Day 28 : Grandparents!

          How lucky are we here to have grandparents as an entity living with us or somewhere near us unlike abroad! They are there to ferry our kids to school, take care of them, feed lunch to them, and also play with them. Is it not? Kids overall like the company of grandparents rather than parents because there are no rules to follow when with the former!

          At my home, melancholy sets in as I get ready to go to my parents' place. Swara's maternal grandparents are jubilant at this time. The reverse situation takes place when I have to leave from there. Strange, right? Not really! Anyway, our day 28 of the challenge hence was reserved for grandparents. The books read were -

1. Aesop's fable
2. Hello Kitty 'pet puppy'
3. The never ending story from Tulika
4. Granny's sari
5. Grandpa goes on strike
6. My grandfather's stick
7. The story blanket
8. My family from Pratham
9. Rumniya by Rukmini Banerjee
10. Days with Thathu
11. Please write back by Jennifer E. Morris
12. Just grandma and me by Mercer Mayer 
13. Bubbles is careless
14. Grandpa cherry blossom
15. Wildred Gordon McDonald Patridge by Mem Fox
16. Hello, is that grandma?
17. The three little pigs
18. Granpa
19. Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Bruehner
20. Hide and seek pig by Julia Donaldson
21. The thinga-ma-jigger is coming today by Tish Rabe
22. Where's my baby's Valentine? by Karen Katz
23. Grandma's stories
24. Week at grandma's from Berenstain Bears
25. A laughing onion by Arun Elassery
26. A bond of love by Pushpa Saxena
27. The very hungry caterpillar
28. Sudha Murty's Grandma's bag of stories
29. The seed
30. Mama's new job from Pepper series
31. The ant and the chrysalis
32. The ant and the dove
33. My granny went to the market
34. Goodnight moon
35. The runaway bunny
36. Minu and her hair
37. Pepper learns to keep a promise
38. Little red riding hood
39. Growing up with Bubbles
40. Bubbles becomes greedy
41. Chhota Bheem in Damdaar dadaji
42. Dadu book
43. Snoring Shanmugham
44. Grandpa's stories from Om books
45. The Wednesday surprise by Eve Bunting
46. Three strange keys by Enid Blyton
47. Dorling Kindersley picture atlas
48. Just grandpa and me
49. Come over to my house
50. A day at the police station
51. Tracy and Snuggly blanket
52. Jack and the flumflum tree by Julia Donaldson
53. Spot goes to the fair by Eric Hill
54. Grandma's eyes
55. Zoe's first book of seasons
56. Letchworth's stories with grandpa

That's it for today.
Happy reading!

Day 27 : Birthdays!

          It's day 27 today an dour challenge is solely inching towards its finale! Today, we received Birthdays as our reading prompt. And who is not excited on their birthdays? Young and old alike enjoy this day with cake, candles and cheer! So, how can books on birthdays be left far behind. Here is the list of who read what -

1. The birthday box
2. The little pea, little Oink, little Hoot series
3. The secret birthday message by Eric Carle
4. Zubi's birthday from BPI publications
5. Today is Monday by Eric Carle
6. Peppa pig's dentist trip
7. My counting wheel by Libby Volke
8. Topsy and Tim have a birthday party
9. Busy little postman
10. Dilly the dinosaur by Tony Bradman
11. Thumbprints - art with your thumb - by Aravind Gupta
12. Postman Bear by Julia Donaldson
13. How many sleeps before my birthday by Mark Sperring
14. Happy birthday biscuit by Alyssa Capucilli
15. Surprise gifts by Asha Nehemiah
16. It's my birthday from Ladybird
17. Dr. Seuss' happy birthday to you
18. Charlie and Lola's It's actually my party
19. Party animals by Kathie Lee Gifford
20. The very lonely firefly by Eric Carle
21. Pepper is selfish
22. 10 little dinosaurs
23. The tiger in the tunnel
24. Count counts a party (Sesame street)
25. Who is afraid of the dark?
26. The tale of Peter Rabbit
27. It's amma's birthday tomorrow
28. Time - ETL
29. Ruskin Bond's Great Stories for Children
30. Yes Hutoxi
31. Nini at a birthday party
32. Nini's guest at home
33. A wonderful birthday - Princess series
34. Room on the broom
35. Hic!
36. Little Honey
37. Pepper and the new baby
38. Spot's birthday party
39. Teddy's birthday surprise - pop-up
40. The ribbon from CBT
41. Snappy sounds surprise party
42. Happy birthday little Pokie by Sandra Boynton
43. Alphablock
44. Prince Dev turns 1
45. Dancing on walls by Shamim Padamsee
46. A present for Papa from CBT
47. Hello from Tulika
48. Where is my bat? from Pratham
49. Kevin's birthday by Matt Ryan
50. The Wednesday surprise by Eve Bunting
51. Come to the circus - Fenella and Willie
52. Pepper learns to take the blame
53. Thumbelina
54. Cats ahoy!
55. Princess and the wizard
56. Princess and the pig
57. Gajapati kulapati
58. The birthday dance party
59. It's my birthday
60. The red lemon by Bob Stake
61. Playful little penguin by Tony Mitton
62. Baby's first library : words

Happy reading!
 

Day 26 : Gardens!

          The mere thought of gardens takes me back to the time spent in my childhood in parks and gardens which I and my sister would used to frequent. We were truly blessed to have them in our home's vicinity where all the children from nearby homes would come and play. Just one hour of play taught us so many things - co-operation, team spirit, victories and defeats, sportsmanship!

          Alas, today, there are very few gardens available in metros thanks to all the out-of-this-world-shopping-malls creeping up at every open place. Parents today, don't realize the importance of free play with fresh air and greenery doing wonders to their children. The weekends too are typically spent in this order - shopping, lunch, movie, dinner - that too in one mall!

          At least we have books to inculcate gardening and love of nature in us. Gardens was the prompt for today. Here are the books read -

1. Bondapur ki ek ajab kahaani (hindi) by Shamim Padamsee
2. Farm counting
3. Night sky wheel ride from Tradewind books
4. Spincy spider by Harminder Ohri
5. Brahma's butterfly
6. Storm in the garden
7. Magic vessels
8. The hedgerow circus by Ruth Thomson
9. Riki tiki tavi from Ladybird retold by Sampoorna Chatterjee
10. Hungry pants by Mary Batten
11. Topsy and Tim go green
12. Adam and Eve from Bible
13. The enormous turnip
14. The seed
15. The snail storm in the garden
16. The ugly duckling
17. Pinochchio
18. The green ship by Quentin Blake
19. Ruby Nettleship and the ice lolly adventure
20. The giving tree by Shel Silverstein
21. Tabby McTat
22. Room on the broom
23. The champa flower who took my strawberries
24. The tamarind tree
25. Oh, say can you seed
26. The prized pumpkin from Berenstain Bears
27. Tales of Peter rabbit
28. Flower fairies by Cicely Mary Barker
29. Sea in a bucket by Deepa Balsavar
30. Amelia Bedelia goes camping
31. Flowers - picture book
32. Farmer Donald's pumpkin patch from Mickey Clubhouse Storybook collection
33. The pig's egg
34. Geronimo Stilton
35. Cinderella
36. In the night garden
37. Wangari's trees of peace
38. Zhaad (marathi)
39. Teddy and a magic trick
40. A rainy day adventure
41. Bees and butterflies by Gina Philips
42. Little fox's picnic by Debie Glior
43. The oak tree
44. Pepper learns about recycling
45. Pepper learns to take turns
46. How does your garden grow by Disney
47. One mole digging a hole by Julia Donaldson
48. Alphablock
49. Eric Carle's ABC
50. The little gardener by Jan Gerardi
51. The butterfly children
52. Peekaboo in the farm
53. The tamarind tree
54. Busy bees' flower friends by Nicholas Hawkins
55. Come to the circus - Fenelia gets into trouble
56. Phonics first
57. The little mouse, the red-ripe strawberry and the big hungry bear
58. Tell me a story before I go to bed
59. Bubbles goes to school
60. Read and grow with Pepper series
61. A busy day with patches the puppy
62. Peppa's Easter egg hunt
63. Sid the seed by Daniel R. Panag
64. Hop on pop
65. Upside down
66. Even Stevens Odd Todd

          A whopping number of books were read today. While doing so, don't forget to take your kids to a little bit of greenery this weekend!

          AS for Swara, she is truly blessed to have a garden for herself and her friends in our backyard thanks to the green hands of my father-in-law.
 Happy reading!

 

Day 25 : Food!

          Food! The mere sight of something delicious on the table churns us inside when we are so hungry! If I am not satiated, I tend to lose my patience. Everyone at home knows this fact and so to calm me down, they always offer something to bite on!
 
          However, when it comes to children, we all know how they are so fussy about their foods, messy about their table manners and grouchy and not willing to gobble that food into their mouths. I am experiencing this and with time I have just learnt one thing - If Swara does not wish to eat I don't force her. I just leave the plate there and whenever she feels hungry, she comes on her own! Then, even if the plate is full of her unfavourite spinach, she will finish it. Try this - you will be seriously amazed. I should warn you though - you will have to take an effort to neglect your kid!

          And coming to this challenge, how can it be exciting without food as today's prompt. The books related to food are as follows -

1. Today is Monday by Eric Carle
2. Gajapati kulapati
3. Book on time
4. Blueberries for Sal
5. Lassi, ice-cream or falooda?
6. The magic melon from Usborne by Rosie Dickens
7. Junior Kumbhakarna
8. The dog and the bone
9. The talking cave - a Panchatantra tale
10. The silly story of Bondapalli
11. The fox and the goat
12. The magic porridge pot from Ladybird
13. The big pancake from Ladybird
14. Three for free by Greystone - Taiwanese folktale
15. Enna Seiyalam (tamil)
16. Adventures of Fixy the fox
17. The sandwich swap
18. Scrummy
19. 10 apples up on top by Dr. Seuss
20. I'm the best artist in the ocean by Kevin Sherry
21. The runaway bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
22. Pancakes, pancakes
23. Samira's awful lunch
24. Stone soup
25. Green eggs and ham
26. If a pig wants a pancake
27. Pepper eats too much cake
28. Jalebi curls from Tulika
29. Chocolate mousse for greedy goose
30. What shall I make? from Tulika
31. The why why girl from Tulika
32. Pepper learns about recycling
33. Pepper gets a new pet
34. Chatur yojana (hindi)
35. The gruffalo
36. Good night Alfie Atkins by Gunilla Bergstorm
37. Sushila's kolam by Sridala Swami
38. What does baby Mickey find?
39. The very hungry caterpillar
40. Food for a party
41. Monsters munch lunch
42. Where there's a bear, there's trouble by Michael Catchpool
43. The tiger who came to tea by Judith Kerr
44. The tiny seed by Eric Carle
45. Bubbles is greedy
46. Bubbles has a toothache
47. Alphablock
48. Happy birthday little pokie by Sandra Boynton
49. Lunchbox, the story of your food by Chris Butterworth
50. Billy Tibbles moves out by Jan Fearnley
51. Billy Bogglesworth and the road to Muffinville and other stories by David Whitney
52. Pink Pepparoni by David Whitney
53. Cookie rookie by Salem de Bezenac & Amy Upshaw
54. Pat the cat
55. Pat the puppy
56. Yummy yucky by Sandra Boynton
57. Apples are magic by Julia Seal
58. The ugly vegetables by Grace Lin
59. The lion and the mouse retold by Jerry Pinkney
60. Baby's first library : numbers
61. The runaway dinner

          And here is a choco chip cookie recipe which I made it with my daughter! Truly, we had an amazing bonding time. Its simple, attractive and healthy too! A Must-try!
Happy reading!

Day 24 : My body!

          Before our children step out in the big bad world by themselves (right from Nursery - they are alone without us!), let us take a pledge that we will properly introduce the subject of anatomy and explain them according to their age. Also, we must explain them right touch and wrong touch and encourage communication on this topic in order to not face any untoward situation later. I'm not propagating this because I have a daughter, but it is very much needed today in these testing times even if you have a son!

          Hence, I was very happy when we received Inside your Outside as our challenge prompt. We needed to read books based on our bodies. Here is the list of books read fro this prompt -

1. Ranganna
2. Listen to my body
3. Toes, ears and nose by Marian Dane
4. Brushing your teeth can be fun
5. Little fingers
6. Shiva and Arjun
7. Lizard's tail
8. Inside your outside
9. The foot book
10. The nose book
11. Minu and her hair
12. Head to toe
13. Picture book on body parts
14. Aesop fables
15. Childcraft - Body
16. The secrets of our body
17. The unboy boy
18. Peppa pig
19. Inside you
20. What's inside my body?
21. 101 first words
22. Things that go
23. Baby animals board book
24. Grandma's tales from Sudha Murty
25. Here are my hands by Bill Martin Jr.
26. The runaway puppy
27. Pepper crosses the road
28. Pepper has a fight
29. Kharghosh aur sher (hindi)
30. Jalebi curls
31. Litlle painters
32. I am not going to get up
33. Detective Arthur on the scent by Margaret Fulson
34. I am special
35. Where did it go?
36. The robot
37. Mia and her toothbrush from The Max and Mia
38. Where is love, biscuit?
39. Ten little fingers and ten little toes by Fox and Oxenbury
40. Potty by Leslie Patricelli
41. How many sleeps till my birthday?
42. Quincy and the dinosaurs by Susan Ring
43. A present for Papa from CBT
44. The hand book by David Whitney
45. I spy lightning in the sky
46. I can do it - Sesame Street
47. Eyes, nose, funny bones by Janet & Allan Ahlberg
48. I can read with my eyes shut
49. Baby's first library - Numbers
50. Look at me from Pratham

          From head to toe was read 4 times in a single day including us too! Don't forget to give a big hug and a sweet kiss when you finish reading!
Happy Reading!

Day 23 : Friendship!

          We cannot choose our family, but we can certainly choose our friends! goes a saying like this. And., it's so true. Maybe, that's why, friends occupy a special place in our hearts. And Friendship also occupied a place in our challenge as today's prompt.

          And now, it's so happening regularly, that there is a serious dearth of suitable books for the prompt at my place! Hope things change soon as I'm in a frenzy ordering so many books at one go that it's getting difficult to keep track (and I'm not kidding!). Perhaps, if there is a such a contest happening ever again, I will be better prepared! For now, let's turn to today's reads -

1. Best friends are forever by Richa Jha
2. All about the circus
3. George Baker
4. Morpurgo's Mudpuddle farm
5. Sonali's friend by Alaka Shankar
6. Nayana and the not so scary owl by Anita Vachcharajani
7. Granny's sari
8. Pepper gets a new friend
9. Charlotte's web by E. B. White
10. How koala got a stumpy tail
11. Why the bat comes out at night?
12. Handa's surprise
13. Panchatantra stories
14. The susu pals by Richa Jha
15. Night night little pokie by Sandra Boynton
16. Forever friends
17. Where are you going?
18. Amelia Bedelia makes a friend
19. Topsy and Tim make a new friend
20. Rocks and minerals easy natgeo reader
21. The Pied Piper of Hamelin
22. The four friends from 365 stories for boys
23.  Pokiri parrot and the needle nosed Ojha
24. Oscar the grouch
25. Pepper on the table
26. Heidi
27. Curious George goes fishing
28. Stories from Hippo by Mona Manjunath
29. Winnie the Pooh's grand and wonderful day
30. Pahuni by Madhuri Purandare
31. Mukhavate by Madhuri Purandare
32. The watermelon route
33. Mouse, mole and the falling star from Little Tiger Press
34. Krishna and Sudama from Bhagwat Purana
35. Noah's adventure from Stories for 5 year olds
36. The best den ever from Stories for 5 year olds
37. Maisy tidies up by Lucy Cousins
38. I love you all day long by Francesca Rusackas
39. Little blue truck
40. Goodnight moon
41. My truck is stuck
42. Magic pot magazine
43. Dharma and Adharma from Panchatantra
44. The four friends from Panchatantra
45. Everett Anderson's friend by Lucille Cliffton
46. Disney's Feelings and friends - WTP
47. Just my friend and me by Mercer Mayer
48. Insect friends - Sparkle fun set and beautiful butterflies
49. My adventures with Dora the explorer
50. Fox makes friends by Adam Relf
51. Squirrels' busy day by Lucy Barnard
52. Calvin and Hobbes
53. Immi's gift by Karin Littlewood
54. Hand hand finger thumb by Al Perkins
55. Best friends by Nina Sabnis
56. Dora loves boots

          Hope the friendships in your lives last forever!
Happy reading!
         
 

Day 22 : What I wear?

          Why do toddlers fuss so much about their clothes? In the initial stages, they just do not wish to wear anything whatsoever. A little later, getting them dressed is always a struggle between their moms and them. I face this situation not everyday but every time when there is a 'change of clothes' episode! Hope I'm not the only one in this!

          Long back, BubbleInk Writes and I were having a conversation when she recommended Hippo has a Hat by Julia Donaldson. She said that Swara will love the book. I bought it and when I read it, it was so much fun reading along with the added vocabulary of clothes and their description. The book is so vividly described and full of colours that Swara first listed all the colours on each page and then demanded me to tell the story. Then, we had an impromptu Ramp-walk kind of thing where Swara was draping all sorts of clothes and accessories on herself. Hmm.... I just pray that our battles on clothes have come to an end!

          And this was the prompt for today! Books about clothes! And I'm sure mommies too would have had fun reading these to their kids -

1. Green eggs and ham by Dr. Seuss
2. FunOkPlease's Alphabet dress-up
3. Cat's hat by Jillian Harker
4. Tania's Tutu from Stories for 5 year olds by Igloo Publishers
5. Granny's Sari
6. Hamilton's hats
7. My mother's sari by Sandhya Rao
8. I'm going to be the best super-hero ever by Moira Butterfield
9. Elliot's shoelace problem by Steve Griffiths
10. Mad about costume and fashion - a Ladybird mini series book
11. Where's the cat? by Manjula Padnabham
12. The very hungry caterpillar
13. The ugly duckling
14. Picture book on different types of clothes in different seasons
15. Clara Button and the magical hat
16. Naked rat mole gets dressed by Mo Willems  
17. Sloppy Joe by Dave Keane
18. The smartest giant in town by Julia Donaldson
19. Fanny by Holly Hobbie
20. Caillou's favourite T-shirt
21. Olivia by Ian Falconer
22. Chulbul's tail from Pratham
23. Water stories from Tulika
24. Hippo has a hat by Julia Donaldson
25. Pepper stays away
26. Beautiful bananas
27. Go dog go by P. D. Eastman
28. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish by Dr. Seuss
29. If you give a moose a muffin
30. Jim's dog muffins by Miriam Cohen
31. Three little pigs
32. A friend of Ella
33. How many sleeps till my birthday
34. Things to wear
35. Little red riding hood (the Grimm brothers)
36. The Queen's nickers by Nicholas Allan
37. Room on the broom
38. Patch's coat
39. Thomas and Bertie from Thomas and the tank engine
40. The moon and the cap from Pratham
41. The smartest giant in town by Carolina Almeida
42. You look funny by Jim Kom
43. Dr. Seuss' Fox in socks
44. Under the ground from Usborne reading
45. Goldilocks and three bears
46. Llama llama shopping drama by Anna Dewdney
47. The shiny red shoes from Stories for 3 year olds by Igloo
48. Help Mia get ready for bed
49. Seasons by Sesame Street
50. Splish splash baby bundt
51. Norbus' new shoes

Happy reading!

Day 21 : Sing-along

          Babies often go to sleep when rocked to them in their mother's soothing lullabies. So. how can children not like rhymes and songs when the lullabies are often the first thing they hear when they are out in this big world?

          Frankly speaking, I didn't know many sing-along books existed until now. But, thanks to our challenge and for today's prompt, I came to know a wide variety of books. I bet I am going to order some after I finish writing this post! So, here is the list of sing-along books -

1. Old McDonald had a farm
2. This little guiding light of mine
3. The very hungry caterpillar
4. Karadi bear
5. Pepper takes turns
6. Are you my mother?
7. Sati and Shiva
8. The daffodils by William Wordsworth
9. The walrus and the carpenter by Lewis Caroll
10. Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening by Robert Frost
11. Where the mind is without fear by Tagore
12. The blue jackal (karadi tales)
13. Ten in the bed by Penny Dale
14. Wheels on the bus
15. Knick knack paddy whack
16. The camel and the pig
17. Beastly tales from here and there by Vikram Seth
18. 10 little monkeys
19. 10 green bottles hanging from a tree
20. Will you please go now by Dr. Seuss
21. Animal orchestra by Tiber Gergely
22. Over in the meadow by Jill McDonald
23. Owl babies
24. The snail and the whale
25. The owl and the pussy-cat
26. Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes
27. Cinderella
28. The Berenstain Bears go on a vacation
29. Noddy's unlucky day by Enid Blyton
30. A child's garden of verses by Rudyard Kipling
31. Pratham's Babloo bear's adventures
32. Pepper brushes his teeth
33. Tulika's Vaala meenukum vilangu meenukum kalyanam
34. Today is Monday by Eric Carle
35. Llama llama red pyjama
36. A kiss good-night
37. You are my little star
38. The Ugly Duck Thing
39. Doing the animal bop
40. Happy birthday little pookie by Sandra Boynton
41. Dr. Seuss' ABC
42. The very busy spider by Eric Carle
43. Chai-chai coffee coffee
44. Under the window by Kate Greenway
45. Ganesha goes to a party
46. Personal penguin
47. Brown bear brown bear what do you see?
48. From head to toe
49. We're going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen
50. wheels on the bus go round and round
51. Upar chanda gol gol
52. Amma Inge wa wa
53. Moin and the monster
54. Olugati tolugati

          We didn't have books suitable for the prompt so we read Doing the animal bop and danced to its song which came in a CD format along with a book.

Happy reading!

Day 20 : The very hungry caterpillar

          Today, the very hungry caterpillar completes 45 years of publication! What a book it is! The like-cycle of a butterfly, counting numbers, days of the week, everything is crammed into that book without overwhelming its readers! hence, at the Bubble-Ink challenge, this was our today's prompt.

          Today, it also happens to be World Storytelling Day. Here is the list of all the magnificent stories told by their mommies to their little kids -

1. The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle
2. Brown bear brown bear what do you see? by Eric Carle
3. The bad-tempered ladybug by Eric Carle
4. No, David
5. Feet problems from CBT
6. Tulika's water stories
7. The free mountain by Kaveri Chatterjee
8. Danny and the dinosaur goes to the camp
9. The story of Pradosham (how Lord Shiva came to have blue throat)
10. The very busy spider by Eric Carle
11. The little cloud
12. The tiny seed
13. The lizard's tail
14. Brahma's butterfly
15. Fancy Nancy sees stars by Jane O'Connor
16. The glass tree by M. Mukundan
17. Udte Udte (Urdu)  from Pratham
18. The annual haircut day
19. Hermit crab by Eric Carle
20. The three little pigs
21. The bird with golden wings by Sudha Murty
22. The dwarf and the long beard from Arabian Nights
23. The fisherman and the genie from Arabian Nights
24. The very quiet cricket by Eric Carle
25. From head to toe by Eric Carle
26. Pinochchio
27. Where do kisses come from?
28. Animal moral stories
29. My very first book of animal homes by Eric Carle
30. Today is Monday
31. Eric Carle's ABC
32. Gorillas : Gentle giants of the forest
33. Krishna rocks
34. The very fierce carpenter
35. Charlie Cook's favourite book by Julia Donladson

          You must be wondering only 35 books read today? That's because The Very Hungry Caterpillar was read 26 times in a single day in this challenge, by far, the most read one too! And yes, it was also the easiest compilation of everyone's reads till now!

          And to show our love and admiration to Eric Carle, we celebrated Eric Carle Day reading all his titles which we have so far - The very hungry caterpillar, the bad-tempered ladybug, the very quiet cricket, brown bear brown bear what do you see?, My very first book of animal homes and From head to toe. And if that was not enough, we also dabbled in a bit of craft. We made a colourful caterpillar using pom-pom balls.

Happy reading!

Day 19: Monsters and dragons

          No story is complete without a villain. Similarly, no fairy tale is complete without a monster or a dragon scaring the life out of innocent people! Hence, we had a whole day dedicated to Monsters and dragons as our reading prompt for this challenge!

          Barring a few, I came to know there are many many stories featuring good-hearted dragons too! Here is the list -

1. Where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak
2. The pleasant rakshasa from Tulika
3. The tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
4. The monsters who ate darkness
5. Tulika's water stories
6. Granny's sari from CBT
7. Rajah's moustache from CBT
8. The runaway wheel from CBT
9. Surprise gifts from CBT
10. Mrs. Woolly's funny sweaters from CBT
11. Wedding clothes from CBT
12. This little monster from Ladybird touch and feel
13. Puff flies by Sally Grindley
14. Bernard by David McKee
15. Tha abduction of Sita
16. Dragon's greediness
17. Monster stories
18. The gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
19. The gruffalo's child by Julia Donaldson
20. The dragon's scales - math reader level 3 by Sarah Albee
21. Goldilocks and the three bears
22. Monsters hunters by Parinita Shetty
23. Vile - a cautionary tale for little monsters
24. Zog by Julia Donaldson
25. Whacky Wednesday by Theo LeSieg
26. The susu pals by Richa Jha
27. The paper bag princess
28. It's Herb the vegetarian dragon
29. Folk tales from India
30. Room on the broom
31. There's a dragon at my school by Philip Hawthorn
32. The day Jimmy's boa ate the wash by Trinka Hakes Noble
33. Holi story from Indian festivals
34. Singh ane undar (gujarati version of lion and mouse)
35.  Monsters' munch lunch
36. Dancing dinos
37. The great goat chase
38. The return of the Jabberwock
39. The ravenous beast of Niamh Sharkey
40. A beasty story
41. How much I love you
42. When Vishnu became an arrow from Indian Mythological Tales from Nita Mehta Publications
43. Princess Azzurra and the gluttonous dragon by Wilsa Favi
44. The mountain monster
45. The old red stocking by Enid Blyton
46. Tyrannosaurus drip by Julia Donaldson
47. Disney's Monsters Inc.
48. Monsters University
49. The noisy night monsters by Julia Seal
50. The goblin who imitated the framer's speech from Muffin Stories
51. Moin and the monster
52. Monsters in my mailbox!
53. Dragons by Judy Tatchell

          Today, we read Where the wild things are before going to school and Room on the broom right after school! I told her we still have time to go to school. So, she said that we will read a book till then. I was so delighted when she came with a book to read.

Happy reading!

Day 18 : Tuck me in!

          By now, you must have known that I introduced books very late to Swara. When she was 1 year old. But now that we have embarked on our reading journey, I do not wish to end this magnificent journey for a long time to come. That is why, I had primarily taken part in this 30 days challenge.

          Why do mothers fuss so much about babies' night-time ritual? I used to wonder aloud at this question. But, when my daughter was born, I understood through what all agonies mothers go. My daughter never ever slept at night. It was always a battle to make her sleep.

          It was later that I understood and mastered the art of making my baby sleep. But, still, books did not feature in our night-time ritual. They became a routine very recently and now there cannot be sleep without a story!

          Today's prompt was bedtime stories! When I told Swara, she got all her books from her collection and I had to read all of them! Here is the list of other books read to their tiny tots -

1. How do dinosaurs say goodnight?
2. Mop's treasure hunt
3. A goodnight kiss from Sweet Dreams Stories by Parragon
4. Sindbad
5. Three Billy goats gruff
6. I'm so sleepy from Tulika
7. Goodnight little bear by Richard Scarry
8. Just go to bed by Mercer Mayer
9. Every which way to pray by Joyce Meyer
10. Prayers for children - Little Golden Book
11. The sleep book by Dr. Seuss
12. Goodnight moon by Margaret Wise Brown
13. Ten in the bed
14. Toto the auto
15. Interrupting Chicken
16. I'm not sleepy and I will not go to bed by Lauren Child
17. Junior Kumbhakarna by Arundhati Venkatesh
18. Sleeping Beauty
19. Snoring Shanmugham
20. Stars at bedtime
21. Can't you sleep little bear?
22. Tales of Peter Rabbit
23. The going to bed by Sandra Boynton
24. The Pied Piper of Hamlin
25. Llama llama red pyjama
26. Childcraft (animals)
27. Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathman
28. Nini at birthday party
29. Nini's pile of toys
30. Sleepy dog
31. All asleep by Joanna Walsh
32. The green book of bedtime stories
33. Sleepy Sam by Michael Catchpool
34. Ten in the bed by Penny dale
35. Dad! I can't sleep by Michael Foreman
36. Bouncy bouncy bedtime by David Bedford
37. Bedtime frogs from Stories for 1 year olds by Igloo
38. The sleeping beauty
39. One Ted falls out of bed by Julia Donaldson
40. I'm too absolutely small for school by Lauren Child
41. Say goodnight
42. Ruby says goodnight
43. Harry the dirty dog by Gene Zion
44. Patter's adventure
45. A job for Freddie
46. Tinkerbell
47. Sweet dreams stories
48. The astronomer
49. Bedtime by Tony Ross
50. Huggy kissy by leslie Patricelli
51. I don't want to go to bed by Julie Sykes

 Junior Kumbhakarna, Goodnight moon, Goodnight gorilla, Ten in the bed, and I'm so sleepy were today's repetitions!

Happy reading and Good night!

 

Day 17: Colors!

          Ever wondered what if our life was just a shade of black and white? The coolness of the ocean, the liveliness of daffodil fields, the greenery surrounding the mountains would become so lifeless and seem like a movie of the black and white era!

          Colors give us myriad forms of emotions and break the monotony of life! Hence, after the prompt of emotions, it was rightly decided by Bubbleink Writes to have a prompt on colors. Today, being Holi, It couldn't have been more apt! Here is the list of colorful books read in the challenge -

1. Brown bear brown bear, what do you see? by Eric Carle
2. The mixed-up chameleon by Eric Carle
3. Babe and the bunny
4. Ranganna
5. The boy who loved color
6. Pranav's picture
7. My colorful pencils by Massoumeh Ansarian from Pratham
8. Colors in my world by Devika Rangachari
9. Casper the chameleon
10. The color kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
11. Amma tell me about Holi
12. The mountain that loved the bird
13. I love colors by Hans Wilhelm - Scholastic reader 1
14. Mouse paint by Ellenstoll Walsh
15. A rainbow of my own by Don Freeman
16. The artist who painted a blue horse by Eric Carle
17. Color zoo by Louis Elhert
18. Run pumpkin run
19. Patrick by Quentin Blake
20. Elmer and the big bird
21. New tricks I can do from Cat in the Hat series
22. Three friends by Indu Harikumar
23. Head to toe by Eric Carle
24. Bubbles finds a red ball
25. First concepts - colors
26. Wise and otherwise by Sudha Murty
27. Purple Jojo
28. Brahma's butterfly
29. Elmer's colors by David McKee
30. Tom Thumb - read-aloud book from Sterling
31. I see colors
32. Blue chameleon
33. Prahlad - the story of Holi
34. Little honey
35. The very quiet cricket by Eric Carle
36. The king and his wish
37. Who is the prettiest? by Janaki Sooriyachchi
38. One hundred feet
39. Lazy Lenny
40. I'll teach my dog a lot of words!
41. Hamilton's hat
42. Color color kamini from Tulika
43. Llama llama red pyjama by Anna Dewdney
44. Brown paper bear by Neil Reed
45. The blue jackal from Panchatantra tales
46. The rainbow monster by Ul de Rico
47. Rhinoceros bathtime (let's go to zoo series)

         There were a lot of repetitions so the books read are less today. The repetitions include Ranganna, Amma tell me about Holi, The color kittens, brown bear brown bear what do you see? and the mixed-up chameleon.

Happy reading!  

Day 16 : I feel..

          I remember when my daughter couldn't express herself due to lack of speech and less emotional development and I used to fret over her for not understanding her. Add to it, that I used to get so impatient that eventually I used to scold her which resulted in more frustration and tears. Thankfully, those days are gone! Being a first-time mother, I may not have handled the situations tactfully. Slowly, when it started repeating itself, I would patiently calm myself first and then pay attention to my daughter!

          So, when Bubble Ink introduced this prompt I felt relieved to see so many books bang on the prompt. I wish I had read some books to Swara when she was smaller!

          Anyway, better late than never! I will start over just after completing this blog post!

1. Baby happy baby sad
2. Tell me something happy before I got to bed by Joyce Dunbar
3. Have you seen this?
4. Giraffes can't dance
5. Piano notes from the book
6. Are you my mother?
7. Green eggs and ham
8. Corduroy's Easter
9. Siri's smile by R. Amarendran
10. Malu bhalu by Kamala Bhasin
11. The song of the scarecrow
12. Bhakt Prahlad
13. Mr. Happy, Mr. Uppity, Mr. Jelly, Mr. Worry, Mr. Greedy, Mr. Grumpy and Mr. Rude from Mr. Men series
14. Alibaba and forty thieves
15. Grumpy bird by Jeremy Tankard
16. A is amazing by Wendy Cooling
17. Happy or sad? (making faces) by Caroline Davis
18. Opposites in Tinga Tinga tales
19. The snail and the whale by Julia Donaldson
20. Night night little pookie by Sandra Boynton
21. The rainbow fish
22. The great race
23. Magic vessels
24. Each peach pear plum
25. Roald Dahl's Esio trot
26. A bond of love from NBT
27. Brahma's butterfly
28. The twits by Roald Dahl
29. Rooster and the sun from Tulika
30. Kantala and Paahuni (marathi)
31. Nini's Sports day
32. What is your name?
33. Pepper watches too much TV
34. Sam and the firefly by P. D. Eastman
35. Mr. Brown can moo, can you?
36. The Gruffalo's child
37. Arthur goes on vacation by Mark Brown
38. Shrinking Sam
39. Pepper is jealous
40. Pepper throws a tantrum
41. The watermelon route
42. Hug
43. My truck is stuck
44. Too much noise
45. Bani from Pratham books
46. Seesaw or sad story by Henrique Komatsu
47. A very funny tale by Enid Blyton
48. My many coloured days
49. The true friendship moral stories
50. Where, oh where is Huggle buggle bear? by Katherine Sully
51. The noisy night monsters by Julia Seal
52. Spot's first picnic by Eric Hill
53. The bad-tempered ladybird by Eric Carle
54. There's a wocket in my pocket
55. Rhino bath
56. The magic porridge pot
57. Rabbit in the moon
58. The complete set of Pepper - 48 books
59. I'm not scared - Scholastic reader 1 by Hans Wilhelm
60. Where's Gola's home? from Tulika

As for us, we read the last two of the list!
Happy reading!

Day 15 : Lift the flap!

          And today we reach our half milestone of this challenge! Today's prompt was books which have flaps to lift or tabs which can be pulled out.

          Here is the list of lift-the-flaps and pull-the-tab books -

1. Aesop's fable
2. Let's go to the zoo
3. Parragon first 1,2,3 book
4. Seuss shapes
5. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
6. Usborne Internet-linked Ancient world
7. I love sounds from Parragon
8. The teeny-tiny woman
9. Fisher Price Busy places
10. See the circus by H. A. Rey
11. Book of dinosaurs from Hinkler books
12. The little fire engine - a Brown Watson publication
13. The eleventh hour - a curious mystery by Graeme Base
14. Resurrection Eggs by Family life
15.  Postman bear by Julia Donaldson
16. Mujhe sona hai (hindi) from Tulika
17. The land of peek-a-boo by McClanahan
18. Where's Spot? by Eric Hill
19. Rumblewick and the dinner dragons by Hiawyn Oram
20. Never too little to love by Jeanne Willis
21. Excuse me : a little book of manners by Karen Katz
22. Who is that?
23. How do dinosaurs go to school?
24. Ranganna from Tulika
25. Sameer's house from Tulika
26. Rocks and minerals - NatGeo kids reader
27. ABC book
28. Smile baby smile by Moira Butterfield
29. Faces in MY first body board book
30. Farm fun by Natalie Marshall
31. Muchkund and his sweet tooth from Pratham
32. Each peach pear plum
33. Chuck Murphy's Bow wow
34. Who can you see? - in the forest and in the jungle
35. Forgot the fish
36. Parragon's ABC
37. Who's hiding? - ocean animals
38. Peek-a-boo
39. Does a sheep wear mittens?
40. The very silly shark by Jack Tickle
41. The very clever crocodile by Jack Tickle
42. Spot's birthday
43. Washing line by Jez Alborough
44. Rabbit's nap by Julia Donaldson
45. This little lamb
46. The little gardener
47. Hide and seek pig
48. Eric Carle's ABC
49. Dosa by Sandhya Rao
50. Peek-a-boo by the farm
51. Peek-a-boo from WTH series
52. Three Billy goats gruff
53. Tulika's round and round books
54. The fly-away cottage by Enid Blyton
55. I see me - mirror book by Baby Einstein
56. Ruby says good-night, puppet book
57. Dr. Seuss' cat in the hat
58. On the go!
59. Eyes, nose, toes, peek-a-boo
60. One little hippo
61. Peter Rabbit - a lucky escape
62. Where's baby's belly button? by Karen Katz
63. Granny's sari
64. Monsters Inc. book

We read quite a few lift-the-flap books including Rabbit's nap, Postman Bear, Washing line. Swara just loves these books. Before I can read the text she is quick to turn the flap and tell me what's hiding there!
Happy reading!

Day 14 : I am I!

          I am I - This phrase is heard so little now-a-days when everyone is rushing and scampering off to be someone else. Youngsters want to emulate Bollywood stars, they look up to their icons brushing off the advice given by the parents away. In this age, we need to respect ourselves for what we truly are!

         Here is the list of books which tells the same to our kids. Hope we bring up a generation where they carve their own identity and not get swayed in the mad rush! -

1. Akshada and the glass slippers
2. Dora little star book
3. Elmer
4. The mixed-up chameleon by Eric Carle
5. Book Uncle and me
6. Listen to my body by Noni
7. My mother's sari by Sandhya Rao
8. Ranganna from Tulika
9. The Rajah's moustache from CBT
10. The story of Shanmiyang
11. Color color Kamini
12. Rooster Raga
13. Mr. Small by Roger Hargreaves
14. The saggy baggy elephant by K & B Jackson
15. The town mouse and the country mouse by Molly Perham
16. I wish I had duck feet by Dr. Seuss
17. Head to toe by Eric Carle
18. The lion and the mouse by Jerry Pinkney
19. the unboy boy by Richa Jha
20. Aesop fables
21. What I like about me by Allia Zobel Nolan
22. Always by Ann Stott
23. Tara Tomboy Princess - Tara's favorite things
24. Ingenious Jean by Susan Chandler
25. Ernie gets lost - Sesame Street Series
26. Three friends by Indu Harikumar
27. That's the one by Bernard Ashley
28. Spoon by Amy Kroose Rosenthal
29. Shakuntala from ACK
30. Giraffes can't dance
31. Mr. Noisy
32. Wow said the owl
33. Go, dog, go by P. D. Eastman
34. Cave Baby by Julia Donaldson & Emily Gravett
35. Fledolin upside down from Katha world library
36. Sylvester the singing sheep
37. I am special
38. Shhh
39. Dumbo by Disney
40. The very hungry caterpillar by eric Carle
41. Happy birthday baby, Dr. Seuss
42. Chocolate mousse for greedy goose by Julia Donaldson
43. Doing the animal bop
44. Happy birthday, little pookey
45. The musical donkey
46. Toes, ears and nose by Bauer and Katz
47. Gatila from Katha
48. I'm so sleepy from Tulika
49. You look funny by Joy Kim
50. The red stocking by Enid Blyton
51. Mr. Grumpy's outing
52. Mr. Cool, Mr. Imperfect and Mr. Perfect from Mr. Men series
53. The not-so-perfect penguin by Steve Smallman
54. Goldilocks
55. The three Billy goats gruff
56. Thomas in trouble - Thomas and the tank engine

Today, we didn't read books appropriate for the prompt but nevertheless, we read books which were Swara's fav ones!

Happy reading!
 

Day 13 : Wonder wheels

          Children are fascinated with whichever thing that moves be it a train, a toy or a bus. I remember whenever we used to go on long journeys to my native place by bus or train, I would be dozing off to sleep by occupying the most-prized possession - the window seat! And then, when my sister came along, I cannot the forget the silly fights we used to have over who will take the window first. Ultimately, my mother decided that she will be tossing a coin for us. So, we used to ask her the duration of the journey and calculate accordingly how much time will one get at the window!

          Coming back to our challenge, we received a prompt - wonder wheels! We had to read books on modes of transport! This topic is not covered extensively with Swara simply because we have travelled only by plane and car till now. Guess, it's time to take her on a train journey!

          So, mommies, fasten your seat belts and get ready to experience the exciting reading journey! Bon Voyage!

1. The magic school bus
2. Bears on wheels by Stan & Jan Berenstain
3. Hello kitty, play I spy
4. Mrs. Armitage on wheels
5. Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel
6. Usborne Internet-linked Ancient World
7. The adventures of Toto the auto
8. Jack and the beanstalk
9. The runaway wheel by Asha Nehemiah
10. The little red caboose by Marian Potter
11. The salt merchant and his ass from Mango
12. Rambling Ted's brilliant invasion by Lindsay Camp
13. Richard Scarry's Cars and trucks and things that go
14. The great race from Tara
15. Thomas and the tank engine
16. When Titus took the train by Ann Cottringer
17. Bears on the moon by Satn & Jan Berenstain
18. Thomas' busy day     
19. Snoring Shanmugham from Tulika
20. Thomas' big book of beginner books
21. The train to Timbuctoo by Margaret Wise Brown
22. Dan the fireman
23. Peter steals the jeep
24. Autocar magazine
25. Vehicles board book
26. Siri's smile by Tulika
27. A silly story of Bonadapalli
28. Bell the cat from My best moral stories
29. The fossil girl
30. My truck is stuck by Kevin Lewis
31. Wheels on the bus rhymes
32. transportation picture book
33. The princess and the pea - read aloud treasure tales by Sterling
34. Little blue truck by Alice Schertle
35. Thomas, Bertie and the bumpy line
36. The railway children
37. The fat controller
38. Thomas and friends series
39. Roaring rockets
40. The little red bus from Stories for 1 year olds by Igloo
41. The little blue train from Stories for 1 year olds by Igloo
42. Curious George and the firefighters
43. Disney cars - racing colours
44. The very hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
45. The timid train from Pratham books
46. Satya's boat from Tulika
47. The flying train by Janaki Sooriyachchi
48. Mr. Twiddle and the tooth-paste by Enid Blyton
49. On the way to Sesame Street
50. Bus for Miss Moss from Usborne
51. Thomas the train
52. Disney's jungle junction
53. Noddy and the naughty paint truck
54. Billy the bulldozer
55. When I care about others by Cornelia Spelman
56. Baby's first library words

         You can now unfasten your seat-belts as we have arrived at our destination!  The most read books fro this prompt were The Adventures of Toto the auto series, the runaway wheel and Thomas Series!

          We too read the adventures of Toto the auto, Runaway wheel and two short stories featuring a train and a bus from Stories for 1 year olds by Igloo Publishers.

Happy reading! 

Day 12 : Sharing and Kindness

         Our day 12 prompt is here. 'Charity begins at home' is a very apt saying considering our children behave as we do. So, we cannot pester our children to be kind to animals, share one's toys with their friends unless they don't see us behaving that way! So, mommies, let us 'Practice before we Preach'. We are soon reaching the half-way milestone of this challenge and we must not forget what we set out to do. Even after this challenge, I urge you to read to your kids every-day but before that let them see you reading and enjoying yourself!

          Since Swara was sick, she didn't want to read on the prompt. Instead, we read Rabbit's nap by Julia Donaldson And Washing Line by Jez Alborough. And then, I told her to take a nap a la Rabbit. Before that we did a Flurry Rabbit Activity (post coming soon on that!). The others read these many books -

1. The grouch ladybird by Eric Carle
2. No girls allowed by Stan & Jan Berenstain
3. Clark the shark
4. The smartest giant in town by Julia Donaldson
5. Mrs. Woolly's Funny Sweaters from CBT
6. Gajapati kulapati from Tulika
7. Birth of Ganesha
8. Ganesha And Kubera
9. A kite called Korika from Tulika
10. The pleasant rakshasa from Tulika
11. Pepper gets a new pet
12. The rainbow crow - a folk-tale
13. Noddy delivers some parcel by Enid Blyton
14. Oh! the pets you can get by Dr. Seuss
15. The golden egg by Maggie Kneen
16. Big dog... little dog by P. D. Eastman
17. This is my house by Michael Rosen
18. What I like about me by Allia Zobel Nolan
19. Barty's Ketchup catastrophe by Sally Chambers
20. Plant a kiss
21. The sacred banana leaf
22. Big bird brings Spring to Sesame Street
23. The ant and the dove - level 1 reading book
24. Bubbles finds a red ball
25. Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
26. The magic drum and other stories by Sudha Murty
27. Amazing grace by Mary Hoffman
28. What can Rabbit hear by Lucy Cousins
29. Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street by Elenor Hudson
30. Bruno loves to share
31. Sleeping Beauty from Sterling
32. Thumbelina from Sterling
33. Policeman Bear gets a day off from I can read 15 2-min tales
34. Grandpa's Christmas Gift from I can read 15 2-min tales
35. Andy - a good little ant from Animal Moral Stories
36. Nice and Nasti from Animal Moral Stories
37. Rantideva from Bhagavat Purana
38. Magic vessels
39. Rabbit's nap by Julia Donaldson
40. Washing line by Jez Alborough
41. The Gruffalo's child by Julia Donaldson
42. Harry and the bucketful of dinosaurs by Ian Whybrow & Adrian Reynolds
43. Pepper lends a helping hand
44. I am Nazar-am-radh from Katha
45. It's Amma's birthday tomorrow
46. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Webner
47. Mr. Twiddle fetches Polly
48. Curious George flies a kite
49. Arthur's fire drill by Marc Brown
50. Dr. Seuss' Ten Apples up on top
51. Bubbles is selfish
52. Stories to share from Parragon
53. The tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter
54. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
55. Granny's sari
56. Malli
57. The Good Samaritan - a parable from the Bible
58. Who will be Nighthou? - a Manipuri tale by Indira Mukherjee
59. Good King Sivi - a Ladybird favourite Tale book by Meera Uberoi
60. Chuskit goes to school from Pratham by Sujatha Padmanabham
61. I won't share by Hans Willhem - Scholastic reader 1
62. Room on the broom by Julia Donaldson

Happy reading!

           

Day 11 : Now, I know my ABCs

          ABCDEFG......          When I saw this as our prompt of the reading challenge, I moved back to my kindergarten days. Though, I couldn't remember everything what all I learnt there, I am so blessed to experience those days again through my toddler's life. I couldn't contain my excitement when Swara started to utter her ABC song even before she was two! I recorded her alphabet song the next time she sang. I am going to make her listen when she grows up! The most amazing thing about that song was there were never 26 alphabets in her version! (She was not able to say all the letters at that time!)

          Though we have only one book of Dr. Seuss's ABC, we didn't read that book. Instead, we read I don't want to go to bed by Julie Sykes. Here is the list of others' reads-

1. My first little mother Goose
2. Chicka chicka boom boom
3. ABC3D pop-up from Tara books
4. My name is Amrita
5. A trail of paint by Jamini Roy
6. Hey, that's an A by Jerry Pinto
7. The heart of winter by Eiko Takeda
8. Happy Alphabets
9. Apple pie by Kate Greenway
10. A 'miaow' and a 'roar' from Pratham books
11. Dr. Seuss ABC
12. On beyond Zebra
13. Oliver by Syd Hoff
14. The horse in Harry's room by Syd Hoff
15. Yakkity Yak by Bennita Sen
16. The mouse with seven tails by Bapsi Sidhwa
17. Aplhabets are amazing animals by Anushka Ravishankar
18. Ladybird's My best friend
19. The great ABC treasure hunt
20. K is for kissing a cool kangaroo by Giles Andreae
21. This is our house by Michael Rosen
22. My first big book of alphabets
23. Benjamin Bunny visits the doctor
24. Z is for a moose by Kelly Bingham
25. Chocolate mousse for greedy goose
26. Pahuni (marathi) by Madhuri Purandare
27. A chair for my mother
28. Chicka chicka ABC
29. Paragon's alphabet book
30. Little Miss Trouble by Roger Hargreaves
31. Little Miss Brainy by Roger Hargreaves
32. Mr. funny by Roger Hargreaves
33. Scooby-Doo - your everyday hero
34. Tuby and Speedy from Drive-along tales
35. I don't want to go to bed by Julie Sykes
36. My mother's sari by Sandhya Rao
37. On the top the pin was from Katha
38. Alphabets book
39. Abc book and charts
40. Curious George and the puppies
41. Fun with word search all rounder
42. Magic Pot
43. Disney Winnie and the friends
44. Are you my mother? by P.D.Eastman
45. A is for apple (trace and flip fun) by Georgie Birkett
46. Alphabet puzzle from Frank
47. Colour colour Kamini
48. Hop on pop by Dr. Seuss
49. Tigger's Giant lift-the-flap
50. Z goes home by Jon Agee
51. Bhima and the fragrant flower by A. Ramachandran And Chameli
52. Happy baby ABC
53. Baby's first library - words

That's it for day 11!
Happy reading!

Day 10 : Toy story

          Toys are the most inseparable part of our growing up. They make break, get lost, get dirty but we cling on them as if it's our life! But, of course, the adults don't understand the emotions of trust and loyalty we have for our toys. Almost everybody has a favourite toy from childhood which give fond memories to stow away in our heads!

          Hence, at the Challenge, our Day 10 Prompt was Toys. Here is the list of books read on day 10-

1. The velveteen rabbit by Margery Williams
2. Baby bops toys from Barney series
3. Too many toys by David Shannon
4. The little wooden horse by Ursula Moray from Puffin
5. Talaabs of Darbhanga
6. My colourful kite from Pratham
7. Where is my bat? from Pratham
8. The timid train by Bharati Jagannathan
9. Nini's pile of toys
10. Pepper wants too many toys
11. Curious George
12. Bruno, put your toys away
13. Anushka's puppets of India
14. The tin soldier
15. Nurse Nancy by Kathryn Jackson
16. Walt Disney's Pinocchio
17. The goblin's toy shop and other stories by Enid Blyton
18. Gadagada gudugudu (Tamil)
19. Thomas and friends series - A bad day for Harold
20. Knuffle Bunny free
21. There's a dragon at my school by Jenny Tyler & Philip Hawthorn
22. Curious George visits the zoo
23. A blessing from above by Patti Henderson
24. The land of toys
25. Stick Man by Julia Donaldson
26. Owl babies
27. The blue umbrella by Ruskin Bond
28. Noddy in Toyland by Enid Blyton
29. The sailor doll from 365 stories for boys
30. Elmer and the wind
31. Tinkle
32. The toy horse
33. Corduroy
34. Pepper and the new baby
35. The Snowman from Oxford reading tree series
36. Maisy's snowy Christmas Eve by Lucy Cousins
37. Bruno learns to share
38. Bridge to Lanka retold by Aparna Nambiar
39. Bhintinvarle Naach (marathi) by Shamim Padamsee
40. Bruno - the artist
41. Zhaad (marathi) by L.M.Kadu
42. Better bath times
43. The silly little rabbit
44. Pepper is jealous
45. I want that
46. The nutcracker
47. The very quiet cricket by Eric Carle
48. What shall I make? by Nandini Nayar & Proiti Roy
49. One Ted falls out of bed by Julia Donaldson
50. Giggle, Giggle, what's so funny?
51. Cinderella
52. When the Earth lost its shape from Karadi Tales
53. The magic toy shop
54. Amelia Jane and the soap by Enid Blyton
55. The whale who ate everything
56. Pepper series
57. Ollie and the lost toy by Lucy Richards
58. Don't worry, Wanda from Stories for 3 year olds by Igloo Books
59. Pencil's day out by Vizhiyan
60. Spot's favoourite toy by Eric Hill
61. Where's my blankie? from Sesame Street
62. Little Miss Muffet by Elmo sing-along
63. That's mine

We read the very quiet cricket by Eric Carle. Swara was fascinated by the sound the board book lets out when we open the last page.

Happy reading!

Day 9 : Daddy dearest!

          With huge response to the prompt of Mommy and me and what I mean is that hardly any books were read not related to the prompt! So,  a reading date with Daddy had to follow. Again, there were so many dads out there who actually read to their kids! I was totally under mis-conception that this is again mom's avenue. Hats off to you Dads, you proved me wrong!

          Here is the list of Daddy Dearest -

1.  Shopping with Dad by Matt Harvey
2. Put on a happy face by Debbie Wiersma
3. Papa, do you love me?
4. The day I swapped my dad for two goldfish
5. Daddy's Mo by Madhuri Purandare
6. A present for Papa by Sharmila Kantha
7. Junior Kumbhakarna by Arundhati Venkatesh
8. How many sleeps till my birthday?
9. Stick Man By Julia Donaldson
10. Hansel and Greetel
11. Just me and my dad by Mercer Mayer
12. I love you daddy by Jillian Harker
13. Guess how much I love you by Sam MvBratney
14. Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
15. Rani of Jhansi from ACK
16. My dad is awesome
17. Daddy calls me a doodlebug by J.D. Lester
18. Pranav's picture by Nandini Nayar
19. The pleasant rakshasa from Tulika
20. The smartest giant in town by Julia Donaldson
21. Geronimo Stilton - The kingdom of fantasy
22. Barney, let's go to the restaurant by Maureen M. Valvassori
23. The Kashmiri story-teller by Ruskin Bond
24. The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle
25. Smile baby smile by Moira Butterfield
26. The jalebi curls
27. Elmer the patch-work elephant
28. Ranganna
29. Baba (marathi) by Madhuri Purandare
30. Fairy Sunshine
31. A little library on seasons by Sam McBratney
32. Smart Sona from Pratham
33. Toddle waddle by Julia Donaldson
34. The Gruffalo's child by Julia Donaldson
35. Look what I found by Nick Sharratt
36. Khadaad Raja (marathi) by Madhuri Purandare
37. Krishna's birth
38. Amy's Game from Stories for 2 year olds by Igloo books
39. Mama do you love me? by Barabara M. Joose & Barbara Lavallee
40. I udderly love you by Kate Toms
41. Where is Amma? by Nandini Nayar
42. My daddy and me by Tina Mcnoughton
43. A silly story of Bondapalli
44. Mouse makes words by Kathryn Heling
45. Tent pegs from Stories for 5 year olds by Igloo books
46. Life with Papa by Stan & Jan Berenstain
47. Tikki Tikki Tembo
48. The little red hen
49. Dinakondu Kathegalu (Tamil)
50. Daddy is my hero by Dawn Richards & Jane Massey
51. I love my daddy
52. Giving thanks by Jonathan London
53. Hello, bugs by Smriti Prasadam
54. Ladybird's Sam to the rescue
55. Face to face with demons - Arabian Nights

          We read Amy's Game, a story from A book called Stories for 2 year olds published by Igloo books. In this story, Amy loves to play hide and seek with her Dad. It's beautifully illustrated and written in small verses which any 2 year old will understand.
Happy Reading!

day 8 : mommy and me

          Each one of us holds a special relationship with our mothers in our lives. We love her, disappoint her, take her for granted, advise her but only when we ourselves become mothers do we realize her importance and sacrifice towards us. So, on the occasion of International Women's day, here is the prompt we received. We had to read books on our mothers!

           Here is the reading list of day 8!

1. Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson
2. Mama, do you love me?
3. If you give a moose a muffin
4. Jaya Jaitley's My Mother (hindi) from Pratham books
5. Book Uncle and me by Uma Krishnaswamy
6. Where is Amma? from Tulika
7. The Ugly Duckling
8. Are you my mother? by P.D. Eastman
9. A mother for Choco by Kieko Kasza
10. Magic Vessels
11. I love you Mummy by Jillian Harker
12. Just me and my mom by Mercer Mayer
13. I love you so by Marianne Richmond
14. Amma Engey? (Tamil translation of Where is Amma?) from Tulika
15. Guess how much I love you?
16. Thomas and the tank engine
17. The worst princess by Anna Kemp
18. Love you forever by Robert Munsch
19. Junior Kumbhakarna
20. I love you because you are you
21. Amelia Bedelia by Peggy parish
22. Stellaluna
23. Nini's guest
24. My mother's sari by Sandhya Rao
25. Papa, please get the moon for me by Eric Carle
26. Harry and the terrible whatzit by David Gakenbach
27. Exploring Memories from Dora - Record a story-book
28. Snow bears by Martin Waddell
29. Love you forever
30. Does a kangaroo have a mother too? by Eric Carle
31. The adventures of Toto the auto - book 2
32. It's Amma's birthday tomorrow by Janaki Sooriyarachchi
33. Preparing for Christmas - extract from Little Women
34. Bear can't sleep
35. If you give a mouse a cookie
36. My mummy is magic by Dawn Richards & Jane Massey
37. I love my mommy because by Laurel Porter Gaylord
38. Mr. Brave and Mr. Silly from Mr. Men series by Roger Hargreaves
39. Elmo - clap your hands puppet book
40. Barney, let's go to the restaurant by Maureen M. Valvassori
41. Dora's book of manners
42. Bruno series
43. Kittens' Amma goes to school'
44. Parsnip by Sue Porter
45. Aai by Madhuri Purandare

          Oh! you must be wondering only 39 books read on day 8? That's because Monkey Puzzle was read 10 times, followed by Are you my mother? 6 times and lastly Where is Amma? 4 times.

         As for us, we also read Monkey Puzzle. Adorable description of the feelings of the baby monkey is shown here.
Happy reading!

Day 7 : Barnyard

          Day 7's prompt reminded me of my summer vacations spent in a small village at my maternal grand-father's beautiful home. Since he had an aversion to pets and was hearing impaired, no pets were allowed in the home. Hence, our curious minds used to wander off to our neighbour's home where there was a cow-shed, and all sorts of animals used to reside very happily. The friendly neighbours didn't mind our poking noses nor our silly questions! We were ever ready to give a helping hand to them though from a safer distance lest the cow's tail will flutter and land on us! Thanks, Bubble Ink Writes for such a beautiful prompt.

          Though, I didn't have a proper barnyard book, we somehow made it up with reading The country mouse and the town mouse, The little red hen and Ken the calf, a small animal board book. Others read these many -

1. Ru ru raag (hindi) Translation of Rooster Raga
2. Moo, baa, la, la, la by Sandra Boynton
3. My perfect pony
4. The mouse with seven tails by Bapsi Sidhwa
5. Animal stories
6. Bremen town musicians
7. The jolly barnyard by Annie North Bedford
8. The happy man and his dump truck by Miryam
9. The animal's Christmas Eve By Gale Wiersum
10. Goodnight moon by Margaret Wise Brown
11. Hic!
12. Rooster Raga by Natasha Sharma
13. Bulgy rides again from Thomas series
14. Atchoo by Mij Kelly
15. What the ladybird heard by Julia Donaldson
16. The gruffalo's child by Julia Donaldson
17. I don't want to go to bed by Julie Sykes
18. The naughty mole from Timelife
19. Snoring Shanmughaan from Tulika
20. Geronimo Stilton - The kingdom of fantasy
21. Chicken little from Illustrated Animal Stories by Usborne
22. Topsy And Tim go to the farm
23. Mr. Brown can moo, can you? by Dr. Seuss
24. Kannagi from ACK
25. Chocolate mousse for greedy goose by Julia Donaldson
26. Pepper meets his new neighbours
27. Gauri and the talking cow by Devdutta Patnaik
28. Love you forever by Robert Munsch
29. Who's in the bathroom? by Jeanne Willis
30. Guess how I much I love you by Sam Mcbratney
31. Farm animals picture book
32. The lion and the mouse
33. On the farm by Brown Watson publishers
34. The great goat chase by Tony Bonning
35. The story of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
36. The rabbit who liked to crunch (the clever factory)
37. Christmas Star
38. The little red hen
39. Ken the calf
40. The town mouse and the country mouse
41. Big red barn by Margaret Wise Brown
42. Little blue truck by Alice Schertle & Jill McElmurry
43. The three little pigs
44.  Barney's ABC animals from Scholastic
45. Clorinda by Robert Kinerck
46. The happy lion by Louise Fatio
47. Harry the dirty dog
48. Barney goes to the fair
49. Barney goes to the doctor
50. Picnic farm by Christine Morton & Sarah Barringer
51. Busy farm from Lego Duplo
52. Babloo helps bikki fly
53. Not Norman, a gold-fish story by Kelly Bennett
54. Rooster and the sun
55. Hello Oscar
56. Bubbles owns up
57. The elephant wears the trouser
58. My 'w' book by Jane Belk Manicure
59. Officer Buckle and Gloria - a Caldecott winner
60. Busy farm - 3D story magnets book

Till next time,
Happy reading!

Day 6 : Books

          After religiously following the reading prompt for 5 days in a row, I was at my wit's end because it was like OMG, I don't have any books related to the prompt! I couldn't just sit doing nothing so a quick order to Flipkart somewhat eased my nerves. Meanwhile, to not miss the challenge Swara and me read Spot's birthday and Teddy's pop-up birthday party.

          And here is the list of what others in the challenge read in no specific order -

1. Born to read by Judith Sierra
2. Hello Kitty – today is the day
3. Biblioburro – the donkey library
4. Bubbles goes to school
5. Dunno’s adventures
6. A wish-for dinosaur
7. The fat cat sat on the mat by Nurit Karlin
8. I can read with my eyes shut by Dr. Seuss
9. Hanuman’s Ramayana from Tulika
10. Stuart at the library by Susan Hill
11. Magic tree house – the dragon emperor by Mary Pope Osborne
12. Where’s Spot?
13. Eena’s library book from CBT
14. Adventures of Toto the auto from FunOkPlease
15. Excuses Excuses by Anushka Ravishankar
16. Born to read by Judith Sierra
17. Charlie Cook’s Favourite book by Julia Donaldson
18. The invisible alligators
19. Geronimo Stilton – The kingdom of fantasy
20. Geronimo Stilton – A new coat of leaves
21. My ‘W’ book by Jane belk manicure
22. Ruskin Bond - one of his stories
23. Curious George goes to library by Margaret & H. A. Rey
24. The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle
25. Thomas and the tank engine
26. Grandfather's picture book from 365 stories for boys
27. The whale who ate everything by Dan Devoe
28. Roopmati from ACK
29. Handa's surprise
30. The silly story of Bondapalli - bilingual - from Tulika
31. Hooray for fish by Lucy Cousins
32. Horton hatches the egg by Dr. Seuss
33. Wangari's trees of peace
34. Bruno gets lost
35. Best friends by Abigail Burlingham
36. The runaway wheel
37. The tickety tale teller by Maureen Haselhurst & Barbara Vagnozzi
38. Adam n Eve from Baby's first Bible books
39. Janmashtami from Tales from the Bhagwat Purana
40. The nutcracker
41. The seed / beej - bilingual - from Tulika
42. Brilliant boats by Tony Mitton & Ant Parker
43. Spot's birthday
44. Teddy's pop-up birthday party
45. The shepherd boy from Ladybird favourite tales series
46. Geet mala - hindi
47. Pinocchio
48. Danny and the dinosaur go the camp by Syd Hoff
49. The Wednesday surprise by Eve Bunting
50. A color of his own by Leo Lionni
51. The little red hen
52. Room on the broom by Julia Donaldson
53. Rabbit's nap
54. Gajapati kulapati
55. The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle
56.  Barney's One day at the farm
57. The tiger who came to tea by Judith Kerr
58. I don't want to go to hospital by Tony Ross
59. Tumku has a talent from ACK
60. The frog princess by Jan Ormend & Emma Damon
61. The rainbow fish by marcus Pfister
62. From yucky to ducky from Sesame Street Series
63. Where's the cat?
64. Oh! the places you'll go by Dr. Seuss

          Today, very less books got repeated! It means the prompt was well chosen. Many of the mommies didn't have books related to the prompt. Fret not! Wait for tomorrow's prompt.
 
          Till then, happy reading!

7 precious gifts!

Hi my dear hubby, today it is our 7th wedding anniversary. Hence, on this occasion, I would like to thank you for the 7 gifts which you have given me -

        FRIENDSHIP - As the saying goes, Friendship can turn into love but love into friendship never. So, thank you for being my best friend in whom I could confide my dreams, inhibitions and fears!

        LOVE - Thank you for entering my life and filling it up with lots of love. I pray to God that our lamp of love may always be illuminated!

        TRUST - Thank you, once again, for showing me how to trust our instincts even if others are in disagreement. You remember na my parents were against our marriage!

        PATIENCE - Again, it was because of you, I learnt the value of patience. Waiting patiently for my parents' nod of approval was one of the toughest times of our life! Also, it was because of your love and care that I could sail through my pregnancy period patiently!

        COMPASSION - You knew that I was vey much afraid of dogs and didn't take to pets so fondly. When I married you and came to live with you, you showed me how to be compassionate with our pets - Roger and Mithu.

        RESPECT - After our initial honey-moon period ended and we settled into our marital life, you showed me how to respect each other's opinions and views.

        HOPE - When there were initial glitches in our pre-pregnancy period, you taught me to not lose hope during that stressful period. God showered his blessings upon us in form of our beautiful daughter, SWARA.

        And lastly, you taught me to fight for whatever we believe in! 
 

        So, here's wishing you a wonderful happy 7th anniversary!

 

Day 5 : Wordless wednesdays!

          Shhhh! I can't keep on writing this post since it has to be wordless. But can't let go of that list which has been compiled for our reader's. So, the prompt is here and the list is as follows-

1. Same and different from Tulika Publishers
2. Inside, outside, upside down by Stan and Jan Berenstain
3. Lost and found by Oliver Jeffers
4. Hot on the scent by Bente Bech and Peter Lind
5. Tashi series
6. Ducks go vroom by Jane Kohuth
7. Granny's sari from CBT
8. Let's plant trees
9. Let's catch the rain
10. Mum and the bumblebee by Corrine Fenton
11. Duckling and friends from Priddy books
12. The hungry frog by Peter Tovey
13. Usborne Animal Jigsaw Atlas
14. Baby happy baby sad by Leslie Patricelli
15. How many sleeps till my birthday?
16. Learn to swim by Judy Hamilton
17. That's not a good idea by Mo Willems
18. Monkey and me by Emily Gravett
19. Pouch by David Ezra Stein
20. Purple parrots eating carrots by Time Life
21. Tiger on a tree by Anushka Ravishankar
22. Duck! Rabbit! by Rosenthal / Litchenheld
23. Cows by Nandini Majumdar
24. Ganesha from ACK
25. Minu and her hair from Tulika Publishers
26. Goodnight Gorilla
27. Dumpy the frog
28. Flotsam
29. Hedgie loves to read by Jan Brett
30. Papa, please get the moon for me
31. I will never not ever eat a tomato by Lauren Child
32. The snail and the whale
33. Home for a bunny By Margaret Wise Brown
34. Blue chameleon by Emily Gravett
35. The lion king
36. True friendship - Jataka Tale - ACK
37. The little gardener by Jan Gerardi
38. My daddy and me by Tina Mcnoughton
39. Watch out from Tulika
40. The very hungry caterpillar
41. Ponni - the flower seller
42. Who am I? by Nancy Christensen
43. Meal time by Joan Berry
44. The gingerbread boy
45. Guess who
46. Mickey and the road trip from Mickey Mouse clubhouse series
47. Peppa and George pig - activity book
48. The lion and the mouse by Jerry Pinkney
49. Good night moon by Margaret Wise Brown
50. A visit to the city market from NBT
51. Diwali from NBT
52. Homes from NBT
53. Baby faces
54. Find the semi-circle from NBT
55. Ranganna
56. Dogs by Emily Gravett
57. Have a go from Ladybird

That's it for today! We read or rather enacted what maximum people read - Monkey and me by Emily Gravett!

Day 4 : Numbers

The reading prompt for today is listed here

1.  The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle
2. Bears on wheels by Stan & Jan Berenstain
3. Barefoot's Knick Knack Paddy Whack
4. Ramona's father
5. The three Billy goats gruff
6. Monkey and the pencil by Lalita Bawa
7. Ranganna
8. Thomas and the school trip
9. Rooster's off to see the world by Eric Carle
10. All about nothing from Tulika Publishers
11. Even Steven and odd Tod from Scholastic
12. Ten Apples up on top by Dr. Seuss
13. Chicken Licken
14. Ten in the bed by Penny Dale
15. Let's go from Tulika
16. The four friends
17. Lady and the tramp from Ladybird
18. G.E.M. by Jane Clarke
19. Papa, please get the moon for me
20. Head to toe by Eric Carle
21. The dinosaur who lost his roar from Usborne First Reading
22. Putul and the dolphins
23. Black Panther
24. Molly moves to Sesame Street
25. Emie and Bert's different day
26. How do we weigh Appukuttan? by Indu Harikumar
27. Over in the meadow by Olive A. Wadsworth
28. One Ted falls out of bed by Julia Donaldson
29. The Runaway Wheel
30. How the crow turned black?
31. 1,2,3 by Elmo
32. The very quiet cricket by Eric Carle
33. Sam and the firefly by P.D. Eastman
34. The Churkhi-burki book of rhymes by Gita wolf & Durga Bai
35. Fix it Duck by Jez Alborough
36. Dosa by Sandhya Rao
37. Space
38. Ten in the bed by Penny Dale
39. One mole digging a hole by Julia Donaldson
40. Ten from Tulika
41. Ten Little fingers by Sheila Dhir
42. Topsy + Tim red boots yellow boots
43. Free mountain from Katha books
44. Monster math school time
45. My album of numbers from Vikas
46. The tooth book by Dr. Seuss
47. Brown bear brown bear, what do you see? by Eric Carle
48. Snow White and seven dwarfs
49. Dad, I can't sleep by Michael Foreman
50. The enormous crocodile by Roald Dahl
51. Who invited you? by Candace Fleming
52. The Pear Tree : An animal counting book by Meredith Hooper
53. Susheela's Kolam by Sridala Swami
54. Balamory sun, wind and rainbows
55. Mickey and his toys
56. Gajapati Kulapati
57. How to catch a star
58. Hop on Pop
59. Counting Glove book
60. Polar bear

This is the compiled list of Day 4. 

As for us, it was time to enact Ten in the Bed by Penny Dale! A beautiful bedtime story on backward counting! Here are the snaps! Then, we moved on to One Mole Digging A Hole by Julia Donaldson.

Happy Reading!