Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa – Horse in the House (By Erica Silverman) – Cowgirl Kate wakes up to find her horse Cocoa in her bedroom. The young girl needs to get the horse back to the barn before her parents find out. But before they leave, Cocoa wants to explore the house. Cocoa makes a mess in the living room, finds the bathroom too small but loves the refrigerator. When they get back to the barn, Kate explains all the good things about the barn and why her horse should stay there, instead of in the house. But Cocoa explains that the house has two things he loves – Kate and the refrigerator. The whole series of Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa books offer sweet stories of friendship and would be perfect for young girls who love horses. Recommended for ages 6 to 9, they are great young reader books and beginning chapter books.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Princess Peepers Picks a Pet (By Pam Calvert) – Princess Peepers isn’t like the other princesses at the Royal Academy. She hangs from trees while the other girls work on their posture. And she ruins their tea party when she accidentally crashes her skateboard into the table. And when the teacher announces there will be a pet show, Princess Peepers finds out she’s the only one who doesn’t have a pet. But when Princess Peepers is out walking in the forest, she bumps into what she thinks is the perfect pet. Unfortunately, the bump knocked her glasses off, so what she thinks is a flying unicorn, is really a fire-breathing dragon. Peepers flies into the pet show on her new pet only to be told it’s a dragon. And when Peepers puts her glasses on and sees her pet for the first time, she thinks he’s perfect anyway. A cute story about being yourself.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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: Enchanted Forest

I passed my own childhood game of Enchanted Forest down to my daughter and she loves it as much as I did.

This quality board game features a variety of classic fairy tales and a forest of trees with hidden clues. To play, players roll the dice and move around the board, landing next to little trees. When they lift the tree, there is a picture from a fairy tale underneath. It might be Cinderella’s slipper or boots worn by Puss in Boots. Players try to search the board to find out where each fairy tale picture is hidden.

Then they try to be the first one to reach the castle where they will earn cards for knowing what clues are under each tree. But if your guess is wrong, you are sent back to start over.

To speed up the game for my daughter, when someone lands on a tree, instead of keeping the clue a secret, we share it with all the players. It’s a great game for teaching memorization skills.

Buy it: Disney Edition of Guess Who Game

The Disney edition of “Guess Who” is a fun spin on the original game, featuring lots of your child’s favorite Disney characters. This is one of my six-year-old Ally’s favorite games. The game works just like the original Guess Who, with each player choosing a character or blindly drawing a character card. Then players ask each other yes or no questions to see who can guess the other player’s character first. The game has a nice mix of characters from princesses and Tinkerbell to Peter Pan and Dopey. The only drawback of the game is that the characters always remain the same, so once you are familiar with the game, it can go pretty fast. For example – “Is your character a princess?” “Yes.” “Does she have red hair?” “Yes.” “It’s Ariel.” Regardless, this is a great game for young children.

Hippo and Rabbit in Three Short Tales (By Jeff Mack) – This early reader book comes highly recommended because my daughter, Ally, age 6, has read it dozens of times and never gets tired of it. Even better, she laughs every time she reads it. The book includes three short stories of two friends, Hippo and Rabbit. Rabbit tries to make Hippo choose vegetables over his cheeseburger; they push each other on a swing to hilarious results; and they comfort each other when they get scared at bedtime. I love the sweet and humorous stories of friendship and the simple words are perfect for beginning readers. It’s an entertaining read that will build confidence in early readers.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Wolf! Wolf! (By John Rocco) – Have you ever wondered how the wolf felt in the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”? This book, “Wolf! Wolf!”, is a funny take on the classic tale. An old wolf is weeding his vegetable garden when he hears a boy calling his name. He makes his way to the meadow where the boy is tending goats. From a distance, he watches as the villagers run to help the boy and then realize there is no wolf. After the boy repeatedly plays this trick, the villagers get tired and ignore him. The old wolf, who is no longer able to chase down the goats the boy is guarding, gets an idea. He approaches the boy, but this time no one comes when the boy cries “wolf!” The wolf tells the boy that in order for the villagers to believe him again, a goat will have to be missing. The boy agrees and leaves a goat for the wolf in his garden. But when the wolf sees how well the goat weeds his garden, he realizes the goat would make a better friend than a meal. The story is set in China and the illustrations is this book are amazing.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Ivy & Bean (By Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall) – Bean has short hair and likes to get dirty. Ivy wears dresses and is always reading books. But these two girls find out that despite their differences, they have a lot of fun together. The chapter book, “Ivy & Bean,” is a great choice for kids 6 to 9 years old. Bean plays a trick on her sister and is worried that she’ll get in trouble. Ivy, who lives across the street, invites her to hide out with her. The two girls quickly become friends as they make a witch’s robe and wand for Ivy; dig for worms and run from Bean’s older sister. These two girls find themselves in lots of humorous situations, which my daughter, age 6, loved to read about.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Miss Malarkey Doesn’t Live in Room 10 (By Judy Finchler) – Where do teachers live? In this story, one little boy thinks he has the answer – at school! “Miss Malarkey Doesn’t Live in Room 10″ is a very funny story, with wonderful illustrations that make my six-year-old daughter laugh every time we read it. In the story, the boy thinks that his first-grade teacher lives in her classroom, eats dinner in the cafeteria and brushes her teeth at the drinking fountain. But then Miss Malarkey moves into the boy’s apartment building. Now the boy has to convince his classmates that their teacher doesn’t actually live in Room 10. A cute story told from a kid’s point of view.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Nate the Great (By Marjorie Weinman Sharmat)  - This is the first book in the “Nate the Great” series of detective stories, of which we have now read several. Nate is a young boy who loves eating pancakes and solving mysteries. “Nate the Great” is a wonderful first chapter book for beginning readers, because the text and stories are simple and often funny; there are fun illustrations on every page and the chapters are short. In this first book, Nate is helping his friend Annie find her missing picture. Nate and Annie search Annie’s room, dig up the backyard and have a snack of pancakes, before Nate finally solves the mystery. My daughter Ally, age 6, loves reading the “Nate the Great” books and trying to solves the mysteries before Nate does. But even after we know the ending, she still loves to read them again and again.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Read to Tiger (By S.J. Fore) – In this book, a little boy is trying to read, but he’s finding it difficult because there is a tiger in his living room who is being very distracting! My daughter Ally, age 6, thinks this book is very funny. While the boy tries to read, the tiger is pretending to be a bear, practicing karate and riding on a toy train. The boy repeatedly asks the tiger to please be quiet but nothing works. Finally, the tiger jumps up on the couch and tries to read too. Now the boy can finally read his book … to Tiger. This is a fun book with humorous illustrations that is sure to make your child laugh.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Princess Posey and the Perfect Present (By Stephanie Greene) – “Princess Posey and the Perfect Present” is a great chapter book for beginning readers. The story is simple and relatable for first-graders; the chapters are short; and there are cute illustrations throughout. My daughter Ally, a first-grader who is 6, and I enjoy reading these books together. In this story, Posey is excited to be bringing a present to school for her teacher’s birthday. She decides to bring roses that she picked from the garden. But when she gets to school, one of her friends has also brought flowers for the teacher and the bouquet is bigger and prettier than Posey’s. Posey hides her flowers and gets angry at her friend. But after school, Posey’s mom explains that the size of the bouquet is not important and that her friend didn’t know that Posey was also bringing flowers. Posey goes out to the garden and picks just one rose to give to her teacher the next day. Her teacher is excited to have her first “after birthday present.” And Posey apologizes to her friend. This story offers simple lessons about friendship and jealousy.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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: Fish Stix

Fish Stix is one of the best games I have bought for my daughter Ally, age 6. This award-winning game is simple and easy to learn, but will grow with a child since it’s based on strategy.

In the game, there are cards or “stix” featuring different brightly-colored fish swimming in different directions. The point of the game is to lay down the cards to match the same fish and the same direction. Each player has a scoreboard with fish tokens. For each matched fish, the player moves their token that many spaces on the scoreboard. The winner is the player who gets each of their fish tokens to the end of the scoreboard first.

Our family loves to play this game together because it truly is fun for all ages. Ally loves the brightly-colored fish and making them “swim” ahead on her scoreboard. My husband and I love the strategy of trying to find places to make a match or multiple matches each turn. The more we play it, the more Ally gets the strategy of looking for the best match and even blocking other players.

The cards and game pieces are very sturdy. The game is easy to assemble and put away. I have bought this game as a gift for a number of my daughter’s friends and it’s always a hit. Love it!

Bear’s Loose Tooth (By Karma Wilson) – If you have a child who is starting to lose their baby teeth, this is a fun book to read with them. Bear has a loose tooth and is worried about how he will eat if it falls out. But his friends explain that he will get a new tooth in its place. Then they each try to help pull the loose tooth out. But the tooth won’t budge. Finally, Bear wiggles the tooth with his tongue and it comes out! That night the tooth fairy leaves a plate of blueberries for Bear. In the morning, Bear and his friends enjoy the berries together – but uh-oh – Bear has another loose tooth! All of the Bear books are fun to read, with great illustrations and lively rhyming text.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Pumpkin Trouble (By Jan Thomas) – “Pumpkin Trouble” is a very funny Halloween story. Duck is making a jack-o’-lantern for Halloween and can’t wait to show his friends. But as he is scooping out the seeds, he falls into the pumpkin and gets stuck. Now Duck is walking around with the pumpkin stuck on his body, with only his feet showing, looking for someone to help him. But when Duck’s friends see him coming, they think he’s a pumpkin monster! When they shout that there’s a pumpkin monster, Duck doesn’t realize they mean him and he starts running. Now Duck is chasing his friends, who still think he’s a pumpkin monster. Finally, Duck smashes into a wall and breaks the pumpkin. Duck’s friends think he’s a hero for saving them from the monster. My daughter, age 6, can read this book on her own and laughs each time she reads it.

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Look! I Can Read! (By Susan Hood) – “Look! I Can Read!” is a perfect early reader book. It’s the story of a little girl named Emily discovering all the things she can read from street signs and food labels to her name. The book has great beginning words and sight words. The story also rhymes, which makes it easy for young readers to figure out a word if they get stuck. On one page, Emily asks to reader to find things in her bedroom that start with each letter of the alphabet. The book ends with Emily announcing that she read a whole book, while holding up the book “Look! I Can Read!”

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

We Are in a Book! (By Mo Willems) – Hands down, the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems are the best early reader books I’ve seen. The entire collection is so funny and clever that my daughter Ally, now 6, reads them over and over and still laughs every time. All of the Elephant and Piggie books offer sweet lessons about friendship and simple words to build early reader confidence. I also love that Elephant and Piggie’s conversations are color-coded, so readers always know who is saying what. We have several of these books, but one of our favorites is “We Are in a Book!” In this story, Elephant (Gerald) and Piggie discover that someone is watching them – a reader! Then they find out they can make the reader say funny words, until they find out (oh no!) the book ends! The story ends with them asking the reader to read their book again. A wonderful set of books for readers, ages 4-8, but Ally has found out that her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all find them pretty entertaining as well. A great collection to get your young child reading!

The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, 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!

Some Dogs Do (By Jez Alborough) – A dog named Sid is walking to school when suddenly a happy feeling fills him up and lifts him right off the ground. He flies all the way to school. But when he gets to school, no one believes that he can fly. But now that he’s been laughed at, Sid’s happy feeling is gone and he can’t fly anymore. After school, Sid sits in his backyard looking up at the sky, feeling sad. Then his dad comes out and shows Sid that dogs do fly, but soaring up into the sky over his head. Sid is so happy and he and his parents fly around together. So do dogs fly? As the book says at the end: “Some dogs don’t, and some dogs do.” My 5-year-old daughter loves this fun, rhyming tale. And it makes her wonder what our dog is up to when we’re not looking.

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!

Ready Set Grow! – This is a wonderful book for kids who love to dig and play in the garden. It features many easy and fun gardening projects that are perfect for children. The pictures are colorful and the instructions are easy for children and parents to follow. Some of the projects include making a fairy ring of flowers, making a flower-covered tepee, how to grow treats for pets, how to grow a pizza garden and how to plant strawberries in an old pair of rain boots. Each page features easy step-by-step instructions, photos, an estimate of how long it will take to complete and a list of everything you will need. My 5-year-old daughter can’t wait for spring so we can start working on bringing these ideas to life in our own backyard.

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!

National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Animals (By Catherine D. Hughes) – This book will give young children an up close look at animals in the wild and will teach them funny and interesting facts about each one. This National Geographic Little Kids book features page after page of amazing, high quality, colorful photos of giraffes, lions, dolphins, turtles, monkeys, frogs, butterflies and many more. When I first gave it to my 5-year-old daughter, she and I spent an hour looking at the pictures and reading some of the animal facts and we didn’t even finish the whole book! There are quick facts listed about each animal, such as where they live, what they eat, how big they are, etc. But some of the other information had my daughter completely engrossed. For example, the book said that a giraffe’s tongue is about 18 inches long and could stretch almost all the way across the open book. Or when a baby koala is born, it’s the size of a jellybean.

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!

Dance Me, Daddy (By Cindy Morgan) – If you have a little girl, you will probably tear up when you read this touching story about the love between a girl and her daddy. Each turn of the page, shows the little girl growing up from tutus, pigtails and tea parties to sleepovers with friends and homework. But through every age, the daughter and her daddy still dance together and the daughter says the same thing – “Dance me, Daddy…” Then she says that if she’s his princess than he is king of the world. Then the girl leaves home, falls in love and gets married. And on her wedding day, she goes up to her dad and says the same thing, “Dance me, Daddy…” And the last page shows the daughter visiting her parents with her husband and her own little girl. The book comes with a CD of the song “King of the World,” which tells the same story in song. The CD also features the author reading the story and an interview with the author.

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!

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!

Hit the Ball Duck (By Jez Alborough) – My daughter Ally, age 5, and I have enjoyed all of Alborough’s books about Duck and his friends. This is one of our favorites. In this fun rhyming story, Duck, Frog, Goat and Sheep head to the park to play baseball. But Duck’s hit sends the ball up into a tree, where it gets stuck. Duck, who doesn’t always think things through, decides to throw the bat up to knock down the ball, but that gets stuck as well. He then does the same thing with the glove. My daughter always giggles through this story. Then the four friends decide to climb on one another to make a tower and reach the ball, bat and glove. But they fall over. Luckily, their fall shakes the tree and everything falls out. However, Frog catches the ball, which means Duck is out. A cute story and a great gift idea for little baseball fans.

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!

Stella: Queen of the Snow (By Marie Louise Gay) – Stella and her little brother Sam are excited to head outside and enjoy the first snowfall. But Sam has never seen snow before and has lots of questions. He asks Stella if they can eat snowflakes, where do snowmen sleep, what do snowmen eat and why is fog coming out of their mouths. Stella fields all his questions with sweet, childlike answers. She tells him that polar bears eat snowflakes for breakfast, snowmen sleep in snowbanks and eat snow peas and their words freeze on cold days, which makes a fog come out of their mouths. An adorable story about the joy and wonder of children on a snowy winter 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!

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!

Have You Filled a Bucket Today? (By Carol McCloud) – The award-winning book is a great way to explain to your child the importance of being kind to others. The book explains that everyone in the world carries around an invisible bucket to hold their good thoughts and feelings. You can fill up other people’s buckets by doing or saying nice things. And when you fill someone’s bucket, you are also filling up your own bucket because you feel good about helping others. But when you are mean to someone, you are dipping into their bucket. The book also gives kids some ideas of how to be a bucket-filler. After reading this book, we continued to use the phrase “bucket-filler” around the house. When my daughter was helping me or saying something nice, I would point out that she was filling my bucket, which made her want to do even more good deeds. It’s a simple concept that very young kids can quickly pick up on. A wonderful book!

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: Cranium Hullabaloo

If you have little kids ages 4 to 6, you should get them Cranium Hullabaloo. This is an incredibly fun and easy to follow game for young children that gets them up and doing what they do best – moving, bouncing, jumping, stretching and spinning.

When my daughter got this game as a gift at age 5, the whole family played it together no less than – and I’m not kidding – 30 times the first day. And thank goodness, this game is even fun for adults to play along with their kids.

The game comes with a speaker that gives directions during the game. There are also 16 pads, with different shapes, colors and pictures. During the game, players are asked to bounce to a blue, swim to a square or sit down on an animal. The kids must listen and follow the instructions until they are told to “freeze.” Then the player standing on a certain pad is named the winner and asked to do something silly – like a funky monkey dance.

My daughter always laughs through the whole game and wants to plays it often. It has been great for playdates and would also be fun for birthday parties. Since the rules allow for more than one player to stand on a pad, we have played the game with several players and it works just fine.

My only criticism of the game would be that the “game announcer” can sometimes be a little too quiet to hear, even at top volume, when several kids are talking and laughing. But that’s a great way to encourage kids to quiet down and be good listeners.

Mercy Watson (By Kate DiCamillo) – My daughter Ally, age 5, and I have read all of the Mercy Watson chapter books over and over and over again. Mr. and Mrs. Watson have a pig named Mercy. Mercy sleeps in the bed and loves to eat toast with butter on it. My daughter loves all of the Mercy Watson stories, whether she is trying to drive a car, having a tea party, dressing as a princess for Halloween or eating the neighbors flowers. These books have bright and colorful illustrations of all of Mercy’s adventures. And these are great beginning chapter books for parents to read to their children or for young readers to read on their own. My husband loves that the chapters are short, so when Ally begs him to read one more chapter at bedtime, he can give in. I love that, unlike most chapter books, Ally never gets tired of hearing these stories. I guarantee that if you buy one Mercy Watson book, you’ll want to get them all.

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!

Knuffle Bunny Free (By Mo Willems) – In this third Knuffle Bunny book, Trixie has gotten a little older and is traveling to Holland to visit her grandparents. But soon after Trixie and her parents arrive at her grandparents’ house, Trixie realizes that she left Knuffle Bunny on the plane. Everyone tries to make Trixie feel better, but she is still sad. Then Trixie has a dream about all the places Knuffle Bunny would be visiting and the children he would be meeting along the way. She wakes up feeling better. Then on the plane ride home, Trixie finds Knuffle Bunny in the seat pocket! But when Trixie hears a baby crying behind her, she makes a big decision. She gives Knuffle Bunny away. The baby loves Knuffle Bunny and quiets down and a few weeks later Trixie gets a letter in the mail from the baby’s family. The end of this book always makes me tear up. The last pages show Trixie growing up, falling in love, starting a family and then getting a package in the mail from her old pen pal. And inside is Knuffle Bunny.

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!

Knuffle Bunny Too (By Mo Willems) – My daughter loved the first Knuffle Bunny book so much, we just had to get the second one. In Knuffle Bunny Too, Trixie is off to Pre-K with her Knuffle Bunny in tow and just can’t wait to show it off to all her classmates. But when she gets to school, Trixie sees that another student, Sonja, also has a Knuffle Bunny. The two girls argue over how to pronounce “Knuffle” and the teacher takes the bunnies away. But when she returns them, they get switched and the girls take home the wrong bunnies. Both Trixie and Sonja realize they have the wrong bunnies and the girls and their dads rush out in the middle of the night to make the exchange. Trixie and Sonja become best friends, and the next day at school decide to swap bunnies again. My daughter Ally, age 5, loves the Knuffle Bunny books for the funny stories and great illustrations layered over black and white photographs.

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!

I Am America (By Charles R. Smith Jr.) – This is a wonderful book that celebrates what it is to be an American. Featuring colorful photographs of real children, the book explains that we are all different, but all American. Whatever our facial features, color of our skin, clothes we wear, music we listen to, religion or ethnic background – we are America. This is such a simple book, but it’s a great way to show children the diverse people who make up their wonderful country.

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!

The Handiest Things in the World (By Andrew Clements) – This is a fun, colorful book that celebrates all the great things we can do with our hands as well as the handy tools that we use every day. My daughter loves the bright photographs of kids chasing butterflies, out in the rain, walking a dog, combing their hair, digging in the dirt, etc. Each page shows a child using their hands to complete a task (like eating, counting and measuring) and then shows how they can do the same thing using a handy tool. This is an excellent book for young children. We love it!

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!

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!

Snowmen All Year (By Caralyn Buehner) – My daughter and I loved the book Snowmen at Night, so we were so excited to get this companion book. In Snowmen All Year, a boy wishes that the snowman he built was magic so he could stay with him all year. The boy then imagines all the fun things that he and his snowman could do, like swimming, going to the zoo, watching the fireworks, flying a kite and going to the beach. The boy wishes that the snow he used to build his snowman was magic and wouldn’t melt away. And on the last page, you see he gets his wish. My daughter and I love the bright, colorful illustrations of the Snowmen books and fun, rhyming text.

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!

Lulu and the Brontosaurus (By Judith Viorst) – Lulu always gets what she wants. So when she asks her parents for a brontosaurus for her birthday, she throws a major fit when they say “no. ” Lulu packs a suitcase and heads out into the forest to find her own brontosaurus. And she actually finds one. But unfortunately, the brontosaurus doesn’t want to be Lulu’s pet, he wants Lulu to be HIS pet. Lulu decides she doesn’t like the idea of being a pet, outsmarts the brontosaurus and escapes. And later when she and the brontosaurus meet up again, they realize that neither one of them wants to be a pet but that they can be friends. During the story, Lulu realizes also that being polite and sweet is much better than being selfish and throwing tantrums. This is a chapter book, but the chapters are short and funny, and feature interesting black and white illustrations. I would recommend it for kids ages 5 to 8.

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!

Children Make Terrible Pets (By Peter Brown) – A bear named Lucy in a pink tutu finds a little boy in the forest. Lucy thinks the boy is so cute and decides to take him home to be her pet. Lucy’s mother warns her that children make terrible pets, but Lucy says she will take full responsibility. Soon Lucy discovers that her new pet is hard to potty train, ruins the furniture and makes terrible messes. Then one day she can’t find her pet. She looks and looks until she finds him with his whole family. They say good-bye and Lucy realizes that her mom was right – children do make terrible pets. But then Lucy finds another usual pet! This book is very funny and will be sure to make you and your child giggle.

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!

Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl! (By Tedd Arnold) – My daughter Ally asked to go to the store to buy a Fly Guy book because they are so popular with her kindergarten class. I’d never read them before but I was happy to discover that the Fly Guy books are cute, funny and feature simple words for early readers. The books are about a boy name Buzz who has a pet fly named Fly Guy, who can say his name. In each Fly Guy book, the Buzz and Fly Guy have fun adventures together like playing hide and seek, going on vacation or the time Buzz’s grandma swallowed Fly Guy. In Fly Guys Meets Fly Girl Fly Guy and Buzz meet a little girl named Lizz and her pet, Fly Girl. Fly Girl is great at tricks and eating gross things. My daughter always laughs at the pages where Fly Guy eats a rotten tomato and Fly Girl eats a dead worm. This book proves that kids love books that are simple, fun and yes, maybe a little disgusting.

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!

Snow Day (By Patricia Lakin) – This is a great book to get for beginning readers. It features simple beginning words, rhymes, repetition and a very fun story. Snow Day is about four friends – Sam, Pam, Will and Jill – who are excited to go out and play in the snow. They get bundled up and grab their sleds, but when they get to the hill they remember something – they’re supposed to be at school. So they run home quickly to fix the situation. Soon the reader discovers that these four friends are school principals. They each call in a snow day for their school and rush back out to sled together and enjoy the snow 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!

The Nutcracker – A Magical Pop-Up Adventure (By Nick Denchfield) – My daughter Ally, age 5, has seen the Nutcracker ballet a couple of times and loves it. But before she saw it for the first time, my mother-in-law gave her this book to help her understand the story behind the ballet. This book features an easy to understand telling of the Nutcracker as well as fun flaps to lift and some absolutely amazing pop-up pages. Ally loves to look at this book, which features a “growing” Christmas tree, a spinning Sugarplum Fairy and wonderful pop-ups of the Land of Snow and the Land of Sweets. A great gift idea for children who are about to see or have seen the Nutcracker.

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!

Being Friends (By Karen Beaumont) – Two little girls are great friends despite their differences. One wears gowns and crowns and one likes caps and jeans. One likes playing dress-up while the other likes rocks and tools. One pretends to be a princess while the other pretends to be a chimpanzee. But both girls like counting falling stars, having pillow fights and playing ball. But most importantly they both like being friends. A great story to teach children that being friends doesn’t mean being exactly the same.

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: The Pout-Pout Fish

The Pout-Pout Fish (By Deborah Diesen) – There is one fish in the sea with a constant pout, who spreads the “dreary-wearies.” The other fish try to get the Pout-Pout Fish to cheer up but he says it’s just the way he is and he can’t help it. Then one fish gives the Pout-Pout Fish a kiss and he finally feels happy. He realizes instead that he’s a Kiss-Kiss Fish and he kisses all his friends and spreads happiness. A cute story about having a positive attitude.

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: My Mommy Hung the Moon

My Mommy Hung the Moon (By Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell) – A sweet story about all the amazing things mothers can do from the point of view of children. Mothers bake cookies, drive car pools, dance and steal bases but according to their children, they also light up the sun, zap out the thunder, feather the birds, blast off rocketships and sparkle the stars. A wonderful book about the love between mothers and their children and how children believe their moms can do everything.

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!

So I made a turkey body out of brown cardstock and cut 25 “feathers” out of red, orange, yellow, green and purple cardstock. I taped the turkey body up on the kitchen wall with a sign above it that reads “We’re thankful for…” Each night at dinner, my daughter, husband and I take turns taking a “feather” out of a jar on the table and writing one thing we are thankful for on it. Then we tape the feather up on the turkey.

This activity has been a great way to think about the many things for which we are grateful and also to learn about each other. I was surprised by the simple things that Ally is thankful for – her house, her family, food, her pets, etc. She hasn’t listed a toy or a single material THING.

My husband gave thanks for chocolate and our smiles. I’ve found that I’m most thankful for our vacations and family adventures together this year…and of course Ally’s grandparents, who babysit and allow my husband and I to have regular date nights.

As each day goes by and we countdown to Thanksgiving, our turkey gets more and more feathers showing all the joys and gifts in our lives. I know we’ll continue this Thankful Turkey project every year and make it a family tradition. I think I’ll take a picture of the turkey each year. It will be fun to see how the things we are thankful for change …or maybe stay the same.

Since she doesn’t like to take it and sometimes runs away, we don’t like to give it to her on a spoon for fear it will spill before we get it in her mouth. So we usually put it in a liquid medicine syringe and squirt it into her mouth a little at a time. But often she gags, lets the medicine run out of the side of her mouth or on occasion, she just throws up. My husband and I were getting pretty frustrated and felt awful that we were putting her through this.

And that’s when I thought up the perfect solution – to put our daughter in charge. Now I put the correct dose in a small cup and give her a drinking straw. I tell her she can take her time sucking up the medicine, but it all has to be gone. I think just by giving our daughter the control fixed the problem completely. She can sip the medicine at her pace and the drinking straw makes it go down easier. And a teaspoon of medicine looks like a lot less medicine when it’s in a cup than when it’s in a syringe.

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: It’s Mine!

It’s Mine! (By Leo Lionni) – Three frogs live on an island together and argue all the time about what is theirs. One frog says that the water is his, one says the earth is his and one says that the air is hers. All day long they shout, “It’s mine!” A toad comes along and tells them to stop their bickering, but they don’t listen. Then a big storm comes up and floods the land. The only thing left is a rock, which all three frogs share together. When the storm is over they find out that the rock was in fact the toad. The frogs then realize how peaceful and happy life is when they share with each other.

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: Dream Snow

Dream Snow (By Eric Carle) – On a small farm there is a farmer, who looks a lot like Santa Claus, who has five animals. He named them One, Two, Three, Four and Five. On evening, right before Christmas, the farmer fell asleep in his chair and dreamed of falling snowflakes that covered him and his animals in a white blanket. There are clear pages decorated with snowflakes that children can lift up to see the sleeping farmer and animals underneath. When the farmer wakes up, he sees that it really has snowed outside. He dresses up in his red coat, hat and boots and goes outside with a sack over his shoulder. He decorates the tree next to the barn and puts presents under it for all the animals. Then he shouted “Merry Christmas to all!” My daughter, age 5, loves lifting up the clear pages to see the farmer and animals sleeping under their “snow blankets.” And she also loves the last page, which features a button she can push to play music to go with the Christmas scene.

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!

Babushka’s Doll (By Patricia Polacco) – Natasha is impatient with her grandmother (Babushka). The little girl wants her Babushka to stop doing laundry and other chores around the house and come push her on the swing and fix her lunch. Babushka explains that she needs to do her chores first. Later, Natasha spots a doll up on the shelf. Babushka says that it was her doll when she was little, but she only played with her one time. Babushka lets Natasha play with the doll while she goes to the store. As soon as Babushka leaves, the doll comes to life and she and Natasha run outside to play. But Natasha soon gets a taste of her own medicine when the doll keeps whining to be pushed on the swing and demands to have lunch. Natasha tries to please the impatient doll, but the doll only whines and asks for more. When Babushka comes home, the doll is just a doll again. And Natasha says she doesn’t want to play with her anymore. As Babushka is putting the doll back on the shelf, the doll gives her a wink. Natasha turns out to be a nice child in the end. A great book for teaching children about manners.

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!

The Tiny Seed (By Eric Carle) – Children may know that seeds can grow into flowers and plants, but this book explains the long journey of the seed beforehand. The story begins with several seeds being carried on the wind. But some seeds fall where they cannot grow. Other seeds are eaten by birds and mice. In the spring, the seeds that have survived grow into plants, but some don’t last because of weeds, running children or being picked. But one tiny seed manages to survive and it grows into a giant flower. And in the autumn, the wind blows hard and the flower’s seeds are blown off to start new plants. This book really helped my 5-year-old daughter understand how seeds grow into plants and then the plants release more seeds to make new plants.

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!

Games/Activities:

1. Sugar Cubes – Staying with the tea party theme, have the girls see who can stack the highest tower of sugar cubes.

2. Tissue Paper Flowers – Take 3 or 4 pieces of tissue paper laid in a stack, cut into a square and do an accordion fold back and forth over the length of the square. Cut the ends of the folded tissue into a triangle shape. Take the scissors and cut a triangular notch in the middle of the folded paper. Wrap a green pipe cleaner around the notch in the middle to make a stem. Fan out of the pieces of the tissue to make flower petals.

3. Scavenger Hunt – Like Alice in Wonderland, have the girls pretend they drank something to make them very small. Then plan a scavenger hunt around the house or yard where they look for party favors that are up high, for example at the top level of a swing set, hanging from a tree branch, etc.

Favors:

1. Tea Cups – Find mismatched tea cup and saucer sets for each guest. Set the table with them and have the girls use them during the party to drink caffeine-free tea, punch, juice, water, etc. Then let the girls take home the cup and saucer they used as a party favor.

Food/Decorations:

1. Set the Table – Make a fancy tea party by setting the table with a tablecloth, white doilies and real flowers as well as the tea party cups and saucers.

2. Tea Party Food – Make tea sandwiches by making ham and cheese, turkey and cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cutting them into small pieces and putting frilly toothpicks into them. Cut up small pieces of cheese and put frilly toothpicks in them. Make fruit kabobs and mini cupcakes.

Activities:

1. Pin the Tail on the Pony – Here’s a classic party game that you can make yourself. On a poster board, draw a picture of a pony (a simple outline with eyes, mouth and mane added is fine) and then bundle lengths of brown yarn into “tails.” Give each child a tail and piece of tape. Blindfold them with a bandanna, spin them around and let the game begin.

2. Scavenger Hunt in the Hay – Hide piles of hay in different places around your yard. To keep the mess to a minimum, my friend put the hay in plastic wading pools she had borrowed from friends. Give the kids clues as to where the different piles of hay are located. Hide horse-themed trinkets in each spot so the kids can dig through the hay to find them. You could hide small plastic horses, horse finger puppets or horse stickers in the hay. Makes a great way for kids to find their party favors!

3. Rent a Pony – If it’s in your budget, find out if you can rent a pony to have at the party for pony rides. My friend rented one for her daughter’s fifth birthday and it was a huge hit with the kids. The kids took turns riding the pony – led by a trained professional – around the yard and neighborhood.

4. Hobby Horse Races – Almost everyone has a hobby horse, so before the party borrow them from your friends. At the party, have the kids “saddle up” and race around the yard.

Food:

My friend served apple slices and carrots for snacks since that’s what horses like to eat. She also bought horse-shaped cookie cutters to make horse-shaped sandwiches, cheese slices, etc.