Although anytime’s a good time to teach your kids about fearsome women in history, Women’s History Month and it’s the perfect time for me to give you a book list! As a parent I like to use picture book biographies to teach my kids about historical figures, but these stories are not just dry texts….
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Picture Books for Kids
This is a collection of all of my book lists for children that feature our favorite picture books. Book lists are arranged by theme. You will find folktales from around the world, holiday books, wordless book, our best books of the year as well as titles on many other topics. Happy reading!
Using Children’s Books to Teach about Empathy and Grief
It’s so hard sometimes to talk to kids about tragedy and how to deal with tough emotions like grief. Picture books can provide a valuable entry point into conversations with young children. In the wake of the awful tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary I decided to delay the book list I had scheduled for today…
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Our Favorite Picture Books of 2012 (Part 4)
We have read so many great picture books this year and now is the time when I share with you our fourth and final list of favorite picture books published in 2012. (Note: these are not necessarily our all time favorites of the year, just the final list in the series.) We do not have…
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Swedish Christmas and Holiday Picture Books
Growing up the grandchild of Swedish immigrants, Swedish illustrated picture books, and especially Swedish Christmas books, were a steady part of my reading diet. This list contains books for kids about Christmas, St. Lucia Day, which is a festival of light celebration on December 13th, as well as winter-themed books. So go ahead, sit back…
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Holiday Picture Books for Interfaith Kids
Like a growing number of households, we are an interfaith family and celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. I love to see that reality reflected in the picture books I read to my kids. Consider this list full of Christmas books and Hanukkah books that can be enjoyed by kids of any faith. Picture Books for…
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Halloween Picture Books About Self-Esteem
It’s easy to find Halloween picture books in the library. Just head to the holiday book section and search for the orange pumpkin stickers. For that reason, I wasn’t planning on making a Halloween picture book list. Yet, while perusing the selections and reading the books to my kids I noticed that many of the…
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Best Children’s Books of 2012 (So Far) Part 3
I’m a little bit addicted to the new book section at the library and bookstore. Since I dread December when I have to choose only 10 books as our favorites of 2012, I have come up with the convenient solution of making multiple lists over the course of the year. You can find all of…
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Favorite Picture Book Authors: Catherine Rayner
One of our favorite children’s picture book author-illustrators is the Scotland-based Catherine Rayner. I first discovered her when I read last year’s The Bear Who Shared about a wise Bear who waits for a lovely ripe fruit to fall from the tree. Her newest book, Solomon Crocodile follows a mischievous croc who is in need…
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Metafiction in Children’s Picture Books
One of my favorite qualities in a picture book is the ability to surprise and challenge a reader. Last week when I recommended the book No Bears I mentioned how much I love metafiction in children’s picture books. I suppose I am just an artistic rebel at heart. A metafictional text is one that subverts…
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Best Picture Books of 2012 (So Far), Part 2
So remember back in March when I told you of our Top Books of 2012? Here’s another gathering of great children’s picture books published in 2012. However, we will have to wait until December to see who make the cut for the year’s Top Ten. (You can find our Top Ten of 2011 here.) A…
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