by Carolyn | Board Books, Book Lists, Education, Picture Books
Most alphabet books are basically the same. One letter per page with one or more illustrations or photos of objects starting with that letter. Helpful in teaching the alphabet but not really a joy to read. (And lets face it, we need to read these books over and over...
by Carolyn | Audiobooks, Education, Picture Books, Read Alouds
My kids and I recently checked out The King Of The Birds by Helen Ward from the library and loved it! The storyline feels like one of Aesop’s Fables. The words are carefully chosen and the tale is beautifully told. How will the birds choose a king? This book so...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Boys, Juvenile Fiction, Older Elementary
A friend of mine asked me what I knew about the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Her kids had heard about the books from their cousins, and she wanted to know if they would be appropriate. I was curious too having seen them in my library with the paperbacks geared...
by Carolyn | Character Training, Education, Girls, Picture Books
We all want to be teaching our kids character traits like patience, consideration, and trustworthiness. But sometimes helping kids understand what those words really mean can be a challenge. Learning a meaning in context helps kids grasp the abstract. This book can...
by Carolyn | For fun, Free
Kids love having things that are their very own. And if we want them to value books, helping them build their own collection is a great start. I still have and treasure books I owned as a child! If your child is beginning their own personal library, they will love...
by Carolyn | Board Books, Book Lists
You can hardly have a complete baby/toddler (even preschooler) library without at least a few books by Sandra Boynton. She really is the master of simple, humorous board books that are not torturous for a parent to read again and again. And again. Let’s face it,...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Boys, Character Training, Imagination, Older Elementary, Spiritual Allegory
When I first read The Magic Bicycle by John Bibee in fifth grade, the whole Spirit Flyer Series instantly became one of my all time favorites. I didn’t have to be told that the Spirit Flyer bicycles were an allegory for the Holy Spirit or that the snakes...
by Carolyn | Boys, Education, Picture Books
Ok, I’m neither a boy, nor a kid, and I still think that this counting book is seriously cool. Author/Illustrator Christopher Wormell uses linoleum block prints in his book Teeth Tails and Tentacles to illustrate each animal with chunky black lines. Instead of...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Book Lists, Highschool, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Reading, Recommendations, Wordless Books, Young Adult
Ok, let’s be honest, almost any book can (and should) inspire the imagination. But some are just better at it than others. In my opinion, there are three basic kinds of books that inspire imagination: 1) Books in which the main character(s) are playing...
