Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Mousie Doesn't Have to Go To Sleep by Karissa Taylor is an adorable bedtime board book.  I love how the author writes through the parents in the book that the child doesn't have to go to sleep. So many times young children fight sleep and sometimes bedtime can be a bit of a battle. This book could take some of that away as children are invited to go through the bedtime routine--in a fun way--without having to go to sleep.  This board book is made of thick cardboard pages that are easy for little hands to hold and turn the pages. The book measures roughly 7 inches square and is one-half inch thick. There are 20 pages to the story. Mousie doesn't have to go to Sleep is aimed at children ages four and under. I think this adorable book would be a favorite with my son if he were still that age.   I received a copy of this book from Tommy Nelson through Amazon Vine. All opinions are my own. 

  Are you looking for a new book to gift a baby or a toddler? Or maybe a toddler's Easter basket right now? The Beginning of You by Laine Lawson Craft is such a cute illustrated book with rhyming lyrical prose throughout the book. This cute board book measures 7 inches square and has the thick cardboard pages that make it easy to little ones to turn the pages on their own. The Beginning of You is 17 pages long and is aimed at children ages two and under. The illustrations are inclusive and show children of all skin colors, which I like. The words of this book are written with a wonderful rhythm. I like how she writes about how we are all made by God in our own special way. The words also remind little ones that they are loved by the Creator who made them.     I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions within this review are my own. 

  First Words of Christmas from Worthy Kids is illustrated by Madeleine Marie with simple, colorful illustrations. This board book has easy to turn thick cardboard pages for children ages three and under to learn words and simple phrases by sight. The book measures about seen inches square and would easily make a nice gift for a toddler. First Words of Christmas tells the story of Jesus birth and would work for most, if not all, denominations as it is quite basic and simple. This simplicity of the book makes it great for toddlers to learn words and start to understand the true meaning of Christmas. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  Night Night, Ocean by Amy Parker is fun board book for little ones that features several ocean animals. This book would be a delight to children who enjoy animals or live near an ocean. The illustrations are bright and cheerful. This is a board book with the thick cardboard pages for little hands to turn on their own. It is a 20 pages book that is roughly 7 3/4 inches square in size so fairly large for little ones. The publisher says this book is for ages birth to 4 years but I would think maybe six years for those learning to read on their own. There are some larger words like seahorses and jellyfish so this isn't a book that children will likely learn to read with early on.  Night Night, Ocean helps children look to God. It does feature some great ocean animals--sea horses, sea turtle, sun fish, manatees and more. I think it is great for children to learn about the ocean and God together. I just think it is a book that care givers are likely to start out reading to littl...

  A Love Letter from God by P. K. Hallinan is a rhythmically perfect letter from God to a child with Him sharing how much He loves them. This 7-inch square board book is 24 pages long and aimed at children ages two to seven.  A Love Letter from God would make a great gift for any young child. It is a fun book to read aloud and would be fun for children to look at and learn to read on their own. The illustrations are colorful and eye-catching. I also like that there are children of all colors in the book remind us all that God doesn't care what color our skin is. He loves us all in a Love Letter from God . I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  My First Veggie Bible Stories is a great first Bible story book for those who enjoy VeggieTales. This book measures a little over six by seven inches in size and there are 24 pages. This book is aimed at children ages two to five but of course that can depend on the child either way. My First Veggie Bible Stories includes Bible stories from both the Old and the New Testaments. It would be good for early devotional times, be times or any other time the little ones want to read. The nice thing about the board books is that the thick pages make it easy for little ones to turn pages and look at books on their own. Each Bible story includes the Bible book and chapter where it is located in an actual Bible. Stories in this book include: Noah's Ark, David and Goliath, Queen Esther saves her people, Mary and the Birth of Jesus, The Good Samaritan, and Jesus is Alive. Each story includes VeggieTale illustrations and a brief children's condensed version of each story to give little o...

  Somebunny Love You! by Melinda Lee Rathjen is such a cute book--both in verse and in the pictures. This book would make a great gift for Easter or any other time this spring. Somebunny Loves You! is an 18-page board book measuring approximately 7 inches almost square. These thick card board pages make it so easy to the two to four year old age group the book is aimed at to turn the pages themselves. However, this adorable book is a fun one to read to little ones before bed or any time of day to remind them of how much they are loved. I don't think we can give kids too much of that. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.  

Many little ones like watching cars and trucks and seeing them work in real life. Wreck the Halls by Melinda Rathjen and illustrated by Gareth Williams is a board book aimed at children under five who enjoy watching cars and trucks. It is a fairly small board book at about six inches square with thick cardboard pages that make it easy for little ones to look at on their own.  Wreck the Halls is kind of a silly book and it does sort of give human qualities to the cars and trucks along the lines of  the Disney's Cars movie. I think this book could be fun to read with little ones. At the same time, I do think it may lead to some questions or explaining for little realists who wonder about talking cars--or maybe it will just inspire them to use their imagination more. It would be a good book for families who celebrate Christmas without focusing on the religious aspect of it or families that don't mind some books without the religious aspect. Wreck the Halls focuses more on the ...

  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...

  Are you a fan of Precious Moments? If so, there is a new book for young children out, Precious Moments Little Book of Angels by Jean Fischer. This sweetly illustrated board book is aimed at children under four years old. It is a 32-page board book measuring roughly 7 by 5 inches. It is a great size for little hands to turn the thick pages themselves. Precious Moments Little Book of Angels is a mix of Scripture verses, gentle poems and reminders of God's protection through angels throughout life. Each page is illustrated with beautiful Precious Moments pictures. I like that the illustrations are inclusive of children of all colors. It would be a lovely baby gift as an early contribution to baby's own home library. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  Sometimes little children hear grown-ups talking about Heaven and they wonder what that is all about. Or maybe they have never heard about Heaven. Either way, The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party by Joni Eareckson Tada shares some basic ideas of what heaven is all about. The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party uses simple language and illustrations to convey to children that Heaven will be something to look forward to and how wonderful heaven will be, based on the Bible.   This book could answer some questions about Heaven but it could also create more discussion about Heaven. This small board book is a good size to read to toddlers and is also small and sturdy for them to look at on their own. It would be a good book in baby's own little library.   I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company. All opinions within this review are my own.

   Wherever You Go, I Want You to Know. . .by Melissa Kruger is such a great little board book. I love how this book invites children to see the possibilities for their lives. At the same time, it encourages them to have a relationship with Jesus in their life as they grow up.  The illustrations by Isobel Lundie are so cute too. I think this whole toddler board book is so much fun to read all the way around. The rhyming words just flow. It would be fun to read with little ones. It is also a small-sized board book that would be easy for them to learn to read and look at on their own as it measures approximately six by 7 1/2 inches. With the thick pages, these little books can stand up to some rough handling and still look pretty nice. I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company. All opinions within this review are my own.

  Any Time Any Place Any Prayer: We Can Talk with God by Laura Wifler is a simple but effective teaching book for toddlers. It is 16 pages long with simple easy wording for young children. It roughly measures about  6 inches by 7 1/2 inches--which is a smaller size for young children to hold on their own and turn the thick cardboard pages. This book has pictures--with various people in them--of all skin colors  as well as differing abilities. I especially like how inclusive this book is. Truly we can all pray. No matter how old we are. I like how this book simplifies prayer and makes it clear that it is important to talk to God. To tell him thank you. To tell him you  need help. And to say, sorry to God for mistakes made. . .Among other prayers.  All in all, Any Time Any Place, Any Prayer: We can Talk with God is a brightly illustrated board book that would be great to use in most Christian families with little ones. I received a copy of this book from the pub...

  Friends make up a very important part of our lives. I like I Can Be Your Friend from VeggieTales in so many ways! This book features all your favorite veggies and offers a lot of great advice on both having and being a good friend. I Can Be Your Friend is a fairly small board book measuring about six by six inches and is about twenty pages long. This is a great size for kids to hold themselves. Aimed at children under four years old, the board book pages are easy for that age to turn on their own. It would also be a fun book to read out loud with family or at Sunday School with the great rhyming verse and brightly colored-illustrations of the personified vegetables.  I Can Be Your Friend helps children learn that to be good friends we need to take turns, share, use kind words and forgive when others goof up. As a Veggietales fan, I think this is one of their best books. I like how inclusive it is--"friends welcome new friends of all colors and shapes!" as well as how the...

  Love You S'More by Melinda Lee Rathjen is a cute book to start out the Summer reading season with a young child or group of children.  Love You S'More is a 20-page board book measuring 7 inches square. It is a great size for young children to hold on their own. From the back of the book, "Enjoy  three of life's greatest pleasure--love, puns and s'mores with this silly story about two raccoons competing to see who loves the other s'more." That sums up the book well. It is a cute book. It would be great fun to read with a bunch of young children at a family reunion type gathering while making s'mores. It would also be fun to read parent to child. . .and in many other circumstances. It is just a cute book with fun lyrics that go so well with summer s'mores. Love You S'More also has cute illustrations of the raccoons with their faces covered in s'mores. I love the whole package. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinion...

    Do you know the story of Juneteenth? I didn't know much about this holiday until I read Juneteenth by Dorena Williamson. I honestly didn't realize it took so long for some African Americans to realize they were free but in Texas it took over 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation for them to know--on June 19, 1985. Juneteenth celebrates that newly learned freedom in Texas--and then nationwide. Juneteenth is a board book that is easy for small hands to hold with thick cardboard pages and a size of approximately six inches square. This book has brightly colored pages with realistic illustrations that work great for this book that includes history in a simple format for all ages to understand. This would be a great book for young children to learn about this holiday and more of our American history. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

    Really Woolly My First Easter   by Bonnie Rickner Jensen is an adorable board book for toddlers that would be a cute Easter gift. This board book is about 7 inches square and has the heavy pages that stand up to toddlers turning the pages on their own. It is aimed at children ages four and under.  The illustrations in Really Woolly My First Easter are cute and brightly colored springy designs. Each page has a bit of rhyming verse about spring, Easter, new beginnings and more. Some of them may be a little difficult for children learning to read but would be great reading together initially. There is also a Bible verse with each two-page spread and a brief prayer. It could be a cute bedtime devotional to read one a night with  little ones. There are also hidden Easter eggs to look for in each picture, making it a bit of a game too. All in all, Really Woolly My First Easter is a cute book for families to use at Easter time. I received a copy of this book from ...

  The Story of Easter by Patricia A. Pingry is a simplified version of the Easter Story about Jesus from the Bible aimed at toddlers. This brightly illustrated book tells the story in simple terms for little ones to understand. If you want more information to be given to your children, you could easily have a discussion with those who can understand more. The Story of Easter is a 22-page board book that is approximately six inches square--a good size for toddlers to hold on their own with the thick cardboard pages that can withstand a lot of use. The illustrations are especially nice and brightly colored. This book has been out for more than 20 years but the publisher updated the illustrations and gave it a fresh look. It is a classic that has withstood the test of time for many families. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

    Where's My Easter Basket? by Bob Holt is a fun board book aimed at preschool children to coincide with the fun of Easter baskets. Where's My Easter Basket? is a heavy cardboard board book so it would be easy for the little ones to turn the pages on their own. At a little over six inches square, it is also a good size for them to hold on their own too. It is a fun tale about a bluebird looking for his Easter Basket. Along the way he finds all the components of an Easter Basket--and then he finds a basket that becomes the Easter basket when they are all inside the basket. Where's My Easter Basket? is for families that want to focus on the basket part of Easter as there is no religious aspect to this book. I know it is all in fun but I felt a little funny about making jelly beans and chocolate bunnies "alive" as part of the story and then something to eat, but since kids have a big imagination that may not even be something they think about. The illustrations ...

    Super You! by Anne Kennedy Brady is a brightly colored, fun children's board book for toddlers. This 24-page board book measures seven inches square. The thick cardboard pages make it easy to toddler to look at on their own.  The words in Super You! are fun and uplifting for little ones. The prose has great rhymes and it is a fun book to read out loud. At the same time, there are some large words in this book that may be difficult for little ones to read yet on their own.  I especially like how Super You! invites kids to be the hero in their own lives. Children can learn to be kind and care for others. Even when they make mistakes, they can be a hero and do the right thing. I think this theme of love and compassion for others is the best part of the book as well as the rhyming way it is presented. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.