As you can imagine, I get asked some variation of this question a lot--"So which quiet book is your favorite/Which quiet book would you recommend?" It's kind of like being asked which kid is my favorite (although some days I can give you an answer to that question with a response that would be valid for at least 8-12 hours). I adore many of My Growing Season's quiet books for a dozen different reasons each but most people don't want to be overwhelmed with info that would take a flowchart to follow.
So, here it is . . . one of my tippy top favorite quiet books--Home Sweet Home. My own kids (we shall call them "The Three Musketeers") adore this book and naturally, I follow suit. Afterall, we are family. Why do we love this little nugget called Home Sweet Home?
Home Sweet Home is a cloth quiet book that matches animals with their habitat. Simple--yet more entertainment packed into those embroidered pages than immediately meets the eye. And what child doesn't like animals? My four year old can run faster on all fours when in doggie mode than I can run on two legs.
I've watched for several years as The Three Musketeers have interacted with this quiet book. When they were very young, they recognized the brightly colored animals, removed them from their habitat, and then on queue, dutifully returned them to their resting spot. As they got a little older, despite my plea not to grow, they thought it was really funny to put the pig in the nest, dog in the pond, and so on and so forth . . oh, to be three again (me, not them). The Three Musketeers have also been known to remove the animals from the book, line them up across the pew at church, move them around at will, and find all manner of entertainment. I'm not swearing that these animals are soundless while in action but we deal with it. Educationally speaking, we've talked about animal sounds and played games such as, find an animal that quacks, or moos, or hops, or whatever animals do. We've played find an animal that starts with a certain letter. Basic, yes, but so entertaining when you're three.
I've recommended Home Sweet Home to friends and customers and the follow up is always that their little ones like Home Sweet Home as much as The Three Musketeers. I wouldn't give you a bum steer on this one. I've watched my kids play with a lot of books and this one is a fav. And I like it for the exact same reasons they do. If you want to venture beyond the quiet book classics like My Quiet Book, try it out. I think you'll be a believer. Moo moo!
