Ducks and Dragons (and a Cow and Pig too)

It's been a while so I'm reading A LOT this week so we can catch up before our trip. We picked up a bunch of books from the library last week and plan to pick some more up today. When I was getting books I browsed a bit and found a cute book about a cow and a pig that are confused. I will talk about the dragon and duck books first.

There's a Dragon in my Sleeping Bag by James Howe
This is a book about imaginary friends (a dragon and a camel). The dragon was made up by the older brother to keep his little brother from sleeping in his room, eating at his place at the table, playing on the swingset, etc. The little brother "meets" a camel and the camel keeps the big brother from doing the same things. The camel and dragon become friends and later move to Boston and the brothers realize what it is to be brothers. This would be a great book for brothers (or sisters) that are having sibling rivalry issues but it's also a fun book for anyone.

The Ugly Duckling (we read the one I linked but the story is by Hans Christian Andersen and all of them are similar)
This is a story EVERY child should hear. It's about a duckling who was rejected by everyone because he was ugly. After many trials he grew up to be the kind of bird he loved the most-a swan. He loved himself at that point. This book is great for self-esteem. It teaches children they should love themselves no matter what others say.

The Cow that Went Oink by Bernard Most
We found this one by browsing at the library. I liked the title. It's about a cow that says "oink" and a pig that says "moo". All of the animals in the barnyard laugh at them because they're different (they laugh with their own animal sounds which my son thought was fun). They teach each other to say the opposite thing and have the last laugh. They ended up being bilingual. We thought this book was fun.

Caterpillars and Butterflies

Today we lumped caterpillars and butterflies together. We read 3 books:

The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent

This is a cute story about a caterpillar who brags to all the creatures around the pond about how she'll become a butterfly when she grows up. A fish tells a polliwog that he'll change into something else too. The polliwog thinks he'll become a butterfly too so he watches closely as the caterpillar goes about her transition and doesn't notice he's changing too. Great for little ones to learn about changing and loving who they are.

I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe

This is a little bit longer of a read but it is about a cricket who doesn't like himself and thinks he is ugly. He has to learn to love himself instead of wishing he was a butterfly.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
A classic that just turned 40! This is an excellent board book that talks about the journey of a caterpillar starting out as an egg, eating everything in sight, and then becoming a butterfly. It's my son's favorite because it's fun to flip through.