No Swiping!

Have you read her a book today? That question gets asked every day now. I like the mindfulness of it. I like the commitment of it. Knowing you should read to your kids daily takes on a different level of import when you’ve publicly guaranteed you will. And so we read--books we buy, books we borrow, old books, new books, some classics, and some newfangled favorites. Whatever catches our interest. Since Scarlett is two generations behind me and one behind her “Transformers-” and “Thundercats“-loving dad, we aren’t always in the know about what’s cool in the small people scene. Every five years or so, the pantheon of characters held in high esteem by the preschool set undergoes transition. Oh sure, some favorites have stood the test of time, but for the most part the popularity shelf-life of any given character isn’t very long. What was all the rage a year or two ago will soon fade into the background. And the measure of how in-the-know a grownup is rests with their familiarity with the current hot properties. Having a ten year gap between my last two girls, I’m just now being fully introduced to the world of Dora the Explorer and her friends. Until now, Addison was too old and Scarlett was too young (well, for anything but that fuzzy, red muppet) to keep me up on Dora, Diego, Backpack, and Swiper. But now, after reading Phoebe Beinstein’s Baby Animals featuring Dora and crew, we’re hip. No hay problema. Adios!

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Animals-Explorer-Phoebe-Beinstein/dp/0689850174

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