As a parent to a very active three year old I am always on the look out for great reads, apps, and music that will keep him entertained. I also love sharing what Jude is currently getting excited about. So here's the most recent installment of Jude's Picks...
Creature by Andrew Zuckerman is a great alphabet book filled with gorgeous rich photos. Jude is currently totally nuts for animals and this book from Chronicle is one of his latest faves.
One of my favorite books when I was a kid, Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever (Le Grand Livre des Mots is the French/English edition which you can get here ) is filled with all kinds of fantastic vocabulary words accompanied by Richard Scarry's classic animal characters. Be warned it includes a few questionable choices - I wonder, does the little pig really, really, dream of growing up to be a butcher?
Dancing around the kitchen with Dad is still a favorite activity - this month's top pick is anything by the Talking Heads.
French Songs for Children is a long standing favorite (when he was a baby, this album would instantly calm him even in the midst of a screaming fit, and thus has been a permanent fixture in the car for the last three years). Remarkably tolerable - Lucienne Vernay was a French singer in the 40's and 50's and the vintage quality remains charming even after having listened to it about 15 million times!
Rio is Jude's latest film of choice - it's actually not too bad (though, given my druthers, I'm definitely more of a Nemo, Cinderella, Robin Hood, Dumbo kind of gal - all recently tired of, alas) - Jamie Foxx and Will.i.am play a couple of amusing hip-hop-y birds and it is pretty hilarious when you realize your toddler is shaking his booty and singing "I like to party, I like to samba!" while you change his diaper!
Jude is also a huge fan of nature documentaries (again, nuts for animals - trucks, firemen? eh, whatevs, but a good wildebeest stampede really rocks his socks!) the BBC's Africa with David Attenborough has just recently dethroned the reigning champion, Planet Earth.
I'm always on the lookout for recommendations so please share what your kids are loving in the comments!