My "baby" just turned five! She has been listening to chapter books eagerly for a few months now and for Chanukah I purchased a few of the Riverside Kids books that are out of print. But for her birthday, I stuck to picture books that she loved when we took them out of the library. For each book I also pasted in a bookplate sticker of the "This book belongs to..." variety. (Oh how I wish they said "From the library of..." which sounds so much more elegant, but this company has them with adorable silhouettes of children and I couldn't resist.) I also wrote my daughter a message in each. Here are the books I gave her and what I wrote.
Umbrella by Taro Yashima, which I review here. "You are turning into such a grown-up young lady."Mimmy and Sophie by Miriam Cohen, which I discuss here and here. "May you and your sister always love and take care of each other like Mimmy and Sophie."
My Side of the Car by Kate Feiffer, which I review here. "Is it raining on your side of the bus? [As city people, we are on the bus a lot more than we are in a car.] Because it's so sunny people are wearing sunglasses on my side of the bus. May you always be on the sunny side of the bus."
Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges, which I talk about here. "May you always stand up for what you believe in. And remember, girls can do ANYTHING!" She also chose to donate a second copy of this book to her preschool class in honor of her birthday.
Do you always write an inscription on the flyleaf when you give a book as a gift?
I hardly ever write inscriptions; I feel too ephemeral. I did have a habit of giving books (or sometimes magazine subscriptions) to my kids' classes on their birthdays.
ReplyDeleteI autograph my own books, but rarely inscribe the the other books I give away. But I remember picking up second hand books and reading the inscriptions and the feeling of history it gave me. So I think I will start doing it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion.
I wish I did write inscriptions, but the only books I regularly write inscriptions in are to my husband. I should definitely start doing for the books I give my kids too!
ReplyDeleteHow heartwarming!
ReplyDeleteI don't inscribe books very often -- I guess because I see so many books donated at my library that say things like, "Merry Christmas, Jayden! Love, Uncle Paul 2008"
But, now that I think on it, some of my most treasured books are ones with personal inscriptions from my father.
I always inscribe books. It makes them more special. And when I have a chance to meet an author I buy extra signed copies to give as gifts later.
ReplyDeleteI never know whether to inscribe books that have been signed by the author... I usually don't. Somehow it feels like I'm violating the book then, whereas it doesn't if it's an unsigned copy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely collection! And you have motivated me- I don't often inscribe and I should!
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired me as well to start inscribing more books! I really like the messages that you wrote in for your daughter - it makes it very personal and will be a good way of keeping memories.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea to put in my son's books. Some of the boys books were their father's when they were kids and I would have loved for my boys to see a message their grandmother wrote for their father. I'm going to start this tonight. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm so gratified by all these comments! Perhaps I will update my post on the books I gave my older daughter for her last birthday to include those inscriptions as well. We buy so few books compared to the number we check out of the library that the ones we do almost always have a special significance to us and inscribing them will remind of us why... in case we ever forget!
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of any of these books and they all look lovely! I'll have to check them out for my son. Thank you for the great recommendations!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your baby turning 5! How exciting!
So far, all of the picture books I've given have been sent to people far away via a third party source -- so I haven't gotten a chance to write in them. I'm always happy when others give my son a book and they've written in them.
I actually don't write in books when I give them as gifts. My mom always did but I don't. I'm not sure why.
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