Buy it: Toy Boat
Toy Boat (By Randall de Seve) – A little boy loves the toy boat he has made. He sleeps with the boat and takes baths with it. And every day, he and the boat go down the lake and the boy sails the boat while holding onto a string from the shore. And the boat is happy, but sometimes the boat wishes to sail free like the big boats on the lake. One day, the boy accidentally drops the string and the boat sails out into the lake by itself. The toy boat faces huge waves and bigger boats that push it around. The boat misses the boy. Then little fishing boat comes by and helps the little boat to get headed for the shore, where the boy is waiting for it. The boat and the boy are thrilled to be back together. After that, the boy keeps the boat on the string, but every once in a while lets it sail free. And the boat always comes back. This is a sweet story about growing up, learning to let go, braving new experiences and finding your way back home. It is also filled with wonderful illustrations.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: How I Became a Pirate
How I Became a Pirate (By Melinda Long) – A boy named Jeremy is playing at the beach when a pirate ship pulls into shore. The pirates notice Jeremy’s sand castle and ask if he would like to come along with them and put his digging skills to use burying their treasure. Jeremy goes along and becomes a pirate. Jeremy loves the pirate life, in particular that lack of manners, rules and vegetables. After the ship gets hit by a storm, Jeremy announces he knows a good spot for the treasure. They row to shore and bury it in Jeremy’s backyard. Jeremy bids farewell to the pirates, who ask him to guard their treasure until they can return. And Jeremy knows he can always join them as a pirate again. But not today… he has soccer practice.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Ladybug Girl
Ladybug Girl (By David Soman and Jacky Davis) – A little girl named Lulu dresses up in a red tutu, wings, boots and antennae, and proclaims that she is Ladybug Girl. Lulu’s parents and brother are busy, so Lulu will have to make her own fun. She heads out into the yard and soon discovers lots of important things that Ladybug Girl can do. She helps a line of ants by moving a rock out of their way. She puts fallen rocks back on the crumbly stone wall and makes a fort. She walks the length of a fallen tree and doesn’t fall. Lulu realizes that she’s not little when she thinks of all the amazing things she did that day.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Fancy Nancy – Explorer Extraordinaire!
Fancy Nancy – Explorer Extraordinaire! (By Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser) – Fancy Nancy and her friend Bree are going exploring in their backyards. They share their rules and checklists for being an explorer extraordinaire. The girls observe bugs, look at wildflowers, watch birds and collect leaves. There are great photographs and several interesting facts that are perfect for children. How do you tell a butterfly from a moth? How big is a hummingbird? How do flies walk on the ceiling? Fancy Nancy and Bree explain it all. The book also includes nature jokes, instructions on how to make a pine cone birdfeeder and a recipe for extra-fancy lemonade. A perfect book for Fancy Nancy fans and nature lovers.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Baby Bear Discovers the World
Baby Bear Discovers the World (By Marion Dane Bauer) – A baby bear kisses his mother good-bye and sets off on an adventure to discover the world around him. This book contains absolutely amazing photographs of a real baby bear walking through the forest and encountering other animals. Each animals asks the baby bear where his mother is, pointing out that he’s too small to be out on his own. But the baby bear continues on his adventure, finding food, splashing in rivers and crossing a meadow. It’s not until baby bear encounters some bees, a skunk and a noisy farm that he decides he’s ready to find his mother. Baby bear tells his mother everything he discovered about the world and that next time he wants her to come along.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?
Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs? (By Carmela LaVigna Coyle) – This is a wonderful book for little girls who think they’re really princesses. A little girl and her dad go on a hike and as they walk along, the little girl continuously asks her dad questions about how princesses do things. She asks what a princess wears on a hike, if they climb on boulders, if they dip their toes in the river or if they really kiss frogs. This is a fun and sweet story for little girls, who are all princesses in their daddies’ eyes.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: If You Find a Rock
If You Find a Rock (By Peggy Christian) – This is a wonderful book about all the different rocks that children can find as they go out and explore. My five-year-old daughter loved this book immediately and is now always on the lookout for each kind of rock mentioned in the book. The book features wonderful photographs of children finding and enjoying each kind of rock, from skipping rocks to chalk rocks to climbing rocks and splashing rocks. The book encourages children to explore and find the simple joys in nature – like sitting on a moss-covered rock or pushing over a rock to see what’s hiding underneath. And the book also talks about memory rocks, which just remind you of someplace or someone important. Since getting the book, my daughter has found a memory rock almost everywhere we go.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
