by Carolyn | Animal books, Character Training, For fun, Imagination, Parenting, Picture Books, Read Alouds, Recommendations
Have you ever made a mistake that causes you want to curl up in a ball and hide from the world? I have! But when you’re a kid, those feelings are compounded. That’s exactly what Andrea Tsurumi’s fantastic new picture book, Accident!, is all about....
by Carolyn | Adventure, Bible, Boys, Character Training, Fantasy, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade, Read Alouds, Recommendations
The Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathan Rogers is a delightful middle-grade fantasy series. It’s based loosely on the life of King David from his shepherd days to his coronation. I had previously read the first book, The Bark of the Bog Owl, and recommended it on the...
by Carolyn | Character Training, Imagination, Picture Books, Preschool, Read Alouds, Recommendations
After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again… We all know the nursery rhyme: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couln’t put Humpty together again. But what if...
by Carolyn | Autobiography, Chapter Books, Cultural Diversity, Girls, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Older Elementary, Read Alouds
Let me introduce you to a modern-day Ramona. I have totally fallen for the quirky, honest, ambitious Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire by Susan Tan. The Story Cilla Lee-Jenkins is certain that she is destined for literary greatness. What she’s not...
by Carolyn | Education, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Preschool, Read Alouds
I remember the day my daughter realized homeschooling meant she would never ride the big yellow bus. It wasn’t that she saw other kids on our street joyfully piling in. Most of our neighbors were in their eighties. We had the only school-aged kids on the block....
by Carolyn | Animal books, Book Lists, Fantasy, For fun, Imagination, Picture Books, Poetry, Read Alouds, Recommendations
I don’t know how it started, but there has been a surplus of funny picture books with dragons published in the last few years. And when I say funny, I mean hilarious. I literally can’t read some of these without laughing out loud. If you have a child who...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Boys, Chapter Books, Fantasy, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade, Older Elementary, Read Alouds
{Before we dive into Jennifer Trafton’s latest book, Henry and the Chalk Dragon, I wanted to give y’all a heads up. I’m doing an INSTAGRAM GIVEAWAY of Trafton’s first book, The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic. If you’re interested,...
by Carolyn | Book Lists, Classics, Cultural Diversity, Nature, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Read Alouds
Snow can be magical for children, which explains why there are so many picture books about snow! I must have checked out over thirty books to find our very favorites to share with you. Maybe you’re knee-deep in snow. Or maybe–like us–the only snow...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Character Training, Fantasy, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Middle-grade, Older Elementary, Read Alouds, Recommendations, Spiritual Allegory
I’ve been wanting to write a post about my favorite middle-grade series for a while, but it’s so hard to write. I guess I’m afraid I won’t get it right. Because I really do want you to love The Wingfeather Saga as much as I do. And now that...
by Carolyn | Book Lists, Chapter Books, Character Training, Cultural Diversity, Early Readers, Education, Historical Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade, Newbery, Parenting, Read Alouds
This isn’t what I had planned on posting this month. But my heart has been heavy reading responses from friends on both sides of the aisle to the recent presidential election. There is fear of racism and persecution (and now actual occurrences of such). There...
