Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Who’s Who? by Ken Geist

May 10, 2013 - 11:35 am No Comments

A super cute rhyming book that celebrates the relationship between twins. The author of this book has twins and they were the inspiration for this story.
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How to Babysit a Grandpa by Jean Reagan

June 8, 2012 - 8:46 am No Comments

I love this book of a little boy and his grandpa spending the day together while his mom and dad are out. They make yummy snacks together (ice cream topped with cookies and cookies topped with ice cream), go on a fun walk while looking for lizards and dandelion puffs, build a pirate cave, draw and read. Grandpa even manages to sneak a little nap in. A super cute book and a great way to celebrate grandpas!

The 10 Best Things About My Dad by Christine Loomis

June 5, 2012 - 1:09 pm No Comments

Everyone probably has their own top ten list of things they love about their dad if they thought about it. This little boy knows what his are and they include a dad who reads bedtime stories, is a very good listener and likes to be silly. Maybe your little ones can make a Top 10 List for their dad this Father’s Day.

Before You Came by Patricia MacLachlan & Emily MacLachlan Charest

January 25, 2012 - 10:46 am No Comments

This would be a beautiful book to share with a your baby, toddler or preschooler. The mother in the story talks about what her life was like before she has a baby and then moves on to talk about how she now shares all of those things with her child and how she used to think she had everything until she had a child. Yep, you might tear up a little…such a sweet and touching book.

Will You Read to Me? by Denys Cazet

January 19, 2012 - 2:40 pm No Comments

Hamlet isn’t quite like all of the other pigs. He likes to read and write poems. He’s really not all that into eating and he doesn’t lay around in the mud. His mom, dad and siblings aren’t quite sure what to do with him.
Hamlet gets pretty discouraged one day when no one will listen to the poems he’s written. He ends up reading them to his reflection in the pond on the farm and it turns out that there a lot of critters who not only like his poetry, but want to hear more. This is a great book about acceptance and doing your own thing because even though not everyone will appreciate you for being you, someone will. I also love the descriptive language in this book and the beautiful illustrations.

Flora’s Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall

October 4, 2011 - 9:12 am No Comments

Flora has about had it with her little brother, Crispin. Their mom sends them outside to play on a very windy day and Flora’s little brother ends up getting swept up in the wind. Flora takes off her super heavy boots so that she too can be swept up in the wind and rescue her little brother. On their adventure they bump into a dragonfly, a sparrow, a rainbow, a cloud, an eagle and the moon. All of them want Crispin to stay with them and help them, but Flora knows it’s her duty as the big sister to get him home safe and sound.

I also love, love, love the watercolors used for the illustrations in this book. They are so beautiful and really capture the feeling of the fall leaves and the blowing wind.

Audiobooks for Children

June 15, 2011 - 11:33 pm No Comments

Going on a a road trip this summer? It’s the perfect time to check out some audio books from the library. Audio books are great for a number of reasons. Even though all of your children may not be able to read or maybe they are all reading at different levels, they can all enjoy the same audio book. We listen to audiobooks all the time in the car. (Not only is it great because they are listening to books, but it keeps them from bickering in the car…they can’t hear the story if they are arguing.) 🙂 We just finished listening to the ENTIRE ten book 39 Clues series. (As great as it was, I do not recommend this series unless all of your children are over the age of eight or nine…there were some parts that were a bit violent.) Now we are listening to The Magic Treehouse Series…much less violent. 🙂 The narrator, who also happens to be the author of the books, does a great job and they are all appropriate for the entire family. Here are some other books/series that are great listening for the whole family:

*Berenstain Bears
*Little House on the Prairie Series
*Frog and Toad Series
*A Light in the Attic
*Biscuit Series
*Tikki Tikki Tembo
*Curious George
*The Three Billy Goats Gruff
*Amelia Bedelia Series
*The Boxcar Children Series

Birds and the Bees Books

March 30, 2011 - 2:42 pm No Comments

Bethany House Publishers recently sent me some books to review here on MommaReads. I was super excited to read them because I was hoping they would be a good stepping stone into “the birds and the bees” talk that is inevitable. What I really like about Jim Burns’ series in that there are different books for different ages. I have God Made Your Body for ages 3-5 and How God Makes Babies for ages 6-9. The first one talks about how everyone is made differently…different hair color, eye color, etc. It also talks about how boys have penises and girls have vaginas and introduces the concept of an egg and sperm and uses the term “making love”. The main message of this book is that each person is unique and special.

The second book talks about everything the first book talks about including safe touching and who should/shouldn’t be allowed to touch our “private parts”. As far as how babies are made, this book discusses how a husband and wife (note: not a man and a woman) make a baby is that the husband puts his penis inside the wife’s vagina. The book also goes on to say that “that might sound icky to you, but that’s okay” and goes on to assure kids that it’s a beautiful thing for married grown-ups.
This book also talks about how babies come out of a mom’s vagina and that babies are a lot of work. It also includes some pictures of cell’s dividing in the early stages of pregnancy and also a sonogram picture.
Both books are very well written.

Have we shared them with our kids yet? No, we haven’t made that leap yet, but I am glad to know that I will have a little help when we are ready.

Just Like You by Jan Fearnley

March 28, 2011 - 2:31 pm No Comments

Little Mouse is a little jealous of the other animals. Daddy Frog can jump really high to bring his little frogs the juiciest bugs and Mama Rabbit can dig deep, deep burrows to keep her babies safe. But what can Mama Mouse do that’s so special? She can do a lot of things, but what she can do best is always love her Little Mouse with all her heart.

Hannah’s Baby Sister by Marisabina Russo

March 26, 2011 - 10:19 pm No Comments

Hannah is so excited to meet her new baby sister. She has picked out a name for her, made a pillow for her with the baby’s name on it and even decided that her new little baby sister is going to have red hair. Imagine her surprise when she finds out that her new baby sister is actually a new baby brother. All it takes is a trip to the hospital and holding that sweet baby in her arms to help Hannah realize that baby brothers are pretty neat, too.