{Playing Through Autumn Day 30} Books We Love: Books to Be Thankful For

I am absolutely ecstatic about Thanksgiving! I have so many things in my life to be thankful for and each year I get so excited to see family and friends during the holiday season. This year I am particularly excited because the tot is now old enough to start understanding what Thanksgiving is all about. To help prepare her (and myself!) for all the joy that Thanksgiving has to offer, I rounded up some of our favorite Turkey Day reads - books to really be thankful for!

Over the River and Through the Wood

Written by Lydia Maria Child

Illustrated by Christopher Mason

A Plump and Perky Turkey

Written by Teresa Bateman

Illustrated by Jeff Shelly

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims

Written by B.G. Hennessy

Illustrated by Lynne Cravath

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

Written & Illustrated by Dav Pilkey

Thanks for Thanksgiving

Written by Julie Markes

Illustrated by Doris Barrette

Merrily Comes Our Harvest In: Poems for Thanksgiving

Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Ben Shecter

Over the River: A Turkey's Tale

Adapted & Illustrated by Derek Anderson

Clifford's Thanksgiving Visit

Written & Illustrated by Norman Bridwell

{Playing Through Autumn Day 22} Books We Love: Halloween Round-Up Part 1

With Halloween rapidly approaching, it's only fitting that this edition of Books We Love be devoted to all of the wonderful picture books surrounding the holiday. L has become OBSESSED with all things Halloween in the past few days, and of course books are no exception! Here are just a few of the titles we've been voraciously devouring this week - I'm betting they'll make your little ones howl too!

Room on the Broom

Written by Julia Donaldson 

Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Five Little Pumpkins

Traditional

Illustrated by Iris Van Rynbach

It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse!

Written by Laura Numeroff

Illustrated by Felicia Bond

Pumpkin Eye

Written & Illustrated by Denise Fleming

The Night Before Halloween

Written by Natasha Wing

Illustrated by Cynthia Fisher

We can't get enough of these books! They are silly, not-so-scary, and perfect for little ears! Tune in next week for Part 2 of our Halloween Book Round-Up! Until then, happy reading...and happy haunting!

{Playing Through Autumn Day 17} Books We Love: Autumn Poetry

Poetry is perfect for little ears. The cadence, the (sometimes) rhyming, the short little bursts of lovely words...L absolutely adores it! There are some really fantastic collections of seasonal poetry out there, and we would like to share our favorites with you.

Autumnblings

Poems & Paintings by Douglas Florian

Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic

Written by Steven Schnur

Illustrated by Leslie Evans

A Chill in the Air: Nature Poems for Fall and Winter

Poems by John Frank

Illustrated by Mike Reed

Do your children enjoy poetry? What sort of books are you reading this season?

{Playing Through Autumn Day 15} Books We Love: Autumn Leaf Book Round-Up

One of the things I'm most looking forward to sharing with L this autumn is jumping into a huge pile of crunchy fall leaves. We're still (somewhat impatiently) waiting for the leaves to change and fall, but in the meantime we're reading tons of books on the very subject.

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

Written & Illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Autumn Leaves

Photos & Text by Ken Robbins

Leaf Jumpers

Written by Carole Gerber

Illustrated by Leslie Evans

Mouse's First Fall

Written by Lauren Thompson

Illustrated by Buket Erdogan

Fall Leaves Fall!

Written by Zoe Hall

Illustrated by Shari Halpern

The Little Yellow Leaf

Written & Illustrated by Carin Berger

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves

Written by Julia Rawlinson

Illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke

Leaf Man

Written & Illustrated by Lois Ehlert

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves!

Written by Lucille Colandro

Illustrated by Jared Lee

We're Going on a Leaf Hunt

Written by Steve Metzger

Illustrated by Miki Sakamoto

I hope you'll be able to start leaf jumping soon! In the mean time, you might like to check out some fabulous fall board books, awesome autumn nonfiction picture books, and a round up of books about harvest. Are there any leaf books you would add to this list?

{Playing Through Autumn Day 11} Books We Love: Hooray for Harvest!

The celebration of harvest is one of the biggest ideas associated with fall and you can see it cropping up (no pun intended, but good one, right?) everywhere you go: pumpkins, apples, corn, the whole lot. For kids who are experiencing their first autumn, or in the case of my wee one, are just too young to remember it from last year, picture books offer an amazing way to activate some knowledge on the topic. We can't go anywhere - the grocery store, pharmacy, even our own school! - without running into pumpkins, so naturally L has lots to inquire about the subject. Here is a quick round up of some of our favorite books concerning pumpkins and apples that are perfect for informing those inquiring little minds.

Red Are the Apples

Written by Marc Harshman & Cheryl Ryan

Illustrated by Wade Zahares

It's Pumpkin Time!

Written by Zoe Hall

Illustrated by Shari Halpern

Apples and Pumpkins

Written by Anne Rockwell

Illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell

The Apple Pie Tree

Written by Zoe Hall

Illustrated by Shari Halpern

Apple Farmer Annie

Written & Illustrated by Monica Wellington

Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night

Written by Anne Rockwell

Illustrated by Megan Halsey

You can find even more autumn book love by checking out our fabulous fall board books post and our round up of awesome autumn nonfiction!

What books about harvest make you say "Hooray!"?

{Playing Through Autumn Day 6} Books We Love: Awesome Autumn Nonfiction

Thinking about autumn from a thematic perspective, it is certainly abundant. You can literally find books on dozens and dozens of various topics, all relating back to this wonderful season. In my opinion, one of the best things about books relating to autumn is the vast number of nonfiction books concerning the topic. Books about pumpkins, apples, leaves, the changing weather, animal behaviors and fall traditions are just a few of the areas covered by many wonderful nonfiction titles. Some of my very favorite nonfiction fall titles come from the All About Fall series from Capstone Press. With authors including Martha Rustad, Calvin Harris, and Gail Saunders-Smith, these books are a fantastic introduction to the season. With gorgeous photographs and simple text, they appeal to very young children, as well as kids beginning to take those first steps toward independent reading. L adores the beautiful imagery and I love that I can sneak in a little bit of learning on the side. We are both big fans!

{Playing Through Autumn Day 2} Books We Love: Fabulous Fall Board Books

The first thing I do when introducing L to a new experience is grab a boat load of books on the topic and board books are a no fail in our house - they are the perfect size and sturdiness for traveling with us everywhere we go. I began sprinkling autumn books into L's baskets and onto her shelves over Labor Day weekend, and of course, the first books I grabbed were from our autumn board book collection. I'll continue adding a few more every couple of days for the next several weeks. Nothing warms up a chilly autumn night like a cozy story with the family!

Fall: A Bright Baby Touch and Feel Book

I Love Fall!

Written by Alison Inches & Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata

Leaves

Written & Illustrated by David Ezra Stein

The Busy Little Squirrel

Written & Illustrated by Nancy Tafuri

Welcome Fall

Written by Jill Ackerman & Illustrated by Nancy Davis

Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin

Written & Illustrated by Tad Hills

In My Tree

Written by Sara Gillingham & Illustrated by Lorena Siminovich

Did I miss anything magnificent? Leave your favorite off the list? Please let me know because I hate the thought of missing out on wonderful books! Be sure to stay tuned in during the coming weeks for more awesome autumn book recommendations. Happy reading!

Books We Love: The BabyLit Series

It isn't every day that you run into Bram Stoker while browsing in the children's section at the book shop, but if that is your sort of thing, you will absolutely adore the BabyLit series from author Jennifer Adams and illustrator Alison Oliver. Luckily for me, that really is my sort of thing, and these books are a delicious gift for literary nerds and kid lit enthusiasts alike. Marketed as "primers" for children, the series actually consists of concept books for things like colors and numbers. (Here's hoping they do an alphabet book soon!) Ranging from the aforementioned Stoker to masters like Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll, these books are a guaranteed trip...at least down memory lane, to what you were reading in high school.

Also, kids love them too!

Books We Love: A Leaf Can Be...

It isn't very often that I request to read a book more frequently than L, but this has totally been the case this week with "A Leaf Can Be..." by Laura Purdie Salas and Violetta Dabija. The sparse rhymes and sweet illustrations make this one a hit with kids and adults a like - and really, did you know how many things a leaf can be?

What fabulous books are your kiddos reading lately?

Books We Love: Not Your Typical Parenting Books!

For this edition of Books We Love, I wanted to share some of my absolute favorite parenting books. These are my parenting go-to's, the books I read when I seek advise or assurance of how I'm bringing up my daughter. Okay, okay, so they won't tell me anything about potty training or developmental milestones, but they are seriously fantastic resources when it comes to being an informed mom. These are books for this modern mama, raising a strong, imaginative, and independent girl who LOVES to read!

How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell

Madame Esme is a personal hero of mine, for not only is she a brilliant novelist and picture book maven, she is a champion for teachers, librarians, and readers of all ages. This book has EVERYTHING you will possibly need to get kids reading. It is a work of literary genius. You can also check out the Planet Esme Book-a-Day Plan for more wonderful resources and titles.

The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

And while Esme is a hero of mine, her hero is the magnificent Jim Trelease. This literacy guru has been telling it like it is for six editions of his Handbook, which frankly may as well be called The Read-Aloud Bible. Packed with information and tips for making parents and teachers better readers for the children in their lives, Mr. Trelease keeps it entirely readable and entirely wonderful.

A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play by Vivian Gussin Paley

This oldie-but-goodie gets into the research of why fantasy play is so important for kids...and what we as parents and teachers should be doing to foster this important work. Filled with anecdotes from Paley's own years as a preschool teacher, this book is a very enjoyable read. I wrote a paper on it in college and though that was some years ago, I still often think of this book as a great resource for fostering pretend play in the kids in my life.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein

Peggy Orenstein's handy guide to raising strong, independent daughters exposes the dangers of the princess culture we live in and what parents need to know about the unethical ways marketers are targeting young girls. A feminist from the start, I read this book when L was just a baby (thankfully AFTER I had politely exchanged all of the pink stuff we were gifted for baby showers) and it has really changed the way I look at media culture and advertising. I recommend this book for everyone with a daughter (it makes a great baby shower gift!) for learning about how corporations are selling sex to four-year-olds and what we parents can do to fight back.

Hope you find something here worth checking out! What parenting books, traditional or otherwise, have you found helpful?