Mom on the edge.
Ok, yeah, I’ll admit it: I sort of thought Tweak Tweak was going to be treacly awfulness. An elephant baby tweaks her mom’s tail when she has a question. Yawn. But I was wrong! It’s cute, yes, but also silly and fun. And definitely something certain 3-year-olds I know wanted read aloud a thousand times. [...]
This is sort of a Children’s Book of the Week post. It’s high time I recommended the Barefoot Books podcast on here, because it’s such a lifesaver for us. You probably know the publisher Barefoot Books — they do a lot of folk tales and fairy tales, all very good. Well, they have a podcast [...]
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare “This looks like a terrible book. This looks like the worst book in the world.” That’s what Eli said when I told him we were reading The Sign of the Beaver as our homeschool reading book* (which is a book I read in the morning, when [...]
Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Harry Bliss As someone with four kids between 1 and 8, it’s really, really hard to find a bedtime chapter book that pleases everyone. There really aren’t that many books out there that are simple enough to be understood by all, but complex and interesting enough so that [...]
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll, illustrated by Howard McWilliam Zuzu hasn’t been this obsessed with a book since Sixteen Cows. I read I Need My Monster at least once a day right now. It’s a nice twist on the monster-under-the-bed classic: a boy discovers that his monster has gone fishing for a week, [...]
The Hiccupotamus by Aaron Zenz Let’s just jump right in to this one. Here’s how it starts: “There was a hippopotamus/Who hiccuped quite-a-lotamus/And every time he got’emus/He’d fall upon his bottomus.” Now, you are either thinking this sounds like the most annoying book ever, or, like me, you’re thinking, “Why hasn’t this been done before?” [...]
Five Minutes’ Peace by Jill Murphy This is one of those rare books that totally understands the trials of both children and parents, humorously appeals to those purported difficulties, and makes everyone feel happy and jolly and like they’ve been heard. Mrs. Large (an elephant) tries to sneak off to the bath so she can [...]
Petit, the Monster by Isol This is a very simple book based on what has probably been an issue since cave people were trying to figure out what makes children such nutty little beings: sometimes kids are angels, and sometimes they are not. They are, sometimes, as you can guess from the title, monsters. This [...]
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz I have now seen three reviews of this book that mentioned turning the last page, flipping the book over, and starting it again. I pretty much dismissed all that, but got it because the concept — a retelling of classic Grimm brother stories that weaves Hansel and [...]
Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Red Nose Studio This is my Earth Day book pick. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but it has really grown on me (it’s one of those books that has been helped rather than hurt by the fact that Eli wants it read to [...]
