Caroline's Favorite Board Books 12-20 Months

This originally appeared on my old blog. I'm adding it here for consolidation! These books are still much loved nearly a year after this originally posted. :-)

1) Karen Katz: "Where is Baby's...?" Books

These books are bright, simple and have plenty of flaps to lift. (and rip) Gotta hand it to Karen Katz. She found a formula that works and added in every item under the sun including, Where is Baby's....

Valentine?

Beach Ball?

Pumpkin? 

Christmas Present?

And more.

Toddlers love these. 

2) Madeline Board Books

Madeline books are classics, and you can find just a few of them printed as board books.

You can get a little peak of the inside of this book in these pics.

Madeline Loves Animals is so cute and fun. Many one-year-olds can start saying the sounds of the familiar animals in this book.

I actually liked the illustrations in this book so much that for a while I had it displayed on a shelf opened to the page that has a picture of Madeline and her yellow lab. 

3) Les Petits Fairytales

I will always be sentimental about this book, because it was her very first favorite book. She took to it instantly, and this book was our life's obsession from months 8-13. One of Caroline's first 10 words was "girl." because of this book right here. These little board books take the old classics, and add just one to two words per page, such as "girl", "chores", "mean stepsisters", "pumpkin" etc...

They are the cutest little books. You can add on as much or as little to the story as your heart desires. 

As cute as this book is, I did get really tired of it after the 900th time. I tried to hide in many times and Caroline would crawl around the books saying "gurrrl?" until it reappeared. She also went through a phase where she had to rock with it alongside her blankie.

Eventually, we moved into other Fairytales in the series, and they're all so fun to read! These are just adorable, and would make a great little gift for the baby girl in your life!

BabyLit Art

Children's literature illustrations are hands-down my favorite type of art. I think they're magical. One of my favorite children's literature companies is offering tons of awesome prints of their artwork.

When working to decorate Caroline's nursery, and then later her big girl room, I knew I wanted to decorate with some of these illustrations. Maybe another day I'll show you some more of those pics...

(And yes, I would tear apart a book for a picture. Still cheaper than buying a print somewhere else.)

Anyways, I found these precious books from BabyLit. The BabyLit books take an old classic such as Pride and Prejudice and uses it to teach counting. Sense and Sensibility is used to teach opposites. Emma is used to teach emotions, etc.... (Truth be told, my girls don't love to read these books, but I think they are super cute!)

I fell in love with the art in all of these books, but since they were board books I opted not to cut any up to frame the pics. So, I just chose one to leave open face on a shelf:

Cutest little Pride and Prejudice book!!!

My favorite page is the very first one!

I still think the little open book is pretty cute, but if I were doing the girls rooms again, I would probably purchase some of these prints from the illustrator's website.

Aren't these so cute and whimsical?!?! And, they have all kinds of themes that would tie into almost any nursery design whether it be nautical, woodland animals, florals, jungle, travel, pirates, and so on!

I absolutely love these prints...Check out these books or look into buying the prints. Either way, you will enjoy some eye candy with these illustrations.

Books for the Times: Wonder

Yesterday I wrote about books for various age groups that deal with racism, diversity and prejudice. One thing I discussed is that teachers often teach racism as if it is a thing of the past, when it is still rampant today. Yet, much of the current literature that I shared does tell stories of the past. These stories are very important to share, but I’ve yet to find appropriate literature for children that tackles current racial issues in our country head-on. If anyone has any resources like this, please share! But, there are other resources we can use to build empathy and compassion in our students, and I wanted to share one in more detail today. 

 “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Fear is the root of so much evil. People do such hateful things to others out of fear of the unknown…”…they fear each other because they don’t know each other…”

Wonder, by RJ Palacio discusses fear of the unknown through the story of a fifth grader  named Auggie Pullman. Auggie has severe cranio-facial abnormalities. Due to multiple surgeries and issues, Auggie has been home-schooled up until 5th grade. This story follows his journey through 5th grade. RJ Palacio weaves an incredible story and shares from the perspectives of friends and family as they walk along Auggie. 


I don’t want to give too much away, because I believe that almost anyone would enjoy this book. And, if you haven’t read it, you must.   But, one huge plot point is how other children fear Auggie because they don't know him. If you buy the extended version with "The Julian Chapter" you will get a 5th grade appropriate dose of the type of hate and evil seen during Nazi occupied France. The fear of people who are "different" is weaved through the 1940s all the way into today's times. 

At the end of the school year I read this book to my 5th graders for a few minutes each day, and it is so powerful. The kids are so drawn in, and they love the message. This wasn't a big "novel study" and there were no tests given. But, we did watch this video during the last week of school.

Through the book, my students always wanted to see a picture of Auggie, but being fiction, there isn't one. And, there are no illustrations in the book. So, it is interesting to see the various, unique and beautiful faces seen in this short video!  After watching we wrote Kindness Pledges 

 and did some writing that reflected on the type of people we wanted to be as we moved forward in our lives. (And onto middle school!) 

If you're looking for something to read with your kids or your students to encourage students to celebrate differences and look beyond appearances, this is your book.

I could go on and on, but I'll leave you with a two of my favorite quotes. 

“There are always going to be jerks in the world, Auggie,” she said, looking at me. “But I really believe, and Daddy really believes, that there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other.” 
― R.J. Palacio, Wonder


“what I want you, my students, to take away from your middle-school experience,” he continued, “is the sure knowledge that, in the future you make for yourselves, anything is possible. If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary—the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.” 
― R.J. Palacio, Wonder

Favorite ABC Books Volume 1

We are always into ABC Books at our house.

This Play and Learn ABC book might be the greatest value of purchase ever made if you calculate the cost and times read. Honestly, I'm kind of tired of this book, because Caroline's been on a kick with it for 6 months.  However, some of this book's features lend itself to be done independently...

The book features a few textured pictures, flaps to lift, and includes colors and shapes. It's a pretty solid book all around for all of the words you would be working on with a toddler. 

We love our old ABC book, but this next book was too good not to share! I think your kids will love it.... A B See.... Look at that title?! Wish I had come up with it.

The letters are built from pictures of things that begin with that letter. Not only is this book super cute, but it is super awesome for identifying letters, working on words that start with that letter, or simply identifying pictures for toddlers.

And, it's textured which makes it even cooler! (and more appealing for kids!)

Caroline loves looking through each letter and finding all the items she knows. It has been a great carseat read for her. 

Now, a few of the letters have specific animals, plants or objects that were unfamiliar. Thankfully, the back has lists of what each letter is built of in case you need some help. ;-)

Both of these board books would make awesome Christmas gifts for any 1-2 year olds in your life!

What We're Reading Wednesday- Highlights for Toddlers

This post originated on my other blog before the consolidation...At the time, Caroline was reading Hello Highlights non-stop. Now, Molly Kate is the one loving these! :-) 

Highlights magazines always makes me think of a pediatrician's office. I loved highlights as a kid, but I had no idea they have a toddler version until my aunt ordered them for Caroline's first birthday last year.

Hello Highlights have become one of our favorite things. Caroline has had at least one of these read to her every single day for the last 9 months. She does not tire of them. And they are ALL OVER our house.

So here are some of the details:

*Geared toward ages 0-2
*16 pages
*It's smaller, has durable, wipeable pages, rounded corners
* Includes short stories, simple to-the-tune-of songs, poems, and the ole highlights "Find It" section
*Pictures tend to have lots of colorful objects for words you would be working on with your 1 year old.
*Filled with little parent tips for other ideas for using the magazine to further their language and literacy.

***Bonus, these are small and fit great in a diaper bag or purse, unlike bulky board books you normally use for toddlers. Great for traveling when you're short on space.

*****Bonus bonus, we have traveled with these, slept with them, spilled milk on them, etc. They have survived a lot, which I'm thankful for, because as Caroline outgrows them later, Molly Kate will still be able to enjoy them!

She has to sleep with one every night.

Caroline LOVES the find it page. We got the latest one in the mail last week.

She is currently 22 months. When we first got these, I would have her "point to the slide, point to the dog," etc.... Now, I just ask her what she sees on the page and she will tell me every word she knows. Now we are trying to add in shapes, size words, position words, etc. 

I think these are great for language development in toddlers. For about $40 you get 12 of these. I feel like I'm going to say this a lot on this blog, but I really think these would be an amazing Christmas or Birthday gift.

I'll leave you with a little video of my Billy Ray Cyrus Baby in mismatched pajamas. In this video she was 16 months. It is hard to tell, but she starts out "reading" a page that had a story, then she breaks into singing when she turns to the page with a song. 

I hope you all check out these awesome little magazines!

Our Favorite Potty Training Books

I originally posted this on my other blog before deciding to consolidate....When I wrote this originally, we had not potty trained. I'm pleased to say that we've now survived potty training our oldest, and these books still remain some of our favorites. ;-)  The rest of the post is still written from our pre-training perspective! 

P is for Potty

Elmo's little potty book provides lots and lots of flaps to lift, which is fun. Caroline has read this book more than any of the others, and I'm glad because it has been my favorite, too. A few reasons why...

-The detailed pictures can allow you to practice identifying TONS of other day to day objects. Lots of things to practice describing under the pictures.

- Albie has an accident in the book, and he isn't shamed. I want her to be aware that accidents happen.

-Elmo appears to be fully potty trained and is successful.

-Baby Jo Jo still wears diapers, and changing her diaper is part of the book. Shows contrast between babies who need diapers, kids who are learning, and kids like Elmo who have pretty much mastered it all.

A Potty for Me (Karen Katz)

Like many Karen Katz books, this book has flaps. It also rhymes, which kids always love. Like the Elmo book, this one also describes having an accident and trying again.

Big Girl Panties

Oh y'all. I hesitate to even post this one, because it says "panties" so.many.times. And, I know what a strong aversion many people have to that word. I get it. It's not my favorite either. However, this book has probably made her more excited about potty training than any of the others. She asks to where the said article of clothing at least 6 times per day. So, if you're looking to pump them up, then this book is great. It could also be a great white elephant gift, so do with it what you choose.

*For reference, I wanted to add that all of these books are board books.