What's Basbusa reading?

In the interests of managing to post more regularly, I'm going to keep it down to just three or four books per post. How I'll ever catch up with my to-be-blogged-about list is another question, but it's better than not posting at all!

First up for this week is The Adventures of Taxi Dog. It's a story in rhyme about a homeless dog who is adopted by a cab driver in New York City, and then spends her time riding around with him in his taxi. It's a nice story, and Basbusa loves almost anything in rhyme. The illustrations are attractive, and there are things to look for, like the black cat who shows up in every page somewhere. But what really made this book special for us is that it's the first book my two girls enjoyed together. Basbusa's little sister - hmmm, she needs a name for the blog... let's pick another Egyptian dessert... how about Kunafa? - is 14 months old, and adores dogs. She loved pointing to the dog on each page, and woof-woofing earnestly. Why this book in particular caught her interest, I'm not sure, but it made for some very sweet read-aloud moments.

Duck Duck Moose was one of Basbusa's own picks from the library, and I'm so glad she found it! It was our first book by Dave Horowitz, and we all loved it. It's about a New Hampshire moose who decides to migrate south to Florida for the winter with two ducky friends.It's hard to describe why the book was so successful, because not too much happens in terms of plot besides going to Florida and coming back again. But somehow, despite the minimal text (great for beginning readers), each of the three characters has a personality that shines through. There's humor that was targeted at just the right level for Basbusa, and Kunafa was intrigued by the "moooooooooooooooose," as she kept pointing out to us, waggling her hands by her head for antlers. T'his would be a great book to do FIAR-ish activities with, if you're into that. We pulled out our maps right away to trace their route ("'Hey,' said Duck, 'I see New York City!' 'Hey,' said Other Duck, 'I see Washington, D.C.!' 'Hey,' said Moose, 'I've gotta pee!'" Cue much giggling from Basbusa.) Lots to contrast between NH and Florida, discussion of seasons and hibernation and migration, etc. We checked out some other books by the same author, but none of them were quite such a hit, though we did enjoy Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again.

Last up, Toot and Puddle, which was similar to Duck Duck Moose in being a travel-centered story without vast amounts of plot, but totally different in style and illustration. It's just the story of two pigs, one who goes on a trip around the world, and the other who stays at home in Woodcock Pocket. Each month, Toot sends a postcard home to Puddle, showing a glimpse of his exotic adventures, while Puddle enjoys the closer-to-home joys of each season. The illustrations are charming, and I loved how the two pigs had such a close friendship despite their different tastes. Basbusa really enjoyed it, and we did some more map-hunting to follow Toot's adventures. We checked out some of the sequels, and they were ok, but not as delightful as the original, in either of our opinions.


Linking up with What My Child is Reading and Read-Aloud Thursday.