We were sorting out the big bookcase in the lounge at the weekend, as we usually do around this time of year. When we got to the second shelf from the bottom, there was our collection of read aloud picture books. The box was ready and waiting to pack them up and put them in the attic. We took them off the shelf, flicked them with the duster and couldn’t quite resist a little peek inside a few of them. I will just mention at this point, that my children are 12 and 14 years young old. We smiled at the pictures and rhymes we know so well and put them all back on the shelf. Maybe next year they will make it into the box.
So, in no particular order, here are 10 of our favourites.
![P1010848 P1010848](//lh5.ggpht.com/-zOnfN_LWTHU/Truw5xMeBtI/AAAAAAAAAaA/INVMEMCGT-s/P1010848_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
‘The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind….’
![P1010851 P1010851](//lh3.ggpht.com/-bDPSraQ8hWo/Truw8KdvupI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/PcWPjy9vvtk/P1010851_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
‘Once upon a time there was an Elephant.’
![P1010845 P1010845](//lh3.ggpht.com/-jYr5ypf1Cf8/Truw-ci23HI/AAAAAAAAAag/pLvmHnifyLg/P1010845_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
‘Eddy’s off to find his teddy. Eddy’s teddy’s name is Freddy.’
![P1010844 P1010844](//lh4.ggpht.com/-rNemEDFcZtw/TruxAdYPXQI/AAAAAAAAAaw/Lvj2zHC8yfs/P1010844_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
‘One day, when giant Baby Bear was playing in the woods, he found a very small….’
![P1010846 P1010846](//lh3.ggpht.com/-97KA99swR7g/TruxCdoCL0I/AAAAAAAAAbA/UCjSTwVN0qc/P1010846_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
‘The witch had a cat and a very tall hat, And long ginger hair which she wore in a plait. How the cat purred and how the witch grinned, As they sat on their broomsick and flew through the wind.’
![P1010847 P1010847](//lh4.ggpht.com/-iRzbvwnChNo/TruxEbjHmhI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/waHmuBQG-28/P1010847_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
‘Winnie the Witch lived in a black house in the forest. The house was black on the outside and black on the inside. The carpets were black. The chairs were black. The bed was black and it had black sheets and black blankets. Even the bath was black.’
![P1010854 P1010854](//lh5.ggpht.com/-5ZMcFecIx4o/TruxGqMnspI/AAAAAAAAAbg/tQ-zAqlLzCo/P1010854_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
“Hello, Dad,” said Bernard. “Not now, Bernard,” said his father.
![P1010853 P1010853](//lh5.ggpht.com/-boxAXcjlCws/TruxI5juDwI/AAAAAAAAAbw/ap6H1EWansQ/P1010853_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
‘Each Peach Pear Plum I spy Tom Thumb’
![P1010849 P1010849](//lh3.ggpht.com/-AX5jQ_lHQwI/TruxK60ob0I/AAAAAAAAAcA/JM74JHHzvEI/P1010849_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
‘On a windy hill, alone, with nothing to be friends with, lived Something Else.’
![P1010850 P1010850](//lh4.ggpht.com/-l0AAXCXRjmw/TruxMgNq5wI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/a8S29PDTwmw/P1010850_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
‘The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house All that cold, cold, wet day.’
It would seem we have a penchant for witches and monsters, bears and small cute creatures and a love of rhyming text. The first two books, I read as a child (although mine came from the library) and the last one actually belonged to my husband, when he was a little boy.
I’m sure there are some in our list that you recognise.
Shimelle is hosting 10 Things on her blog again this month. Pop over if you’d like to see what everyone else is sharing, or to add a list of your own.