I have fond memories of a book I read in middle school about a boy who travels back in time when walking in the fog. For many years, I could not remember the title of this book or find it on the Internet.
Continue readingA list of our family’s favorite picture books! Many are also available as board books for the youngest readers.
Our family’s favorite Christmas books and movies to celebrate the season!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
by Dr. Seuss
A classic Dr. Seuss book about the true meaning of Christmas.
Also a classic holiday movie.
The Gingerbread Pirates
by Kristin Kladstrup
Captain Cookie “had a gingerbread cutlass and a peg leg made from a toothpick. Jim loved him best of all.” While searching for his crew and wishing for a pirate ship, Captain Cookie learns the meaning of Christma
The Mole Family’s Christmas
by Russell Hoban
Delver mole learns about Christmas and dreams of a telescope so that he can see the stars, but he doesn’t have a chimney. “…you never can tell what will happen when a boy like Delver puts his mind to something.”
The Polar Express
by Chris Van Allsburg
A child takes a magical journey to the North Pole on the Polar Express and receives a very special gift from Santa.
Also a movie.
Christmas Day in the Morning
by Pearl S. Buck
Rob decides to give his father “the best Christmas gift I ever had…” A special Christmas story by the award-winning author of The Good Earth
The Secret of St. Nicholas
by Ellen Nibali
The true story of the saint who inspired the familiar Saint Nick.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Illustrated by Jan Brett
The classic Christmas song with the beautiful illustrations of Jan Brett
The Night Before Christmas
Illustrated by Holly Hobbie
An Orange for Frankie
by Patricia Polacco
Frankie anxiously looks forward to his special Christmas orange. A story from Polacco’s own family
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Our family’s favorite Christmas movie! The classic Charles Dickens story with wonderful music and the beloved Muppets
Schools and work are closed, and to celebrate, my Kindle picture book, The Winter That Almost Wasn’t is FREE on Amazon today!
Making snowmen, sledding, snow angels, and so much more!
Sally, Mia and Ben can’t wait for snow, so they’ll try all the ways they can think of to make it snow.
“Sleep on a spoon
and we’ll have snow soon!”
How many snow making ideas do you know?
My daughter and I created this picture book last winter about a disappointing winter several years ago. My kids had wished for a good snow all through the winter. Just like the three kids in the story, they kept trying all the different ways they know to make it snow.
After hearing the story, my then 12 year old daughter offered to illustrate it for me, and we enjoyed working on this project together.
We hope you’ll download our book today from Amazon at The Winter That Almost Wasn’t. Please leave a review to help us promote our book! Thank you!
If you don’t have a Kindle device, you can get a free ebook reader for PCs and most mobile devices on Amazon.
There are many wonderful children’s book with beautiful illustrations, but some books go above and beyond by capturing the imagination and drawing the reader in with an interactive experience.
These are books that my children and I have found to be extra special. My thirteen year old daughter who is “too old for picture books” couldn’t resist taking a peek, and they are sure to inspire interest in even a reluctant reader. They will make excellent gifts because they’ll be favorites to be enjoyed over and over.
A story told through pictures of a girl with a red crayon and a wonderful imagination.
Amazing illustrations with optical illusions similar to those of M. C. Escher to challenge your imagination. My favorite is the tall bridge that morphs into huge sailing ships on the title page.
Imagine a Night
Beautifully detailed illustrations make it easy to understand why this book is a Caldecott Medal winner. Yet, the illustrations also tell a fascinating story without any text. A boy finds an old-fashioned camera washed up on the beach. When he has the film developed, the photos show a magically imaginative world under the ocean, as well as images of the other children who have discovered the camera on beaches around the world.
With illustrations that look amazingly like photographs, Thompson tells the story of three kids who find a bag of chalk which magically makes what they draw come to life. Things get really exciting when they draw a dinosaur! The illustrations look so real you’ll be looking closer to see if they might be photos or computer generated, but the copyright page states, “Bill Thompson embraced traditional painting techniques and meticulously painted each illustration by hand, using acrylic paint and colored pencils.”
Each illustration includes a list of everyday objects hidden in a fairy tale themed photo.
We also really like
Can You See What I See?: The Night Before Christmas
Such a simple book illustrated with primary colors. Yet it harnesses the power of the imagination to create an interactive experience in which the reader feels as though they are causing the pictures to change from one page to the next.
“Mistakes can create opportunities for creativity” is the wonderful message of this book. This message is expressed through pages with flaps and windows that change tears and drips of paint into creative pictures.
One of several Waldo books by Hanford, Where’s Waldo? asks the reader to look for Waldo in each detailed illustration for a fun, interactive adventure.
If your kids are like mine, they can’t bear to even think about going back to school yet. But it’s coming whether they like it or not. Now’s a good time to get into the mind frame with some of these humorous and inspirational books!
By John Grandits
Kyle is riding the school bus for the first time so his brother gave him a list of rules. How will he ever be able to follow all of them?!
It’s the first day at her new school and Sarah Jane Hartwell is nervous. With some coaxing she gets up and gets ready for school. But things are not always what they seem.
By David Mackinstosh
Marshall is very different from everyone at his new school. But one of his classmates gets to know him and comes to have a new opinion on making friends with new classmates.
By Amy Littlesugar, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Most children are reluctant to return to school in the fall, but they may feel differently after hearing the challenges Jolie overcomes to attend school. It’s 1964 and a Freedom School teacher comes to teach in Jolie’s community in Mississippi, but others in the community don’t want Jolie, her family and friends to attend school. This book is based on interviews with actual Freedom School teachers who taught black children and adults in Mississippi.
By Stephen Krensky, Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi
Kids are always surprised to see their teachers outside of school. This is a cute story about a boy who thinks he knows what his teacher does when the kids leave school, but starts to wonder when he sees her in the community.
My Teacher Is a Monster! (No, I Am Not.)
Bobby’s teacher is a monster. She’s often yelling and stomping. After they see each other in the park and spend some time together, they both see each other differently. A story that is both funny and sweet.
Ladybug Girl
By David Soman and Jacky Davis
Lulu’s brother tells her she’s too little to play baseball, but as Ladybug Girl, she can do anything! Filled with the simple pleasures of a morning outside and discoveries of what even a small person can do.
My Chincoteague Pony
By Susan Jeffers
Based on a true story, this book tells of Julie who “loved ponies…she read Misty of Chincoteague over and over again” and dreams of a pony of her own. This book appears to be out of print and only available second hand, but is a wonderful story of Julie’s trip to Chincoteague Island, Virginia for Pony Penning Day to buy a pony. It is through the touching help of strangers that her dream comes true.
Ghost Ship
By Mary Higgins Clark, Illustrated by Wendell Minor
While staying with his grandmother on Cape Cod, Thomas meets a boy on the beach who tells him a story of sailing ships, a brave captain and adventure long ago; accompanied by great pictures by award-winning illustrator Wendell Minor.
Roller Coaster
By Marla Frazee
A simple, fun story about the excitement of riding a roller coaster. Fun to watch the different people riding and their reactions to the ride throughout.
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
By Candace Fleming
Mr. McGreely dreams of eating all the wonderful veggies from his garden. And three rabbits do too! Mr. McGreely will try to keep those rabbits out of his garden, but the rabbits just might be smarter.
Happy reading!
Picture books to celebrate America’s birthday.
My kids and I have read a lot of books about America and patriotism recently to get ready for July 4th. These are our favorites.
Paintings by Wendell Minor
Beautiful paintings of American landscapes. Includes the story of how Katharine Lee Bates was inspired to write the poem “America the Beautiful” from Pikes Peak in Colorado in 1893, and how Samuel Augustus Ward wrote the music that is now well-known.
By Pat Mora & Libby Martinez, Illustrated by Patrice Barton
A sweet story about Libby and her great aunt who passed the test to become an American citizen, and what the Pledge of Allegiance means and who wrote it.
Illustrated by Peter Spier
The national anthem illustrated with engaging watercolors that depict the British attack of Fort McHenry in Baltimore in the War of 1812 when the Star-Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key. Also includes the story of the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during that battle and how it came to be in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
By Allan Drummond
The excitement at the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty, and what she means to America and the world.
By Linda Skeers, pictures by Ard Hoyt
Caleb struggles to create a patriotism project for Parents’ Night until he is inspired by his father who can’t be there. A touching story about the many symbols and meanings of patriotism.
Illustrated by Charles Santore
Beautiful illustrations bring to life the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, telling the story of how Paul Revere warned the colonists of the arrival of the British army.
By Jill Frankel Hauser
Crafts and activities to celebrate America; and learn about its symbols, natural beauty, landmarks, and diversity.
Happy reading and Happy 4th of July!
