Today I'd like to introduce you to a couple of my family's favorite picture books.

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a small book that is full of humor. Little Pea has a problem. His parents insist he clean his dinner plate before he can have dessert. Rosenthal's spin on this typical scenario is that Little Pea's family eats candy for dinner and Little Pea hates candy! A cute story with a fun spin. There are two other books in this series, Little Oink and Little Hoot, which are both as short, cute and funny as Little Pea.

Amadi's Snowman by Katia Novet Saint-Lot and illustrated by Dimitrea Tokunbo is a wonderful story about a boy named Amadi who lives in Nigeria. Amadi plans to be a businessman (a trader) when he grows up and sees no reason why he should learn to read. His mother has arranged for a reading tutor to teach him to read, but Amadi ducks out before she arrives. While walking around the market he comes across an older boy reading a book. Amadi is fascinated by the book, especially when the other boy explains that it is about snow. Amadi can't stop thinking about snow or about the book. His world is broadened and he finds that he does want to learn to read.

I had several interesting discussions with my kids based on this book. I love books that provide the opportunity for conversations with my kids. We talked a lot about Nigeria, where it is located, the climate, even the food that can be found there. My oldest son was amazed to learn that there are kids who never learn to read and that there are kids who choose not to learn to read. We had a great discussion about literacy and this book was the jumping off point for that conversation.

What have you and your family been reading lately? Leave a comment, I'm always curious what others are reading!