Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Books Lately

If you've read here for a while then you know I'm a sucker for kids books.  S.U.C.K.E.R.
I think I've mentioned this before but we institute "quiet time" around here in the summer and what that involves is a one to one and a half period of time in the later afternoon where EVERYONE goes to their rooms and you can do whatever you'd like as long as it's quiet.  It's typically like 2:30 - 4:00 and after a morning of pool time (typically) we're all ready for some downtime.  They play independently (I don't let them play in each other's room during quiet time) and most of the time they end up either playing Legos, falling asleep or reading and typically they end up staying in their rooms beyond quiet time because they're having a good time.  This is usually where I try to read, take a nap or just enjoy my lunch in peace and quiet ;)  All that to say - having a good stash of books is a vital part of quiet time at our house and the next few picks will be PERFECT for summer reading.  

My kids current favorite books are non-fiction books that are packed of cool information and I love having these around to help build their knowledge base. 

The Street Beneath My Feet is SO COOL!  As the title implies, it goes into detail about what's going on under the ground and my boys can't get enough of this book...





The best part of the book is that the whole thing unfolds so kids can get the full picture of what's happening underground.  It was hard to photograph in it's entirety, but this gives you an idea...


I can't get enough of the illustrations in  The Big Book of Beasts...


There's lots of great information and detail about all different kinds of animals...




My kids are ALWAYS asking questions about bugs we see and so far they've loved  The Big Book of Bugs. 



I loved the pages explaining how bugs help us and Griffin has loved pointing out bugs and telling us why they're important.


We're BIIIIIG Oliver Jeffers Fans (The Day the Crayons Quit, Dragons Love Tacos, etc.) and so it's no surprise these next two books ended up on our bookshelf.  

The Incredible Book Eating Boy  is about a boy who decides to eat books to absorb the information but ends up not being able to digest everything he ate properly so he decides to try reading them instead :)  It's silly and fun and is Mason's new favorite! 



The last pages and back cover even come with a bite taken out of them which is a super fun detail.


Here We Are  is another Oliver Jeffers book and the illustrations are ON POINT!  It's not his typical "quirky fun" kind of book but has a great message and is a great read.





I totally get sucked into the Amazon rabbit hold of "you might also enjoy" books when I purchase one and that's how I ended up with the next few faith-based books. 

The Biggest Story  is one of my new FAVORITE books.  I tried explaining it on my own but the Amazon description does a way better job than I was doing ;) 

In The Biggest Story, Kevin DeYoung—a best-selling author and father of six—leads kids and parents alike on an exciting journey through the Bible, connecting the dots from the garden of Eden to Christ's death on the cross to the new heaven and new earth.
With powerful illustrations by award-winning artist Don Clark, this imaginative retelling of the Bible’s core message—how the Snake Crusher brings us back to the garden—will draw children into the biblical story, teaching them that God's promises are even bigger and better than we think.


Luke read the entire thing over the course of two days and Dave and I have both read it since and loved it.


And it doesn't hurt that the illustrations are GORGEOUS!!!



I want this nativity scene framed and in our playroom at Christmas... isn't it fantastic?



The Storm that Stopped  tells the story of how Jesus stopped the storm while on the boat with his disciples...



... but the coolest part is how at the end it draws the conclusion that "if God is the one that created the Heavens and the Earth and HE was the one who can control his creation and Jesus came and was able to control the sea then Jesus must be God".  It was a great way of explaining the trinity (which can be hard to explain to kids!) and was perfectly in line with what Mason's been learning about in school this year about how God reveals himself to us.


I mentioned  The Garden, The Curtain and The Cross before Easter but it's worth mentioning again because I think if you're going to order one book from this post it should be this one :) 


It starts in the garden, explains how sin separated us from God and how the curtain represented that.



It goes into Jesus and the crucifixion and how on the cross Jesus did away with the need for the curtain.



The illustrations are beautiful but the message is even better.  I really can't recommend it enough!


Last, but not least, is  God's Very Good Idea.


And again I'm going to quote Amazon...

God's very good idea is to have lots of different people enjoying loving him and loving each other. This stunningly illustrated journey from the garden of Eden to God's heavenly throne room shows how despite our sinfulness, everyone can be a part of God's very good idea through the saving work of Christ.

This book will help children see how people from all ethnic and social backgrounds are valuable to God and how Jesus came to rescue all kinds of people. It will also excite them about being part of church.





If you couldn't tell I love kids books :)  I hope you found something that you think your kids will love and that you'll love reading to them!  Happy Thursday, friends!!!



PS - this post contained affiliate links... thanks so much for reading and supporting my blog!

17 comments :

  1. I need to check some of these out! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. So now I want all of these. My husband is a roadway engineer so I thought, yes I need the first one since that's right up his alley and then all the God books, we need them all!!!!

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  3. One of my favorite things about being a "mimi" is getting to share good books with my grandchildren. You always have the best suggestions. Thanks, Andrea!

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  4. This is a perfectly timed post, as I’m heading to library story time with my 3 yo this morning, I’ll definitely be grabbing some of these
    I love your book posts!!

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  5. I don't think your links are working! I'll come back later and check cause I loved your recommendations!

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  6. These are excellent recommendations- thank you!!

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  7. I love this! Giving children time to entertain themselves is so important for them!

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  8. I'm going to check some of these out! The first one looks awesome. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Here We Are is still linking to the previous book. Thanks for the great suggestions.

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  10. Here We Are makes me teary for some reason. :) Such a good one! And if you haven't read She Persisted you should! I have yet to make it through that one without choking back tears. :)

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  11. I love children's books! These look awesome.

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  12. I want them all! Thank you for sharing such great reads!

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  13. Thank you Andrea, you are a "I love to read children's books" Super Mom! This is like a "book fix" for me.

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  14. Thank you, Andrea for being a "I love to read children's books" Super Mom! This list a great "book fix" for me.

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  15. Thank you for sharing. I want them all as well. My grandchildren will love them!!

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