I think we all have grand plans when we have kids about the kinds of books that they are going to read. As a baby, Penny loved the usual books, especially anything by the Ahlbergs (Each Peach Pear Plum, Peepo!, and The Baby’s Catalogue being particular favourites). But now as she has started to watch TV, she loves herself some merch, and this is why you’re starting to see Maisy and Peppa Pig on our shelves. Now, our parents never put any pressure on us to read things that were ‘wholesome’ versus ‘fun’, and reading is the whole point (it could be a grocery store flyer, I think, as long as you’re doing it together), but I do sometimes look longingly at the beautiful picture books we own and await anxiously the day when those are the first thing she picks when she says “read!” and thrusts a book at me. Don’t even talk to me about Baby Shark. Which is to say, if you haven’t spent time in our kid’s section, you’ll find a good combination of high and low and something for everyone.

And speaking (again!) of rereads, I think there are families who read the same books every night and families who pick new ones. I am of the camp that reads the same books every night, so we start with Tuck Me In, move on to Dream Animals, then Sleepyhead, and finally Goodnight Moon (I purposely dropped Goodnight Gorilla down the side of the bed because I can’t deal with the fact it has no words). After almost two years of reading these same books, I know them by heart. In fact, we finish with The Going to Bed Book, which I recite as I zip her into her sleep sack. Imagine my surprise when the other week Penny started reciting it along with me! Turns out she knows a lot of the words to most of the books we read every night. Just another example of the power of words and the time we spend with our kids sharing books.