gift guide 2017: the best for elementary school kids!

What do elementary school age kids (6-9 years old) like to read?  They still want to laugh.  They still enjoy pictures book but are most likely learning to read or just getting comfortable with reading on their own, so they will be wanting to read something more sophisticated like chapter books .  There is a whole world of early reader chapter books that will overjoy this age group.  It's so fun to watch kids at this age find a chapter book that they love and emerge into the world of loving to read!  

*contains affiliate links. 

Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! It's Shoe Time!

By Mo Willems, Bryan Collier

A funny, rhyming early independent reader book that shows what it means to be a pair.  

Goldenlocks and the Three Pirates

By April Jones Prince

A unique picture book with an entertaining retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with a pirate theme! 

The Real McCoys

By Matthew Swanson

A kidlit detective novel featuring a spunky fourth-grade detective who has to team up with her little brother to solve a mystery. 

Betty's Burgled Bakery: An Alliteration Adventure

By Travis Nichols

Gumshoe Zoo has to solve the case of the stolen pastires in this word play mystery. 

Hortense and the Shadow

By Natalia O'Hara

A gorgeous picture book featuring an original fairy tale in the style of Neil Gaiman about a girl named Hortense who wants her shadow to stop following her.  In the end, her shadow is what saves her from evil bandits. 

She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World

By Chelsea Clinton

A book filled with strong, positive role models for both boys and girls. 

After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again)

By Dan Santat

Dan Santat is always a solid choice.  He is a natural-born storyteller who produces the most original twists on classic stories. 

Malala's Magic Pencil

By Malala Yousafzai

The first picture book by the Nobel Peace Prize winner that was inspired by her childhood. 

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

By Drew Daywalt

The latest from the author of The Day the Crayons Quit.  Everybody loves playing Rock Paper Scissors! 

The Antlered Ship

By Dashka Slater

An adventure story picture book about an animal crew aboard a unique ship. 

Jabari Jumps

By Gaia Cornwall

Jabari works up the courage to jump off the high dive! 

gift guide 2017: the best for preschoolers!

Do you want to know why I think books are the perfect gift?  Click here to find out why. 

Preschoolers love colorful pictures and fast-moving stories.  Preschoolers love stories that mirror their own lives and worlds.  Most of all, preschoolers love to laugh!  A successful book for this age group (3-5) must, must, must be funny.  Here are books that check all the boxes for a gift preschoolers will love. 

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The Pelican Chorus: and Other Nonsense

By Edward Lear

Three stories in one, and all of them containing lively adventures and animal characters. 

Small Walt

By Elizabeth Verdick

A newly published story about a snowplow named Walt that keeps in the tradition of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and The Little Engine That Could.. 

Can't Catch Me!

By Timothy Knapman

A hilarious story that follows a naughty mouse as he teases animals that want to eat him for lunch.  But he isn't worried because he is the fastest mouse in the world! 

Thelma the Unicorn

By Aaron Blabey

Thelma the Unicorn learns to love herself for who she truly is inside. 

Creepy Pair of Underwear!

By Aaron Reynolds

From the creators of Creepy Carrots, a book about a bunny and a decidedly creepy pair of underwear.  There are two words that young kids find hilarious - poop and underwear.  Just reading the cover will get them giggling! 

A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars

By Seth Fishman

A fascinating look at the numbers that make up our world.  Great for curious little minds. 

It Takes a Village: Picture Book

By Hillary Rodham Clinton

A wonderful book by Hillary Clinton with illustrations by super-talented Marla Frazee promotes a peaceful and happy world where diversity and tolerance are celebrated. 

Escargot

By Dashka Slater

Isn't this little snail the cutest?!  We fell in love with Escargot the snail and his journey to get to the salad at the end of the book.  But, uh-hoh!  When he gets to the salad, he discovers that it has a carrot in it, and he hates carrots.  Reluctantly, he tries the carrot and finds out that he actually likes it.  

The Way Home in the Night

By Akiko Miyakoshi

A mother bunny and her little bunny walk home at night, and the little bunny experiences how his neighborhood seems more magical when the sun goes down. 

Say Zoop!

By Herve Tullet

If you loved PRESS HERE, you will love the latest from author Herve Tullet.  Tullet's books are always so creative. 

a cranberry thanksgiving brings us new england charm plus cute turkey crafts!

Hi there!  Thanksgiving is around the corner, and we are drumming up the best seasonal picks we can find.  CONFESSION #1: I love a holiday, any holiday.  I go all out with decorations, themed books, food, whatever I can.  CONFESSION #2: The Starbucks around the corner is already playing Christmas carols, and the city has started hanging wreaths with red velvet bows on all of our light posts.  While I love, love the Christmas season, and while I love decorating our house for the holiday, let's hold our horses and revel in the season that is late fall and Thanksgiving.  I refuse to put up icicle lights while the leaves on my front yard trees are still yellow and orange!  While my beloved angel figurines and jingle bells cool their heels in storage containers for another month, let's find some good Thanksgiving reads!  Today's pick is Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin. 

This is the story of a young girl named Maggie who lives with her grandmother by a cranberry bog on the edge of a small and charming New England town.  While Grandmother prepares a marvelous feast for Thanksgiving, Maggie does her chores.  Both of them have chosen guests to invite to dinner.  Grandmother chooses Mr. Horace, a well-groomed, well-mannered man with a fancy coat and styled hair.  Maggie chooses her friend, Mr. Whiskers, a rough-around-the-edges sea captain.  Grandmother gets upset with Maggie for inviting him because he smells like fish and talks loudly.  By the end of the meal, Grandmother's opinion of Mr. Whiskers is changed, and readers learn not to judge a person based on how they look or how much money they have.   This book is part of a series.  If you enjoy this one, check out the rest of the Cranberry series including stories for Halloween, Christmas, and Valentines Day.  Each book comes with a recipe on the back that relates to the story.  On the back cover of the Thanksgiving book is the recipe for Grandmother's cranberry bread.  I have to be honest here.  I do a lot of baking, so I consider myself pretty capable in the kitchen.  I baked the cranberry bread recipe on the back, and well, it wasn't so great.  I hate to say something negative about this book because I loved the story, but I also hate the wasted time and money of a recipe or craft idea that isn't worth it.  If you want a great cranberry recipe, maybe skip the one provided by Cranberry and try something else. 

There are so many fun turkey crafts for your thanksgiving table, and we have found a ton of them on our Pinterest board.  Click here to get to our Thanksgiving Books and Crafts board for over 100 Thanksgiving books and crafts with turkeys.  

9 kids books about archaeology

Do you have a kid that loves dinosaurs?  Ancient Egypt?  Pirates? Well, you might have a budding archaeologist on your hands!  My younger son has been OBSESSED with all things "ancient" since he could talk.  I've already shared my ever growing list of books about Ancient Egypt on the blog.  Pyramids, mummies, and hieroglyphics on ancient tomb walls sparked his interest first.  Now his love of ancient things extends to Ancient Rome and Medieval castles with knights.  

If you have a young Indiana Jones on you hands, check out these kids books about archaeology!  

*contains affiliate links. 

Digging Up Dinosaurs (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)

By Aliki

Buy on Amazon

The Archaeology Book (Wonders of Creation)

By David Down

Buy on Amazon

Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past, 25 Activities (For Kids series)

By Richard Panchyk

Buy on Amazon

Hands-On Archaeology: Real-Life Activities for Kids

By John White Ph.D.

Buy on Amazon

Dinosaur Hunters (Step into Reading)

By Kate McMullan

Buy on Amazon

Archaeologists Dig for Clues (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)

By Kate Duke

Buy on Amazon

Archaeology: Cool Women Who Dig (Girls in Science)

By Anita Yasuda

Buy on Amazon

How the Sphinx Got to the Museum (How the . . . Got to the Museum)

By Jessie Hartland

Buy on Amazon

How the Dinosaur Got to the Museum (How the . . . Got to the Museum)

By Jessie Hartland

Buy on Amazon

kids books about night time

Are your kids afraid of the dark?  Scared of going to sleep at bedtime?  Night time doesn't need to be scary.  There is so much about the night that is special - a silvery full moon, the distant sound of a hooting owl, looking up into the sky to name the different constellations visible on a clear night.  Here is a list of books that will help little readers ease into appreciation of night time. 

*contains affiliate links 

Little Owl's Night

By Divya Srinivasan

Buy on Amazon

Night Animals

By Gianna Marino

Buy on Amazon

The House in the Night

By Susan Marie Swanson

Buy on Amazon

In the Night Kitchen (Caldecott Collection)

By Maurice Sendak

Buy on Amazon

Smoky Night

By Eve Bunting

Buy on Amazon

The Kids Book of the Night Sky

By Ann Love, Jane Drake

Buy on Amazon

kids books about brushing your teeth

I can't write this post without singing the classic Raffi song about dental hygiene. . . "When you wake up in the morning, it's a quarter to one, and you want to have a little fun, you brush your teeth, you brush your teeth!"

Firstly, please dear child, do not wake up at a quarter to one, but if you must, I suppose there are worse things that you could do than brush your teeth.  My kids are just awful about teeth brushing.  They just don't want to do it.  Every night, the same scene takes place.   I tell them, "Right, it is time for bed. Brush your teeth please."  And every night, this demand comes as a shock.  That means for my ten year old, that's an entire decade of acting completely surprised that teeth must be brushed on a daily basis.  

If your little one won't brush their teeth too, here's a list to inspire happy and healthy teeth! 

This list contains affiliated links which means that if you purchase something from this list, I get a small fee at no cost to you.  Win/win! 

The Tooth Book (Bright & Early Board Books(TM))

By Dr. Seuss

Buy on Amazon

Brush Your Teeth, Please: A Pop-up Book

By Leslie Mcguire

Buy on Amazon

Brush, Brush, Brush! (Rookie Toddler)

Scholastic

Buy on Amazon

I Know Why I Brush My Teeth

By Kate Rowan

Buy on Amazon

Dear Tooth Fairy

By Alan Durant

Buy on Amazon

9 kids books about gratitude!

Do you think gratitude, the ability to be grateful, is something that comes naturally to people or something that has to be taught?  

Gratitude is so important in our lives.  It is so easy to want more, more, more, and the secret about wanting more stuff is that it never ends.  Getting more stuff just makes you want more stuff.  Instead, let's focus on what we already have.  Growing up, in church, we would sing a hymn called "Count Your Blessings", and I'm trying to spend less time getting more stuff and more time counting my blessings.  What do you think? 

Here are nine kids books that will inspire gratitude!  This post contains affiliated links which means that if you purchase something from these links, I get a small fee at no extra cost to you.  Thanks!

The Thankful Book

By Todd Parr

Buy on Amazon

Thankful

By Eileen Spinelli

Buy on Amazon

Being Thankful (Mercer Mayer's Little Critter)

By Mercer Mayer

Buy on Amazon

Gratitude Soup

By Olivia Rosewood

Buy on Amazon

Splat Says Thank You! (Splat the Cat)

By Rob Scotton

Buy on Amazon

Thanks a Million

By Nikki Grimes

Buy on Amazon

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (Classic Seuss)

By Dr. Seuss

Buy on Amazon

All the World (Classic Board Books)

By Liz Garton Scanlon

Buy on Amazon

THE BLANKFUL HEART: A Children's Story About Thankfulness in Dr. Seuss Style Rhyme (Meus Tales #2)

By Mr. Meus

Buy on Amazon

scandinavian kids books

The Scandinavian culture is so charming and interesting!  Blueberries, Vikings, cold winters, dreamy summers spent in little red cottages, and a love for the outdoors.  My husband makes fun of me because I have no family connection with the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, but I love them so much!  If you love them too, this book list is for you! This post contains affiliated links which means I get a small fee if you purchase something from the links at no extra cost to you. Thanks! 

Amazing Pictures and Facts About Sweden: The Most Amazing Fact Book for Kids About Sweden

By Mina Kelly

Buy on Amazon

Pippi Longstocking

By Astrid Lindgren

Buy on Amazon

Lucia Morning in Sweden

By Ewa Rydaker

Buy on Amazon

Peter in Blueberry Land

By Elsa Beskow

Buy on Amazon

Children of the Forest

By Elsa Beskow

Buy on Amazon

The Tomten

By Astrid Lindgren

Buy on Amazon

Lucia and the Light

By Phyllis Root

Buy on Amazon

Ollie's Ski Trip

By Elsa Beskow

Buy on Amazon

Guts & Glory: The Vikings

By Ben Thompson

Buy on Amazon

The Norway Fact and Picture Book: Fun Facts for Kids About Norway (Turn and Learn)

By Gina McIntyre

Buy on Amazon

Hans Christian Andersen: The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories (Anchor Folktale Library)

By Virginia Haviland, Hans Christian Andersen, Erik Christian Haugaard

Buy on Amazon

a new early reader chapter series: hero dog! hilde cracks the case by hilde lysiak

Are you looking for a good, early reader chapter book to get your new reader excited about books?  

I feel like my kids grow so fast that by the time I have found something that works for them, whether it be a pair of shoes my four year old likes and is willing to wear or a book series that gets my ten year old excited about reading, by the time I find that thing that works, they have already started to grow out of it!  Well, if this is the case for you and your child, I feel you!  These darn kids just keep growing! 

There comes a point when kids, usually ages 6-8, start to want more "big kid" books.  They want more chapter books and less picture books.  So, you go to the book store or library and check out a few chapter books, but when your child tries to read them, the books aren't targeted for their age group.  Hero Dog! Hilde Cracks The Case is perfectly targeted for newly minted readers, ages 5-8.  

In this book, Hilde is a ten-year-old journalist and adventurous sleuth who loves to investigate mysteries and report about them in her news articles.

What we love most about this first addition to the book series is that the main character, Hilde, is a real girl and a real journalist!  Ten-year-old Hilde Lysiak began her own newspaper at the age of seven and has been dedicated to reporting news in her hometown.  If you would like more information about Hilde and her new book series, check out her website here. 

If you want to win your own copy of Hero Dog! Hilde Cracks The Case, head on over to my Instagram account, and enter to win! Thanks to Scholastic for providing the prize! 

hygge kids books!

Have you heard of the Danish concept of "hygge"?  It's all about spending time with family and friends in a cozy atmosphere.  The perfect hygge time would be inviting friends over on a chilly night for a warm bowl of chili with chocolate cake for dessert or having a night in with family sitting around in pajamas and playing board games.  I just love the idea of hygge! 

When publishers Little Gestalten sent me a copy of their book My Four Seasons, the first thing that I noticed about it was that the story and illustrations have a very cozy, comforting, hygge mood.  It made me feel more relaxed just flipping through the pages!  

This story follows one family through the seasons of the year beginning with a snowy, winter New Year's Day, then gardening in the Spring, swimming and drinking lemonade in the summer, playing in the colorful autumn leaves, and skiing on fresh powdery snow.  Each season brings new ways to be together as a family, and this book celebrates that!  What's more hygge than family spending time together cherishing what makes each season special? 

Here are several more books that give us that cozy, hygge feeling.  This part of my post contains affiliated links which means that if you buy something, I will get a small compensation at no cost to you.  Thanks for supporting businesses that support my blog! 

The Napping House

By Audrey Wood

Buy on Amazon

The Cozy Book

By Mary Ann Hoberman

Buy on Amazon

The Seven Silly Eaters

By Mary Ann Hoberman

Buy on Amazon

So Cozy

By Lerryn Korda

Buy on Amazon

best read-alouds for a younger audience

Right around the age of four or five, kids are ready to be read simple chapter books.  The trick is to find the right kind of chapter book.  Picking one that is too complicated will result in a squirmy, disinterested reading audience.  My formula for successful introduction to chapter books: simple story line + short chapters + illustrations sprinkled throughout. 

Here are several that we have enjoyed reading together. 

The Story of Diva and Flea

By Mo Willems

Buy on Amazon

The Children of Noisy Village

By Astrid Lindgren

Buy on Amazon

Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon

By Mary Pope Osborne

Buy on Amazon

take a trip down the river nile!

Do you have a kid who is interested in Ancient Egypt?  My younger son has been OBSESSED with all things pyramids, mummies, and ancient tombs since he could talk, so I am always on the look out for more books on the subject.  Our new favorite is We're Sailing Down the Nile by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson. 

I'll be honest with you.  My son wants to read EVERY Ancient Egypt book he can get his hands on, and some of them would give some people (me) nightmares.  We own several really informative and interesting books about mummies filled with pictures of real life unwrapped mummy skulls and one very realistic pop-up book that shows how they removed the pharaoh's organs during the embalming process (gag).  He loves them, but I would rather not.  

We're Sailing Down the Nile is my kind of Egypt book - informative and realistic yes, gory details about mummies no.  This book is a combination of exciting tour of the Nile river along with colorful, fun illustrations, historical facts, facts about Egyptian cities both ancient and modern, and lots of opportunities to learn the Egyptian language.  

recommended age: 4+

get self confidence on and off the sports field! the playbook by kwame alexander

What do you do to instill self-confidence in your kids? What about instilling it in yourself?  I love reading lifestyle books that teach me ways to live a better, less chaotic life because when my day-to-day runs more smoothly, I have more confidence to go out there and take a bite out of some of my bigger life goals.  My fave lifestyle book series is the Madame Chic series by Jennifer Scott.  Love, love, love those books!  

The Playbook by Kwame Alexander is perfect for giving tweens and teens that shot of self-esteem and motivation that will help them succeed in life, not just on the basketball court or soccer field, but in all aspects of their life. 

I saw Kwame speak at a writers' conference this summer, and his work is enthusiastic, powerful, and his passion for writing and motivating youngsters is contagious! In The Playbook, you will find a collection of motivational quotes and snippets of advice from sports superstars like Serena Williams and Michael Jordan.  You will also find short stories about overcoming obstacles in real life and sports life and what Kwame Alexander terms "52 rules to follow on and off the court". 

My son is not much of a sports guy, but I still think he needs to read this.  I think even though each lesson is presented through the lens of a sports analogy, the takeaway from each is valuable whether you like basketball, soccer, or not.  

recommended age: 10+

a book for little citizens of the world! This Is How We Do It by Matt Lamothe

My favorite Disney World ride is It's A Small World. I've probably been on that boat ride three hundred times or more spanning from my first trip to Orlando when I was eight up until a trip I took there last year.  It never gets old those sweet little dolls in traditional dress from all over the world singing in harmony.  It warms my heart!

In today's world, teaching our kids to be good global citizens is more important than ever.  This Is How We Do It is the perfect place to start the conversation about how it's a small world after all. It features seven kids from different countries - Iran, Peru, Uganda, Russia, Japan, India, and Italy. We follow each child throughout an average day, getting to see what their homes and schools look like, what they eat for lunch, what chores they do at home to help out, and more.

Reading this is a great way to celebrate what makes us different and, maybe more importantly, learn what makes us the same.  

For example, in Russia, kids stay with the same teacher for most of elementary school while kids in Iran have a different teacher every year.  We also learned that kids all over the world help their parents around the house by vacuuming or feeding pets.  

Do you have a favorite book that celebrates different cultures and promotes good global citizenship?  Tell me about it! 

kids books about volunteering and helping hands

With the devastation in Houston on my mind, I think an important theme for our storytimes this week needs to be let's be helping hands in our community and our world.  There's no better way to get great volunteering inspiration than in books.  Here are some of my favorite books for inspiring us to volunteer in our communities and be helping hands. 

The Can Man

By Laura E. Williams

Buy on Amazon

The Can Man deals with homelessness and giving to those who need it most.  A boy has to decide between giving his saved money to buy a homeless man a winter coat and spending his money on a new skateboard.  

Last Stop on Market Street

By Matt de la Peña

Buy on Amazon

Last Stop on Market Street follows a grandmother and her grandson as they make their way through town on a city bus.  The grandmother teaches her grandson the importance of volunteering time to help others. The artwork is great, too!

The Mitten Tree

By Candace Christiansen

Buy on Amazon

When Sarah is waiting at the bus stop on a cold winter day, she sees a little boy without any mittens. She decides to knit him some and leave them for him to find. 

If Everybody Did

By Jo Ann Stover

Buy on Amazon

While this book isn't explicitly about volunteering, it is a story about thinking about how our actions affect others.    

Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen (Reading Rainbow Book)

By Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan

Buy on Amazon

Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen shows kids how a soup kitchen works and who the kitchen serves. Informative and entertaining. 

A Chair for My Mother 25th Anniversary Edition (Reading Rainbow Books)

By Vera B. Williams

Buy on Amazon

A Chair For My Mother is my favorite picture book for many reasons, one being the way the community in the story gather together to support the mom and daughter after their apartment burns down, destroying all of their belongings. 

Magical Hands

By Marjorie Barker

Buy on Amazon

Magical Hands is a sweet book about helping friends with their work without being asked. 

10 Things I Can Do to Help My World

By Melanie Walsh

Buy on Amazon

Inspiring, instructive, and informative!  A great resource for helping our community and world. 

eat, sleep, poop by alexandra penfold and jane massey

Have any of the kids in your life become a big brother or big sister recently?  I remember when I had my second child, making my first child a big brother.  Once the excitement of the hospital and bringing a new little person home calmed down, my first child was quite disappointed with this new little person.  To his disappointment, this little person didn't do anything.  As the title of today's book pick suggests, our new baby just ate, slept, and well, pooped.  This simple and bright book by Alexandra Penfold and Jane Massey is the perfect read for a new big brother or big sister! 

Eat, Sleep, Poop is told from the perspective of a newborn taking us through his day.  All he does is eat, sleep, and poop, but that is really busy and hard work for a newborn!  The illustrations in this, along with every kid's favorite word (poop!), are really funny and bring a lot of humor to the story.  This is a celebration of that special, busy, exhausting time of bringing home a newborn.  Parents and kids alike will enjoy this one. 

recommended age: 2-5

say goodbye to summer with vampirina at the beach!

Summer is almost over, and we are having one more big beach bash before we say goodbye to running through the sprinkler and wedges of watermelon for lunch and say hello to school books and lunch boxes.  Thanks to Disney Hyperion for sending me a copy of this adorable book! 

This is the second book for Vampirina.  In her first book, Vampirina Ballerina, we meet our main character, a little vampire girl who wants very much to be a ballet dancer but has never taken a class before.  When she goes to the ballet school, she is definitely not your average student and does things her own way.  

In Vampirina At The Beach, Vampirina is going to the beach with her family and friends for a night of beachy fun.  They do all the things everyone does at the beach - building sand castles, splashing in the ocean waves, roasting marshmallows by the fire, but these beach-goers do things their own monstery way.  The combination of the familiar beach summer scene and the monsters of all shapes and sizes produces really fun results!  It reminds me of a modern, kiddy version of the tv show, The Munsters.  Every time I read this book, I can't help but hear the Munsters theme music.  

What's story time without snacks?!  We made some pretty pink and purple sea monster cookies to munch while we read today.  I like my recipes super, duper simple, and my monster cookies are made easily with the work of an octopus shaped cookie cutter.   Once you have made up your favorite sugar cookie dough and given it whatever bright color you want, cut the dough with the octopus cutter, and bake.  After they are baked and while they are still hot on the baking sheet, stick on several candy eyes.  

10 kids books about cake!

Today's book list is all about CAKE! Who doesn't love a big piece of chocolate cake? Or strawberry cake?  Or caramel cake?  Or coconut cake? Mmmmmm . . .Wait, what were we talking about? 

Books about cake! 

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake

By Michael Kaplan

Spot Bakes a Cake

By Eric Hill

Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake

By Thomas Taylor

Rude Cakes

By Rowboat Watkins

There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake (Picture Puffin)

By Hazel Edwards

Maisy Bakes a Cake: A Maisy First Science Book

By Lucy Cousins

BUNNY CAKES (Max and Ruby)

By Pearson Early Learning Group

Willy the Dinosaur & the Magic Cake

By Robert B. Grand

Curious George and the Birthday Surprise

By H. A. Rey, Margaret Rey

Buy on Amazon

Where Is Baby's Birthday Cake?: A Lift-the-Flap Book (Lift-The-Flap Book (Little Simon))

By Karen Katz

one of our favorite new books: dance is for everyone by andrea zuill

Do you have a little ballerina in your life? One that lives in her tutu and leotard even when it isn't a dance lesson day?  Do you know a child, especially a little boy, that thinks that they can't dance or don't belong in a ballet class?  You need to read Dance is For Everyone by Andrea Zuill. 

This story is about what happens when a 450 pound alligator shows up in a ballet class one day and wants to learn to dance. At first, the students and teacher don't know what to think or do.  They'd never had such a different type of student in their dance school before.  The alligator, later named Tanya, is so enthusiastic about ballet and so happy to dance that everyone overlooks their differences and looks for ways to work together to put on the best ballet show ever! 

We loved everything about this book.  The story is really funny. (Have you ever seen an alligator try to do a ballet twirl?)  I love the message of inclusiveness and acceptance, especially at the end, when instead of changing the alligator to fit in with the class, the class learns to find a place for Tanya's strengths.  

Andrea Zuill's illustration style is so charming and adds so much character and humor to the story.  This is Andrea's second children's book.  If you want to learn more about the author and her books, check out her website here. 

story time + snacks! triangle by mac barnett and jon klassen

Where do you stand on practical jokes?  There is one camp that stands firmly on the side of a joke is a joke is a joke, and everyone should just laugh it off no matter what.  There is the other camp on the side of sometimes jokes can be taken too far, and the situation becomes more mean than funny.  What do you think?  If I'm being honest, I'm probably not the biggest fan of practical jokes.  They always strike me as a bit mean-spirited, and I feel uncomfortable laughing at someone else's expense. 

In the new book by now-beloved duo, Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, two friends learn what it means to play a practical joke on a friend and what it means to take that joke too far. 

Triangle and Square are two friends in a world of shapes.  Triangle plays a trick on Square.  Square is afraid of snakes, and triangle pretends to be a snake.  It scared Square, but he gets his friends back by playing a trick on Triangle.  Kids will enjoy the funny parts of this book.  I have mixed emotions about this one.  I love this author/illustrator duo's style, but I have some reservations about the story.  I was having a conversation on Instagram about the story, and someone brought up a good point.  The story focus is overall negative, and it seems like the friends play mean jokes on each other without learning to treat each other kindly in the end.  Food for thought.  Speaking of food . . . . .  we made cookies!!!

We made some story-themed snacks today.  Y'all know that I have a Pinterest board with one million ways to cook and craft, but at the end of the day, I love a project that needs no Pinterest pin but instead can be put together in ten minutes with minimal fuss. These cookies/brownies are that minimal fuss project that will go perfectly with your Triangle reading.   

What you need:

• your favorite chocolate cookie dough or brownie recipe/mix (I used Dorie Greenspan's famous and delicious World Peace Cookies recipe.)
• candy eyes
• Nutella or melted chocolate

What to do:

• bake cookies/brownies according to the recipe.
• cut into triangles. (you could cut into triangles and then bake, but every time I do this, i get more triangle blobs instead of crisp-edged shapes.  It's up to you.)
• use the Nutella or melted chocolate to adhere the eyes to the cookie/brownie.
• enjoy your Mac Barnett creations!