My kids love "writing books," and I love that they're being creative, but I don't always love the Don Music-esque cries of, No, it's supposed to be a yak and I can't draw it right! I'll never get it! Can you draw it for me? (Answer: No, …
If you're looking for a fun Halloween gift for the kids without the added benefits of tooth decay and hyperactivity, I just learned that the wonderful illustrator Stephen Britt has just taken on his first children's book, Over in the Hol…
Evidently reading to your kids is more than just reading to your kids. And seriously pedigreed educational consultant Diane W. Frankenstein explores her concept of "conversational reading" in her excellent resource, Reading Together: Eve…
Browsing the Picasso Museum gift shop in Barcelona last week (I know, totally rubbing it in) I came across the most wonderful little book called Oh ! by Josse Goffin . I had an idea that my two year-old wouldn't be able to put it down an…
To say that I was a neurotic mess with my first baby would be an understatement; every sniffle and bruise had me wondering if I'd broken her. By the second baby, I figured I was an old hand . . . except that he was convinced he could fly…
We're already fans of the clever, caustic writing of author and fellow parenting blogger Stephanie Wilder-Taylor, so I figured I could give her newest book, It's Not Me, It's You , a good skim and craft a review. As it turns out, as each…
Every year I tell my children's teachers thank you, and every year it feels inadequate. Often when I write notes to go with various teacher gifts , I write, You totally deserve a pony, but I thought this would make less of a mess. Thank …
We love Oliver Chin, author of the Tales from the Chinese Zodiac Series. In his latest book, Baltazar and the Flying Pirates , Chin teams up with illustrator (and blogger!) Justin Roth in this, um, high-flying tale of adventure and fortu…
When I was in high school, an artist friend of mine and I wrote a graphic novel during biology class featuring the adventures of our teacher's prominent nose, thus beginning my love affair with random and edgy hilarity. If you adore the …
We love Melissa Conroy's Wooberry dolls. The originals are not only designed from her child's sketches, they're also handmade. And beyond adorable. In a move that touches my writerly heart, the dolls have gone meta and returned to their …
Linda Rosenkranz and Pamela Redmond Satran raised baby naming to an art form with their original 1988 baby-naming book, Beyond Jennifer & Jason - names that practically seem pedestrian with today's Talullahs and Artemises. Now the author…
Fellow blogger and Vanity Fair contributor Brett Berk has unleashed on the world his parenting perspective with The Gay Uncle's Guide to Parenting: Candid Counsel From the Depths of the Daycare Trenches . Berk obviously has no uterus and…
We've all been there; the kid has found his Most Favorite Book Ever, and he wants to hear it over and over. Sure, you were a patient and loving model parent the first 5,000 times, but after that I think you get a pass. With One More Stor…
From skateboard and sneaker design to children's picture books, Australian artist Luke Feldman has created quite a cult following of his waif-like illustrated characters known as Skaffs. They hang in the Cartoon Art Museum, they delight …
The wonderful Duck! Rabbit! is the newest book from the prolific Amy Krouse Rosenthal, who you might know for children's books like Little Pea or even her wonderful adult book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life . In this title, she's team…
I recently got a look at Alphabetica: Odes to the Alphabet , Diana Spieker and Krista Skehan's mind-blowing alphabet book filled with multisyllabic metaphors and modern, deep-inked illustrations. This book bursts with detail. Each page c…
I love flipping through lifestyle magazines. The combination of the beautifully styled photographs, creative recipes and fresh ideas really inspire me. I guess that's why I love Small Magazine and their new online blog, Smaller . The fre…
When I go to teacher conferences, the thing I hear the most about my son-- always said with great reverence-- is, Wow, he sure likes to read ! I come from an entire family of readers, so this doesn't seem odd to me... but it is odd, beca…