Both girls had one first favorite book.  A book I’ve read so many times, my lips are numb from making the animal sounds.

“Mommies Say Shh” by Patricia Polacco.  The illustrations are Eastern European and truly fantastic.  It’s a simple farm tale about animal sounds, but there is just something special about the book.  Maybe it’s because it includes animal sounds from bunnies (they say nothing at all), or maybe it’s the comforting Mommy at the end of the book who quietly says, “Shh”.