Jan
26
2011
26
2011
Books Make Us Happy
Filed under: Books, LIbrary Love
One of the best parts about settling down in one place is….
HAVING A LIBRARY CARD!
We love the library. I mean…c’mon! Who doesn’t love the library?! For me, it’s like retail therapy. Only it’s free. And Bella just loves picking out the books and DVDs and being able to check them all out on her own with her OWN card.
This week we met up with our friends…and it was so fun, I think it will become a weekly occurrence for all of us. The Longmont library is really set up nice for all ages and we feel so blessed.
We have found some really WONDERFUL books there lately, and I wanted to share them with you. These are books that Bella keeps asking to read again and again.
Old Henry: Oh my goodness. After checking this out, we knew we had to own it. It’s about accepting people for who they are and getting along. 
All The Places To Love: This book has the most AMAZING illustrations. And there is a homebirth in it. I adore this book. Sometimes we just sit and stare at the paintings in silent awe.
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge: This one also has fabulous images…it’s about a little boy who lives next door to and “old folks home”. He helps one of the old women “find her memories again”. Super sweet.
What children’s books are you reading and loving right now?
Posted by Sara @ 12:41 am | Leave a Comment
26
2011
I love the library too! I think the last book sounds really cool! Love that you have been blogging more!
26
2011
We are obsessed with the library! Have you been to the one right by our house? It’s awesome and It has the best coffee shop in town. I just finished a really moving memoir “Truth & Beauty” by Ann Patchett and the kids and I are doing a winter unit right now and this week we are talking about ways to keep healthy during the winter. Our librarian found us this hilariously cool book called I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat all about remedies throughout history. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8230675-i-feel-better-with-a-frog-in-my-throat We are also very big on the Magic Tree House series and we just checked out a bunch of the CDs on tape to accompany our upcoming drive to Chicago. Hugs all around!
26
2011
Seven Silly Little Eaters. You have to find it. It’s adorable. Same illustrator has one called Babies, which we also adore.
26
2011
Hi Sara,
We have been reading
http://www.amazon.com/Now-Winter-Eileen-Spinelli/dp/0802852440/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296065621&sr=8-1
such a sweet book with lovely illustrations!
~Sage
26
2011
We love our library! Your photos are beautiful.
You might like to participate in my Book Sharing Monday at my homeschool blog..you can read more details here: http://canadianhomelearning.blogspot.com/p/book-sharing-monday.html
26
2011
I love that last book that you mentioned… it is so sweet. My kids are obsessed with the “my first little house books” with, “Dance at Grandpas” being their all time favorite. I know it my heart now.
We love our library and the kids really love story hour.
http://www.amazon.com/Dance-Grandpas-First-Little-House/dp/0064433722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296066339&sr=8-1
26
2011
Ohhhh for ever and ever obsessed with The little prince, Antoine de Saint Exupery. Lovely post!
26
2011
My boys are loving The Rattlebang Picnic right now…and non-fiction books about snakes, earthquakes, fires and other disasters. Such is the life with boys
26
2011
My granddaughter LOVES the “book house” as she calls it. We go every week when we aren’t snowed in.
Her favs right now {she just turned 3} are Fancy Nancy & the Posh Puppy, Corduroy, and The Three Bears by Jan Brett. Nothing profound but she adores them.
Sounds like you have a great community there – I’m envious!
26
2011
Sara, time for me to quit “lurking”! I’ve enjoyed your blogs so much. I’m probably not your usual demographic (55, no kids), but found you as an escape from corporate America – loved traveling along with the Happy Janssens during my lunch breaks – and then wandered over to this blog and found many other common points of interest (spirituality, voluntary simplicity, book loving, etc.) I really enjoy that you are a thinker and share your reflections with others. I’ve even been thinking about hooping (although may be a little old for that. . . )!
On to the topic du jour: if you haven’t read them, you may want to look for Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse and Julius, the Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes. I think you and your girls would really like them – lots of great humor!
26
2011
to Beth – you’re never too old to hoop! I’m 63 and started hooping last June. Since I love to dance, this is natural for me! Go get that hoop! Like you, I’ve followed Sara’s adventures and love them as I’m a simple living person, mostly raw foodist, etc. and also find this a welcome respite from the corporate barrage out there.
26
2011
mirabelle by astrid lindgren. (phoenix thinks it’s sweet and wants me to read it again and again, elli thinks it’s creepy).
would you rather… by john burningham (always fun to see who will pick what and why and how they try to alter the question, “well, it didn’t say you had to be alone!”)
the library by sarah steward (inspiring what a love of books might do, ocean, who dreams of being a librarian when she’s an old woman, found this one on the shelves and even at 12 wanted to bring it home and has read it to herself a few times, to me and to her sisters countless times.)
that’s where my list will stop, 3′s a charm right….but we always have many many books from the library, so if you ever need a list of running faves, you know who to call
26
2011
Books are my favorite!
Knuffle Bunny series
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
The Day the Babies Crawled Away
Seven Silly Eaters
Olivia books
Bats at the Library
Bats at the Beach
I could go on and on!
26
2011
Oh YES! Books make us so very, very happy, too.
So happy, in fact, that one of our recent faves is Louise Bates’ Dog Loves Books. Charming, sweet, simple story of Dog who opens bookstore. Lovely watercolors. Total fave.
Mo Willems concluded the Knuffle Bunny series with Knuffle Bunny Free and I cannot stop talking about it. It makes me choke up at the end every single time. Incredible illustrations in Mo Willems style. Love, love, love.
Thanks for these recommendations. Definitely looking forward to hearing what others are reading!
26
2011
Recently my son asked if we could read 100 books. After explaining that we could not do that many in one day, I agreed to read as many as possible in each day and keep a list. He liked the idea of putting it on our blog =) so you can feel free to go check it out! But right now we like…
—Read Aloud Bible Stories by Ella K. Lindvall
—Dinosaurs for Kids by Ken Ham
—Score One For the Sloths by Helen Lester
—Follow the Line Around the World by Laura Ljungkvist
—How Are You Peeling? by Saxton Freeman and Joost Elfers
Can’t wait to go look up some of these suggestions at our library =_
26
2011
We also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. I think it our fondness for the illustator, since she also illustrated Welcome with Love(another favorite). We love our library too. We went yesterday and came home with a huge bagful. We often check out 50 books. It is a bit of retail therapy I must admit.
26
2011
More love for the Seven Silly Eaters – amazing, amazing illustrations and completely fun rhyming. Love it.
26
2011
Oh ‘All the Places to Love’ is one of our absolute favorite books for years now! It is one of those contented “sigh” reads. Enjoy!
26
2011
We love te library too! And story time!
I’m reading The Hunger games series on the Kindle. Val is loving Global Babies, Tea Time, and Ernie’s Big Mess. She loves Sesame Street!
26
2011
One of the things I missed the most when moving to China was the library!
As a result we buy books pretty frequently and have them hauled over in suitcases. But of course they have to be “keepers” so I’m always looking for good suggestions.
Every once in awhile I do a write up/review on all the reads going on in our family…called {book}worm wednesday.
http://homemadeinchina.blogspot.com/2011/01/bookworm-wednesday-committed.html
Our recent kiddo read is The Trumpeter Swan by E.B. White.
Always love to hear what others are reading too, so thanks for sharing your list!
26
2011
I am so printing out this comment section for the next time I go to the library! My kids like to read the same Clifford and Bernestein Bears books over and over, so this gives me a list of some new ones to through in the mix.
I love the library for myself when it comes to cookbooks, CDs and fiction. I love screening cookbooks for a few weeks before I decide if they’ll make the cut and get actually purchased.
26
2011
My boy is only 16 months old so he doesn’t have the attention span for books but Ive been reading him Curious George books and Cleo & Caspar, There’s a Cow in the Cabbage Patch, and sometimes a bit of whatever I’m reading (right now: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, about a Hmong refugee child with epilepsy and the clash of Hmong culture vs American culture…pretty interesting!).
26
2011
This book (http://www.amazon.com/Surprise-Sylvia-Van-Ommen/dp/1932425853/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2) crossed my desk recently (I work with children) and I was tempted to keep it for myself!
26
2011
Anything by Audrey and Don Wood. Especially The Napping House and Heckety Peg. Asher and Annabella LOOOOOVED the Wood’s books.
27
2011
Thanks for loving on your library!!
“Owl Moon” by Jane Yolen may be my all-time favorite children’s book. Mo Willems books and anything illustrated by Jan Brett are also among my favorites. Luke’s favorites as a boy were “Tops and Bottoms”by Janet Stevens and anything Amelia Bedelia. “Willow” by Denise Brennan-Nelson is a wonderful newer one I found when I was planning the ‘Be Creative @ Your Library” program. It’s about a creative little girl who helps a miserable teacher rediscover joy.
And did you know that high circulation numbers help your librarians when they go to the county to ask for funding? Keep checking out lots of books!!
27
2011
The Paperbag Princess!
It was one of my all time favorites growing up and now it’s Kirra’s favorite too! (Kirra is the daughter of one of the other people that lives in our house.) When she brings me books she wants me to read her (which is all the time) it’s always The Paperbag Princess, and she makes me read it over and over and over again… not that I mind.
27
2011
My daughter and Bella are about the same age (she is 7 today, sniff, sniff). She LOVES the Jenny Lensky series. So we are into those right now.
I can’t wait to hear more about your home church. After being in church ministry for 15 years, I am excited to see how God is moving through home church networks. Need some new planters!?!
27
2011
We just found out about Giselle Potter. She has beautiful illustrations, she has a book called the year I didn’t go to school. My dd loves it. Thank God for libraries.
27
2011
We are loving “The cricket in times square” and also “Stuart Little” right now. And anything by Jan Brett!
27
2011
I teach first grade and I read All The Places to Love every single year (and I named my first little boy Eli *wink)
We talk about the places we love in our lives and try to do our own painting…the children adore this book and so do I
Patricia Pol. is a favorite author of mine…my class always gets a kick out of the Mercer May. books too…Nancy Carlson..love her themes…Kevin Henkes…
Ella is 6 and she is crazy over some of the small chapter books..Junie B Jones, Magic Treehouse, Cam J…
27
2011
I love the library too. I am a little older than your typical follow, but I remember, fondly, beezus and ramona books and the mrs. piggle wiggle books. SO much fun.
I’m going to have to check out Old Henry. I’m going to be blogging on how I connect with others or not connect with others and the levels of connection. I think I need to start with a children’s book on accepting others where they are to start this journey.
27
2011
We’re library people too. We check out oddles of books each week, and spend hours reading them together. I love the library. But I admit that I have an obsession with buying children’s books too. My cup of tea is finding a garage sale with kids stacks of kids books for miniscule prices…
I new book that we just read (and loved) is “A house is a house for me” Such a cute story.
27
2011
Love the books you shared…
Lucy would love “Each Peach Pear Plum”, Ahlberg
both girls would like “Orange Pear Apple Bear”, Gravett and
you and Bella would like “The Keeping Quilt”, Polacco
27
2011
Thank you everyone for taking time to share your favorites…this is such a treasure! I can’t wait to check these out…
27
2011
My kids are older now, but loved The Quiltmaker’s Gift, The Princess and the Dragon, The Musical Life of Gustav Mole (comes with a CD so you can hear all the instruments!) and Miss Rumphius.
27
2011
I saw this post the other day and desperately wanted to throw in my two pence, just didn’t have a chance! We love books in our house, too… they are everywhere! Including lots of places that they shouldn’t be. Like under beds and sofas, or stacked in piles on the floor. I worked in a library long ago but my book addiction started at birth. Thanks, Mom. Anyway, two books we are really enjoying at the moment are Children of the Forest by Elsa Beskow, and The Story of the Snow Children by Sibylle von Olfers. Even my two 8-year-old Tolkien lovers will sit through these peaceful, gentle picture books!
27
2011
Psalm Twenty-Three, Illustrated by Tim Ladwig …awesome!
27
2011
“Woolbur” by Leslie Helakoski
A young sheep follows his own path. I love this book even more than my 1st graders do! I think I need to read “Woolbur” once a week just for my own soul!
http://www.amazon.com/Woolbur-Leslie-Helakoski/dp/0060847263
Enjoy!
28
2011
Library cards make me happy too.
This year I will read the Little House on the Prairie series to my girls. The oldest is reading from How to Train Your Dragon series (I didn’t know it was a book series). Our youngest is reading from the Magic Tree House series. My hot bald man is taking me out to celebrate our anniversary tonight & one stop is a book store. He wants to buy me some books on my 2011 reading list. Sweet man.
29
2011
My son is 18 months old and he LOVES to be read to! Here are a few of our favorites right now:
Give Me Grace by Cynthia Rylant:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0689822936/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0689851286&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=14JSN2BWCH55PNWZD0WX
No Matter What by Debi Gliori: http://www.amazon.com/No-Matter-What-Debi-Gliori/dp/0152020616
The Best Time Of Day by Eileen Spinelli: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Time-Day-Eileen-Spinelli/dp/0152058621/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296313418&sr=1-1
And of course Where The Wild Things Are and Goodnight Moon
Thanks for the suggestions – we’re going to see if our library has them!
29
2011
we love our library too – our fave trip of the week is library time followed by a stop at our favourite cafe for chai and cake (babycino for the babies, obviously!)
Books we are loving right now:: Lion, Witch and Wardrobe for my 7 yr Taine, and for 3 yr old Aiyana:
Jack Frost – a lovely seasonal book with delightful illustrations and
No Place Like Home – Emmett and Kabban – a gorgeous book, fantastic illustrations (by my friend Vanessa I might add) and a great little story about how Mole decides he needs a new brighter, bigger more beautiful home, but then, having tried out a number of different homes, realises his own is just perfect for him – a great moral to the story – and probably one that is really appropriate for you guys right now.
Keep on having fun at the library – I don’t think you can give kids a better start in life than a love of literature
29
2011
mo willems rocks!
my 7 yr old can usually be found with a book under her nose (even at dinner which we wrestle with trying to break so she’ll talk – but, could be worse habits, right?!?) she loves all chapter books – she’s working on some little house ones now.
love the lib!
30
2011
We’re leaving this Saturday for a year of RV living…and I’m already mourning the loss of the library. How did you survive w/out access to new books?
30
2011
Kindle!
Not great for kids books though. Many RV parks have “take one, leave one” libraries. You can always buy new books at thrift stores and then give them back when you want more!
If you are in one place for long enough, the library will usually let you get a card if you can convince them that you “live” at the RV Park
2
2011
here are a few of our favorites!
Iggy Peck the Architect—andrea beaty
Yonder—tony johnston and lloyd bloom
My Travelin’ eye—Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
The butterfly house—eve bunting
and last but not least…..
A Sick Day for Amos McGee—Philip Christian Stead
5
2011
Wilifred was one of our faves. We still have a copy on the children’s bookshelf. My babies are 20 and 17…that is how much we liked it. Have you read this one??
http://www.amazon.com/Head-Full-Colors-Catherine-Friend/dp/1562823604
I’ve got millions…