May Reading Wrap-Up//June TBR

Since my reading OCD persists, and all my efforts so far to conquer it have proved fruitless, I decided to try something new in May. I gathered all the children's books I had in the house, and bought some new ones, and went back to basics. Starting with picture books and working up the ranks to children's fiction, I sought to rediscover my love of reading whilst also teaching my brain it was okay to not read 'perfectly.' And I'm happy to report that this seems to be working. I'm really enjoying reading again. I'm not stressing myself out reading the same passage over and over again till I throw the book away in frustration. And revisiting some of my childhood favourites has been a wonderful kind of nostalgia. So, it may seem as though I read a lot in May, but many of these books took me between 5 minutes and 1 hour to finish. With that in mind, here's what I read in May and what I'm planning to read in June.

 

These definitely were not children's books. I've fallen in love with Button Poetry, and when I spotted some of Button Poetry's poet's collections on Amazon I decided to give them a try. Would I like reading their poems as much as I like listening to them? Only one way to find out. Depression and Other Magic Tricks(***), by Sabrina Benaim, was my most anticipated read. But it was disappointing; I didn't relate to them as much as I'd hoped. I felt much the same way about If My Body Could Speak(***), by Blythe Baird. However, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson(*****), turned everything around for me. An important novel, displayed beautifully in a graphic novel format. I enjoyed this one very much.

Onto the children's books! The Very Hungry Caterpillar(**) and Owl Babies(****) were two of my favourite books as a child. I remember them well. I felt a bit let-down by The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but maybe that's because I'm looking at it from an adult's POV now. Barney's Christmas Surprise(****) is one of my husband's childhood books that he wants to pass on to our little ones. It was a surprisingly cute and heart-warming read.

Some more childhood favourites in the form of childhood classic, Where The Wild Things Are(***) and Elmer(*****). Tabby McTat The Musical Cat(*****) is one I picked up in Asda on a whim. But it was such an emotional, heart-rending read! I loved it. Where The Wild Things Are was a little disappointing, not as good as I remembered anyway. Elmer more than lived up to my expectations, though.

The Tiger Who Came To Tea(****) was one of my favourite books as a child. I'm reliably informed that come bedtime every night I would ask for "Tiger Tea" to be read to me. So I was excited to revisit this one as an adult. And it was a timely revisit, with the recent passing of Judith Kerr. The Three Little Pigs(****) is a classic and one of my husband's childhood books, as is Leander the Gander(***).

Convertible Playbook Animal Hospital(**) was a rubbish read, but will be a great book for the little ones with the fold-out veterinary surgery and pop out characters. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(****) is such a classic, I can't help but enjoy it. And Noni The Christmas Reindeer(***), which is one of my husband's, was such a heart-wrenching, beautiful read.

Mog(*****) was another of my favourite bedtime reads as a child. And it's stood the test of time. It's still a fantastic read, that I can't wait to share with my own children. The Old Bear series are another blast from my past. I was ecstatic to find a handful of these in my local charity bookshop and I snapped them up. Just as good as I remember, Little Bear Lost(****) and Jolly Tall(****) were fantastic reads. 

I totally remember The Jolly Postman(***) differently. I remember there being puzzles and all sorts in each envelope. But in this copy, there's just letters. So that was disappointing. Am I remembering it wrong, or have they changed it since I was a child (which was a long, long time ago now)? More Old Bear books in the original classic Old Bear(****) and Jolly Snow(***).

Meg And Mog(**) did not live up to my memories of it. I think I may have confused it with Pongwhiffy, though. Another Old Bear story, Little Bear's Trousers(***) is hilarious. We're Going On A Bear Hunt(****) is a classic that I remember well from my childhood and definitely lived up to my memories of it.

I finally got around to finishing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(*****). I started it in January... I wanted to get it finished in time for the next illustrated edition to be released in October though. As expected, it was a fantastic read. Last month, I purchased the Goosebumps 25th Anniversary Edition Tin which included 5 of the Goosebumps novels. A Night In Terror Tower(****) was one of them. Sleepovers(***) is a recent release from one of my favourite childhood authors, Jacqueline Wilson, that I decided to dive into for nostalgic reasons.

Animal Ark was one of my favourite book series growing up, and it turns out it's been re-imagined and re-released for the new generation of readers. So I decided to give the new series a go, starting with Book #1 Kitten Rescue(****). Okay, it was good. But it wasn't quite as good as I remember the original Animal Arks being. Cracked on with some more of the Goosebumps reads. I loved Why I'm Afraid of Bees(***), and Monster Blood(***) was an interesting read too. 

With the success of my new plan to beat reading OCD, I'm continuing with the children's books this month. I have The Worst Witch series, some old childhood faves, as well as an original Animal Ark I found in my local charity book shop! Keep an eye out for my June Reading Wrap-Up//July TBR post to see how I got on with my mammoth TBR pile this month!

What have you read recently?