picture books – Mia The Reader

Welcome to Three Book Thursday! This is the day on the blog when we re-cap the children’s books we’ve been into lately. It’s not always three books, but we call it Three Book Thursday in celebration of not stopping at two, but instead saying, “Yes, we will read just one more book.”

We had a good time studying Colonial America in January, and found two adorable and educational picture books that are great for younger grades.

A Horse’s Tale: A Colonial Williamsburg Adventure – The rhymes, the soft but vibrant animal illustrations, and the simple plot of this book made my children hardly realize they were hearing a story that illustrated all the different jobs people held in Colonial Williamsburg. The story is about a lonely horse and how the townspeople rally to cheer him up. We studied the blacksmith, the tailor, and other professions in our text book, but this is the book that made it all come to life. I would read A Horse’s Tale for fun any day, but if you’re studying colonial times, it’s a must read! (And now I really want to visit Williamsburg!)

Homespun Sarah – This beautiful, poem-book describes the life of a rural colonial girl, and is a great counterbalance to the colonial books set in towns. Sarah is the oldest girl in a family of four, and her life of picking berries, cooking over the fire, shoo-ing away crows from the corn, and many other tasks looks both challenging and picturesque in the illustrations of this book. Author Verla Kay has written a wealth of great historical picture books! If you are ever at a loss for what to read for a certain time period, start with her books.

I chose both these books for their colonial setting, but we ended up loving them for their own sake. Pick them up if you get a chance, and don’t forget to tell me what you’ve been reading with little ones lately!

I’m not very good at home decor (understatement). However, there is a blog I have followed for years that is all about decorating. I started following Nesting Place because a friend/sister-in-law who knows what she’s talking about told me The Nester’s style is perfect. Well, yes, it is. And heaven knows, I need someone to tell me what looks good when it comes to my home. Still, what sticks with me the most from reading years of the amazing insight The Nester shares has touched more than just my home (though I do have to give her credit for helping me realize I love the colors white, blue, and grey). What sticks with me about The Nester is her motto:

It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.

I say that to myself all the time these days.

The Nester is one of my favorite bloggers, so I am thrilled to join in on her 31 days series this October. For 31 days, a bunch of blogs will pick one topic (any topic, doesn’t have to be about decorating) to focus on and blog about every day. Since I can’t tell you anything about color palettes, or how to unpack from a move a little each day, or how to save up for a European vacation, I’m sticking to something I can talk about to infinity and beyond: picture books.

I cherish the time I spend reading to my children. I treasure the memories of being read to as a child. When I see my parents reading to my children, there is a throb of rightness inside of me. I don’t know why reading to a child or being read to as a child is so significant, but I know it has always been part of my love language. Picture books tie me to my childhood like no other object. The pages of certain fairy tales make me feel as if I’m looking into a room that I’ve lived and breathed in. Yes, I had (have) an overactive imagination. But, as Meg Ryan says in You’ve Got Mail, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way no other reading in your whole life does.” Yes, it’s just a quote in a movie. But I think it’s true.

31 Days of Picture Books starts tomorrow. I am looking forward to sharing some of the books that shaped my childhood and the books that are favorites of my own children. My goal is to feature books that aren’t so popular, ones that you maybe haven’t heard of. This won’t be an attempt to create a list of the best children’s books of all time. My choices will be based on those books whose words, beauty, whimsy, imagination, or awesome-fun story have grabbed my family and stuck with us. I hope you’ll enjoy diving into the world of picture books with me for this month. If you’re not into children’s books, don’t abandon me for the month of October entirely — I’ll still be posting some adult book reviews, too.

The 31 Days of Picture Books series is under way. Check out the posts so far, and feel free to tell me about the books that transport you back to your childhood, whether you read them as a child or are reading them to your children now. I’m embracing the child that has grown but is still in me. Here’s your invitation to do the same.

All the 31 days Posts:

Day 1: Little Books, Lasting Memories

Day 2: Books for Little Ballerinas

Day 3: Bing Bong Bang and Fiddle Dee Dee: A Wise Book

Day 4: Our Friends Lily and Milo

Day 5: Saturday Picture Book Reading

Day 6: A Book to Banish My Sunday Pity Parties

Day 7: Grab Your Winter Coat Books

Day 8: Introducing Young Children to Art Through Picture Books

Day 9: Rags

Day 10: Finding Balance in the Fairy Tale Frenzy

Day 11: Pilgrims or Indians?