Every so often I like to share a round up of the latest selection of books that Hector is currently reading. I’ve mentioned before that we’re a family of book lovers and luckily Hector seems to inherited the bookworm gene too. We regularly read to him throughout the day and we’re always asked for just one more book before he goes to bed (that’s after the 6,357 we’ve already ploughed through!).

I’ve tried not to go overboard and provide a never-ending list of those books we’re reading at the moment; instead I’ve whittled it down to nine books that we keep returning to again and again.

All Kinds of Cars

I purchased All Kinds Of Cars for Hector for his Christmas stocking knowing that pages upon pages of vehicles would be right up his street. I hadn’t realised however just how much he would love it and the fact we’d have to go through naming each of the cars one by one to get to the end of the book. Fun the first time….not so much on the 87th read through. And he knows if you try to skip past a page or two. ARGHHH!

Funnily enough Ste has managed to convince that ‘stressed car’ is Daddy’s car and that ‘ridiculous car’ is Mummy’s car. Equally Gramme’s car is ‘hip hop car’…we had a lot of fun with that one 😉

Sparkle & Spin

Written by Ann Rand, Sparkle & Spin celebrates the magic of words. It describes how some words rhyme whereas others sound like the word/action they’re describing and also how they make us feel, all accompanied by beautifully punchy images illustrated by Ann’s husband Paul. Hector loves tracing the pictures with his finger and I rather like the sparkly cover myself!!

L’arche de Noé

Given to Hector by his Gramme for Christmas, this French language version of Noah’s Ark is a big hit. Granted my French accent might not be the best but the beautiful illustrations and various pop-up and lift the flap activities on each page more than make up for it. He particularly loves the last page which opens out to reveal a giant rainbow and the animals venturing out onto dry land. We’ll gloss over the fact that the rainbow is used as a racetrack for his cars every evening before bed. Insert eye roll emoji here!

Plip The Umbrella Man

Perhaps a slightly strange choice for a two year old child (personally I think this book is aimed at a MUCH older age group) but Hector loves the illustrations in Plip The Umbrella Man if he doesn’t really understand the story being read to him.

The story is about an ordinary man called Plip who decides to become an umbrella because of the constant rain. But even as an umbrella man, life isn’t always easy as we soon find out. Essentially the rain is a metaphor and the book hopes to encourage young readers to think about how they deal with their own emotions. It’s definitely a story that will take on new meanings to him as he grows.

This or That

These two pop up books have very little text on the pages – no more than one sentence – with an accompanying lift the flap or pop up activity for your little one to engage with.

This or That asks the reader to choose between two different scenarios i.e. Summer or Winter, Spoon or Folk or Cat or Dog whereas What’s Up? asks various animals what they’re up to hence the question…’what’s up?’. I love the books as they’re the first books where Hector can read along with me even if it’s just from memory or from the picture prompts in front of him…I’m hoping subconsciously he’ll start remembering the words so that when he does start reading he’s got something in the bank so to speak!

Busy Baby Trucks

Ste hates this book which makes me laugh and inevitably encourages Hector to make Daddy read ‘the trucks book’ all the more. There’s only about four pages or so but each page presents the protagonist of the story – Baby – with a challenge he has to fix. The head of the baby also spins round too, with an unhappy face on one side and a much smilier visage on the reverse. The ‘ice-cream’ truck page is a favourite for obvious reasons!!

Illuminature

This was another Christmas stocking purchase and has actually been a huge hit with the whole family. Illuminature is a huge book where you can discover 180 animals in ten of the world’s most diverse environments using a three colour lens that illuminates different parts of each page depending on which part of the lens you’re looking through.

Discover the dark and mysterious creatures of the night using the blue lens then switch to the green the lens to step into daylight. Finally, the red lens reveals the luscious plant life of every habitat as you travel through a jungle, a reef, grasslands and woodland. Hector loves holding the glasses up to his face and peering through…I suppose it must seem like magic to him!

Touchthinklearn: ABC

Probably the best book I’ve ever seen to help children learn their ABC and probably on the pricier side of the spectrum at £13.50, I personally think this book has been worth every penny. Touchthinklearn is part of a series of books covering everything from shapes, numbers, colours, vehicles, the list goes on.

This particular book is centred around the alphabet and has been designed in such a way as to literally add a new dimension to learning. There are raised die-cut pieces nestled in shaped board cut-outs to engage readers on both visual and tactile levels. Hector loves running his finger around the letters and already recognises certain sounds and shapes. And it’s heavy…worth bearing in mind so as not to drop it on your toe because it would hurt….a lot. Trust me on that one…

Do any of your littles possess any of these books…and can you suggest any titles that a car mad two year old might love…but which his mum can also bear to read as well? As ever we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments box below…

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