Our Weekly Bookshelf

It's so much fun to share our highlights with you, and if you're anything like me, I love seeing what other folk are reading!

(Extra special favorites this week are marked with an asterisk).

What Is a Wise Bird Like You Doing in a Silly Tale Like This?, by Uri Shulevitz *

As the title implies, this is indeed a silly tale, that had my three kiddos in giggles. This is a reread for us, and just a delightfully goofy story. 

The Wonderful House, by Margaret Wise Brown

My four year old twins enjoyed guessing who liked in each of the homes depicted. A sweet book. 

The Friday Nights of Nana, by Amy Hest *

A lovely glimpse into a young girl's Sabbath preparations with her Nana. The illustrations in this book are wonderful; we really enjoyed this one b

Uptown, by Bryan Collier

What is Uptown? This book answers that question with wonderful art work and a sparse narrative. 

Open House For Butterflies, by Ruth Krauss *

Hands down, my children's favorite book of the week! A little surreal (similar to Ruth Krauss' A Hole Is to Dig), this book is a series of vignettes, rhymes and whimsies. 

When Jessie Came Across the Sea, by Amy Hest *

This one was my personal favorite of the week. Beautiful illustrations (by P. J. Lynch), this book shares the story of a young girl immigrating to the States in the early 1900s. Stunning. 

This Is My Home, This Is My School, by Jonathan Bean

A funny, sweet book about a homeschool home; as homeschoolers, my children loved reading a book that captured their homeschool-home!

William's Doll, by Charlotte Zolotow

When a young boy wants a doll, some friends and family members are critical. This book is a gentle nod of approval to every boy who wants to care for a doll. 

Crinkleroot's Guide to Giving Back to Nature, by Jim Arnosky

"Crinkleroot was born in a tree and raised by bees ... " We are huge fans of the Crinkleroot books, and their nature focus. 

The Storm Book, by Charlotte Zolotow

This book follows the journey of a storm; the double page illustrations were particularly popular with my audience!

My Pen, by Christopher Myers

A surreal little book, exploring the imaginative creations possible with pen and paper. A great read for any budding artists.

What have you been reading and enjoying just recently?

Feel free to leave a comment; I'd love to hear from you! 

Blankets, Warm Milk and Picture Books

One of my favorite times to read aloud, and in particular picture books, is at bedtime. You too?!

The kiddos are in their pajamas, cups of milk at hand, snuggled in beside me for one or two (or three. Or four!) picture books. Perfect way to round out the day. 

We've read a couple of picture books recently that were particular favorites. 

Library Lion, by Michelle Knudsen and illustrations by Kevin Hawke, is one of those picture books that I wished I had read as a child. That story is delightful, and the illustrations are beautiful. Plus, it's a lovely story about one of my family's very favorite places!

Iggy Peck, Architect, by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts, was one that we read repeatedly for a few evenings - my engineering-obsessed boys particularly enjoyed this one. The illustrations do a lovely job of straddling the more technical architectural depictions alongside the whimsical cartoons of Iggy Peck and his building adventures. 

And last but not least, Hoot and Peep, written and illustrated by Lita Judge. This sweet book about a little owl and her older brother is a little silly, yes, but really fun (all three of my kiddos were giggling their way through this read aloud). As for myself, I appreciated the story's message of embracing each person's, and owl's, individuality. A fun read!

What have been your favorite recent picture books?

A Different Kind of Fairy Tale

I know I can't be the only mama with this dilemma ... I'm mama to a young girl, who is interested in fairies and mermaids and princesses and unicorns, but struggling to find decent books that fit her requests for read aloud books in that genre.

My four year old daughter is just such a little girl, but as neither of us are 'girly girls', and I have a particularly low tolerance for reading twaddle (this article from Simply Charlotte Mason does a much better job of describing 'twaddle' than I could!)

Enter my amazing local librarians!

When I asked the librarians in the children's department of my local librarian for recommendations for picture books about fairies that were rich and beautiful, I was pointed in the direction of these two gems.

The Mud Fairy, by Amy Young, is a lovely tale of Emmelina the young fairy who would rather play in the mud with the frogs than traipsing around in pink tutus. The story follows her journey of self discovery, becoming a fairy in 'her' way! This was a huge hit with all three of my children (boys and girl alike!)

The Tiptoes Guide to Tracking Fairies, by Ammi-Joan Paquette, illustrations by Christa Uzner - oh my goodness! 

This book is just so magical, a lovely book for wee folk who are enchanted by the idea of fairies living in the world around them. The illustrations are lovely drawings incorporated into photographs, which further deepens the idea that the young reader could go off in search of their own fairies. Beautiful!

What are your favorite fairy books? Feel free to share in the comments!