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...
by Carolyn | Book Lists, Education, Nature, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Preschool, Read Alouds
It’s fall. Here in South Texas that means the couple trees that change color have a few yellow leaves and the temperature has finally dipped below 90 degrees… at least on some days. We mainly seem to experience autumn through books. So let me share a few...
by Carolyn | Baby, Book Lists, For fun, Imagination, Parenting, Picture Books, Preschool, Read Alouds, Toddler
I like my bedtime books to be quiet and sedate. But if you like to add some laughs to your nighttime routine, you won’t want to miss these hilariously fun bedtime books. Your kids will giggle, cuddle, and (hopefully) yawn by the end. I hope you find some new...
by Carolyn | Animal books, Education, For fun, Imagination, Nature, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Read Alouds
They All Saw a Cat by debut author/illustrator Brendan Wenzel is easily one of my favorite picture books published this year. In fact, this picture book caught the attention of my older kids just as much (maybe more so) than my younger ones. It’s brand new, but...
