Great Bible for early readers

     I am so pleased with The Early Reader's Bible!  This is a wonderful tool as my 7-year-old continues to work on his reading skills. Each story is only 3 pages long, followed by some questions to think about. He is excited about reading his own Bible with very little assistance from me!

My emerging reader :)

My Brandon is learning to read!! He is pretty excited about it, thanks in part to a series of books I came across called Bob Books.

There are 12 booklets in the first series, and each story contains short vowels and three-letter words in simple sentences. The first story has only 4 letters (m, a, t, and s) so children can read the whole book themselves! New sounds are added gradually, until they've read books with all letters of the alphabet (except Q).

I could tell Brandon's sense of satisfaction was high, as he read the first three booklets in one sitting! It was fun to observe his progress within those few minutes, how sounding out the words began to click for him.

I'm a proud momma!

Question about books

Can I ask y'all.... what is your rule of thumb with regard to buying books?

My mom is a huge book lover and owns many books, and my husband and I both love reading as well..... we have tons of books around the house (my husband even built a bookshelf above our closet doors to accommodate our burgeoning book collection—his ingenious design is pictured below—and we have another big bookcase in the living room).


So as I search for books for my sons, or find ones they like at the library, it is very tempting for me to buy them! (Especially when I can find a good price on eBay or Amazon.)

So I thought I'd poll my blogging pals—how do you decide, especially with kids books, what to buy and what to simply check out at the library?

Henry and Mudge

I found a book series that Brandon (who is almost 5) really enjoys, called Henry and Mudge—about a young boy, Henry, and his canine companion, Mudge, an English Mastiff.


This one, called Henry and Mudge and the Best Day of All, is Brandon's new favorite. (Is it any wonder why, since his 5th birthday is on the horizon?)




There are 28 books in the Henry and Mudge series, which Cynthia Rylant has written over a 20 year period starting in 1987.

In doing a little digging, it appears that this book series might be commonly found in 2nd or 3rd grade curriculums—but for now, my son thoroughly enjoys having them read to him... over and over again! ☺