Story time with my two girls is always interesting the week before December. Usually we haven't brought out the Christmas books yet (although this year did make a few exceptions...) and admittedly don't have a lot of Thanksgiving books. Knowing the start of December marks us diving fully into holiday books, we decided to make a trip to the library last week and get one more mix of books to hold us over until then. For once, our trip to the library wasn't driven by looking for a particular book. Instead, we just browsed the aisles and grabbed anything that looked interesting. Or in the case of my one-year old, anything that was reachable from her stroller.
My oldest doesn't necessarily know individual authors but she does recognize familiar characters and certain illustrations. As such, we had to grab a Mo Willems Pigeon book, along with a Jonathan Fenske's LEGO book, I'm Fun Too!
For me, I'm always on the lookout for books by certain authors that I know will produce a great story, in addition to an important lesson as a theme. Thankfully, there's more than enough great writers to choose from, and we definitely had luck picking out some good ones this time around.
So before we transition over to the Christmas season for a few weeks, enjoy some of our favorite books from our recent library trip below!
Todd Parr books are favorites in our house. He's got a large catalog of children's books, all of which are meant to educate and teach kids valuable lessons.
You can spot one of Parr's books from a mile away because of the illustration style. Although it may look like something your kindergartner doodled, the artwork is bright, grabs your attention and fits perfectly with the text of his books. It's hard to argue with Parr's success, as a number of his works have become New York Times best sellers.
This week, we decided to check out one of his book's we hadn't read yet, The Sister Book. This picture book debuted in 2018 and is all about celebrating siblings! My oldest daughter was really excited to find this one because she's proudly carried the badge of big sister for the last year.
In The Sister Book, Parr uses wit and simplicity to describe the many differences that can exist between sisters. Some sisters are big. Some sisters are little. Some sisters look like you. Some sisters look like themselves. The book drives home the important message that although they may be different, sisters are very special.
We recommend any of Todd Parr's books for children 4 to 7. They are also great books for early readers thanks to their format using simple, short sentences.
If you're looking for an entertaining book that also doubles as a puzzle, Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Duck! Rabbit! is worth a look. It's a New York Times best seller and plays off of the optical illusion that exists with the title character.
Throughout the story, the reader gets to hear two different views about which type of animal is in the book. Is it a duck? Or is it a rabbit? Depending on how you see the image, there are compelling arguments to be made for each opinion.
Duck! Rabbit! was a really fun read-aloud with my five-year old. As she began to make it clear which side of the argument she supported, I, of course, had to play the other side. The natural humor that comes with debating something so trivial made for an unique reading experience that we both enjoyed.
Although the book's primary purpose is to entertain, it also hits on the theme that it's ok for people to have different opinions. The end of the book shows each side of the argument acknowledging the other's point of view as well.
One of my favorite children's book authors is Jory John. In recent years, his popularity has grown with the success of his books The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, and The Cool Bean, all of which have been featured among some of the best-selling children's books in the last couple of years. We've read all three a dozen times each and they never get old. So, when I saw a chance to grab one of his picture books that we hadn't checked out yet, I immediately added it to our stack.
Giraffe Problems easily stacks up with some of John's other popular books because of its likable characters and underlying theme. In the story, we're introduced to Edward the giraffe, who is really self-conscious about the size of his neck. He's tried every way possible to hide it, from hiding behind trees to wrapping it with scarves. Edward just doesn't understand why he has to have this long neck when all of the other animals have strong, graceful necks.
One day while Edward is feeling down, he meets a turtle named Cyrus. Cyrus is also discouraged by his neck, but for the exact opposite reasons as Edward. But after discovering how each other feels about their own appearance, they soon realize they each have their own special, unique qualities. The two not only gained self-confidence and appreciation for their differences, but also gained a new friend.
Jory John's Giraffe Problems is a great book because it uses a lot of humor to help deliver an important message of appreciating each other's unique qualities. It serves as a great companion book to one of John's earlier works, Penguin Problems as well. We recommend it for kids ages 4 to 8.
If you've spent time browsing our site, you'll quickly see we're big fans of Anna Dewdney and her Llama Llama series. My oldest daughter has always been a big fan of these books and we've carried that enthusiasm down to our one-year old as well.
Within the popular series, there are several standouts. One of which my youngest has become enamored with lately, Llama Llama Misses Mama. This edition of the series walks us through Little Llama's first day of school and the anxiety that comes with being away from his mother for the day. From feeling shy to ultimately warming up to his new classmates, Little Llama learns that it's ok to miss his mama but he can also enjoy school too.
Dewdney's signature rhyming text, along with her detailed illustrations do a great job of describing the range of emotions that comes with first-day jitters. We love this one so much that we featured it on our favorite back-to-school books list earlier this summer!
Fans of the Llama Llama series definitely need to have Llama Llama Misses Mama in their collection. This edition of the series is great for any preschool and early elementary age kids.
The last book on our list this week carries a bit of sentimental value for me.
When my first daughter was born, we used a bumble bee theme in her nursery. So as you might imagine, there were quite a few "bee" themed books on her bookshelf. We even used that same theme in our logo for this site which is named after her as well. And of all the books we read in the early days of just-before-bed story time, Little Yellow Bee was her favorite.
It's honestly the perfect book for kids 1 to 2 years old. It comes in a smaller, board book format that is great for little hands to hold as you read through it. Best of all, the book's story is written on pages that contain flaps that can be lifted to reveal the different animal characters. Lift-a-flap books are always a great choice for keeping infants and toddler's attention when reading since they're interactive. And unlike a lot of other flap books, Little Yellow Bee has flaps made of cardboard which really hold up when your little one is feeling a little destructive during story time.
Needless to say, getting to ready this book with my youngest has been a really fun experience thanks to the personal nostalgia. But even if you're just seeing this one for the first time, it still can be a great selection for parents of children under the age of 2 for all the reasons mentioned above.