Today I get to share with you a picture book that explores feelings. It is perfect for the younger child. At the end of the post is a giveaway and there is also a round-up of emotion activities to go with the book. The book is Guess How Marion Feels by Miss Kaye and illustrated by Miss Waitthk.
Do you know a young child who struggles with anxiety? My daughter has anxiety and has struggled with it from a very young age. I remember her separation anxiety as well as her getting nervous if she watched someone break a rule. I sometimes had to turn Curious George off because she got nervous when he broke a rule. There were so many conversations about how her anxiety caused her to feel sick. I wish today's book was available when she was young, but the author is only a few years older than Hazel and was experiencing her own anxiety. The author of today's book is in high school and wrote this book from her own experiences. The book is Frankie's Fishy Feelings by Quincy Kadin. Since the main character is getting ready for the first day of school, I recommend it for the preschool through early elementary age kids.
Today I get to share with you two great picture books that have lessons of self-control and self-love. Both books are by Dr. Drew Palacio and illustrated by Apolline Etienne and are recommended for ages 4+. The newest of the books is Troubles and Doubles and Reflections Askew. The other book is Shrieks and Sounds and Things Abound. Both are offered as prizes in the giveaway at the end!
Emotions can be hard. Whether you are dealing with your own or someone else's they can be difficult to navigate and often bad emotions can spread. Today I am sharing a book about one of the hardest ones to deal with--anger. It is called Small Knight and the Angry Prince by Manka Kasha. It is recommended for ages 3 to 6 and deals with some gender issues.
What kind of Christmas tree do you have? Is it real or fake? How big is it? Christmas trees are something I have been discussing this year with my sisters since we spend the holidays at our house on Cape Cod and none of us actually live there. My sister decided to get and decorate a tree there again this year since she plans to spend New Year's there as well. To learn more about the history of Christmas trees be sure to check out this post and to learn about our tree traditions read here. Today I am going to share a wonderful picture book about the small Christmas tree that feels forgotten. The book is Needles, the Forgotten Christmas Tree by Richard Wagner and illustrated by Sydni Kruger. This book is being released in March of 2023 so it will be for next Christmas! I am including a round-up of Christmas tree crafts and there is a giveaway at the end!
Over the next few weeks, I am going to share with you some fun picture books. Today's focuses on a boy who experiences growing pains, but also is curious about the tree he helped plant the previous day. It is such a sweet book. The book is Growing Pains by Alison McLennan and Melissa Johns. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
Do you know any child who is trying to understand when his or her mom is seriously ill? Today I am sharing a book about a child dealing with her mom having cancer. The book is Brave Like Mom by Monica Acker and illustrated by Paran Kim. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
I love sharing multicultural children's books with you. Every January I get excited for Multicultural Children's Book Day. Today I get to share with you a beautiful new multicultural book. When I first read it, I couldn't wait to share it. It is fabulous and simple. The book is All of Us by Gökçe Irten. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
What happens in your house when you are (or mom is) sick? I was lucky. As a stay-at-home mom of a toddler, I actually sort of got sick days. My mother-in-law lives five minutes from us and was always willing to take Hazel for the day. This meant I got some sort of time to rest. It had its own issues like feeding Hazel bacon after the stomach bug. Yup, she came home early that day. But I knew how lucky I was. I had several friends who had no one to help so when they were sick, they still had to be mom. It is hard. Now imagine what it is like if mom is really sick--seriously sick. How do the kids feel? Let's face it moms are important to kids. Mom being sick is a very scary thing for most kids. Today I am sharing a book with you that helps kids find their own role in helping when mom is sick. The book is When Mom Feels Great Then We Do Too! by Phyllis Schwartz and illustrated by Siski Kalla.
We all have those embarrassing moments. We also have those family members who can be rather embarrassing. Do you remember having to go to school functions with your embarrassing family? Did you worry about them embarrassing you in front of your friends and teachers? Today's book is about just that. The book is Embarrassing George by Kimber Morgan and illustrated by Jessica Kwan.
What do you do when something doesn't go your way? It could be something small or something big. How do you model dealing with disappointments for your kids? Today I am going to share a picture book that teaches this. It is Somewhere, Right Now by Kerry Docherty and illustrated by Suzie Mason. It is recommended for ages 3 to 5.
Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to be all mixed up? Today I am sharing a new picture book with a young cat that experiences one of those days and bonus the book has cattywampus in the title! Great vocabulary word for you and for kids! The book is Alycat and the Cattywampus Wednesday by Alysson Foti Bourque and illustrated by Chiara Civati. There is also a giveaway and cat craft round-up to go with the book!
Have you ever had one of those bad days? You know when you think the world is against you? We all have them--even kids. Today I get to share with you a book for young readers that deals with just that! It is the fourth book in the Kayla: A Modern-Day Princess Series. The book is These Shoes Are Made for Dancing by Deedee Cummings and illustrated by Charlene Mosley. The series is recommended for ages 4 to 8. (To see my reviews of some more of Deedee Cummings' books, click here.)
Today I get to share a fun picture book with the message of everyone has a story worth telling. It is a sweet story that is about a bookshelf (the first of its kind). The bookshelf feels left out and left behind as the library grows. The book helps teach acceptance, inclusion, as well as confidence. The book itself comes out on November 30, 2021!
Last week I shared a bit about what is happening in my life. Things have gone down hill since with my father. There has been a break-through Covid case in the staff of his facility. When I went to visit him we found out and he had a black eye when I saw him. Today we are waiting to hear the results of tests at the hospital after a nighttime fall and hitting his head. I have been so full of worry, anger, and shame. I felt my emotions getting to me and couldn't pull myself up. My depression was seeping back to a point I wasn't sure I could fight on my own. Then I picked up the book I'm sharing today and having just read a few chapters as well as the introduction and foreword my entire mood shifted. I didn't feel like I was falling into despair any more. I remembered to trust God. The book is It's On the Way by Lisa Osteen Comes. And before I tell you about it I want to say to Lisa, thank you! Your words truly are making a difference in my life.
Life has been tough. The past 18 months have been tough on everyone with Covid. However the last month especially has had its own toughness for me. About nine years ago my parents sat Steve and I down at Christmas to let us know my father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. It was caught pretty early. He asked us not to tell Hazel. Fast forward to about six summers ago when my father was discussing his Alzheimer's Disease openly at the dinner table with Hazel there. It was the first time she was hearing he had it. He had forgotten we hadn't told her. He was still doing all right. Then about four years ago he started a slow decline. My parents moved from the house my grandparents (my dad's parents) built on Cape Cod to a 62 and over condo building. The house was becoming too much for them to handle. My sisters and I took over the care of the house and rent it out for much of the summer. We use it for holidays and off-season vacations mostly. We
Do you have or know an anxious kid? Or perhaps you are a bit stressed out right now? Let's face it with Covid and all the political happenings life is definitely full of anxiety for us and our kids. Today I am going to share a book written for ages 8 to 12 full of crafts and activities to help kids find ways to calm themselves as well as understand and properly express their emotions. The book is Crafting calm: Art and Activities for Mindful Kids by Megan Borgert-Spaniol and Lauren Kukla and illustrated by Aruna Rangarajan.
Let's face it 2020 was a hard year. Now we are in 2021 and it is not looking much better. We are living through a worldwide pandemic. Even after the November election our politics do not seem settled or at least completely accepted. Then there is the struggle with masks. Some people wear them and others do not even when we see the numbers of people infected growing so fast and our hospitals are reaching their limits. All of this is enough to make us feel stressed and anxious. The new year usually brings hopes and dreams. We make resolutions on how we are going to change for the better. Yet this year we are all a bit overwhelmed. How do we get past all of this?
Have you ever read a book that just makes you think about your own life in new ways? A book that teaches you and has you questioning your own choices and actions? Today's book is one of those type of books. It is Lark and the Loon by Riannon Gelston.
