The Hokey Pokey on Paper

Because I haven't taken any photos of Hannah lately and because I picked up a few cute new outfits from Target last night, I whipped out the camera before nap time today.

This is the spot on the couch where we sit to read stories before our nap.  We keep a stack of library books on the end table right there which Hannah dug into right after I took the above pic. Speaking of library books, I picked out a bunch of really good ones last time around which is impressive considering that when I pick books, I am hastily grabbing things off the shelf and quickly flipping through them to ensure that the pictures aren't too sophisticated (boring) and that there aren't too many words on each page (or if there are, that the pictures include plenty of stuff for us to point to and name) all while keeping one eye on Hannah as she flits around the library tearing books off shelves.  Our favorite of the current stash is We've All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin, illustrated by Randy Cecil. I really don't think I could have picked a more age-appropriate book if I'd read every single book in the place.  It's like the Hokey Pokey on paper. Lately we've been going to a special library story time designed for 2-year-olds (instead of 0-3 which is the broad age group most of the story times are geared toward).  In addition to stories, there's a big emphasis on songs that include movement like the Hokey Pokey; Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes; If You're Happy and You Know It; etc.  So of course it was the first one she picked up today to read. Check it out:

It starts with some cute purple elephants saying, "We've got ears, and you do too. We can pull them.  Can you?"

Hannah pulling her ears with the elephants.

 Then there are the monkeys who have hands they can clap.

Hannah clapping her hands with the monkeys. 

Then there are some giraffes who stretch their necks but those pics of Hannah were terribly unflattering and not post worthy so we are skipping right to the cheetahs lazily closing their eyes.

Hannah closing her eyes with the cheetahs.

 And then there are hippos who can open their mouths.

Hannah being a hippo.

It ends with a tickle to the bellybutton, hence the name of the book.  She loves it and has the whole thing memorized so that I don't even have to prompt her anymore; if she opens to the hippo page, she immediately opens her mouth dramatically, if she opens to the giraffe page she tilts her head back and stretches her neck as far as she can stretch it.  If you've got a toddler, I highly recommend this book.

Speaking of recommending books, I'm thinking about creating a new Amazon widget that I keep up-to-date with our current library books....