1000 Books Before Kindergarten I

We are doing the "1000 Books Before Kindergarten" challenge with Levi and have finished our first 100! (Technically you can repeat books, but we're trying to see how long we can do unique ones.) Here are our favorite ten out of that first 100, in no particular order (images from Amazon):

1. The Monster at the End of This Book

This is a classic "Little Golden Book" featuring Grover from Sesame Street. It's one of the first children's books to break the fourth wall.

2. Super Happy Magic Forest

This book is cute and clever and plays off of fantasy-quest-like genres.

3. A Flower Pot Is Not A Hat

This is one of the books that Tygan's mom (Grandma Juju) had growing up. It's actually out of print now and kind of hard to find (hooray for interlibrary loans!).

4. The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish

We had to include this because Tygan is in love with Neil Gaiman. Plus, everything is better in a British accent, and our book came with the audio version.

5. Pat the Bunny

This is the original touch-and-feel book, and Levi got a copy for his half-birthday from Tygan's family. It's actually the "deluxe" version, with four pages restored from the original 1940 edition.

6. XO, OX

This is a heart-warming story of unrequited love between a clumsy ox and a graceful gazelle. Ox is a really classy guy and shows us how to express love with piercing wit.

7. Rhyming Dust Bunnies

This book puts a little twist on the traditional rhyming picture book and is fun to read.

8. We Are in a Book!

This is the first story Levi laughed at, so points for that. It's similar to The Monster at the End of this Book, but Elephant-and-Piggie-style. Gotta love Mo Willems.

9. Anansi and the Moss-covered Rock

This story tells a traditional tale of the trickster spider, from the folklore of West Africa and the Caribbean. I'm sure there are a lot of retellings of this story, but this is the first time I've read it. I love that mythic, poetic feel that fables have.

10. Good Night Wisconsin

This is a pretty generic book that just inserts Wisconsin places after the phrase "Good night," but it's fun to have something a little personal.

Honorable mentions:
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Tikki Tikki Tembo
A is for Salad
A Bad Case of Stripes
Flora and the Peacocks
ABCs of RPGs
Sanji the the Baker

Let us know if you have any favorite books to recommend!