Friday, August 3, 2012

a few really good books for kiddos


i kind of have a thing for children's books. finn has always loved reading so whenever people ask what they can get him, after we say 'nothing at all' we usually default to 'how about a book?'. needless to say, our home if filled with many many gems. but i have found there is seriously some crappy books out there. often we leave the library with a bag filled with hopefuls only to get home and find they have all of two words on each page or the topic is redundant and we already own at least 8 other books just like it. long story short, i have always loved when people share their favourite children's books - we have acquired many of their recommendations and loved each and every one, so i figured i would share a few of ours.

xo - happy reading!


little owl lost by chris haughton - a sweet story about a baby owl who falls out of his nest and loses his mama. all the forest animals come together to help him find her.

what i be by michael franti- a beautiful book with a heartfelt message of love, gratitude and living life to its fullest - written by singer/song write/ amazing human being, michael franti.

when you were small by sarah o'leary, illustrated by julie morstad - this book is so sweet! and the beautiful illustrations make it a special treat for audiences of all ages. there are several books created by sarah and julie - we have and LOVE each of them (and have given them as gifts on more than one occasion.)


f is for fiddlehead, a new brunswick alphabet by marilyn lohnes - this book takes your through the letters of the alphabet linking each to facts, traditions, and history of the province. being that jeff is from new brunswick, its really neat to be able to share some of its wonderfulness with finn. (they have a book like this for each province- fun for sharing canadian tidbits with the littles.)

the busy beaver by nicholas oldland - a tale with a nice environmental undertone - a careless beaver on a path to destroy his home sees the err of his ways and makes cute steps the change them. of course mama loves this one. :)


hooray for fish by julie cousins - super pretty pictures and a nice flow to the story - we find this book really engages finn- he loves pointing out all his favourite fish (and giving kisses at the end!)

Toes in my nose by sheree fitch - this book actually belonged to jeff as a child and was passed along to finn by his great aunt. it is filled with really cute rhymes which finn loves- so much so we have memorized pretty much every page. its an oldie but definitely a goodie!

note: for convenience sake, the links for most of these books is through amazon.ca- that being said, if you are lucky enough to have a local bookstore in your community, get out and support them! definitely head there before ordering online or running over to the big-box store. they will often special order things in for you, and being able to contribute and support your local community, and in turn, local families, is awesome!  

see round 2 of our favourite books HERE