10 Kids Books We’re Loving Lately

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10 Books We're Loving Lately // One Lovely Life

We very much put our library accounts to good use. Quite regularly, both Michael and I have maxed out our hold request, and I almost always have borrowed books in the double digits. (Side note: we also watch a lot of shows and movies this way. If you’re not taking advantage of this service at your library, it’s awesome!)

But back to books. For a long time before Sophie was speaking, she was drawn to books with great illustrations. Even now that the stories or rhymes are more interesting, I find she’s still pretty discerning about the art in the books we read. I also find that she has great taste. Here are 10 books we’re loving lately…

10 Books We're Loving Lately // One Lovely Life

1. Mix It Up! 

This one has been getting rave reviews in the blogosphere, so you may have already heard of it. I love that it’s interactive. You follow directions and learn about mixing colors at the same time. Sophie didn’t know anything about mixing primary colors together to get secondary colors, but she can successfully do it when presented with a few blobs of paint. This tells me that it’s really fun but also really effective at teaching. And if by chance you haven’t read the first book by this author (Press Here), you really should. It’s great, too.

2. Pig Kahuna Pirates!

Ha. I love books where the tiniest person is the most opinionated. Probably because I have to tiny people with big opinions at my house. I love this one (just as I loved the first Pig Kahuna book).

10 Books We're Loving Lately // One Lovely Life

3.The Hiccupotamus

This reminds me of Shel Silverstein with it’s quick rhymes and clever wording. It also helps that the illustrations are fantastic.

4. Chengdu Could Not, Would Not, Fall Asleep

I love these pictures. The story isn’t especially wordy, but it’s beautiful and makes me smile.

10 Books We're Loving Lately // One Lovely Life

5. We Belong Together

This is a super small book–you could read it to your youngest reader. Sophie just loves reading it and I love when she says things like “baby, you’re my perfect pear.”

6. Brontorina

I’ve got a soft spot for books where someone who’s a little different has big dreams. This one is great–a dinosaur who wants to be a ballerina. She’s beautiful, and I may or may not read the ballet teacher with a french accent. And our kids may or may not love it.

10 Books We're Loving Lately // One Lovely Life

7. A House for Hermit Crab

It’s hard to go wrong with Eric Carle in my book, but this is one you don’t hear as much about (as, say, The Very Hungry Caterpillar). A littler hermit crab needs a new house and collects little friends along the way. Sophie loves it. Loves. It.

8. The Gruffalo

This one’s been around and talked about quite a bit. There was even a little movie made of it. I love how my kids say “gwaffawo,” but the pictures are great, the story is funny, and if it’s a bit wordy for your little ones, it’s easy to clean up and simplify.

10 Books We're Loving Lately // One Lovely Life

9. I Want My Hat Back

Jon Klassen is great, this book is great (award winning, even), but you will not get tired of reading this one over and over. And you’ll want to.

10. A Piece of Cake

I love this book. The story is charming–they want to make a cake, so they walk from person to person making trades and collecting things. It’s funny and the illustrations are totally charming.

And for Honorable Mention…

10 Books We're Loving Lately // One Lovely Life

1. Gazpacho for Nacho

This book is too wordy for my kids at this age, but the illustrations are GREAT, and it’s a really fun book to read. It’s got a blend of Spanish and English, which makes it extra fun to read. It’s about a boy named Nacho who will ONLY eat gazpacho. He then learns how to make it himself, catches the cooking bug, and… it’s great. We’re definitely going to re-visit it in a few months to see if the kids are ready for it.

2. The Day the Crayons Quit

All Duncan’s crayons are fed up with their jobs, and have quite a lot to say about it. The illustrations are fantastic, and while the book was a bit wordy for my kids at their ages, we had lots of fun playing “I Spy” with the illustrations.

What are YOU reading with your kids? Do you have any favorites to pass along?

 

I’m excited to check out The Book with No Pictures, by B.J. Novak (of The Office fame). If you’re looking for more suggestions, check out our favorites of the summer and our favorite collection of books featuring things that GO!

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4 Comments

  1. I always love new kids book suggestions! We got The Day the Crayons Quit recently and love it – it’s one of few children’s books that actually make me laugh out loud.

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