Today I'd like to introduce you to a couple of my family's favorite picture books.

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a small book that is full of humor. Little Pea has a problem. His parents insist he clean his dinner plate before he can have dessert. Rosenthal's spin on this typical scenario is that Little Pea's family eats candy for dinner and Little Pea hates candy! A cute story with a fun spin. There are two other books in this series, Little Oink and Little Hoot, which are both as short, cute and funny as Little Pea.

Amadi's Snowman by Katia Novet Saint-Lot and illustrated by Dimitrea Tokunbo is a wonderful story about a boy named Amadi who lives in Nigeria. Amadi plans to be a businessman (a trader) when he grows up and sees no reason why he should learn to read. His mother has arranged for a reading tutor to teach him to read, but Amadi ducks out before she arrives. While walking around the market he comes across an older boy reading a book. Amadi is fascinated by the book, especially when the other boy explains that it is about snow. Amadi can't stop thinking about snow or about the book. His world is broadened and he finds that he does want to learn to read.

I had several interesting discussions with my kids based on this book. I love books that provide the opportunity for conversations with my kids. We talked a lot about Nigeria, where it is located, the climate, even the food that can be found there. My oldest son was amazed to learn that there are kids who never learn to read and that there are kids who choose not to learn to read. We had a great discussion about literacy and this book was the jumping off point for that conversation.

What have you and your family been reading lately? Leave a comment, I'm always curious what others are reading!

Here’s a peek at what we are reading (over and over and over...) around our house these days!

The baby is now following me around the house with a book in his hands, all but begging me to sit down and read to him. I love this! Mostly he wants to read stories with animals in them. And flaps! Lift-the-flap books are always a huge hit with him. Baby Animals is his current favorite.

My daughter can often be found sitting on the couch with a tower of books next to her. She patiently looks through her books until I manage to tear myself away from dishes or laundry to read to her. I’m not sure she has a favorite book, but we have read Farley Follows His Nose by Lynn Johnston and Beth Cruikshank many, many times the past few days. FARLEY is a sweet book about a dog who runs off after his bath and spends the next few hours sniffing his way through the neighborhood.

My six year old continues to insist he is a pirate, fortunately pirates are hugely popular in children’s fiction right now. Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi and John Manders is a funny tale about Henry who would rather spend his days reading books than learning how to be a pirate. I like this book and have yet to tired of reading it.

My oldest son is still working his way through The Boxcar Children series, but he also enjoys non-fiction. The Nature Activity series are books he has read and re-read for several years now. Science is by far his favorite subject and these books help him learn about many different scientific areas: Rocks, Weather, Birds, and Bugs! Bug Hunter by David Burnie, is one of his favorites in this series.

When I’m not reading any of the above mentioned books, I have been reading The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes. Not quite finished reading it yet, but so far I have enjoyed it tremendously.

Not sure what I will read after AGE OF WONDER. I confess that my books-to-read stack is a wee bit excessive, but I’ll let you know what I pick up next.

Thank you for your wonderful book recommendations. The ones that I haven't read are now on my to-be-read list. The winner of the $40 Amazon Gift Card is Claudia! Congraulations, Claudia! Her comment:

Send me an email, Claudia, and I'll send the $40 Amazon Gift Card your way!

Over the past few days I have been thinking about the books I read last year. I read a broad variety of books including children and adult books. I also enjoy books from nearly every genre.
Here are a few of my favorites from last year:

Picture Book
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (wordless picture book, the illustrations are astounding!)
Tiger Can’t Sleep by S. J. Fore, illustrated by R. W. Alley
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

Middle Grades
Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry   
The Calder Game by Blue Balliet
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Young Adult
Peak by Roland Smith
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Adult Books
The Secret Life of Cowboys by Tom Groneberg
Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman

This is a random list. This list represents my favorites today. Tomorrow the list will probably be different. These books were all memorable for me, they are books I had a difficult time setting aside. They are books that I HAD to tell my husband about (in excruciating detail, he’ll tell you). Also, these aren't necessarily books that were published in 2009, just books I happened to read last year.

My absolute favorite?

Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry. This fabulous book is set on a modern-day eastern Oregon ranch. The main character is a 12 year old boy who, with the help of his grandparents, is charged with caring for the ranch while his father is deployed to Iraq. An amazing book! I highly recommend it. Even if you haven’t read children’s literature since you were in school, I urge you to give this one a chance.

Did you read any great books last year? I would love to hear about them. I am always looking for book recommendations either for me or for my kids. Leave a comment telling me about your favorite books from 2009 and you will be entered in a drawing for a $40 Amazon Gift Card. Deadline for entering is 11:59 p.m. on January 14th.   

Several people have approached me recently requesting book recommendations. In response to this question I like to suggest books that I have read and can give a personal recommendation.  Or if the request is for children’s books, then I usually give a quick list of books my kids are currently enjoying. I thought I'd share the current favorite children's books in our house, just in case anyone still has some shopping to do.

My one year old is busy reading texture books, where he can feel the different textures on each page. He likes the Touch and Feel Series from DK Publishing.

My three year old wants to read anything she can get her hands on, but lately her favorites are Christmas books. We enjoy many of Karma Wilson's books throughout the year so Mortimer's Christmas Manger is a natural fit for our family over the holidays.

We also read Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg on what seems like an hourly basis!

Our resident six year old pirate has been requesting Do Pirates Take Baths? by Kathy Tucker and Nadine Bernard Westscott 

and Night Pirates by Peter Harris and Deborah Alright. Any girl pirates in your life? Check out this book!

He also recently discovered Chris Van Dusen’s If I Built a Car. The whole family enjoys this book. Great fun!

My eight year old is reading chapter books and particularly enjoys series books. Currently, he is working his way through Gertrude Chandler Warner's Boxcar Children books.

As a matter of fact, he finished #7 this morning. We awoke to a power outage and soon received the phone call notifying us that school was cancelled. After his whoop of excitement at staying home today, he quickly grabbed a flashlight and curled up in a chair to finish his book.

He was so engrossed in his book he either didn’t notice or didn’t care that I was taking his picture. Isn’t that a great feeling? To be so fully immersed in your book that the world around you fades away. I am excited for him; he has so many worlds to dive into, so many books he hasn’t yet read just waiting for an eight year old boy to discover them.

It is the holiday season and at my house that means it’s time to pull out the Christmas books. Yeah! Throughout the year, I tend to forget which holiday books we have. I love getting them out and gathering on the couch with the kids to read them for the first time each holiday season.

Winter’s Gift by Jane Monroe Donovan is one of my children’s favorites. Originally, I think they were drawn to the story because it involves a horse, but they continue to love it because the story is powerful to them.

It has a unique story line for a picture book, the main character is an older man preparing for his first Christmas as a widower. On Christmas Eve he finds a horse wandering near his home. He leads the horse into his barn and cares for it throughout the night. Waking on Christmas morning, he is greeted with a beautiful surprise. You may not think it sounds like a story that would appeal to kids, but Donovan relates the message of hope, love, and kindness in a way that children understand and enjoy reading or listening to (again and again and again...).

The illustrations are beautiful and add to the depth of emotion throughout the book.  Donovan’s final page is an illustration, no text, that brings the story to a heartwarming conclusion. I am always amazed to hear kids talk about the illustrations in books. Sometimes, I get so busy reading that I don’t study the illustrations, but kids glean so much information from the illustrations (and always tell me what I may have missed!). Donovan’s conclusion is no exception and provides a natural segue to discussing the story.

Winter’s Gift would make a wonderful addition to your holiday book collection. I encourage you to check it out!

Our house is filled with many things, but mostly the kids and their various accessories: Lego’s, building blocks, Tonka trucks, stuffed animals, science kits, craft supplies and books.

Lots of books. Shelves of books. Towers of books. Mountains of books. 

Avalanches of books, at times.

I thought I would introduce you to one of our favorites.

Casey’s New Hat by Tricia Gardella, illustrated by Margot Apple. This is an older picture book, published in 1997, but it is a family favorite. Gardella creates an authentic slice of life for a ranch family. Apple’s illustrations are delightful, as always. Casey is in need of a new hat, but she is struggling to find just the right hat. In search of the perfect hat, Casey tries on several different styles. She finally finds the “perfect hat” in an unexpected place.

If this book is a little difficult to find at your local bookstore, I encourage you to make a trip to your local library.

Have fun reading!