Oh it’s been a while since I last shared this post about Hector’s favourite books back in November. Now that he’s 19 months old, his literary tastes have moved on somewhat so I thought it was worth sharing a bit of an update just in case any of you wanted a bit of inspiration on the books agenda.

If you read my previous post then you’ll already be aware that we adore books of all kinds in our house and I really hope that Hector inherits our love of reading too. We read to him every single day and now that he’s more of his own person I love the fact that he potters about his room bringing us stories that he chooses rather than the ones we’ve selected for him. The books I’ve listed below are those titles that we read day in, day out because he asks us to so I think it’s fair to say that they are his favourites. Come and take a look…

Fiddlesticks

Bought for him by his Gramme, Fiddlesticks is the story of a mouse who spots that something isn’t quite right with his house and gets his mate Bear to fix it for him. Except….Bear makes a bit of a mess and sets off a whole sequence of events that leads to a complete interiors overhaul. Talk about fiction mimicking real life if you’ve ever read any of my renovation posts on Rock My Style. I’m not sure why Hector loves this book so much; personally I think the book is a bit long for a child of his age but he’s entranced by the pictures whenever we read it. Or it could be something to do with the fact his dad reads it to him in a Cockney accent…

Animalium

This exquisite and oh so beautiful supersized animal book was bought for Hector by a friend of ours for his first birthday and it really is a joy to watch how excited he gets looking through the exquisite illustrations. This is most definitely one book that I make sure that an adult is present whenever Hector reads it as it has got a bit of weight to it and also because I don’t want him accidentally destroying any of the pages.

I use the term ‘reading’ loosely when it comes to Animalium as there’s no story per se but that doesn’t stop us leafing through the pages naming all the wonderful creatures for Hector as he points at them. The penguin illustration is particularly lovely and there’s an activity book that complements it for older kids.

Dinosaurs

This pop-up beauty makes me laugh. Ok so there’s a part of me that is secretly thrilled that Hector loves dinosaurs but then I guess most little boys do; I have a penchant for fossils and archeology you see. But it’s Hector’s reaction to the Tyrannosaurus Rex that makes me smile every time.

We mimic various sounds of the different dinosaurs as we encounter them (by the way what sound does a Brachiosaurus make?!) finishing with a big roar for the T-Rex which makes Hector jump ten feet in the air. He knows it’s coming but he likes our game of us pretending to chase him after the roar around his bedroom. Probably not the best game to play before bed….

Drôles de Bêtes

I’m not sure how widely available this French book by André Hellé is but I’ve managed to find it in short stock on Amazon if you’re desperate to get hold of a copy for yourself. I actually snapped up my copy before Hector was born from Bonpoint’s outlet shop in Bicester Village for much much less than it’s selling for on the site but I can attest to the beauty of the tome.

First published in 1911, the illustrations of your typical animals (elephant/tiger/ostrich etc) still look surprisingly modern. Our version is in French but it’s my understanding that you can buy it in other languages too. Much like Animalium, there’s not so much of a story but more of a factual narrative about the animal in question (of which I can only ascertain so much as my French is a bit rusty). There’s a part of me that is surprised that Hector loves the book so much since I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t partly buy it for my own pleasure but I’m so pleased he does.

Me

From the same series as Hector’s old (and actually still current) favourite, ‘Happy‘ by Emma Dodd, ‘Me‘ is a beautiful tale about a baby penguin and the world at large. The whole series is beautifully illustrated with metallic details and short and sweet enough to engage and keep littles interested. We have a couple of others in the series too (Wish and Sometimes) but it’s ‘Me’ that Hector keeps going back to….probably because of the penguins which are one of his favourite animals. I know that these books are the kind that he’ll be able to pass onto his own children.

Gaston

Hector adores dogs.

It doesn’t matter if they are big or small, long-haired or short, floppy-eared or googley-eyed; you can guarantee when he spots one he’ll grab my/Ste’s hand and walk purposefully towards them whilst saying ahhhhhh with his other hand outstretched.

When I spotted Gaston on a recent Amazon binge I couldn’t resist, so into my basket it went. Essentially it’s the tale/tail (sorry couldn’t resist) of two families of dogs where one of the offspring of each gets mixed up at birth. I won’t reveal too much more but again the pictures are utterly endearing and I find the narrative quite funny too.

Marion Billet Sound Books

On a recent trip to Stockholm my parents bought Hector a plethora of goodies including a couple of interactive sound books by Marion Billet in Swedish; one was jungle themed and the other contained a myriad of vehicles complete with a bike and a tram. I know what you’re thinking, first French and now Swedish but I don’t think it’s ever too early to get kids used to different languages…that’s if we’re pronouncing the words correctly. We’ve since added to the collection with some French books from the series about animals too.

Each page has a different object on it, depending on the topic of the book, accompanied by the name of the aforementioned object and a sensor button which you can encourage your child to press to hear the sound that the object makes. Fun but educational too!

So that’s it. I’m sure I’ll have another update in the next six months with a new selection; at this rate I’m going to have in invest in some more shelving! Have you got any of these books? What stories do your toddlers love reading? I’m always on the lookout for new titles….