When I was little, my mom used to have a “secret” hand squeeze with my brother and me. She’d take our hands and give them three gentle squeezes to say “I love you,” and then we’d give her four squeezes back, signaling “I love you, too.” Fast forward to becoming a parent myself and these three and four squeezes are now a “secret language” that we share with our own girls. I always assumed this was something unique to our family, until Lauren from Picture Book Playdate on Instagram reviewed Three Squeezes by Jason Pratt, illustrated by Chris Sheban, earlier this fall. I rarely buy a book after reading only one review of it, as I try to at least get it from the library first, but… I knew our family had to own this one. I bought it immediately to give to our younger daughter for her birthday in September and am so glad that we own a book that depicts this special (but apparently not so secret) language in such a beautiful, touching way.

Do you all know Acoustic Rooster yet? We are admittedly late to the game, as the first book in the series, Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band was published in 2011. But, Sleeping Bear Press kindly sent us the newest book in the series, Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie Starring Indigo Blume, and it was such a hit with our preschooler that I tracked down the original too, so that we could enjoy both. And, not surprising, she LOVES both of these books and asks for them on repeat. Read on for a bit about each book, as well as the upcoming Acoustic Rooster musical!

Give me a show of hands if your children (and, let’s face it, you…) are obsessed with Jory John’s and Pete Oswald’s Seed/Egg/Bean series! If you, like my girls and I, have your hands in the hair, then rejoice, because… There’s a new member of the gang! Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to The Couch Potato, by the fantastic John and Oswald duo! Read on to get a little insight into this hilarious addition to the series.

Do you know Trudy Ludwig’s books? I’ve written before about Sorry! and The Invisible Boy. Those books have been two of our favorites for a while in our house, and both made it onto a variety of Family Focus Trait booklists this year. In other words, they’re wonderfully done and very powerful. So, when Trudy Ludwig reached out to me to see if my family would like her newest book, The Power of One: Every Act of Kindness Counts, you can bet I jumped on that offer! Read on to see a little about this new gem of a book.