Day 5: Lucky Sevens

Today was the first day we hit a book from every region. Which isn't all that exciting under normal circumstances, but I also look forward to checking on my seedlings and waiting for the mail to come in every day. And I also decided to read a couple of the same seed match-ups across a few different regions: sevens and tens.

Sandra Boynton Region

6. Touch Think Learn Numbers vs. 11. Peek-a-WHO?

Jack wasn't really in the mood to touch "Touch Think Learn Numbers," and I fear that he wasn't paying close enough attention to learn his numbers, either. We hadn't read "Peek-a-WHO?" before, but the kicker here (spoilers) was the Peek-a-You! mirror. . . Jack loves looking at himself. We can hardly blame him.

Dr. Seuss Region
7. How Many Kisses? vs. 10. That's not My Dinosaur!

The first of the seven-ten match-ups was over before it started. "That's Not My Dinosaur!" was another book that depended on feeling the dinosaurs. "How Many Kisses?" ramped up quickly from 1 to 100 kisses, which was too many. But Jack still enjoyed the premise, and giggled his way through.

Beatrix Potter Region
7. Fiona the Hippo vs. 10. Hello, I'm Here!
This was a tough match-up: a book about baby sandhill cranes against one about the celebrity hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo. True Fiona fanatics know that some of the details were sensationalized in this kids' book (all of the other zoo animals don't join her in a giant pool party, for instance), but Jack can't wait to go to Cincinnati and see her (from a safe distance). He (and I) really enjoyed the crane book as well, but fictionalized reality has a leg up on the real world at the moment.

Shel Silverstein Region
8. Little Feminist Activists vs. 9. When Clay Sings
The only upset of the day, and 9 seeds actually beat 8 seeds about 51% of the time in the NCAA tournament. "Little Feminist Activists" was good, but too short to build momentum with Jack. "When Clay Sings" is solid literature in its own right, and afterwards I got down some of our pueblo pottery for him to look at. It will be interesting to see if it can keep rolling against "Stinky Face" in the 1/9 series next week.

7. Charlie Parker Played Be Bop vs. 10. Little Women: A Playtime Primer
"Little Women" was another book that probably wasn't long enough to get going, though I haven't necessarily figured out how to read "Charlie Parker Played Be Bop" yet. It's got a rhythm to it that I'll have to try and get better at before it goes up against the powerhouse "The Snowy Day."