I love to tell stories on this blog but today I wanted to share a different version of a story in the form of a list of recommendations! You see, we love books in our household. Casey was an English major in college and I became obsessed with classic literature in high school and we’ve tried to develop that same love for books in our two littles. We are always having to tidy all the bookshelves in the house and now rent most of our books from the library so they can go back to a proper home.

When we had Reeve, we started a habit of reading to her every morning when she wakes up. It is such a good time for connection in our family. With Reeve I loved collecting my favorite picture books but when Gavin was born I was overwhelmed with how many books we had! Plus, re-reading the books that I had read to her over and over became a bit tedious. Hence, why this list started. Many wise people have told me that reading with and to your kids is one of the most important things you can do to increase knowledge, connection, and learning. Ok so if you are interested, here’s a small gathering of our favorite children's books!

Resource for choosing books:

Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt has a comprehensive list of books divided into age groups. This is a must read! You can look at it for free on Hoopla. If you don’t have Hoopla, it is a digital library compiled through the library system so you just need a library card to access it. It has tons of e-books and audio books and is free!

Here’s a sampling of our favorite picture books for littles. We love the classics but you might not have heard of these:

All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan

The Old Woman Who Named Things by Kathryn Brown

Deep in the Woods by Christopher Corr

Poems and Prayers for the Very Young by Martha Alexander

Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp by Carol Diggory Shields

Have you seen my cat? by Eric Carle

Best Word Book Ever by Richard Scarry

Angus and the Cat by Marjorie Flack

Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky

I Like to be Little by Charlotte Zolotow

The Good Egg by Jory John

My Great Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston

Miss Fannie’s Hat by Jan Karon

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

Norman the Doorman by Don Freeman

Little People Big Dreams series by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

Current favorites with an Autumn theme:

Sweep by Louise Greig

Tidy by Emily Gravett

Tree by Britta Teckentrup

Thankful by Eileen Spinelli

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Park

I hope this blog inspires you to read!

Alyssa