I don’t care how old my kids are; I still can’t resist checking out new picture books. Maybe it’s that irreplaceable smell of the freshly printed pages or the excitement of an inviting cover whose illustrations are begging me to find out what’s inside…whatever the reason, I’m hooked on books–and they’re not even for me! As a mom, I find the best books speak to me as a parents as much as they do to my kids. Witty puns read like inside jokes and tickle my funny bone on days I can use it most. And that’s the beauty of Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast, an ode to breakfast gone awry. Much like my kids fighting over the last ice pop on a sweltering [&hellip
new picture books Archive
There are few things I love more than getting my hands on a new book, especially kids’ books. (And if you happen to be an avid reader of this blog, you’ll understand this completely). The heavenly scent of freshly printed pages gets me every time (no e-readers for me, thank you very much), and the opportunity to dive head first into a new world is incredibly compelling. Books for kids have an important job to do, as far as I’m concerned: They must not only hold their attention, but stimulate their mind and capture their imagination. This season, I’m delighted to find two great picture books that tap into this love of learning with the great outdoors. Bug Detective is the bible for all things [&hellip
In our house, losing baby teeth means big business…and I’m talking about the Tooth Fairy making sure she has enough funds to satisfy the expectant child! Imagine how much easier life would be if a kid would rather forgo his cash reward and hang onto his lost tooth as his prize. Such is the premise of The Tooth Fairy Wars, a picture book that challenges kids to think outside the mouth, so to speak. The story revolves around a young boy named Nathan who’s determined to keep his missing teeth, no matter what the Tooth Fairy says or does. Page after page, he attempts to outsmart her with a series of seemingly clever antics…but is only met with disdain as she manages to one-up him. [&hellip
My favorite kind of books are picture books. I could spend hours in the children’s department of a bookstore, leafing through the pages of the gorgeous illustrations and uncomplicated verse. It won’t matter if my kids eventually outgrow these books, as I keep them on my own bookshelf just to peruse when I have a moment to dream and wonder. After all, isn’t that what a good book is supposed to do: allow you to enter a new world and escape reality for the time being? It doesn’t matter if that place is familiar or foreign, but rather that the journey of getting there transcends the present. For me, my latest excursion-through-books took me back to a time when I could remember what it was [&hellip
“Everyone is always good at something.” It was a mantra I heard throughout my childhood, from my teachers, to my own mother…and one that I find myself echoing today with my own kids. When my 9-year-old laments that she is small for her age, I remind her that bigger isn’t always better. “Just listen how loudly you can sing,” I tell her as she belts out a number from her theater class. Because each of us is unique, we have qualities and traits that we may sometimes frown upon or even take for granted without fully realizing the beauty in their purpose. That’s the theme behind a new children’s book, Clumsy Duck, in which the title character’s self-imposed name fails to capture his true talents. [&hellip
I truly don’t know a greater love than the one that exists between my 5-year-old and our cat. The two are practically inseparable and have fostered a bond that began when my daughter was just a baby. My mother reminds me that I too treasured my childhood kitty and how I cried every time we left for vacation, worrying that she’d be lonely (I still shed a tear before leaving Peanut, and hide my red eyes behind dark sunglasses before we head out of town.) Because their friendship is more than heartwarming–it transcends the bounds of human/animal duos–I am relishing a new picture book about a young girl who unsuspectingly befriends a furry friend while pet-sitting. A Year With Marmalade follows a year in the [&hellip
When I was about 10 or 11, my best friend Allison invited me to spend the night at her parents’ summer home in Westhampton Beach. Because I’d never been away from home without my family before, I was more scared than excited. My parents, in sharp contrast, saw this as an opportunity: an invitation to “summer” in the Hamptons? Who wouldn’t jump at the chance! After a bit of coaxing and a not-so-gentle nudge, my bag was packed and the next thing I knew, we were cruising the Montauk Highway in Allison’s dad’s car. By the time we reached Dune Road, I was hooked on life out east. After a day of boating around the tranquil bay, followed by frolicking in the rough surf, we [&hellip
Let’s face it: they’ve had it. I’m talking about the crayons in your kid’s desk. After months and months of grubby little hands completing classwork, decorating book covers and instilling creativity in any capacity, these dutiful classroom staples have done their due diligence–and then some. And if you think you’re exhausted, just get a load of their cracked disposition. In one of the most inventive picture books of the year, The Day the Crayons Quit, these crayons finally declare “enough!” and share their feelings with a boy named Duncan, their resident artist. Told through a collection of hilarious missives, each color explains why life hasn’t actually been fair lately and makes compelling arguments for their individual cases. From the over-worked red who “even works holidays” [&hellip
When I was a kid and Father’s Day rolled around, I often saved up enough money to buy my dad one of two things: either Old Spice after shave or Aqua Velva. And, if he was really lucky, I could spring for a gift set, which included soap on a rope. That would be a banner year for my dad. Never tiring of these gifts that epitomized what fatherhood meant to me, my father always accepted these tokens with gratitude. In fact, I think he even came to count on them, especially when he was running low on after shave. With Dad’s Day practically here once again, it’s time to treat our favorite fathers with something special. If you haven’t already gone out and buy [&hellip
Spring training is well underway, and myriads of baseball fans are snatching up season tickets in anticipation of Opening Day. As all this snow slowly melts away and thoughts turn to warmer days, it’s only natural that kids will want to grab their mitts and throw the ball around with Dear Old Dad. Just because my baseball enthusiasm is limited to catching an occasional game on TV (more when my dad was alive) doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the peanuts and crackerjacks part of the experience (wink, wink). But for those of you bona fide baseball fans who’ll go to the ends of the earth (or so it seems) to defend your home team’s honor, comes a delightful new picture book that will resonate with [&hellip
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