I suddenly remembered I had this little pretty board book saved for some time and asked him “Shall I sing you a special song?” He paused, intrigued, nodded and quickly climbed into my lap to see the book I had pulled off the bookshelf. 

I gave a most imperfect and off-key rendition of Louis Armstrong “What a wonderful world” and… he loved it . He gently caressed each page with his cute little fingers as I sang, pausing longly on the pages with the children holding hands and the kid diving in the ocean amongst the fish (“where is the baby, mummy?!”) and then asked we did it “encore” and “encore” and “encore”…

The book is a joyful, lyrical, amazing pairing to the song and it is so happily coloured, like all Tim Hopgoed’s books. We love it. Little gosling forgot all about his troubles and was back to his playful, cheerful self. Now, he occasionally entertains his very sleepy (and annoyed) dad at 5.30 a.m. singing the song and corrects me sternly when I get a line wrong. Mea culpa, I keep forgetting “the bright blessed day” and improvise..

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Illustrations exquisitely accompany the text. Putting into words the child’s perspective, the illustrations play around with long shots and close-ups from different angles, like coming up from deep down in the water to see the child bowing down to touch the fish swirling around or seeing from the side the child lying down on his grandfather’s knees and observing the swallows flying overhead. My favourite is the canoe sliding between a sea of yellow water lilies and beautiful dragonflies. Little gosling is fascinated by the movement of the paddle, repeating “dip and swing” like he would want to memorise it for when he goes canoeing :P, by the industrious beavers, always pointing to all chopped down trees and the underwater tunnels, the golden ducklings queuing behind their mommy and the child trying to catch an elusive leaping frog. 

The bond between the grandfather and grandchild is so organic and so subtly present in small details here and there in both text and illustrations. And there’s something so sweet, endearing and lasting about the grandfather carrying the sleeping child in his arms back to the house at the end of the story…  

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For the first time in many weeks, we pulled out Rachel Bright and Jim Field’s “The lion inside” before bedtime. And surely enough, there it was! The expression! In the mouse’s reflection before he confronts the lion ! What an amazing memory capacity young kids have! 

I love the brown and yellow colours of this book; I can actually feel like being under a hot, slow, blazing sun. Not that I am a heat person, au contraire! But the illustrations are so attractive that I feel transported from the first rhyme. I find it makes such a great read-aloud. The rhyme is irresistibly inviting for acting out and trying different voices, tones and rhythm of narration. And it is paired so well with the illustrations. Amazingly expressive!! I find them equally hilarious (the lion) and endearing (the mouse). It vividly reminds me of Madagascar, the animated movie. The perspective on the characters shifts from one page to the next, it really feels like filmed, alternating between close-ups, long shots, looking upwards or downwards..

This is the story of the tiniest mouse, ignored and forgotten by all other animals in the savannah, getting the courage to confront the shouty and touch lion that lives on top of the rock at the bottom of which he has its home, to ask for his help to learn how to roar. That way, he thinks, he could make friends and enjoy his life more! To his great surprise, the lion is as scared of the mouse as the mouse is of the lion. So they end up being best friends, sharing their loneliness and, in the process, become better and happier versions of themselves, one more self-confident, the other more relaxed. It’s about courage, overcoming one’s fears, learning that appearances can be deceiving and that life can be utterly surprising! 

Little gosling’s favourite bit is the description of the mouse’s sorrows. We act out together the antelopes looking around puzzled, not knowing where the voice is coming from and the sounds the mouse makes when getting trod on and sat on… He is so sweet moving his head from side to side and squeaking “who? Where? Who? Where?” :)))

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This book always makes little gosling retell what he most enjoyed of our hikes. We had the book with us on his first hike in the Ardennes, some weeks ago. Coincidentally, we did some serious bug watching:) so it was a perfect fit. We saw ladybirds (with different numbers of black spots on their backs), (many, many, many) black beetles, butterflies of different sizes and colours and bees. I am in awe of his amazement (and patience!!!) in observing the mini beasts for tens of minutes at once. He just crouched down and stayed there, following with his gaze the beetle pushing pebbles and getting in and out from between lumps of dirt or the ladybird going up and down grass stalks. 

More recently, during our hikes in the Black Forest in Germany, we did some more bug watching. I admit I had never seen slugs before… they came out in such big numbers after rain, they were all around, big and brown. Here and there we found a slithering snail and we stopped and crouched to watch him move slooooowly slowly, singing “Melc, melc, codobelc”.. There were so many wasps flying over and assaulting our food plates and drinks, that little gosling got afraid of them and kept swinging his arm shouting “go away, wasps!”. He also got on more friendly terms with bees. Our guesthouse had a beautiful garden full of blooming flowers; at moments, he asked them to go away, but they never did and he came to me all anxious pointing to the bees and afraid to continue his exploration around the garden. I held him close and then took his hand and went together to watch the bees buzzing around the flowers, saying “hello, bees! You do such amazing work, carrying pollen from place to place. Thank you!”. After that, he would keep a safe distance from the bees, but felt more reassured and comfortable around them and would say hello to them, too. We watched grasshoppers jump in the grass and heard their loud chirrup in the meadows. 

Little gosling likes the spiderwebs on the end pages (which he ignores with many other books).  We usually play search and find the bugs on the first and last pages, which contain introductory and closing rhymes. He likes to identify in the illustrations the actions mentioned in the rhymes and he often associates the poems with nursery rhymes we’ve learned, asking me to sing them as we turn the page to different bugs (“Incy Wincy Spider”; “Ladybird, ladybird”; “Micul greieras”; “Albinuța mea”). Oh, and the ladybirds… he looks for them on every page in the book :). 

He first saw a fly in this book. We were sitting at the table at a farmhouse in the Ardennes, reading whilst awaiting dinner when a fly happened to fly buzzing around us and he kept following it around, noticing its every move and stop. He laughingly finished the rhyme “being very buzzy” :)). He does like the spider web covered in morning dew, loves to go “snip, snip” when we read about the earwig’s pincers and gets so excited about the beehive (“bebe wants to see a bee hive”). He takes the shortcut to the caterpillar becoming a “beautiful butterfly” (just like in Eric Carle’s “The very hungry caterpillar”). He curiously observes the ants carrying the leaves on their backs. Every time we finish the book, we each name our favourite minibeast. Little gosling starts off with the beetle, because he remembers the giant beetles made of sticks and logs he saw in the forest and the black beetles he observed through the magnifying glass. I always say it’s the grasshopper, because it makes music – and he changes his mind and says he likes it too.

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Being out in the rain is a different story. When we returned to Europe, little gosling found the Brussels rain less than enchanting. He would get agitated and fussy whenever we went out when it rained, and shouted “rain, go away!” in a distressed voice. He disliked having the rain cover on top of the pram and would do all to pull it down. When walking, he just didn’t want to be outside. To be fair, he has similar reactions to wind or sun, when the latter gets into his eyes. And, generally, people coming to Belgium from further away always complain about the rain and grey, low sky. 

I am intent on us having an active, outdoorsy life, therefore I started to look for ways to have him embrace the weather. If not enjoy the rain, at least not let himself be discouraged from doing what he wants because of it. 

First thing I did was to enable him to do what he (and I suspect all small kids, including myself, according to what must be what my parents most vividly recall from my early childhood) loves most: splash into every puddle he can find. What joy and pleasure this simple act can give small kids! We quickly got him a sturdy pair of long rubber boots and agreed with him that he could splash into whatever puddle he liked, as long as he was wearing his boots. He happily acquiesced and now he knows: whenever he is wearing his sandals after rain, he stops next to the puddle saying: “this is a boot puddle”, so no stepping, no splashing. Next, we made sure to have rain jackets for all kinds of temperatures; some with whales, some with numbers (his favourite), so he is all set. He loves umbrellas, but it’s just so very impractical to have one around him; it does not serve him and, well, it’s just a hazard for everyone else in his hands, at this stage :))). 

With all the reading and singing we have been doing, I looked for relatable, positive, uplifting songs and picture books on the topic of rain. I was happy to find Tim Hopgood’s illustrated “Singing in the rain” and “Cyril, the lonely cloud”. I take them out with excitement every time it rains! And I’ve made a habit of singing “Singing in the rain” and B.J. Thomas’ “Raindrops keep falling on my head”. I think this is working… although it has no effect on daddy’s grumpy and reluctant mood when it rains :P. 

Little gosling immediately got hooked on the song “Singing in the rain” and wanted me to sing it again and again and again. As customary, he was not so keen on Doris Day’s version (that comes in a CD attached to the book), but wanted mommy’s version. I’m struggling both through the higher and the low notes, but I make up for it with smiles, silliness and with the absolute enjoyment I take in singing it. The illustrations are lovely, in strong, bright colours and there are music notes and smiles everywhere; they reflect superbly the joy imparted by the lyrics. Little gosling liked the children running and playing under the rain, splashing happily in the puddles, with big smiles on their faces. My favourites are the children floating down with the open umbrellas, their smiles reflected in the puddles and the children enjoying the small, simple things around them in the rain: a flower, a butterfly fluttering, the grass underneath their bare feet.

Little gosling seems equally attached to “Raindrops keep falling on my head”. He recites the first verse and asks for it when he feels raindrops on his face and little hands. He’s irresistibly cute raising his hands up and fidgeting his fingers saying “these are raindrops!”

“Cyril, the lonely cloud” just wants to look down on the world and see a happy smile, feel welcome, but people receive him with distrust and displeasure, as a fun spoiler. Therefore, he pours his sadness over them and travels further in search of a friendly face. In the process, he grows bigger and more frustrated, until…. He reaches what looks like hot, dry Africa, where the animals are so happy to welcome him. Cyril is sweetly drawn, with a kiddy face, very likeable and relatable and helps build understanding and empathy and a positive perception of clouds and rain.

Lately, in the good night message to everyone, I made a point of starting with the sun and whatever weather features we’ve had during the day. For example, these days I said, “good night clouds! Thank you for coming today and making the heat more bearable, thank you for bringing chill”; “good night, rain! Thank you for visiting us today, for renewing and refreshing the air! You are so important for plants and animals to grow healthy and happy! Good night!” I use these last moments of the day, when little gosling’s focus is on my whispers to reassure him that all these phenomena that displease him have their place and meaning and are good for us. 

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Walter is a spider with a particularly creative style, trying to fit in and spin webs just like his friends. However hard he tries, his webs come out differently and they all get blown away by the wind. He tries all the different shapes (triangle, square, rectangle, diamond, circle) and never gets discouraged; he learns something from each attempt and tries again and again, until… he combines all the shapes into a truly wonderful web! Such a simple concept and so many lessons to draw from it! 

Little gosling loves following Walter playing around with the different shapes. As it turns out, the book came at the perfect moment to fix the basic shapes in his mind. We play at guessing which shape Walter will attempt next and he counts the sides of each shape (“the circle has no sides”). He excitedly calls out the name of each shape every time mommy turns the page. We also play at spotting and identifying the different shapes that Walter spins into his final web. He’s less friends with the wind, though :). He’s generally on unfriendly terms with the wind, because he’s afraid it can blow his hat or cap away; so, every time the wind blows a bit stronger, he gets anxious, holds his hat with the hands and shouts “go away, wind!” 

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This is a lovely story about an extended family enjoying a day at the beach and eventually being lured by little Anna’s contagious laughter “hee-hee-hee-hee” to join in to playing and “splashing with the laughing waves”. A splendidly joyful celebration of family time at the beach! It gives so much pleasure to read and it is thoroughly enjoyable. I love the portrayal of such a united extended (and mixed race) family ultimately renouncing their individual occupations to have fun together.. We live far from our families and our families live quite far from each other, so little gosling will likely not experience anything like this. 

We read the story several times on the train, the high points being, of course, the moment Anna starts jumping into the sea, splashing and laughing, the image of the whole 15-members family holding hands and playing in the sea and the last image of Anna lovingly hugging her mommy. I personally love some of Anna’s cousins’ names: “Common Sense”, “Chocolate” – such a lovable one :))))) “Wonderful”. The illustrations capture the African colour and spirit: the lushly green beach line, palm trees all around; the local fishing boats lying on the sand in the hot sun, whilst fisherman engage in long conversations with the visitors; local boys playing ball on the sand; the striking mix of colours of Nigerian clothes; the tasty corn and pastries awaiting to be eaten at lunchtime. After all, “Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa”. 

It’s the first Anna Hibiscus story that we read (Anna Hibiscus’ Song is on its way to us), but as little gosling grows, we’ll indulge in more of them.

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A music-themed book, it features the self-discovery journey of a tiny nightingale, Peep, who  badly wants to be part of a choir of birds singing at dawn. Despite its ambition, practice and perseverance, singing at dawn just isn’t its thing. What the tiny nightingale did not know was that nightingales sing best at night. It takes a good friend to understand this reality and feel happy in its skin, singing beautifully at night for the entire forest. 

It’s a sweet story, with lovely, warm coloured, soothing illustrations, full of tiny, chubby birds and musical notes flowing and floating around. It’s a gentle introduction to birds and music themes, with specific vocabulary. With just a tiny little bit of imagination, one could almost hear the birds’ song. I almost feel sorry there’s no button to push anywhere for some trills.  Above all else, I like its message of knowing and being true and content with who you are. Little gosling is fascinated by the conductor of the chorus and is looking for it on all pages. He gets so happy when tiny Peep finds another nightingale friend and they sing together. My favourite part is hearing him say “nightingale”; it’s quite a complicated word. And he has such a sweet way of saying “Peep”… 

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The story goes through the motion of the different actions that make up Lola’s weekly visit to the library with her mommy. There’s something unnervingly disarming (and desperately real :)))) about Lola impatiently waking up her mommy already at 6 a.m.!!!  That’s some serious love for reading and for the library! The meticulosity with which she packs her cute green backpack and the way she stands on her tippy tip toes to see what’s happening on the library’s counter are quite endearing. 

Little gosling is closely observing all that’s going on in the library, particularly the librarian checking books in and out (one can only see the hands of the librarian and he’s fascinated with the bracelet on the wrist), the shelves and bins with books placed at floor level, little stools for babies and his favourite moments: singing and finger playing nursery rhymes and storytime. Every time we get to that page, little gosling points to the lady doing the reading and says “this is Celine”, one of his teachers at creche, who, apparently is the one doing the reading. Aand, just now, little gosling also knows all the words of “Twinkle, twinkle little star”, just like Lola. I find it reassuring and comforting when books reflect, reinforce and complement little gosling’s daily experiences. He excitedly recites what appears to be his favourite line:  “There are so many [books in the library], it takes ages to choose!”. I have to say, little gosling is pretty determined when it comes to picking out the books he wants to have read :)). He loves the image of Lola walking with big strides whilst holding precariously a bunch of books and he just loves Lola’s sandals :). 

There is but one part I usually skip reading and improvise about: Lola and mommy’s post-library snack, with Lola drinking juice and getting to taste mommy’s cappuccino’s foam, if she’s been good.. I like the book promoting the image of one on one special time between mommy and Lola, but I’m not ready to talk to little gosling about juice and normalise the idea of drinking juice for him. We’ve very rarely given little gosling juice and only if freshly pressed and always completed with at least ⅓ water. I’m also not comfortable with the “being good” narrative, don’t use it, don’t like the reverse implication…

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Up from his nap the other day, little gosling lined up his best stuffed animal friends, including three that he has recently renamed after his three nursery teachers (Laure, Julia and Celine): two hedgehogs, bear, froggy, reindeer and lion cub. Who is who changes from one moment to the other :P. He announced “bebe wants to read to [your] friends”. I haven’t yet figured out whether or how to explain to him the pronouns, so he’s referring to himself and his belongings the same way that I do, with “you” and “your”. He ran, the same way he does all else, to the book bin and picked out “Oi, frog”. He sat down comfortably next to his friends and started reciting the rhymes as he went leafing through the book. Awwww! That was such a cute moment! I was so surprised to hear him go on with it on his own!! We quickly got it on video. This is one moment I want to be able to look back at first hand. 

“Oi frog!”, text by Kes Gray and illustrated by Jim Field, is such a silly and ridiculously catchy rhyme book! A bossy cat is explaining to a frog where each animal is supposed to sit in its grand design. Poor frog is not allowed to sit anywhere comfortable. But this is not about comfort, if not “about doing the right thing” :)). Some of the animals just happen to draw the short straw, like the lions sitting on irons or seals sitting on wheels. Ouch!!!! :)))). The illustrations are very colourful, with very strong colours and stark contrasts. Those looks on the animals’ faces are hilarious! Possibly his favourites are the foxes sitting on boxes and the parrots sitting on carrots. And he likes observing the countless frogs on the inside covers. I find it a useful aid in expanding vocabulary and the rhyme is so helpful.

I’m very tempted to get some of the other books in this series :).

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