My youngest child started Kindergarten this week -- sniff -- and he's learning to read so quickly. I'm thrilled to find out he loves books, and I've been scouring our bookshelves and grilling our librarian for some great beginner chapter…
My younger kids usually need a little one-on-one time to decompress after school, and one of our favorite ways to do this is reading together. After a few minutes in my lap, they're ready to go play again. But, I have to admit, I'd much …
There's something so special about sharing our very favorite childhood books with our kids. When we see our kids falling in love with Anne of Green Gables , or imaging themselves racing through Narnia to defeat the White Witch, there's a…
We love pencil cases! They're where we put all our pencils! And pens, and earbuds, and erasers, and... pretty much anything that'll fit. As our kids head back to school , we're getting serious about corralling clutter, and if we can do i…
One of my preschooler's very favorite books of last year was Beastly Babies by Ellen Jackson and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel. An animal lover at heart, he couldn't get enough of its playful illustrations . So when we saw that Brendan W…
This election cycle has been pretty brutal, leaving a lot of us wondering how to talk to our kids about politics . Well, I just got a copy of Grover Cleveland, Again! by the celebrated documentarian Ken Burns and illustrator Gerald Kelle…
It's probably one of my kids' least favorite things to talk about these days: Summer reading. Which is odd, because they really do love to read. They just don't like someone else telling them what they have to read -- and when to read it…
My kids and I have encountered some very memorable girls with very memorable experiences in their children's books over the years -- Madeline's midnight appendectomy, Freckleface Strawberry (a favorite among my brood of redheads) wearing…
My kids love to read. But they also love to go to the movies. Luckily, that makes our summer reading easy this year, since I'm going to encourage them to pick up some of the great children's books that are being adapted into movies this …
Even though I've got a couple of avid readers in my house, I'm always looking for ways to continue to encourage them to pick up a book. Thankfully, there are no shortage of summer reading challenges that offer kids a little incentive for…
Now that my kids are old enough to play "real" games -- you know, the ones where I don't have to let them win -- I love finding new clever and fun options for when we all gather around the table to play. So I was really excited to learn …
As someone who grew up with her nose in a book, I sure spent a lot of time hearing my parents tell me to put down that book and go outside to play! So in honor of today's National Readathon Day , I've rounded up five wonderful new pictur…
I hate to admit it, but every once in a while I find myself fussing at my kids, "Put that book down and come on!" But, I have to say, I truly love when they're nose-deep in a book. And I'm on a lifetime quest to forever encourage my kids…
My five brilliant nieces are marching their way toward adolescence (well, one of them is technically crawling her way there at this time), and while I do my best to introduce them to the joys of science, Star Wars, sports, and all the po…
I have a new obsession: novels written in verse. Seriously, I'm flying through a few of these books a week and the best part? My kids are too. The fact that these novels are poetic gives them a lyrical beauty that's missing in a lot of p…
Finally, spring. And with that extra hour of daylight and warmer temps, I'm looking forward to dinners on the porch, flowers in full bloom, and plenty of family time outside. And when we're ready to come in, kick off our shoes, settle in…
Sometimes it's the little things. The totally unnecessary but love-it-want-it-now little things. Like this adorable whale reading chair from Sprout. It's a sweet and modern rocking chair for toddlers to climb in, sit and chill, read a bo…
It's no secret that a good book is one of our favorite ways to celebrate holidays and important milestones of pretty much any kind, and Valentine's Day is no exception. So, we've collected a few of our favorite Valentine's Day books for …
There's no question that David Bowie had a huge impact on the world of music, which is partly why we can't stop talking about him . So today we are so happy to discover that the iconic 1987 David Bowie READ poster has been reissued by th…
I don't want to let holidays like Martin Luther King Jr. Day slip by with my kids thinking it's just an extra day off of school. So if you're like me and are looking for some ways to honor the spirit of MLK while you're home today, we hi…
The other night my ten-year-old son was looking for something to read at bedtime. I handed him my review copy of Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson, not sure what to expect. When I checked on him an hour later, he was just a few pages away…
It'll be a beautiful day in the neighborhood for someone who gets a set of these awesome Mister Rogers sticky notes I just found. Featuring the iconic images of Mister Rogers and his comfy cardigan, as well as Lady Elaine Fairchild, X th…
We've loved our annual new year tradition of compiling the best kids' books of the year, thanks to all the major (and not entirely major) best-of lists and big children's book awards of 2015 from publications, experts, and organizations …
What a treat it is to put together our list of the best children's books of 2015. Not that it's easy; we've collectively read hundreds of great kids' books this year -- from cute, sweet board books, to excellent picture books for early r…