For small and not-so-small fans, Emily’s website is well worth a visit, with some fun games and printable activities

This blog began from the seed of a thought planted in a conversation with Lou at the first birthday party for my little boy, Rowan, on August 5 2007.

We had been sending each other links to blogs we were enjoying in the context of our newfound identity as mums. The two of us had always dreamed of running our very own bookstore. Meanwhile, a blog of our own with children’s books at its heart seemed a perfect idea.

While at that very same auspicious occasion, we had a book-related birthday cake - I attempted a Hooray for Fish cake for Rowan. Hooray for Fish was, and still is, one of Rowan’s all-time favourite books.