I have a chronic and embarrassing condition called "failure to plan ahead", which occasionally leaves me without a hostess gift , cute wrapping paper, or party decorations. Good news! There's a cure, and it comes in book form. Martha Ste…
I love teaching my children about different cultures and how to appreciate the beauty of family traditions . This lesson is most important around the holidays. There is a Christmas tree on every corner, sometimes with a Hanukkah menorah …
With all the cool apps and e-books on my iPad, I sometimes worry that my kids will have a hard time appreciating real books. But then I find ones that remind me that children's books can be just as engaging , if not more, than the ones w…
If you're a bibliophile like me, then you know that nothing smells as good as an old book. Age, ink, paper, maybe a dash of cracked leather cover. But we've discovered a gorgeous trio of classics with a redesign so spectacularly beautifu…
My middle son loves graphic novels. They really get him excited about reading, and I'm certainly down with that. I want him to excitedly pick out a book from the library and read it on the ride home. So he about nearly flipped when we sa…
I have no idea how missed the huge fact that a new book from Shel Silverstein was released a few weeks ago, especially considering he's my favorite modern children's author of all time. But my mother knew. And when I opened the mysteriou…
After our local Border's bookstore closed, I became a bit "woe is me" about the future of books. I'm one of those people who just can't imagine sitting down my kids for a bedtime story with my iPad in my lap. So, I'm rejoicing over this …
Some books are like cut flowers: I get them, enjoy them, and forget about them. But some books are like lawns, like rich green grass that I want to cultivate and nurture and wiggle between my toes every Spring . Okay, maybe just the firs…
When I explained to my daughter that every group of animals has its own name, she was absolutely entranced. "You know, like a gaggle of geese. Or a flock of seagulls," said me, Mrs. Smartypants. Just before realizing that I couldn't name…
As a child of the 80's, Soliel Moon Frye and I go way back. I have a glorious memory of dressing up as Punky Brewster for Halloween one year, which involved mainly pig tails and lots of bandanas. Her character was so bold and confident a…
It is rare to find a book that all three of my boys can enjoy together. With such varied interests, I long for something captivating (and non-electronic) that has the ability to sustain their attention long enough for me to take a shower…
My interest in politics has ebbed and flowed over the years, but since I've become a mother, public policy has taken on a whole new personal relevance for me. I've got three kiddos whose futures will be affected by the decisions of polit…
Recently, my daughter asked why a friend's two year-old brother couldn't "act like a cow" without saying moo. I explained that animal sounds are the first way that children start to understand how to define animals. And that's why every …
When my kids were younger, I used to leave the Closed Captioning up on the television so they could get familiar with the words coming out of the mouths of their favorite cartoon characters. Taking this idea one step further and more eff…
I'll just say it: I'm not a self-help book kind of person. Spousonomics arrived in the mail and languished on my desk for months; because, really, a book about using economics to master love and marriage? Ooooookay. But then one day I st…
I can't get enough of Pete the Cat. My kids are enamored. Their classmates are all entranced by the magical feline. Every week, I choose a book for the kindergarten class . But no matter what I pick, Pete the Cat is always read. Well, mo…
I've never been a big fan of personalized books. Books on their own can be so magical - why would I need my child worked into the plot somehow? There are a few personalized books for kids that we've reviewed that do the job beautifully, …
After reading the encyclopedia of bedtime stories, singing four rounds of Twinkle Twinkle, and then providing my kids with snuggles, kisses, and several glasses of water, I go from sweetly shushing to sleep to bribing and begging them th…
This is a sponsored message from DK Publishing It's an amazing feeling to watch your child develop a love of reading and learning , especially if you've always been a bookworm yourself. But if your son or daughter needs a little more coa…
I've read enough expert-y books about how to deal with toddlers to know that the only way to really remain sane through those challenging years is to laugh it off. And that's exactly what this new hilarious book had me doing. The World A…
It's a Pinkalicious world, but I am not a Pinkalicious girl, and neither is my kid. We're more into the Cowboy & Octopus thing. Of course there's nothing wrong with loving the books prominently displayed at big box stores, because, hones…
I say we all need more poetry in our lives, but poetry so often seems to be one of those tricky things, like an exotic fruit. You enjoy it when you come across it, but it's not part of your regular consumption, especially when you are a …
Pam Allyn knows books, and she knows boys; she also knows, as a literacy expert, that for a variety of reasons, our boys are more vulnerable to being left behind academically and succumbing to undesirable behaviors if they're not profici…
Hi. My name is Delilah, and my preschooler is a poetry addict. From Shel Silverstein to Robert Frost, she's as likely to drop a tome in my lap as to beg to watch Tangled for the fiftieth time this week. So when I tell you that she loves …