Category: Books

Postcard No. 7


Hard at work on our “Miss Leyba’s Friends” board book! I adhered the photos (with little hands helping, of course!), then the toddler found the letters and placed the alphabet stickers for each friends name and drew around the photos. A perfect morning project and we now have a special book to treasure always.

Supplies:
+ Blank board book from Bare Books (we love the chunky blank board books)
+ Photo adhesive: Scotch Adhesive Dot Roller (so easy to use and with zero mess!)
+ Assorted alphabet stickers
+ Photos printed from Photoworks (for phenomenal photo quality)

The Book List

Inspired by the miriad of Life Lists floating around the web, I feel compelled to create a list of books to read before I turn 40 (in just over nine years).

On this list are books that I’ve always wanted to read, books that I feel I need to read, books that sound like a lot of fun, books that are thought provoking, books that I own but haven’t cracked open, books that I read once upon a time but can’t remember, and books I started or have read excerpts from, but never finished.

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

1. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
2. Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights
3. On the Origins of Species by Charles Darwin
4. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (currently reading)
5. Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth
6. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
7. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
8. Grow Great Grub by Gayla Trail
9. Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs ans Steel
10. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt
11. Sharon Shinn’s The Shape-Changer’s Wife
12. A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (yet to be written, due to be published in 2012)

Clearly I have many more books to add to this list and so I need your help! Do you have any suggestions? What must-read books would you recommend?

Most importantly, please don’t suggest any heartbreaking books! Real life (in the news! on the radio!) is depressing enough, I don’t need to cry while reading. (Unless it’s happy romantic tears. I am completely okay with those!)

I’m excited to see what you suggest.

Favorite Board Books for Kids

We’ve been busy getting ready for the holidays, trying to plan ahead with presents and decorations to limit the last minute scrambling that inevitably happens each December. This year instead of our typical Week of Design, we’re talking about holiday gifts, presenting items we love and recommend, as well as items from our wishlists for fun splurge items.

We love children’s books and especially appreciate board books for little ones. The thick pages allow toddlers to turn the pages themselves (how empowering!) and are strong enough to stand up to lots of daily use (kids love repetition!) and drool. Here are some of our most treasured board books, which we’re read over and over and over again. (Yes, we have them all memorized!) Enjoy.

– Baby Love: A Board Book Gift Set/All Fall Down; Clap Hands; Say Goodnight; Tickle, Tickle
– Blue Hat, Green Hat
– Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
– The Carrot Seed
– Chicka Chicka ABC
– Forest Bright, Forest Night
– Global Babies
– Good Dog, Carl
– Good Night, Gorilla
– Goodnight Moon
– Gossie and Friends
– Hands Can
– Harry the Dirty Dog
– I’m as Quick as a Cricket
– Jamberry
– Mama, Do You Love Me?
– Mommy & Daddy Hugs & Kisses
– The Owl and the Pussycat (stunning illustrations by Jan Brett!)
– Planting a Rainbow
– Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
– The Very Hungry Caterpillar
– Won’t You Be My Kissaroo?

Books for Fall

We love children’s books and the plethora of phenomenal ones with a fall theme!

Here are some library finds we’ve been enjoying lately:

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert:

Miss Leyba relates to the idea of picking up plants from the garden center, then planting, caring for and growing to love them. She’s memorized this one already.

And Then Comes Halloween by Tom Brenner, illustrated by Holly Meade:

A showcase of fun fall activities, such as carving pumpkins, raking leaves, decorate yards, and making costumes, gearing up for Halloween.

Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher, illustrated by Kate Kiesler:

Beautiful imagery and verse, nevertheless I’d personally recommend this book for older children; our toddler has little patience for it unless she’s really in a reading mood. We’ll try again next year!

In November by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Jill Kastner:

Beautiful pictures, sound science, and the girls especially enjoy it. David thinks it’s a boring story, but don’t tell Miss Leyba!

Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel:

A story for all seasons! My favorite Frog and Toad book, it’s quirky, fun and a very, very sweet collection of stories about best friends!

Little Bear and Birthday Soup

Someone’s obsessed with Elsa Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear books!

So obsessed that she pretends to make birthday soup in the kitchen sink during her daily water play:

So obsessed that she’s been calling her baby doll Lucy after the doll in the book Little Bear’s Friend.

So obsessed that she knows the story word for word:



Video: Reading Little Bear Book from Carrie on Vimeo.

Oh, that ending! We’re all about keeping it real over here. “I hate this book!” is what happens when I ask her to read it three times in a row so I can get a movie of her storytelling. I don’t blame her for being pissed at me. I’d hate it too after reading it three times.

Although if last night is an any indication, I’ll be reading it five times to her before bed tonight.

But that didn’t stop me from just adding the books to Miss Leyba’s book wishlist. That way we’ll get to read them over and over again for years.