Category Archives: children’s books

Diary Of A Mosquito

  April 25, 2013 - 8:30 am | , ,
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Diary Of A Mosquito, World Malaria Day, Compassion International

Today we are teaming up with Compassion International for World Malaria Day, to bring awareness to the fact that half of the world’s population, 3.3 billion people are at risk for malaria. Ben and Simon got involved to help me create a Diary Of A Mosquito. Some of my kids favorite picture books are the Diary Of A Worm, Diary Of A Fly and Diary Of A Spider. These books are hysterical takes on what life is like from the perspective of these small creatures. Fly tries to teach Worm to fly and Worm tries to teach Fly to dig … Continue reading →

Let Freedom Sing

  March 7, 2013 - 10:00 am |
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Let Freedom Sing is a new book this season about the Civil Rights Movement.  Vanessa Newton is the author and illustrator of this striking picture book. The story follows the major events of the Movement where individuals let their lights shine, beginning with Rosa Parks and ending with Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing the Civil Rights Act.  At the end the author also includes the milestone moment when the United States elected its first African-American president, Barack Obama. As Arkansans, these Little Rock Nine are dear to my heart.  I think I have read every book published by or about any … Continue reading →

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

  February 22, 2013 - 10:00 am |
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Since we saw the pandas at the Memphis Zoo on Sunday, we’ve been reading this Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle treasure, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? I love all the books in this series, but this one uses all endangered animals, so it is a great learning tool. The way these books progress make them so fun to read to toddlers, and now Simon reads them to me which makes my heart happy. I can’t decide if the panda bear or the sea lion is my favorite illustration. We will never be too old for picture books at … Continue reading →

A Long Walk To Water

  February 16, 2013 - 9:00 am |
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A Long Walk To Water, Linda Sue Park, children's novels

At the recommendation of a favorite teacher, I picked up A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park for the kids at the library. It is based on the true story of one of the lost boys of Sudan, who leaves his village during an attack.  He is separated from his family and left to wander Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya for the next several years.  He eventually learns English and becomes one of a handful chosen to go to the United States. His story of survival is inspiring and hopeful, as he now uses his energy and resources in … Continue reading →

Ruby Bridges

  February 14, 2013 - 9:00 am |
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Ruby Bridges, Civil RIghts for Kids, Children's Books, Robert Coles, Through My Eyes

  A few weeks ago for Martin Luther King Jr Day, we watched the movie, Ruby Bridges. It is such a wonderful movie.  Mary Polly first saw it in elementary school and so we checked it out at the library and watched it as a family after she told us about it.  Simon was a baby though, so he had not seen it before. After we watched it, Ben pulled out our books about Ruby Bridges to show Simon and we’ve been reading them over the last couple of weeks. Simon was even carrying them to bed with him. Love. … Continue reading →

Miracles on Maple Hill

  February 6, 2013 - 12:00 pm |
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Miracles on Maple Hill, Great Read Alouds, Novels for Children, Newberry Winners

Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen was our latest evening read aloud at the Chino House.  An old favorite, this book won the Newberry medal in 1957. It is a precious story of a family who returns to the mother’s ancestral home in the country when the father has trouble re-entering life after being in a POW camp in the war. Marly, the young daughter, is the chief observer of the miracles on Maple Hill, which are all the simple gifts of nature, like maple syrup from tree sap, the first signs of spring, or a huddle of baby … Continue reading →

Great Migration Tales

  January 21, 2013 - 9:45 am | ,
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It’s important to me at all times of the year to be reading about a culture that makes up half of the town I live in here in Arkansas, but especially during Black History month, I try to introduce some new aspect of African-American history at the Chino House. This year we are looking at Great Migration books. This fall, my aunt recommended The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.  It is a sweeping history of the many decades that cover the Great Migration told in a beautiful narrative. Countless personal stories that came from Wilkerson’s personally interviewing over … Continue reading →

Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing

  January 14, 2013 - 8:42 am |
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Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing, Devotional books for children, family devotions, sally lloyd jones, jago

Have you seen this precious new book from the author/illustrator duo, Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jago?  A few years ago, they brought the world The Jesus Storybook Bible, which is my most favorite children’s Bible ever. Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing is already a treasure at our house.  It is a beautiful devotional book for children. We are using it in the mornings for family devotions.  They are the perfect length (short) and are full of sweet thoughts to turn little (and big) hearts towards God for the day. I love having a new book for devotions for a new … Continue reading →

Favorite Books of 2012

  January 8, 2013 - 1:25 pm | ,
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2012 favorites, favorite books i read in 2012, favorite books i read this year, reading

A few of my favorite reads of 2012 The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer The City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwell Peace Like A River by Leif Enger The Fiddler’s Green by A.S. Peterson (sequel to The Fiddler’s Gun) I read around 60 books in 2012.  These six novels were my favorites. The first two books are set during World War II, one in Hungary and the other in Russia.  I think I will never get tired of reading books about this time … Continue reading →

Children’s Books about Antoni Gaudi

  November 6, 2012 - 10:00 am |
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gaudi children's books, beautiful illustrations, books about antoni gaudi, lovely picture books, stories for children, nonfiction (1)

  After seeing Antoni Gaudi’s work in Barcelona, I have been reading books about him.  I also found these two children’s books about Antoni Gaudi that I read to Simon and Ben about this amazing architect and his life. They both have beautiful illustrations of Gaudi’s work.  I think it would be fun to use the pictures from these books to make Gaudi-inspired construction paper mosaics. The first story, Building on Nature, by Rachel Rodriquez with illustrations by Julie Paschkis is about Gaudi’s life as a young boy and how much he loved nature.  He used nature as his inspiration … Continue reading →