In an attempt to be more orderly in my blogging, I am going to see if I can blog on each day according to themes:

Monday: picture book reviews

Tuesday: some kind of educational resource, homeschooling tip, or family fun idea

Wednesday: a breastfeeding, healthy pregnancy, or other naturally healthy, holistic mama health tip

Thursday: a review of a classic book

Friday: a classic movie review or date night suggestion

Saturday: a recipe or homemaking tip

Sunday: review of a General Conference talk or some kind of gospel-based presentation

So here goes with picture book reviews. See the above book? We just read it this past week. I know it’s after Christmas, but I love to let the season linger longer by reading Christmas picture books in January. Or even chapter books. I remember reading the Christmas chapter book, Holly Claus, to two of my older kids in February. So, back to Lighthouse Christmas, l love stories like this that show characters who care about each other, have dreams, sacrifice and serve. On top of all those things, I love surprise endings, like this one has! I give it 5 out of 5 stars. It made me want to go live in a lighthouse for a year with my kids just to see what it’s like.

I just discovered the author Amy Krouse Rosenthal. She wrote the above book. It’s a darling book that challenges you to read words that have numbers substituted for letters. It’s pure fun to figure out the words and laugh at the cute illustrations. This is a winner! I give it 5 out of 5 stars. 

I was talking to my sister, a children’s book lover and former worker at the real children’s bookstore that You’ve Got Mail featured, and she said that so far Rosenthal has never disappointed her. This is coming from not just a children’s book lover, but a connoisseur of children’s picture books. We both agree that Rosenthal’s books are wonderful! Here are some more titles:

This one is full of equations made with words. Like “wishes” plus “frosting” = “birthday” and “smile” + “wave” equals “hello.” I don’t like the illustrations as much as the Wumbers book, but it’s still a cleverly written, good book. 4 out of 5 stars.

This one is utterly delightful. It’s definitions of words, in terms of eating cookies. I love Jane Dyers’ illustrations of the children, but I don’t like the animals in clothes. That is just a little creepy for me. But I love the idea of the words defined using cooking eating metaphors. It’s very clever and thought-provoking and a great vocabulary-building book for kids. 4 1/2 stars (because of the animals in clothes).

So what picture books have you read this past week with your kids?