Room on the Broom, by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

A few years ago, when we’d taken the kids to New Zealand for a month to travel about in a caravan, we found ourselves in a bookstore of all places. Shocking, I know. I had just started this blog and was …

A Few of My Favorite Things, 10/12/15

It’s been a while since I’ve done a round up post, yes? It’s been an exhausting season, and stressful, so perhaps I’ve just not been focusing on favorite things. We’re not totally in the clear yet- we’re in our house …

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, by Marjorie Priceman

As Anne Shirley said, “I’m glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” It’s sweater weather again, the leaves are just beginning to turn, and the apples on our trees are turning red. It’s my favorite time of …

Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct, by Mo Willems

The kids are back in school! Toby’s in second grade and Elsie’s in kindergarten- they’re both in multi-age Montessori classrooms so they’re with the same teachers and in the same rooms they were both with last year. They’re happy and …

Smartypants (Pete in School), by Maira Kalman

My kids still have over a week before the start of school, but I’m seeing the influx of “first day” pictures on Facebook and I’ve already filled a corner with stacks of school supplies to bring in. I wrote a …

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, 8/13/15

In the turmoil of living conditions that we’ve been calling summer, I’m afraid my “favorite things” posts have fallen by the wayside. I mean, all of my posts have fallen by the wayside of course, but it’s been a particularly …

Stuck, by Oliver Jeffers

This. This right here is the bane of my current existence. Not the darling little girl, that blasted airplane. The pro side of camping out during the end of this renovation process is that we’re all outside pretty much all …

The Night World, by Mordicai Gerstein

I know very well that I haven’t written in over a month, and I’m so sorry. I even had something ready to post a few days ago and it disappeared into the nether-regions of the internet, sending me off an …

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, 6/2/15

We’re in the homestretch of the school year, just one more week! And that’ll be a big week for us, we’re moving out of our schoolhouse-rental on the day after school gets out and ALSO flying to Mexico with some …

Angus and the Cat, by Marjorie Flack

I promise it is a complete coincidence that our wienador is named Angus, because it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I found an old book from my childhood called Angus and the Cat. In fact, although it was …

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, 5/18/15

It’s this girl’s fifth birthday today, and here are truly a few of my favorite things: the way she speaks up for herself, her tenderness with her brother, her willingness to try anything on her plate, her ability to roll …

The Tiny Wish, by Lori Evert and Per Breiehagen

The trillium are out in full force here, and apparently so are the morels, though I haven’t found any. I took the kids out mushroom hunting last weekend hoping to find some tiny treats hiding under the leaves, around the …

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, 5/11/15

These green green woods, these woods I grew up in, these woods where my children will live, they are everything. I can stretch out my arms and breathe deeply here. As we walked through the woods overrun with trillium searching …

Sheila Rae, the Brave, by Kevin Henkes

If you could describe yourself in just three words, which would you choose? Next week, would you choose those same three words? Would your mother describe you the same way? Some days I feel confident, adventurous, and positive. Sometimes even …

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, 5/4/15

I decided I’m going to add a new category to my blog, I’m beginning the week with a round up of sorts- interesting articles, videos, links and the like, sometimes book related sometimes not. It’s a bit of a departure …

A Rock is Lively, by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

I had a whole thing written out to post today about how nice it was that the long, tundra-esque winter seemed to finally be coming to a close and the kids were out riding bikes and playing on the beach …

The Easter Egg, by Jan Brett

Is it just me or is Easter really confusing? I mean I get the whole religious background- the crucifixion and resurrection, and I get that eggs are a symbol of fertility (and bunnies too?) but what I don’t really have …

Miss Lina’s Ballerinas, by Grace Maccarone and Christine Davenier

As much as I try not to insert any personal predilection into my kids’ activities, I must say I was hoping my daughter would want to do ballet. Because really, what’s sweeter than a little girl in a tutu? Nothing, …

This Is the World, A Global Treasury by Miroslav Sasek

I have the following piece up over on Mamalode today about traveling with kids, please go check it out!  When I was 23, I met a boy, fell in love, and we almost immediately decided to drop everything and travel together. …

Gaston, by Kelly DiPucchio and Christian Robinson

As I sit here trying to come up with something to write about this fantastic book the kids got for International Book Giving Day (it’s a thing, I promise I did not make that up), I have two dogs wrestling …

Frederick, by Leo Lionni

I don’t know about you, but I’ve just about hit my limit on winter. I woke up to yet another single digit morning, and here on Lake Michigan it’s a different feel than single digit mornings in Montana. The cold …

Bear Snores On, by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

Here’s something I’ve been coming to terms with about myself: I am way more likely to remember something if I see it written down, and for that matter, I’m a lot more likely to actually accomplish something if I’ve written …

The Tomten, by Astrid Lindgren

I do believe we have a big winter and spring ahead of us. Here’s our deal: we’ve just bought 17 acres with a decidedly dated small house on it here in Northern Michigan where I grew up. In fact, it’s …

White Snow Bright Snow, by Alvin Tresselt

This is what it looks like outside right now. Now I know what you’re thinking. What kind of big barren wasteland of ice did you move to? But no, no it’s not a massive flat snowfield. It’s actually Lake Michigan, and I’m …

Uni the Unicorn, by Amy Rosenthal and Brigette Barrager

My New Year’s resolution this year is to put out more blog posts- I’m aiming for one a week if not more. There, now I’ve put it in writing so I have to do it. Also I revamped the look …

Happy Birthday Madame Chapeau, by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts

I think it’s a record: three days after Christmas and I’ve packed up the tree. Now I love Christmas, love everything about it- singing carols, decorating the tree, doing the Christmas crafts with the kids, baking loads of cookies, the …

The Christmas Wish, by Lori Evert and Per Breiehagen

I have a list up over at Mamalode today of my favorite picture books of 2014, check it out here! Folks, I have been saving this book for a year and it is finally time to share it. I won my …

The Book With No Pictures, by B.J. Novak

This morning in my house sounded like this: “Do I HAVE to get up?” “Yes. It’s time for school.” “But why can’t I wear this [short sleeved summer dress]?” “Because there’s a foot of snow outside, find something with sleeves …

Herman and Rosie, by Gus Gordon

I ordered today’s book from our local independent bookseller based purely on its funky cover. I knew nothing about it, just that I thought it looked supercool. What a score it is, too, it is the most tender story about about …

I Am Amelia Earhart, by Brad Meltzer

After much deliberation, and I truly mean nearly a year’s worth of brainstorming and mind-numbing indecisiveness, a very important decision has finally been reached in our household. They’re going in a totally new direction than I’d expected, and working together no …

10 Favorite Banned Children’s Books

This week is banned books week- September 21st through the 27th. It is definitely not a week to celebrate. But it’s a week to acknowledge the disservice that is still done in 2014, in this country. When a book is “banned,” …

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

Today I’m thinking a lot about perspective. I’ve spent a lot of time in the last year worrying that this time of constant uprooting in our lives is detrimental, both to the kids and to me. My husband- meh, he’s …

Z Is for Moose, by Kelly Bingham and Paul O. Zalinsky

It’s no secret that in the last year or so, my family’s been tentatively parked at a crossroad. Our year of living off the grid in Montana was coming to an end, and while it was a wonderful experience for …

Ten Favorite First Readers

I reposted a meme on this blog’s Facebook page from A Mighty Girl the other day, and it was really appropriate for the space my son’s in right now. He’s six years old, about to enter first grade, and his reading …

Mrs. Fox’s Wedding, by Sara and Stephen Corrin and illustrated by Errol Le Cain

One of my favorite things I’ve found in returning to Michigan, where I grew up, is that everyone here seems to have had a period in their lives where they’ve lived without water or electricity, where they hunkered down with …

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, by Peter Brown

When I was a little girl, the bookstore in my town was my favorite retreat. There were creaky, dark hardwood floors, a stately but gloomy fireplace with big comfortable chairs with vintage upholstery set up before it, and the ubiquitous …

Ladybug Girl at the Beach, by David Soman and Jacky Davis

My husband bought a T-shirt a few days ago that has on its front the outline of each of the Great Lakes. Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior- HOMES. Having grown up here, it never occurred to me until now …

Clarence Goes Out West and Meets a Purple Horse, by Jean Ekman Adams

The last I left you, Dear Readers, we were about to leave our little cabin after a year of living off the grid. Well, shortly after, we packed up our ’67 caravan and began our trek across the country to …

The Cabin Key, by Gloria Rand

It’s finally June again, and we are coming to the end of our year of living off the grid. It was never an intended thing, moving into our cabin in the woods of Montana full time. We had a family …

Benjamin and Bumper to the Rescue, by Molly Coxe

    In three days, my daughter Elsie is turning four. She is wild and strong and smart and funny, and she is a lover of all things tiny. When we go into our local toy store, she is drawn …

Inside Outside, by Lizi Boyd

We’ve just gotten home from having spent a week at the Oregon Coast with my husband’s family. We flew kites, collected sand dollars on the beach, and had a lot of down time on the couch, reading and vegging out …

Young Frank Architect, by Frank Viva

I’ve always joked that I should make a category of “Uncle Jess” books, because some of our favorite treasures come from her. (Not him…Uncle Jess is indeed a woman and also my oldest friend, childhood neighbor, and somewhat distant cousin, …

The Boys’ Doodle Book, by Andrew Pindner

We’ve left the land of sunshine (no, seriously. It rained maybe a few hours the whole two weeks we were in the Netherlands!) and are ankle deep again in mud and leftover snow. I desperately need Ollie’s Mrs. Thaw to come …

Mijn Leuke Kijkboek Met Woordjes, by Richard Scarry

Here we are, halfway through this trip to the Netherlands. We’ve had glorious weather, and the kids have proven once again to be versatile little travelers. The eight hour time difference threw us for a loop for the first several …

Holland, by Charlotte Dematons

Is it spring time where you are? Let me assure you that spring has not hit northwest Montana yet. We are still blanketed in snow and ice. HOWEVER, it is finally spring break. Or at least it will be. And …

Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney

When you were young, do you remember envisioning your life? Like where you’d go, what you’d accomplish? I don’t think I’ve ever had a specific calling like some friends of mine. I know people who would positively die if they …