by Carolyn | Education, For fun, Gifts, Older Elementary, Parenting, Reading, Recommendations, Resources
How do you interact with the books you read? Maybe you log them on Goodreads or a similar site. Perhaps you love posting reviews on Amazon. Maybe you post on social or tell a friend. Most of those activities aren’t available or appropriate ways for our kids to...
by Carolyn | Book Lists, Character Training, Cultural Diversity, Education, Middle-grade, Older Elementary, Parenting, Recommendations
I haven’t encountered too many middle grade novels about homelessness for kids, but two good ones happened across my path recently. If you haven’t encountered it personally, child homelessness isn’t something you and your kids have thought about....
by Carolyn | Chapter Books, Classics, Girls, Older Elementary, Read Alouds
I tend to review new books. It’s certainly not that I don’t like old books. I love them! But sometimes, I think everybody already knows about all the wonderful children’s books that have been around for a while. But when I was looking around for...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Fantasy, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Read Alouds, Recommendations
I read lots of picture books that retell or mash up fairy tale, but it’s wonderful to find a fairy tale that feels brand new. The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld combines a classic style with more modern sensibilities (read: no wolves or...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Fantasy, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade, Older Elementary, Read Alouds, Recommendations
If you love fairytales, I have a wonderful book for you. Otto Tattercoat and the Forest of Lost Things by Matilda Woods is a beautiful fairytale about friendship that touches on complex moral themes. The Story When Otto’s mother disappears in their new, freezing...
by Carolyn | Animal books, Education, Nature, Older Elementary, Preschool, Read Alouds, Recommendations
Certain books just ask to be read aloud. Often, they possess a conversational quality or a certain voice you can “hear” in your mind. Beside the Pond by James Witmer, the newest in his Big Old Garden series, is one of those books. Witmer’s writing...
by Carolyn | Biography, Books about Books, Nonfiction, Older Elementary, Picture Books
Ever since I wrote Library’s Most Wanted, picture books about librarians and libraries have been on my radar. These books tell the stories of librarians and their often unconventional libraries both in America and around the world. Some of them are biographies...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Chapter Books, Early Readers, Fantasy, For fun, Imagination, Older Elementary, Recommendations
When a favorite author like Jonathan Auxier breaks into a new genre or age group, I’m happy to follow. The Fabled Stables: Willa the Wisp introduces chapter book readers to Auxier’s imaginative worlds in an easier to read, beautifully illustrated format....
by Carolyn | Character Training, Fantasy, Imagination, Older Elementary, Parenting, Picture Books, Preschool, Read Alouds, Recommendations
Julia’s House Moves On by Ben Hatke is a beautiful picture book about not having it all together. Because none of us do, really. And sometimes it takes a book like this to help us, and our kids, take a deep breath and remember that our plans may not work out,...
by Carolyn | Biography, Book Lists, Education, Nature, Nonfiction, Older Elementary, Picture Books, Read Alouds, Recommendations
My youngest daughter has been on a space kick recently, so I thought I’d bring you a round up of picture books about Pluto. Pluto has always been such an underdog, even before it was kicked off the planet roster, that it tends to be many people’s favorite....
