Board Books for Book Nerds and/or Babies

Being a parent of little ones is fun for many reasons, but one of the most selfishly fun reasons is because you are the one in control of what your children own. You buy the stuff. You can buy them whatever you want! So, when you love books, you buy them books. When you really really love books, you buy them books about books. Therefore, I present this list of Board Books for Book Nerds and/or Babies for all my fellow bookworm parent friends and for anyone looking for excellent baby shower gifts. (And, it’s totally okay to buy these for yourself instead of your kids.)

That's a nice stack of bedtime reads

***Warning: This post may make you having you saying, “Take all my money!”***

Babylit Series

If you are a fan of the classics, you have to include some (or all) of the books in the fantastic Babylit series. These board books just make my day. I love reading baby versions of Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, The Odyssey, and Edgar Allen Poe to my babies because I can. There is sure to be an adapted classic for every bookworm. Babies have brains, y’all. Start ‘em young. Ha ha ha! Truthfully, these books are fun for book-loving moms and dads, but they do incorporate baby learning by covering colors, numbers, opposites and more.

                            

      

Les Petits Fairy Tales

Oh my word, these are fun! Back when I was a teacher, I loved to show my students “60 second Shakespeare” videos. Basically, these videos condensed the plays into 60 seconds. With this board book series, you have the same thing. The classics are brightly illustrated and the story is told with one word per page. Genius! My favorite is Rapunzel because one page simply says “Scissors.” Both of my kids learned all the basic fairy tales from these fun books.

         

        

Cozy Classics

Another terrific series, Cozy Classics, also focuses on condensing popular novels into one word per page stories for little ones. The difference with this series is the illustrations are actually made up of needle-felted scenes, so the characters look more puppet-like. If you want to go ahead and introduce your 6-month-old to War & Peace, this is the series for you.

     

     

Mini Myths

If you are a fan of myths, you must purchase a few of the Mini Myths series board books for your kids. They are so clever! These books combine allusions to mythology while also teaching children lessons. How can you resist titles such as Be Patient, Pandora!, Don’t Get Lost, Odysseus! and Play Nice, Hercules! I certainly can’t, which is why I am constantly adding more to my collection.

   

   

Haiku Books

I am a huge fan of haikus. When I hear the 5-7-5 pattern, my heart goes pitter patter. Just me? Ha ha ha! Seriously, though, I love a good haiku. And kids do too! They are often some of the first poems kids learn to write. You can start them early with these books.

     

* You may read more about these books on amazon by clicking on the titles or the book covers. These are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog!*

Confessions of a Bad Book Lover, English Teacher and Librarian

Here’s the thing. Every person who claims to be a voracious reader, a bibliophile, a bookworm occasionally hides some of their more shameful book secrets. I have some of these shameful secrets that I have been harboring for years. But, in trying to stay authentic and maybe make some of my readers feel a little less guilty about their own reading fails, I am sharing my dirtiest secrets with you.

1. I hate Charles Dickens. There. I said it. The only book I have ever been able to finish by him is A Christmas Carol. When I tried to read Great Expectations for the tenth time, I gave up and read the graphic novel version.
2. I read Cliff Notes in high school of some of the classics instead of reading the actual books.
3. I have never read anything by John Steinbeck including Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath.
4. I now prefer to read exclusively on an e-reader. Once I had kids, I realized how easy it was for them to remove bookmarks, rip pages, close the book while I was reading it, etc. I buy the print copies for appearances only. 
5. I have read every book by Nicholas Sparks. Ha! Sorry, my high-brow literary friends.
6. I was overjoyed when my library started allowing late fee payments online because I always have late fees and I am always too ashamed to pay them in person.
7. The first time I saw Harry Potter (long before I read the books), I fell asleep in the theater. On a date. 
8. I cannot get past the first 100 pages of The Lord of the Rings. I have tried many times, but I just cannot do it. I also cannot finish the first movie much to my husband’s horror.
9. In 10th grade, I made a poster for a class project about Janie and the pear tree moment in Their Eyes Were Watching God…I had no idea this was a key sexual awakening scene until I read the book again in college. 
10. Once I read a book I was so ashamed to have read that I inputted a fake book into my goodreads list so no one would know. 
11. I often read quickly and skim through scenes in novels. This is why I was horrified when I saw certain scenes in Gone Girl. Apparently, I skipped right past the more graphic stuff and erased it from my mind.
12. I have thrown books across the room when they make me angry. I’m talking to you, Time Traveler’s Wife. 
13. I go to bookstores, take pictures of books I want and then go home and get them from the library instead.
14. I read a ton of R.L. Stine growing up. It was replaced by Christian fiction during middle school. 
15. I’m all about feminism, but I still think there are some books that should be labeled “Chick Lit.”

There you have it. My shameful secrets revealed to all. What about you? Any scandalous book confessions you need to get off your chest? Share them below and let’s laugh/commiserate together.

20 Books on Big Feelings for Little Kids

Recently, a friend asked for a list of books on feelings for toddlers. This request took me back to when we first encountered toddler tantrums with my son. I remember looking for ways to help him learn to deal with feelings so they wouldn’t turn into monster-like outbursts. So, when I began researching books about feelings, I realized that there really are multiple facets on this topic: feelings in general, temper tantrums and bad days.

Ultimately, I believe tantrums and bad days for little ones most often are because they “feel some sort of way” and just haven’t learned how to handle them, which is why the list includes children’s books for babies up through older children. And, let’s be honest – I know many adults (myself included) who have not mastered this skill yet either.

Since this is a big list, I am simply listing the books without reviews, but rest assured, we did sit down and read each of them, so they are Lit Loving Mom approved! You can click the title or the book cover to visit Amazon to read more about each book.

Books about Feelings

In My Heart: A Book of Feelings

Glad Monster, Sad Monster

The Color Monster: A Pop-Up Book of Feelings

How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods

Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods That Make My Day

Feelings

Happy Hippo, Angry Duck: A Book of Moods

Hurty Feelings

ABC Look at Me

Books about Temper Tantrums

Llama Llama Mad at Mama

Mouse Was Mad

Sometimes I'm Bombaloo

When Sophie Gets Angry -  Really, Really Angry

Finn Throws a Fit!

I Was So Mad

Jilly's Terrible Temper Tantrums

Books about Bad Days

Grumpy Bird

Mean Soup

My No, No, No Day

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Not a book, but a resource that worked well with my son is this terrific piece called “Belly Breathe” by Common and Colbie Caillat on Sesame Street. We still talk about breathing the monster out to help when he is on the verge of a meltdown.

** This list contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog!**

5 Books to Teach Colors

Colors Are Confusing 

Confession: We have been a little worried our 2.5 year old is color blind. I do not mean that offensively to anyone who is color blind or jokingly. We were seriously worried about her lack of color understanding. Somewhat frustrating since she loves all things rainbow.

We could hold a red solo cup in front of her and ask her what color it was. The conversation went like this:

What color is this cup?

Blue! It BLUE cup.

No, it’s not blue. Try again. What color is this cup?

Green! It GREEN!

No, it’s not green. Try again. What color is it?

White! No, Purple! PURPLE cup!

Nope. Try again.

Yellow cup!

No, baby girl. It’s RED. It is a RED cup. Red like a fire engine.

Y’all. We just could not understand. And this was becoming a regular thing. She’d excitedly yell in the car, “Look Mom! A RED car! A RED car!” I’d look and the car would be BLUE. What in the world? For the life of me, I do not remember colors being this difficult to teach my first born. But, for whatever reason, it was just not clicking.

Then, it came time to set up her preschool meeting and assessment (yes, that is an actual thing). So, I did what any former teaching book loving mom would do. I panicked and ordered several books about colors on Amazon (as if we didn’t already own color books, cards, toys, puzzles, etc.) But, lo and behold, she is starting to get it.

Her preschool assessment is today, and she can proudly identify both PURPLE and GREEN correctly 95% of the time. We are on a roll.

Therefore, I am presenting the books we’ve been using that have somehow made sense to her little brain.

Monsters Love Colors

This children’s book by Mike Austin is fantastic! Both of my kids are always fans of anything to do with monsters. This book combines monsters, silly sounding words and lots of onomatopoeia with bright illustrations and squiggles. It teaches children about the different colors using different colored monsters by emphasizing fun color words (Yellow = Roar!), as well as teaching them how mixing certain colors makes new colors. It is fun to read (even for adults) and kids will giggle and learn at the same time. Win, win!

Steam Train Dream Train Colors

My daughter is also in the train stage. Trains are just so much fun to toddlers and preschoolers. Who knew? Well, clearly Sherri Duskey Rinker did when she created the bestselling book Steam Train Dream Train. I tend to find most book spin-offs as simply ploys to get more money. However, in this case, the book stands alone well. It is just as fun and uses smart tools to teach colors. Each page focuses on a different solid color with the corresponding page full of things that are that same color. The solid colored page includes lines that rhyme and have rhythm making it enjoyable as a read aloud.

Color Dog

If you do not have a Matthew Van Fleet book on your bookshelf, you must change that today! Van Fleet’s books are, by far, my children’s most read and most adored books. In this touch, feel, pull the tab, moveable scene book (yes, these books really have it all), dogs help introduce the concept of color. Tons of dogs are used to create colorful pictures. My kids laugh aloud as they see a dog pass stinky green gas on one page. What can I say? We have a very sophisticated sense of humor in our home. But, with all the interactive touch and pull features, it is effective in teaching concepts.

Tabbed Board Books: My First Colors: Let’s Learn Them All

This is simply a basic word book with colored pictures, but sometimes the basic books work the best. In this particular book, there are tabbed pages for each color of the rainbow. Each page is full of items that are the key color. So, your child will both learn about colors and increase his/her vocabulary. Another perk to this book is that anyone can use it to teach colors. For example, my 6 year has been using it to teacher his little sister colors.

Bear Sees Colors

We love the Bear series (Bear Snores On) in our home. Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman have created a bear that children love because he is humble and kind and friends with all the animals. In this book, Bear is learning about all the different colors in the world around him. Readers take a walk with Bear through the woods and play spy the different colors with Bear. Since kids love to play I spy, this is a great book to use to point out colors. 

* You may order these book from amazon. This blog has affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog!

7 Girl Power Books for Your Strong Little Women

Since I talked about my strong girl earlier this week, I decided it was time to put together a list of books for strong girls. You know, #bossnotbossy girls. Let me preface this by saying I am by no means anti-princess. I love all the princesses. We are a princess-friendly house, just as we are a superhero-friendly house. I am not against princesses – but I am against not giving girls options. Therefore, I present this fun list of titles for your own strong little women.

My First Book of Girl Power

Since we are a superhero-loving family, it should come as no surprise that one of the first books on my daughter’s bookshelf is dedicated to female superheroes. In this board book by Julie Merberg, each female superhero is identified along with her strengths. The strengths include things like speed, bravery, intelligence, kindness and strength. It is fun to introduce cool female characters, as well as discuss the qualities that make them super.

The Paper Bag Princess

Do you ever read a book that is simply so delightful you wonder how you ever made it this long before reading it? The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko is this book for me. If you do not own it, run to amazon and purchase it now! (That’s what I did.) A quick summary of this classic: a princess loves a prince. Their castle is burned by a dragon and the prince is taken by the dragon. The princess goes on a quest to save him (wearing only a paper bag because all her gowns burned). She outsmarts the dragon and saves him, only to have him point out that she looks like a mess. The book ends with her telling him he may look like a prince, but he is a bum. And they did not get married after all. I cannot stop reading it and laughing. Trust me on this one. It is a classic for a reason.

Princess Pigsty

In this fun children’s book by Cornelia Funke, there are three princess sisters. One of the sisters is simply over it. She does not want to wear all the dresses and do all the princess-y things anymore. Her father, the king, punishes her by making her do dirty chores (work in the kitchen and then in the pigpen). But, surprise, surprise! This princess finds she is much happier mucking it up in the mud with the pigs. The book does show the struggle of the king accepting his daughter’s choice, but he ultimately comes around to realize she is happier than she ever was in the castle. Princesses and pigs – that’s enough to make my daughter giggle.

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink

Jane Yolen is a super popular children’s literature author for good reason. Her books are easy to understand, clever, full of rhymes and bright illustrations. This book focuses on identifying what the title suggests – princesses like all different colors, hobbies, careers. These princesses do not fit into stereotypical boxes, but they do all wear crowns (even when playing sports).

The Princess Knight

This clever children’s book by Cornelia Funke focuses on the daughter of a king who is raised by her father and older brothers after he mother passes away. She learns (and teaches herself) how to be a knight. She is strong enough to play fight with her brothers and to defend herself. However, her father announces they will be holding a tournament for knights to battle for her hand in marriage. She is simply not okay with this idea. So, she does what any brave princess who knows how to joust would do. She fights in the tournament in disguise to win for herself. And she does. Hooray!

Ninja Red Riding Hood

My daughter loves this children’s book by Corey Rosen Schwartz and illustrated by Dan Santat! And what’s not to love about taking a classic fairy tale and adding in ninja moves? This story follows the traditional fairy tale with the exception of Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf both learning martial arts, and Red defeating him with her awesome moves, of course. Granny also has some smooth moves she uses to take down the wolf. In the end of this reimagined fairy tale, the big bad wolf decides to find inner peace by taking up yoga.

Pirate Girl

Pirates are fun! Boy pirates, girl pirates, puppy pirates – who cares? I like this book by Cornelia Funke because while it focuses on the group of burly men pirates capturing a girl who is then rescued by a group of women pirates, it really emphasizes the mom rescuing her daughter. In this story, the pirate men were afraid of the band of female pirates. But, what is scarier than a mom who is fighting for her child? It makes perfect sense to me.

* You may purchase these books from amazon by clicking on the titles. These are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog!