A Favorite Book on Friday

We’re loving our current read-aloud- James Herriot’s Treasury for Children: Warm and Joyful Tales by the Author of All Creatures Great and Small.  My children cannot get enough of this book- we’d read it in one sitting if they had their way.  My voice would be quite hoarse and we would probably miss a meal or two, so it is in their best interest to not get their way on this one.

The stories are so sweet- “Warm and joyful tales by the author of All Creatures Great and Small”.  Warm is a good descriptive word for these stories, warm and joyful, that’s just what they are.

Told from the point of view of an English country veterinarian, back in a quieter era, this book is a collection of stories about some of the animals he came across, and their people.  From Moses, the Kitten to Smudge, the Little Lost Lamb, these animal stories are sure to delight children, at least the ones who can bear to tear themselves away from their Sony Playstations or Nintendo DSes… I digress.

The illustrations in this book are lovely and we end up pausing on each page to just let them look at and dream about those animals and that English countryside.

Since pulling this book out to start reading together, and subsequently stopping after the 1st story to get them into their math books despite their pleading for me to read “just one more story” (of course we’ll read more, after math, or after lunch, or after snack, or after supper, or all of the above! but do your math ) I’ve found a girl or two (and sometimes a boy) slowly turning the pages of this book, studying each one before checking out the next.  I’ve been informed about upcoming storylines by my emerging reader, who has them all figured out just from studying those pictures. Sweet.

I’ve enjoyed many a BBC production over the years, and have been reading with my best English countryside farmer accent at every set of quotation marks, but I have nothing on Jim Dale, from the audio version- James Herriot’s Treasury for Children: Warm and Joyful Animal Taleswith his authentic accent.  (I love listening to audio books read with Brittish accents )

I’ve watched the All Creatures Great & Small: The Complete Series 1 Collection, and the next couple seasons, but I have never read the books.  I’m thinking I may need to add at least the first one to my summer reading list… or at least my summer audio book listening list.

Ok, I’ve got some littles waiting to hear about The Market Square Dog!

Have you read to your children today?

This post is linked with Janna’s Feed Me Books Friday, stop by, tell Janna I said hi, and check out the other book loving links!