We really adore books at Boston Mamas, and today, Rene shares 10 offbeat book recommendations for kids:
We aren't ones to diss the classics, and we adore children's books that are timeless, like the works of Dr. Suess, Sandra Boynton and Eric Carle. But, if you are looking to try something new at bedtime, we've discovered some amazing new reads that don't fit the typical picture book mold.
Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) shares 7 great chapter books for kids (especially boys). See also, Lindsey's roundup of great books for boys + this crowd sourced collection of recommendations for books for boys!
I spend a lot of time thinking about books for my daughter, 12, and my son, 9. They love to read and keeping up with their changing tastes and interests is both fun and, sometimes, difficult.
Over the next few weeks I'm going to be reposting select back to school content from the Boston Mamas archives. Why? Because I've realized that there's some truly helpful material back there (oh how we have suffered with transitions!) and I'll be editing and refreshing this material for you. The first post in this series are 4 book recommendations for back to school. Books are so helpful in helping with back to school transitions!
Crowdsourcing for book recommendations has become one of my favorite things to do via social media. I love hearing how passionate people are about books and over the last several years, these lists have been my go-to source for so many wonderful reads! Following last year's 80 books for your booklist, I decided to canvas again and received 100 recommendations in a few days -- bookmark or print this list out for your next bookstore or library visit!
My friend Meagan Francis is a gifted writer and incredibly productive person. She is the mother of 5 children and has written 5 books, the latest being the e-book Beyond Baby. And what I love about this e-book is that it’s all about putting YOU back in focus following the baby years haze. Beyond Baby is divided into 40 weeks (get it?) of exercises that get you thinking and acting to better yourself, your shelter, your relationships, and your dreams.
I love having two sisters to share baby hand me downs with (I was fortunate to receive amazing hand me downs at my secondhand baby shower!), and as I've been collecting Vi's outgrown board books to pass along, I thought I'd share a roundup of 20 great board books for babies and toddlers in honor of Children's Book Day (today). These picks are perfect for gifting or expanding your own library!
Today, Lindsey shares some great book recommendations:
My daughter is 11, and in her independent reading has found a rich vein of chapter books with strong female protagonists (see my earlier post on books for strong and smart girls). Island of the Blue Dolphins, A Wrinkle in Time, Harriet the Spy, and even The Hunger Games series: all of these share gutsy, brave, intelligent girl narrators.
Today's Friday Find is perfect for book lovers! When I first opened T. T. Khing's Where Is the Cake? (a gift to Violet from my awesome brother-in-law) I was initially puzzled as there was nothing for me to read. But this look-and-find book has since proven incredibly captivating for kids and adults alike. The pages include numerous animal plot lines; even after a dozen "reads" I found myself discovering new story elements. We love this book and I'll be ordering Khing's follow up Where Is the Cake Now? soon!
In honor of Black History Month I wanted to share some resources to help inspire conversations and learning with your kids. Below is a roundup of books, printables, crafts, and interactive tools; if you've come across other great resources, I'd love to hear about them in the comments! Also, my friend Kelly Wickham, an incredibly smart writer and educator, will be be posting regularly about Black History Month; check her first post on Langston Hughes.
Holidays (national or somewhat arbitrary) offer fun inspiration for projects and lessons for kids. Yesterday was Penguin Awareness Day (though I'm happy to celebrate penguins any day of the year!) and I wanted to take this opportunity to shine a light on this fine bird with project, book, and design inspiration. If you have other ideas to share, feel free to do so in the comments below!
Today, Jennifer shares a roundup of books to help teach kids (and adults!) about the civil rights movement:
Last year, a school lesson on the civil rights movement really resonated with my children. They never willingly offer up information on their school day, yet in this case they were fighting to be the first to tell me all they had learned about Ruby Bridges. (“She was six years old like us and she helped to change the laws!”) To their shock, I was unfamiliar with the story (and yes, I was embarrassed to be getting schooled by two six-year-olds!).
Books are a major source of entertainment in our household. Laurel and Violet both love cuddling and reading, and I know that it's a gift to have the time to read to them (my parents and I never were able to read together). Tomorrow is Read a Book Day -- yay for books (tomorrow or any day)! I wanted to share what we're reading around here and also some great curated lists if you need some reading inspiration. Head to your favorite library or bookstore and grab some titles. I'd love to hear what you're reading right now!
A couple of weeks ago (as I watched Laurel devour the last of The Sisters Grimm series), I queried on Facebook and Twitter about books your kids were devouring. I've rounded them up below (using approximate age brackets via Amazon) and hope this provides fun literary inspiration for your kids. Also, here are some other roundups of great books for girls and boys, and don't forget to enjoy some reading on your own! Here are two collections of crowd-sourced recommendations, plus three wonderful books I recently read. HAPPY READING!
First, man do I need a nightstand (I'm coveting the one pictured here but it's a little spendy); right now I have a big stack of books sitting in a pile on the floor next to my bed. Second, one of my favorite ways to unwind and get my brain off the work/household minutia track at the end of the day is to curl up with a book in bed. Today I wanted to share three recent reads that I think deserve a place on your nightstand (or in your summer beach tote!):
Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) shares a roundup of great books for boys:
My 10-year-old daughter was an enthusiastic and avid reader from the day she figured out how to sound out words. She reads everything: novels, biographies, Ranger Rick, the side of the cereal box. In contrast, my son was much harder to interest in books. He was so disinterested, in fact, that I went into his 1st grade teacher conference convinced he needed outside help with reading. Imagine my surprise, then, when we learned he was one of only two boys in the top reading group, and that his aptitude was galloping ahead.
Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) shares four lovely sources for book plates:
I love gifting personalized book plates. Book plates may seem, I realize, old-fashioned, but I adore them. They celebrate reading and speak to a child's deep desire to mark things as their own. My children loved choosing which of their books deserved book plates, and to this day, when I happen upon their book plated copies of Goodnight Moon or Make Way for Ducklings, tears spring to my eyes when I remember their chubby toddler hands smoothing the stickers into the books. The crooked angle at which some of these plates are adhered reminds me of their fierce determination to "do it my own self!"
Today, Miriam (also of Other Pieces of Me) shares a handy resource for organic cleaning:
It's that time of year again! The birds are chirping. The snow is melting. The flowers are starting to poke out of the ground. And the sunshine can't get through the grime on my windows -- eep! Time for some spring cleaning. A few years ago, I decided to try to cut down on the chemicals we were using in our house. My husband is a bit of a cleaning supply addict and we had amassed a collection of sprays, powders, liquids, bleaches and wipes -- all with their very own cleanliness claims but none that I wanted gracing the surfaces of our home.