children's books Archives

Wordless Picture Books To Inspire Reading

2015/07 By Lauren B. Stevens 1 Comment

I’ve shared how I amassed a large children’s library on a budget, and even attempted to share our current favorite reads (not enough time to keep up with, I’m afraid), but I’ve not really compiled any suggestions for children’s books, apart from an odd book here and there.

For as long as I can remember I’ve loved to read. I studied English in college and even got my MA in English. My studies in English helped me build an impressive library, stocked full of titles that were more fun than work to read for classes. I loved to analyze great works of literature and I also read “fluff” as well. I distinctly remember a semester where I had four Literature courses, but still had a hankering to read something for myself. For the first time in my life I found myself reading romance novels, not for great storylines or deep characters, but because a.) I didn’t own a TV, b.) I had a coworker who had Rubbermaid tubs FULL of romances, and c.) I needed to give my brain a break from required reading every now and then.

I still use reading as a “brain break” in addition to entertainment. When I’ve been writing a lot and my brain feels fried, I pick up a book and give my brain a break from creating words by reading the words of others. In fact, I read every night before bed, at the very least. I love using my nap time break to read in the quiet of the house — a little mid day break from work and being a mom.

I found myself working in bookstores after graduating, and even while pursuing my Master’s full time. There’s something comforting about the shelves and shelves of books, the quiet, muffled sounds of people shopping, and the smell of coffee brewing. I’ve moved often in my life, and my books have always been the first things I unpack, as they are what make new digs home for me.

Imagine my delight when I began working for a major publisher, selling children’s books to independent bookstores. I loved the strong lineup of authors we had each season, the wide range of books we published, and most of all, I loved that I was paid to read books and essentially talk to booksellers about them.

Working in children’s publishing gives you insight into reading statistics pertaining to children, statistics that were as important in my conversations with booksellers as they were for my memory bank. Ironically, I worked in children’s publishing before having children, so I had yet to test my picks on a kiddo.

Despite being childless, I amassed a library for my someday child, hoping against hope that that child would develop a love of reading similar to my own. While my son is only three years old, he already has a passion for books (and bookstores), preferring books over toys. When my son excitedly opens a book, I come alive inside, hoping that he will maintain his love of reading. The statistics say that it’s very likely that D. will lose interest in reading in later elementary school, but I’ve already built a library to help keep him interested, with popular series and multiple genres represented.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to consult some of my former clients and colleagues for a Care.com article listing books to inspire young readers. More importantly, this list is comprised solely of wordless picture books, so readers of all ages, levels and abilities will be able to enjoy the adventures and illustrations inside.

You can read my article on Care.com: 13 Wordless Picture Books to Inspire Your Child

If you’re wondering what I’ve been reading this past month, here are my favorites (I’ve been in a Sci-fi/Dystopian/Fantasy phase):

Fanny Foozle Childrens Book Giveaway

2014/01 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

Welcome to the ‘Fanny Foozle: The Four Leaf Fantuckle Festival’ Book Giveaway sponsored by Fanny Foozle and hosted by The Parenting Patch & The Median Mommy!

Fanny Foozle is pink and lives in the town of Flamboozle with her Foodle Dog Sam. Every day is a fantastic adventure, a folly and a big surprise. So come bounce along with Fanny Foozle in the town of Flamboozle!

One lucky reader of The Parenting Patch will win one (1) copy of the ‘Fanny Foozle: The Four Leaf Fantuckle Festival’ book. To enter for your chance to win the ‘Fanny Foozle: The Four Leaf Fantuckle Festival’ Book Giveaway, simply use the following Rafflecopter form. Good luck! Happy reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The ‘Fanny Foozle: The Four Leaf Fantuckle Festival’ Book Giveaway is restricted to legal residents of the United States of America. The ‘Fanny Foozle: The Four Leaf Fantuckle Festival’ Book Giveaway ends at midnight CST on February 4, 2014. One winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will be sent an email and will have forty-eight hours to respond. If no response is received within forty-eight hours, another winner will be chosen. The Parenting Patch and other participating blogs are not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Baby Talk

2013/10 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

No, really, that’s what we’re currently reading, Baby Talk by Dawn Sirett & Victoria Blackie. Except in our house, it’s currently known as baby! baby! baby! I just picked this book up last week because, as I explained in my previous What We’re Reading post, Declan is really into books with photographs (and babies) right now. But, I didn’t just pick this book out for it’s photos — it’s a great teaching tool.

The 6 spreads cover expressions, actions, feelings, and/or emotions. Each spread begins with a photograph of a baby and an introduction to a feeling: This little baby is hungry, followed by a baby with a bowl and spoon and the caption “yum-yum!”. Another spread says, This little baby is sad, followed by a photo of a baby with tears and the caption “boo-hoo!”. I’m beginning to think that D’s a sadist, as he always giggles at this particular spread (but it’s likely the sound of my saying “boo-hoo” that’s making him giggle).

While Declan truly enjoys this book, and will ask to read it over and over…and over again, I like it too. Not only does this book have photos of babies expressing different feelings and emotions, it clearly shows the relation and then follows with effect and verbal expression: This little baby wants her mommy…Mama! It’s this type of subtlety that I really appreciate in children’s books that are artful teaching tools. Feelings and emotions are complex things for even adults to understand, and Baby Talk does a wonderful job with showing the basics.

What are some of your favorite books for toddlers?

Baby’s First Word Book(s)

2013/09 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

I’ve not had a “What We’re Reading” post in quite some time, and for good reason. Books have really been hit-or-miss the past month or two with Declan, with lift-a-flaps and touch-n-feels grabbing his attention the most. More often than not, however, our reading has resembled a rousing game of musical chairs, each book experienced for a snippet, with our options continually narrowing down. Thankfully, Declan recently experienced a language explosion, and “First..” books, with photographs of objects, have been an absolute hit!

We’re having great success with two books: DK’s My First Phonics Book, and Armadillo’s Baby’s First Word Book. While they don’t necessarily read like books, it doesn’t make it any less entertaining. Declan loves using his new vocabulary at every chance (even when the opportunity doesn’t present itself), and loves pointing to objects in the books and naming them. Declan definitely has a long way to go towards English language mastery, as his approach to naming things is rather categorical.

With D’s approach, all things with wheels are cars, including, but not limited to trucks, bicycles, wagons, strollers, and even robots (?). Anything round is a ball, but if it’s an item near and dear to his heart, he definitely gets it correct; a random block of swiss is most definitely cheese, and a bowl of popcorn is corn. Small furry animals are mostly cat, and sometimes dog; furry animals with long legs are neigh-neigh. Baby is a favorite, and they seem to appear everywhere in these books, popping out when you least expect them. Shoes are everywhere, whether on people’s feet or on their own, and this category also includes socks, pictures of feet (there’s a cognitive relation there that I’m proud of), and boots. Lastly, hats can be found everywhere: on people’s heads, or fashioned out of anything (such as a lampshade). Hat is one of D’s favorite words right now, and I had a proud albeit hysterical moment when he started putting bananas (at breakfast) and lunchmeat (at lunch the same day) on his head and calling it a hat. The banana stuck to Declan’s forehead, with him pointing and saying hat! is one of those moments that will never be forgotten!

While I am loving this language explosion and seeing Declan name the world around him, the habitual use of [for him, two] words can make for some tiresome moments: carcarcarcarcarcarcarcarcarcarcarcarcar and hathathathathathathathathathathathat are a couple of words I’d love to never hear again. Have you ever realized how many commercials, car commercials or not, have CARS in them? Me either, until now…

Lift-a-Flaps, Touch-and-Feels, Pop-ups and Pull-Tabs

2013/06 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

Declan is extremely active these days, only stopping moving for naps and bedtime, so it stands to reason that his preference in books is interactive right now too! His current top pick, and a book he’s had me read to him 3 times today, is actually a sample from my days as a children’s book sales rep:

I’ll be honest and tell you that I had a hard time selling this book because I thought it was just too, well, simple! Bosco’s Busy Morning, by Chuck Murphy, has cast a spell over Declan, primarily because of the many pop-ups, lift-a-flaps and pull-tabs it has. There’s some text, but it’s really nothing to talk about because it’s the paper construction that makes this a hit:

This touch-and-feel is a close second with Declan, again, another sample:

The little pink book, by Renee Khatami, was one that I did enjoy selling, and Declan enjoys interacting with. His favorite spread? One featuring a pig with a little tuft of faux fur that he’s reached to pet since he was 5-6 months old — it never gets old!

As you can guess, the book features items that are pink: piglets, seashells, a rose, etc. I liked this one because the text has a gentle rhyme scheme that guides you through, and a lot of different textures for little hands to feel.

This last pick is my personal favorite, because I love the design:

Dwell Studio’s Touch & Feel FARM is aesthetically pleasing for me, but Declan can take it or leave it. I really like the simple text, soft color palette and clean lines of the illustrations — obviously created with a mind for graphic design. The book contains a great variety of textures in large, easy to find areas in the spreads, so I would definitely recommend this one as a starter book for babies.

What are your favorite Lift-a-flap, touch-and-feel, pull-tab and pop-up books? I’d love to find some more fun interactive titles to add to our library!

* This post contains affiliate links.

David Books by David Shannon

2013/05 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

Books and reading are a huge part of my life, and I’m working to make them an important part of Declan’s life as well. I started building my ‘future children’s’ library many years ago, and had a boost to the collection when I worked for a major children’s book publisher.

Now that I have a child, and no longer work in children’s publishing, I have to be creative in finding ways to add to my library (I like to buy books. A lot of books). What we’re currently reading, and is eliciting giggles from D, are a trio of David Shannon board books that I purchased at a recent consignment sale.

If you have a son, precocious or not, you have to check out No, David!, a Caldecott honor book by David Shannon. At just under 10 months old, D is already showing signs of being a mischievous little monkey…and David Shannon’s David books are perfect for him! With simple text and wonderful illustrations, Shannon has rambunctious little boys down to a tee. I’m starting D out with the Diaper David board book collection, and plan to work up to No, David! by the time Declan is a preschooler. If you haven’t already, check them out! You can order them through Amazon here (this is an affiliate link):

Recycled Reading

2013/03 By Lauren B. Stevens 4 Comments

I am an avid reader; books have always been in my blood. I began collecting antique books in second grade (the older the inscription the better), spent my primary days reading Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers series, and of course, L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. I ended up getting both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in literature, worked in several bookstores, and finally spent a few years as a children’s publishing sales rep before starting a family. I love books for their content, their entertainment value and their aesthetic. Whenever I used to move, my books were the first things unpacked and placed on my custom 4’x8′ bookshelf; my books made wherever I lived ‘home’.

Obviously, I wish to encourage a love of reading with my children, so we started integrating books into D’s bedtime routine when he was just a couple of months old.

Declan is an incredibly visual baby, so we often change what we’re reading, sometimes on a nightly basis. I recently noticed that he was especially drawn to photos of animals and books with different textures. I decided to try a great used book outlet nearby, where we often go on rainy weekends to peruse the shelves and pick up books at noncommittal prices.

Harvest Book Company is a large online retailer of used and rare books, but they set up a small ‘storefront’ retail space in their warehouse where people can buy right from the shelf. I suppose I should mention that I scoped this place out even before we moved here, as the hotel we stayed in (when looking at potential houses before moving) was located in the same industrial park. Used book outlet minutes from where we live? Score!

We also scored the last time we went, as we were able to find a great book with pictures of animals, and we found this amazing gem (did I mention that they carry a large selection of children’s books too?):

This is a pristine 1963 edition of a book that resonates with both my husband and myself from childhood, and it’s the perfect read as we head into spring. What a find for $1! There are several great things about this a.) we get to share a favorite childhood story of ours with our son, b.) it’s one of my favorite forms of recycling (used books), c.) it’s illustrated by Richard Scarry, d.) the book is in pristine condition and is a board book, without the chunkiness of today’s board books,