A Christmas Picture Book Review

I love the Christmas season. The decorations, the songs, the food, the family traditions, and all the Christmas picture books! I keep a little collection of them. The Christmas picture books were one of my favorite things to bring out at Christmas time and read with my kids when they were little. Even though they aren't so little anymore I've [...]

World Blog Book Tour

Thank you, Elizabeth Van Liere, for inviting me to participate in the World Blog Book Tour. Elizabeth Van Liere is the author of Dare to Live: Devotions for Those Over the Hill, But Not Under It! Elizabeth’s articles, poems, children’s stories and devotions have appeared in periodicals for some sixty years. Dare to Live is her first book. Her second book, Laugh. [...]

Prayers for Children

  A Little Golden Book Prayers for Children Pictures by Eloise Wilkin Western Publishing Company 1974, 1952 Little Golden Book Classic published by Random House, Inc. It's been a tough week for me and my family. One that certainly had us in our own time of prayer. It seemed fitting to share one of my favorite vintage children's books this Thursday. It turns out I [...]

I Can Read

  Little Chick's Story 1978 by Mary DeBall Kwitz illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres Published by Harper & Row I was drawn to Little Chick's Story by the simple soft blue and brown color palette. I love the pencil lines of Cyndy Szekeres through the wash of pale colors and how in places she uses no color at all, only the pencil. It's beautiful how well [...]

What Do You Say?

I found a new favorite picture book on this Throwback Thursday. This might be something I say about all of our picture books. Maybe I'll just say this is my new favorite picture book about manners. What Do You Say, Dear?   1958 By Sesyle Joslin Illustrated by Maurice Sendak Published by Scholastic Book Services 3rd printing October 1965 "single copy price 35¢"   When I found the book, [...]

Chicka Chicka abc

  Chicka Chicka abc by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault Illustrated by Lois Ehlert 1989 Today's Throwback Thursday Picture Book is one of my favorite little board books. This was the first book I received as a baby gift when my son was born. We read this little ABC rhyme book over and over and it seemed quite the perfect first book for [...]

A Cure For Complaining

  The Tale of Meshka the Kvetch copyright 1980 by Carol Chapman illustrations by Arnold Lobel published by E.P. Dutton New York This little tale makes me quite happy. I love the soft color palate and texture in the illustrations and I love the language in this tale -words and phrases like,  Meshka, Yiddish, Kvetch, kosher pickles, oy vey, and Wall of Jericho This is a picture [...]

To Think I Found It In Goodwill

My latest thrift store stop has to be one of my favorites. I spent the afternoon with a friend at Goodwill. We looked at pants and shirts and skirts and talked up and down the aisles. I found an amazing Christmas sweater vest with candy canes and sequins. I managed to leave it behind for a happy ugly-sweater-loving person. I [...]

Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes A Puppet Treasure Book This is the last book in my collection from children's book artists Tadasu Izawa and Shigemi Hijikata. This one is full of nursery rhymes including selections from Robert Louis Stevenson to Mother Goose, counting rhymes, and "Little Nursery Rhymes" –Little Tom Tucker, This Little Pig, Jumping Joan, Jack Horner, Little Boys and Little Girls, Little Bo-Peep, [...]

Tom Thumb

Tom Thumb Today's Throwback Thursday is the fourth in my puppet book collection from photo illustrators T. Izawa and S. Hijikata. This book features the strange fairytale world of Tom Thumb. Published by Grosset & Dunlap. There's no copyright date printed in the book, but there is an inscription from the original owners of the on the inside cover, " To Diane and [...]