holidays – Page 3

Our Favorite Holiday-Specific Easter Books

March 31, 2020March 31, 2020by childrenslitlove2 Comments

So, it turns out that you all were almost perfectly 50/50 on whether you wanted holiday-specific Easter books or more general books about bunnies and eggs, so… I’ve got two lists for you! Below, you’ll find Easter-specific titles for a variety of ages and holiday interests— little readers, bigger kids, Christian, secular… Hopefully there’s something in here for you!

If you were really hoping for my favorite non-Easter books about bunnies and eggs for your year-round reading pleasure, have no fear… I’ve got those for you, too! Just click here to see our list of our list of favorite books about bunnies and eggs! Continue reading “Our Favorite Holiday-Specific Easter Books” →

Book Lists, holidays

Beautiful Books to Gift

March 25, 2020March 25, 2020by childrenslitlove1 Comment

This will come as no surprise to any of you all, but I love to give books as presents. Chances are good that if you have ever received a gift from our family, it was either a book or came with a book. Today, I’m thrilled to be partnering with my friend Nicole from Instagram’s @beginathome account to bring you 20 absolutely beautiful books perfect for gifting, whether for baby gifts, birthdays, or Easter baskets (because yes, Easter is right around the corner, in case you forgot in all the chaos of life lately…).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Check out my ten(ish) of my favorite beautiful books to gift below, then hop over to Nicole’s Instagram post (and while you’re there, be sure to check out the rest of her inspiring account @beginathome!) to see her ten picks.

Continue reading “Beautiful Books to Gift” →

Book Lists, holidays

Ten Delightful St. Patrick’s Day Books

March 3, 2020March 5, 2020by childrenslitlove3 Comments

So, admittedly, we’re not super into St. Patrick’s Day as a family. We try to wear green, and we’ll happily attend a St. Patrick’s Day Party if invited, but all in all, we put lots more energy into other holidays. So, though I do have a few favorite St. Patrick’s Day books (of course!), I haven’t spent nearly as much time searching for this holiday’s best books as I have for other holidays. But, every year I get lots of requests for St. Patrick’s books, so here you go! Continue reading “Ten Delightful St. Patrick’s Day Books” →

Book Lists, holidays

Our Favorite Valentine’s Day and Love Books

February 1, 2020February 20, 2025by childrenslitlove5 Comments

Ok, something you’ll learn about me over time is that while I love a good themed bookshelf, I really love when the books I choose for said bookshelf can serve multiple purposes throughout the year. So, when it comes to holiday books, I get pretty excited when I find books that work for a given holiday, but can also be read anytime over the course of the year (like this list of my favorite Halloween-y, but not Halloween, books; this list of gratitude books to read for Thanksgiving; or this list of awesome books to read at the beginning of the school year that aren’t specifically about the first day of school). So, when it comes to Valentine’s Day, our shelf has a few Valentine’s Day books, but we read mostly love stories with wonderful year-round lessons.

Continue reading →

Book Lists, holidays

Six Fabulous Chinese New Year Picture Books

January 16, 2020January 15, 2020by childrenslitloveLeave a Comment

For many, many years of my life, I admittedly knew little about Chinese New Year, aside from the fact that it changed dates each year, people did dragon dances or watched dragon parades, and if you were lucky, you might receive lucky money in a red envelope. As an adult, I’ve learned a little bit more, but as my girls began to learn about these traditions in school, I desired to find good books (of course) so that we could all better understand the Chinese New Year and its history and traditions. This year, Chinese New Year is on Saturday, January 25, 2020, so I’m hoping this list gives you time to snag one or more of these books from your local bookstore or library, so that you and your loved ones can either learn more about or more deeply celebrate the Chinese New Year! Continue reading “Six Fabulous Chinese New Year Picture Books” →

Book Recommendations, Family Chapter Book Read Alouds, holidays, Middle Grade

The True Gift by Patricia MacLachlan

December 12, 2019October 14, 2020by childrenslitloveLeave a Comment

Now that our girls are a year older and a year more used to listening to chapter book read alouds, I thought I’d try some Christmas novels this season, to go along with all of the holiday picture books that we love to read (you can find my 2018 list here and my 2019 list here!). Since I always try to preread as many chapter books as I can (I am pretty particular when it comes to characters’ language and attitudes… My girls don’t need any more models of things we won’t want to see!), I got my hands on a handful of Christmas chapter books, and decided to start with The True Gift by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Brian Floca. We finished this one yesterday, and the girls delighted in it just as much as I did when I read it on my own! Continue reading “The True Gift by Patricia MacLachlan” →

holidays, Literacy Tips, random

Our Annual Children’s Book Exchange Party

December 5, 2019December 14, 2019by childrenslitlove4 Comments

Earlier this week, our neighborhood playgroup had our 7th annual winter/holiday book exchange party with our children. Yes, we’ve been doing this for seven years, which means we started when our oldest children were a mere few months old. Though our playgroup no longer meets weekly, the children eagerly anticipate this book exchange party every December, and no matter how busy our schedules get, the moms in the group do our very best to make this gathering a priority! Read on for a little information (and hopefully inspiration!) for how we run our book exchange. Continue reading “Our Annual Children’s Book Exchange Party” →

Book Lists, holidays

25 Christmas Books for 2019

November 19, 2019November 15, 2019by childrenslitlove5 Comments

While I love all things Christmas, I especially love Christmas music and Christmas books. I come by it honestly — my dad used to play Christmas music throughout the month of December, and my mom had, at one point, what might have been the largest collection of various versions of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. I remember spending hours as a child curled up on the couch, listening to Christmas music and reading Christmas books. So, of course, one of my favorite things once I became a parent myself was to build my Christmas book collection, as well as to find new titles from our local library. Publishing a Christmas booklist was one of the tasks I was most excited to complete when I started my Instagram account a little over a year ago. Last year, I made what I think is an amazing list of 25+ Christmas books to read… This year, I’ve got a completely new list of 25 Christmas books for you to enjoy with your little ones this season! Continue reading “25 Christmas Books for 2019” →

holidays, random

Books as Party Favors!

November 12, 2019November 15, 2019by childrenslitlove1 Comment

How do you feel about birthday party favors for kids? This may be an unpopular opinion, but I was very anti party favors for a bit… Until I realized how truly excited children get about them. That said, I still had a hard time justifying buying something small and affordable (i.e. cheap) for every child who might come to a birthday party that we had, knowing that in our own house, those favors often go almost directly into the Goodwill bag. And then I had one of the more brilliant ideas I’ve had lately, if I do say so myself… Continue reading “Books as Party Favors!” →

Book Lists, holidays

Books to Foster Thankfulness and Gratitude Year-Round

November 4, 2019November 13, 2019by childrenslitlove7 Comments

It’s Thanksgiving month here in the United States, which means many of us are spending time with our loved ones, reflecting on what we are thankful for and recognizing our gratitude. As you follow me more, you’ll learn quickly that I LOVE a good themed bookshelf, whether for a holiday or something we have going on in our lives (when we get ready for a week at the beach we read beach stories, and when we realized my oldest was terrified of dinosaurs we spent some time with dino books!).

I usually check out books for our themed shelves from the library, because I prefer to spend my money on books that we can enjoy year-round, not just for specific holidays. If you’re like me, and you want Thanksgiving books that can be read year-round, then this is the post for you, as it’s full of wonderful books on gratitude and being thankful that can be read any time of year! Continue reading “Books to Foster Thankfulness and Gratitude Year-Round” →