picture books Archives

Wordless Picture Books To Inspire Reading

2015/07 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a 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):

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.

World Snacks Series by Amy Wilson Sanger

2013/05 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

While I was working in publishing, my company acquired a wonderful Berkely-based publisher called Tricycle Press. Tricycle books are a wonderful mix of cultural, historical, natural and veggie titles – great for natural parenting folks! It was then that I became acquainted with Amy Wilson Sanger’s World Snacks board books.

My husband is a foodie, and we have tried to expose D to as many different foods as possible, so these books were perfect for us. I had a copy of First Book of Sushi, leftover from my days in publishing, and we quickly fell in love with the mixed media artwork and fun food rhymes:

Egg tamago and

shrimp ebi

dipped in soy sauce

(not a lot).

Pink pickled ginger

cools my tongue,

wasabi–

hot, hot, HOT!

In the early days, I read D the same 3-4 books every night (not sure why, now that I think back to it) and we were itching for something different.

Along came A Little Bit of Soul Food and Chaat and Sweets (my personal favorite as both D & I LOVE spicy Indian food). And, because I am not one to put a limit on the books in our library, Let’s Nosh and Yum Yum Dim Sum were soon to follow:

There are even more titles in this series (we’ve not yet added them to our collection): Hola! Jalepeno & Mangia! Mangia!.

I love that these books expose little ones to different cultures, foods, and words! If you’re looking to add a little spice to your home library, check out the World Snacks books! You can get them here through Amazon (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):