Pink Shoes: Turning Pages

This is not the thought provoking post that the title alludes to. It's quite literal.

I am always on the look out for beautiful new children's books that make my kids want to sit on the couch and flip through the pages of actual books. I'm not anti screen in any way and think kids should be pretty adept at maneuvering their way around technology but I think it's fun to look at printed pictures together; to touch the words we're reading, see the colors in a big way--bigger than a phone screen can provide, and to work our way through a stack of books and claim victory over them.

Here's a few we've been reading the last few months....in case you're on the look out too!

1. The books on the top of the stack in the picture above are AMAZING for the toddlers in your life who are learning colors, and letters, and basic vocabulary. Xavier Deneux fills his books with thick cardboard pages and rich colors and a tactile element that is so perfectly done for little hands. Everything sticks up and kids can feel the shapes of letters and objects to hold their interest just that much longer. And he has so many books! We have three--there are a lot more to pick from.

That little finger. I kind of love it.

2. Before & After. Honestly--a genius but simple book. Truly such a basic but engaging way to teach kids cause and effect, progress, the passage of time, and transitions. There are no words in this book so the conversations you can have with your kids and the predictions they'll come up with are really fun. If I was still teaching a great activity would be to have kids write their own narratives describing the sets of pictures and why A leads to B. There are very straightforward cause and effect images as I've detailed below and even more in depth ones that span four or five pages that show the change in a plot of land over many years.

3. A lot of kids are curious about Braille since it's on every bathroom sign they ever pass, but don't necessarily come in contact with people who use Braille on a very regular basis. Georgia was curious about it....and of course Amazon delivered with a very pretty book on Louis Braille.

4. The "What do you do with...." books. Problems? Ideas? We've all got them and sometimes kids (ummm--and adults too) need a little clarity on how to process them and know that problems and crazy ideas are kind of normal.

5. I am a Story. I seriously love this book. So incredibly much. This book details the importance of story and how it is passed down from generation to generation and even how some stories have been shunned and burned at certain points in history. Loved reading this one with Georgia!

6. The House On Maple Street and At the Same Moment Around the World are perfect for helping kids to understand timezones and the passage of time.

7. And finally, these two books about being home and what home means and all of the wonderful things that homes can hold are as visually interesting as they are thought provoking.