Plastic. Polyester. Licensed characters. Slobbered-on ribbon. The sound of a toilet flushing with one press of a button, that becomes four million presses of a button--those soft baby books that pile up after the baby shower have always …
I am crazy about multitasking, and that includes at kid bedtime; when we read a book together, my child and I reconnect, plus I get to lie down, plus I get to work a little Mom Psychology 101. All that is made a little more golden when w…
I still crack up when people find a blog post of mine about sleep and babies, and ask me for advice. Me? Me who still, five years later, can't get my kids into a normal bedtime routine? Me, who still has to sleep with a three year-old's …
Though I was long ago (like, on day one) over the nightly battle that was part of our bedtime routine, I never, ever tired of the snuggly part, where we wrapped up and read as much as possible before admitting it was time for lights out.…
I admit, I feel just a little bit cool when my little girls walk into a store or a friend's house, hear the radio, and immediately say, Hey! It's Bob Dylan ! So when I learned that one of his old tunes had been made into a brand new chil…
Let me give you 3 reasons why An Awesome Book by artist Dallas Clayton is indeed an awesome book: 1. For every book sold, The Awesome World Foundation will donate one book to schools, hospitals, camps, and shelters. 2. The artwork and st…
One of the most all-time hilarious family moments of ours was the time my mom (the awesome elementary educator ) got my kids (the hams) into handmade masks and acted out Little Rabbit Foo Foo for the whole brood. Let's just say a kid's c…
Childhood diaries are always depicted as the tool of brooding, angry, angst-filled goth girls; more Heathers than Clueless . Personally, my own first journal was filled with a lot lighter fare. And a whole lot of bad rhyming poetry and o…
I was absolutely blown away when my four year-old, in a single day, suddenly mastered lowercase letters. No thanks to me, of course. This time, all the credit goes to the new Brain Quest write and erase alphabet book . Filled with 40 pag…
When we moved to Georgia, I tried to pad the transition with various books about what a great place it was and the interesting things that have happened here. My efforts were met with a resounding "meh" from my children. Hmph. Of course,…
It was a red-letter day in our household when each child was old enough to get his or her own library card. They love picking out books, handing their card over to the librarian and then skipping out with their new reads. What they don't…
We're heading into our second year of middle school , here, and it's been... interesting. It's definitely a whole different ballgame than elementary school, particularly for girls, who tend to morph into social piranhas pretty early. Is …
I've fought the princessification of my girls valiantly, as a mama who wants her girls to admire heroes who don't wait around for some dumb prince to find their happiness. As you may guess, it didn't work; they love princess everything, …
This here city mama is lucky that my children have grandparents in the country who grow tomatoes and kale and sweet peas and wild strawberries, so that they can learn that no, vegetables do not come from aisle 3. I've always thought that…
As a budding young ballerina, I was simply in love with A Very Young Dancer by Jill Krementz. I used to just lose myself in those marvelous photos until the pages were as dog-eared as the copies in the used bookstores that now carry it. …
After falling in love with Canadian mom Kate Inglis' writing at her personal blog Sweet Salty , it was no surprise to me that she'd write a book. But what I didn't expect was that it would be the fantastically scrumptious morsel of kid f…
Sandra Boynton's newest character in her newest book is the sweetest, funniest, cutest critter ever: My kid. And not because his sister drew him in with my missing Sharpie. I just love Are You A Cow? , a customizable (yes, customizable) …
There's some sort of unspoken rule that a baby can't be born until someone has purchased the little dude or dudette an ABC book. But let's say you know some hipster, emo, goth, inked, or punk parents. Calming pastels and fuzzy bunnies ar…
I run with a tough crowd of Type Nerds, the kind who can spend an hour discussing the joys of Helvetica, the horrors of Comic Sans, and play an iPhone game called "Cheese or Font" (yes, this really is a game). But even for those of us wh…
Everyone always asks where we find children's books , and the truth is, the best ones always come recommended by my mother. How lucky we are to have a teacher in the family! This past weekend, my four year-old grabbed Byrd Baylor's Every…
Even though I homeschool, I'm more than okay with farming out some subjects. Especially if my kids will do them happily on their own, instead of fighting with me for an hour. So, when Headsprout asked if my five year-old beginner reader …
I admit that when I first saw Lynn Hirshfield's new book, Girls Gone Green , I mistakenly assumed it was a collection of tween and teen celebrities sharing how they use eco-conscious nail polish or consume locally grown avocados in their…
My nephew was hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia when he was around two and I am forever grateful to the amazing staff who helped cure him -- and to all of the special facilities that help children. I guess that's wh…
More than 100 awesome baby gifts abound in our new Baby Shower Gift Guide , but if that isn't enough for you, then you might want to add the new My Favorite Things Flash Cards to your wish list. Petit Collage creator Lorena Siminovich's …