Skippyjon Jones--I love, love, LOVE these books

I have a confession to make. I have a children's book fetish. It's true. I started collecting them at least ten years before I even had kids. The pretty pictures and the funny stories just make me smile.

The Skippyjon Jones series by Judy Schachner is one I've only recently stumbled upon, and I absolutely love them. Skippyjon is a Siamese cat, aka Kitty Boy, who wants to be a Chihuahua. He has a very vivid imagination that takes him on many adventures. Skippyjon's mom, Mama Junebug Jones, has cute little endearing names for him that remind me of some of the names my own mother gave me as a child. She calls him Kitten Britches, Mr. Fuzzy Pants, and Crumbcake to name just a few. Skippy Jon calls himself El Skipito and imagines that he is a great sword fighter who has friends he calls "Los Chimichangos."

My kids love Skippyjon's way of talking. The Kitty Boy thinks he's a Spanish speaking Chihuahua and he uses a Spanish accent and frequently adds "-ito" to the end of words to make them "Spanish", for example, "What the heckito?" He also freely uses Mexican food words as exclamations. "Holy Guacamole!" and "Holy Frijoles!" are just a couple. I frequently stop reading to decode what he is really saying and my girls just roll their eyes. I feel it is my duty though, as they believe they now know how to speak Spanish.

The best thing about these books is that they are just plain fun to read. The next time you're in your favorite bookstore, you must check them out.

I was reminded about these books today because Peanut Head and I got to go to Barnes & Noble without kids. Oh, the luxury. My Mother-in-Law is visiting so we have a built-in babysitter. I have to say it again. Oh, the luxury. I didn't have to walk through the store, darting my eyes around in an attempt to take in all the books and stay alert as to where my kids were while constantly scanning for kidnappers and child molestors (not that I could tell by looking, but you know). Remember, I told you I'm compulsive. Freakishly so. Whenever I'm in public I'm on high alert like this. Being a mama makes you crazy.