Picture this: You are holding your precious baby on your lap and opening a book to read aloud. You are building his love of reading, nurturing him with quality time, enriching his understanding of humanity. Two seconds later, that same child is escaping across the room – crying, no less – with a freshly-chewed board book in his grasp. Sound … Read More
Teach Your Baby to Read: The Secrets to a Literary Education
Tucked in your daily routine are the secrets to your child’s literary education. Your child’s literacy and love for books depends more on his grasp of the stuff of life than on his ability to decipher short-vowel sounds. We understand and appreciate books not only because we can physically read, but also because we can think well about stories and … Read More
The Big Family Book Party: May, 2017
Although April showers are bringing May showers around here, we’re celebrating this month’s Book Party with flowers anyway. Here’s what we loved in April and recommend for your May. 🙂 For the adventure-lover: The Green Ember series is sweeping the young adult and read-aloud communities by storm. Lia is the first person in our family to “hop” into the series and, boy … Read More
I just read “You are Free: Be Who You Already Are” by Rebekah Lyons
It’s no small thing for a woman to put her heart and story on paper. It’s no small thing for her to trust strangers with the intimate and personal struggles. In her 2016 release, You are Free: Be Who You Already Are, Rebekah Lyons worked through a lifetime of heartache and humanity in order to share one important message with you … Read More
The Big Family Book Party: April 2017
We dug out the Easter baskets for April’s photo shoot. 🙂 Our whole family got together and decided to share what we have been reading this month. From the youngest to the oldest, we’ve each chosen one book that we think you – or someone you know – would love. Even Ryan gets in on the fun. (He’s a good … Read More
The Big Family Book Party: March 2017
Our whole family got together and decided to share what we have been reading this month. From the youngest to the oldest, we’ve each chosen one book that we think you – or someone you know – would love. Even Ryan gets in on the fun. (He’s a good sport.) We hope that you enjoy our suggestions. What have you … Read More
Book Report: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
When I was in elementary school, my mother could always tell who I was friends with because I acted just like them at home. One phrase! One facial expression! would reveal my companions – for better or worse. Like most children, I was part-chameleon. Someone funny helped me be funnier. Someone brilliant helped me be more brilliant. Someone athletic pushed … Read More
My 2012 Booklist (xoxo): Or, I didn’t do that for nothing!
(Although I posted this last week, all of the links were broken. I finally fixed them, and decided that the effort was worth a re-post. Now you can really dig in and enjoy, my faithful readers!) Putting this list together felt like a spa treatment. I love day-dreaming about books. I also love actually reading them. SO, here’s my ambitious … Read More
Best Books from 2011
I usually read a lot. This past year, though, I didn’t read as much because my life became increasingly more physical – being pregnant, having a third child, moving into a large farm house, reaping the fruits of a garden that was waaaaay too large for even one million Ball jars, etc. etc. However, I did sneak a good read … Read More
Do Hard Things: A Book Review
Recently, Ryan’s friend lent me a bag of books to read and review. He said he didn’t have time to read through them himself, but wanted to know which were worth keeping on his bookshelf, which ones were worth recommending to others. The night that Ryan showed me the bag full of books was like Christmas morning! Since I’ll be … Read More
