Thursday, December 6, 2012

Christmas, Picture Books and Family Togetherness

I read a post this summer by author Connie Sokol, called Spies, Phantoms and Wookie Cookies: Connecting with your kids in a literary way.

When I though about my approach to blogging in December (in my opinion the busiest month of the year and the one in which I do the least writing), I thought to myself, what kind of posts can I do that will be of value to the equally busy mommy writer's out there?

Well I thought to myself - aside from the obvious, what is Christmas about?

It's not just about remembering and honoring the birth and the life of our Savior.  It's not just about presents, and sleigh rides and twinkling colorful lights.

It's also about family togetherness, tradition, and love.

And what better way, as Connie Sokol explains, to come together than through good literature?

So each Thursday in December, I'm going to share with you some of my favorites in each of the following categories:

December 6: Picture Books
December 13: MG and YA Books
December 20: Christmas Books
December 27: Best Books We Read in 2012

Please stop by and share your favorites!  I know there are so many books out there of a high quality and value that I have never heard of.  Also remember, this list is not exhaustive.  I don't want to list every single good picture book I've ever read, because then what would I leave for you to say?

I also want to keep in mind that the point of these posts is to bring us together as families at this special time of year.  So if you see something that sparks your interest over the next few weeks, please, find a copy (at your local library or bookstore) and delve in with the ones you love the most: it can only add to the special spirit of the Christmas season!

Week 1: Best Picture Books

Here are some amazing authors to check out with your kids - there is so much opportunity to expand on the content with activities that build togetherness.  These are the ones we can read over and over again and never tire of.





 

 

What about you?  What are your families favorite picture books?

3 comments:

  1. My kids love Piggie Pie. For more than two years, that has been their go-to book. I thought about buying it, but they just really love it as a library book. They don't even want to check it out, they usually just want me to read it to them while we are at the library (though we have checked it out a half dozen times and renewed it multiple times each time)

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  2. http://www.amazon.com/The-Doghouse-Jan-Thomas/dp/0152065334

    http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Pigeon-Drive-Bus/dp/078681988X

    These two books have endured much love at our house.


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  3. Chester has me intrigued.... ;-)

    One of my favorites is “Library Mouse”. It’s about a mouse who lives in a library and one day he decides he wants to write a book. So he starts writing these little books and putting them on the shelves (in the proper section, in the correct order, of course) and then children begin to find them. They are anxious to meet the tiny author, and so the librarian leaves a note asking him to attend a “Meet the Author” day. He decides he needs to share his secret- that’s he’s just an ordinary mouse, and anyone can write a book! So he sets up an empty tissue box with a sign above it that says, “Meet the Author!” with an arrow pointing down into the box. When a child looks into the box, there is a mirror. Next to the box are pencils and blank pieces of paper stapled together for the children to write their own books.

    Can you guess why I love it? :-)

    I also love “Sector 7” - a picture book with no words by David Wiesner. All of his books are amazing!

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