Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Kid the Goat Won't Wear His Christmas Coa t by Lana Stenner is a board book aimed at children age four and under.  Kid the Goat Won't Wear His Christmas Coat is 20 pages long and measures roughly seven inches square. This book is sturdy and easy for little ones to hold and look at on their own.  While this sturdy book is easy for little ones to hold on their own, it is a good one to read as a family and discuss too. The story if a fun rhyme that gives children an idea of the consequences of not dressing for the weather. It also could serve as a discussion for how to handle it when children receive a gift that they don't really want as that happens in life. There is a place where it is said that adults know best for children. While this is usually the case, in some cases, it isn't. That could also be a discussion topic from the book. The back part of the book does feature the traditional Christmas story with a manger scene so for that reason, Kid the Goat Won't We...

  To Mimi's House We Go by Susan Meissner is a fun Christmas book aimed at children ages four to eight. To start with, the cover of this 8-by-10-inch book is colorful and has texture, which I love. It is also 32 pages long.  I love Susan Meissner's adult books so thought To Mimi's House We Go would be a fun one for children. I do think it is. I love how it depicts lots of ways to go to a Grandmother's house and I love all the different names for Grandma. This fun book also rhymes and is fun to read aloud. I think it is neat the children can see that while kids may call their family members by different names and travel differently, ultimately they all have fun family traditions and names to relate to. I love how this book showcases differences so we can all learn from each other in a fun way.  While To Mimi's House We Go is published by a traditionally Christian publisher, this book could be read by anyone of any faith. I actually think that is great with this ty...

  Are you looking for a fun activity to do for Advent with your little ones? The Press-out-and-play book, My Advent Nativity by Tama Fortner and illustrated by Keith Allen, is such a wonderful idea for Advent with small children. Small children are curious and love to touch as they learn. With the new board book, My Advent Nativity, little children, about ages three to seven, can press out pieces of the nativity each day of Advent until Christmas and they have a whole pressed-out creche set.  My Advent Nativity Press-out-and-play book is a great idea for little children. It gives them something to look forward to, it helps them use their skills to press out the pieces, and it helps them to have their own nativity set. If you have a special set that you would rather not have children touch, as my mom did, then you could direct them to their own set that they can touch. At the same time, they are learning the true meaning of Christmas and hearing the Christmas story in bite-size...

Sacred Holidays was a book that was different than I was expecting. . .in such a good way! This book by Becky Kiser is one I wish I had had when we were first married and starting out celebrating holidays. However, it is never too late to make changes and we will likely make some as a result of this book. Sacred Holidays is divided into three parts. Part 1:Less Chaos, More Jesus (read now) offers guidance on how to use the book and how to implement changes in your family's celebrations. Part 2: Holidays (Read 30 to 60 days before holiday) offers ideas and things to think about as you reflect on each particular holiday and how you want to celebrate it in your family. Part 3: Common struggles (read as needed) talks about aspects related to making changes to your holiday celebrations that you may want to consider and think about, such as your budgeting, scheduling, and realistic expectations. Kiser starts out Sacred Holidays by letting readers know it is different than other ...

The Jesus Calling series of books by Sarah Young have been my devotions for the past few years. My son and I have also done the regular children's devotional books. I was excited to see there is a special Jesus Calling:The Story of Christmas book. Jesus Calling:The Story of Christmas has twelve devotional readings for young children. At the start of the book, after the presentation page, Sarah Young write a one page letter to parents and grandparents telling about her family and why she wrote the book as well as her hopes for the book. I especially liked this added touch. The book then goes into the brightly illustrated pages with the devotions, most of which are on two pages. Each devotion has a Scripture reading, followed be the devotion and ending with a reminder of who Jesus is and what he does in the Jesus Calling section. I think Jesus Calling:The Story of Christmas would be a great addition to any family's Christmas readings and traditional books to use year after ...

Candy Apple Blessings celebrates many people's favorite season of Fall. This book would be great fun for preschoolers in the upcoming Fall season with it's catchy rhymes and cheery illustrations. What young child doesn't love to pick out a fall pumpkin or help to make and eat candied apples? This board book, generously sized at almost 8 inches square with sturdy pages for little fingers, is full of fun, catchy rhymes to celebrate the fall season. Candy Apples Blessings is a fun book to read to little ones. While it isn't yet fall, I can see where this book would be fun to read with your family all season as it talks about and illustrates the fun activities of corn mazes, decorating for Fall, Fall festivals, going back to school, dressing warmer for Fall with scarves and eating fall goodies. I would recommend it to anyone with little ones who like to read together. The rhymes are all fun and catchy and the illustrations boldly show the fall seasonal pictures to h...