Building your family library.

While I've been reading a chapter or two of Little House on the Prarie to Little Miss each night I have also been thinking of books I'd like to have in our house. My iPad is great as an e-reader but I still want a bountiful amount of books adorning our shelves. You know, to have and to hold.

What are some books that are essentials for your household and why? What books grace your child's shelves?

I have decided that Ev needs the Little House series because e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e from back home knows who Laura Ingalls Wilder is. She was uh, how do I say...kind of a big deal. People come from all over the States to see the Ingalls' homestead in southwestern Minnesota.

Evelyn probably won't grow up where her Ma and Pa did (ya'see what I did there? Like Ma and Pa from Little House) but she'll associate the area with a couple sets of her grandparents. I am sure she'll attend at least one Wilder pageant; truth be told her first pageant will also be my first. Yes, home-grown Minnesotans, gasp all you want. I've never been.

I think staying connected to parts of your past that were filled with love and happiness is an important, healthy decision. Someday I hope that she'll read the Little House series and be filled with wonder. What a perfect opportunity it would be to share stories from when we were young - growing up in the same region the author of the series did.

So that's my first answer (of many) to my own question but I am really wondering what books are must-haves for you and / or your family. Please be sure to let me know!