Five on Friday: What I've Been Reading

Once again the year is predictably and inexplicably drawing to a close. That means the "Best Of" lists are popping up: what were the best new songs of the year? Movies? What books did you read and love in 2018?

While I have read and loved many books this past year, when I look at our bookshelves I see many books that I enjoyed as a child and again with my children. So I thought I'd do a similar list but with a different twist. For today's Five On Friday, here are five books that I've been reading . . . for the past forty years or so.

1. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  I love the very 70s illustrations in this book (including the Punch Buggy sighting). A few years ago I took all five kids to visit their Dad in his office and we recreated that scene from the book . . . uh, not on purpose.

"My Dad said please don't pick him up anymore."

2. "Stand Back," Said The Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!" Anyone else remember this one?  The Elephant's sneezes can have pretty catastrophic results so a mouse saves the day . . . sort of.

3. Animals should definitely not wear clothing. It would be terribly embarrassing to go to the zoo and realize the elephant is wearing the same outfit as you. Important life lessons are learned in these books.

4. Something Queer is Going On (a mystery) Oh how I loved these two girl sleuths and their big floppy dog Fletcher!

5. The Marvelous Mud Washing Machine This may be the very first book I can remember reading on my own. Thanks to my husband, I now own a copy. A Marvelous Mud Washing Machine was a dream of mine as a child--and again as a mother, but for different reasons.