by Carolyn Leiloglou | Girls, Nature, Parenting, Picture Books, Read Alouds, Recommendations, Toddler
I never had a sister, but I do have three girls, so I’m always excited to find a book about sisters getting along (or learning to do so). And I’ve recently found a delightful series of picture books that do just that! Lori Nichols series about Maple and...
by Carolyn Leiloglou | For fun, Imagination, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Preschool, Read Alouds, Recommendations, Toddler
This fun picture book totally surprised me! I had expected Home by Carson Ellis to be about different types of homes people from around the world from highrises and ranches to igloos and wigwams. And Home does start out that way. Then, just when you think you know...
by Carolyn Leiloglou | Audiobooks, Classics, Girls, Imagination, Older Elementary, Read Alouds
We listened to Emily’s Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary as an audiobook, and let’s just say I was enchanted along with my kids by this story. Emily Bartlett lives on a farm in a small Oregon town in the 1920’s. She longs for a library, like the...
by Carolyn Leiloglou | Board Books, Book Lists, Picture Books, Preschool, Read Alouds
Bedtimes can be hectic! And if you have multiple kids, the act of getting everyone clean, pajamafied, and in (but not jumping on) their beds gets trickier. But days that end with a snuggle and a story are always sweeter. There are a couple of tricky things about...
by Carolyn Leiloglou | Biography, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Movies, Older Elementary, Read Alouds
Several years ago, when my older kids were four and six, I decided to read The Invention of Hugo Cabret to them. My husband and I had just seen the movie, so I was pretty excited about the book. I put it on hold at the library and waited patiently. I was expecting a...
by Carolyn Leiloglou | Book Lists, Boys, Girls, Imagination, Older Elementary, Poetry, Read Alouds
It’s easy to neglect reading our kids poetry. But poetry can give our children an appreciation for words, rhythms, sounds and meaning like nothing else. Poems show you the world with a new view. They can be endearing, funny, or breathtaking; the best poems...
by Carolyn Leiloglou | Board Books, Character Training, Imagination, Picture Books, Read Alouds
When I first discovered the Little Books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, I thought they were a hoot (pun intended). Little Hoot, Little Oink, and Little Pea offer a hilariously different perspective on the “problems” of childhood such as having to go to bed,...
by Carolyn Leiloglou | Adventure, Dystopian Future, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Older Elementary, Read Alouds, Sci-fi
Dystopian future novels have been very popular the last several years with the Hunger Games and Divergent among the front runners (read my review of Divergent). These types of novels hold an immense appeal. They feel more realistic than straight out fantasy. They also...
by Carolyn Leiloglou | Book Lists, Picture Books, Read Alouds, Recommendations
I’ve been thinking a lot about Dr. Seuss recently since the announcement that a new manuscript, What Pet Should I Get?, has been found and will be published posthumously. I’ve found that parents either love or hate Dr. Seuss’s books for their kids....
by Carolyn Leiloglou | Adventure, Book Lists, Character Training, Imagination, Older Elementary, Read Alouds
I believe reading aloud is so important! It is special family bonding time. Sharing a story together gives us shared experience, shared characters, shared adventure, shared emotion. We are able to walk through a story and wonder together at the same things, empathize...
