When I was out shopping for {A}’s birthday, and found those great cookbooks on the bargain shelves at Border’s Book Store, I also scored this HUGE wild animal education book. {O} was with me shopping that day, and she spotted it first. She said “Mama, LOOK at this BIG giraffe book! You love giraffes!” I do….I really do. And all of my kids know it. The book was on the bottom extended shelf, so I turned it to take a look inside, and couldn’t believe how heavy the thing was! It was a big book to manage, 17″ x 24″, but OHHH the gorgeous photos inside! Wild animals of ALL kinds. Beautiful photography, and lots and lots of information about these amazing creatures.
I’m indecisive in stores. I don’t like spending money, really. I wasn’t there for THAT, and it wasn’t the trio’s birthday yet. But man, would they ever love that book! I was pretty sure they would LOVE it. {O} loved it. But I hemmed and hawed for a really long time, anyway. I was getting it, then I wasn’t, then I was, and wasn’t again. It was cheap. Really, really discounted. But would the kids be able to manage a book so big? Would they be able to turn the pages without ruining them? Where would we keep it?
In the end, I got it. And I am SO glad I did!
It has been such a big hit!! I didn’t give it to them right away. I put it away for a couple of weeks, actually. And {O} kept the secret the whole time. But when I did decide to give it to them, I asked them all to sit on the rug, because I was kind of afraid if I let one of them take it, they might drop it on their toe! It would definitely break a toe, or 2. Plus, the only way to look at it was on the floor or table.
Their faces, looking at these photos of these animals, SO big on the pages in front of them, was proof that it was a good purchase.
They were all over it, looking at all of the pages and photos at first, and chatting up a storm.
They talked a lot about the inside of the crocodile’s mouth being yellow. And such a weird yellow too. Why was it yellow, they wondered?
They kept looking through it again and again, taking turns turning the pages. They just couldn’t get enough of seeing all of these animals, and wanted to look through again and again.
But then they started reading some – which I had hoped and figured they would. I mean….the book is a wealth of information on so many very interesting animals! They love reading, and they usually ate this stuff up, so that was my real push in buying it.
Did you know that until recently, it was believed that there were only 2 species of elephants? African elephants, and Asian elephants. But genetic testing has proven there is actually a 3rd species, the African Forest elephant.
Did you know, that if you shave a tiger down to it’s skin, their stripes would still be there?
They spent a really long time, sharing the book that first day.
There’s my giraffes. I haven’t got on the floor myself, YET, to read all about them, but I will! You can bet on it.
The kids have already taken in so many facts. Is a vast knowledge about wild animals really going to be super useful in their lives? Probably not, unless they go into some wild animal field of work. But this book is so valuable and educational in so many other ways. First of all, it continues fostering the fun in their learning. They are definitely exercising their reading skills, which is already very fluent. They read like little adults. But what’s more, when they come to a new word, they will always ask me what it means. They do that reading any book. Because they want to know, in the context of that sentence, before they read on. So their vocabulary is really growing too.
Once they looked at it 4 or 5 times together, and took turns reading parts of different pages together too, they decided they should each have a turn having it all to themselves.
At some point in every day since, every one of the kids has taken this book out and got back down on the rug with it for awhile. They love to read it, and share whatever it is they are fascinated with, with whoever is around that will listen.
For now, the book is leaning against the wall by my desk here. I have had the joy of seeing the little excited expression on their faces, a few of the times they have come to get it, and I happen to be sitting here at the time. It just re-enforces to me what a wise little investment it was.
