Chicken Soup with Rice

Originally published in 1962, this book has been delighting readers for generations; coming back to it for this review made me feel happy inside. If you haven't read it in a while, or maybe ever if you are young, find a copy and read it with someone you love. It is a small book, fitting nicely into one's hand, or easily handled by a toddler. It's comfortable in the way that chicken soup is comfort food. And it celebrates each month of the year, illustrating that there is always a place for things that are familiar and loved, even in our wildest imaginings. Warning: you may find yourself craving chicken soup with rice when you have finished reading.

I like this book a lot because I remember reading it in elementary school and thinking it was fun and silly to have little poems about each month, all prominently featuring chicken soup with rice. However, when I've read it to my pre-schooler, it just hasn't worked for us. There's not really enough for her to look at on each page to keep her engaged while I read it, and she gets tired of the chicken soup and rice joke pretty quickly.