HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING...

Here in Vancouver, there has been record breaking snowfall this winter and today, the kids and I are taking a snow day! I couldn't think of better book to bring out than Over and Under the Snow written by Kate Messner. This book is not only beautiful (the texture and thickness of the pages is just perfect in my opinion), it is a special story all about what is happening under the snow while we exist above it.

Here is a page from the book:

I love books that explain concepts to children in just the right way and this book does just that in explaining that animals eat, sleep, hide and play over and under the snow. Today we are going to go outside to find squirrels, birds and see if we can find traces of what might be happening under all of this snow. It might never snow this much again here so it seems like the perfect opportunity!

At the end of the book, there is an index with pictures of the animals you meet in the book and factual information about what these animals do to survive during the winter. My 5-year-old twins love this type of information and I'm sure older kids would too.

I love setting up little invitations to play for the kids like the one below with these wooden toys and seeing where their imaginations take them to re-enact the stories we've read or experiences we've had.

Have you seen this concept in a book before? Any other must read ones for winter and snow? I'd love to hear in the comments below!

LOOKING FOR MORE BOOK IDEAS? TRY THESE!

MY COLOR IS RAINBOW

MINDFUL 1,2,3

STORY BOX SUBSCRIPTION

HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING...

Have you ever stumbled across something that makes your heart skip a little beat? That you look at and are blown away by? That makes you feel like you just HAVE to share it with your friends? This gorgeous book, Mindful 1, 2, 3, written and illustrated by Tamara Hackett of Sweet Clover Studios did just that for me. I LOVE it...and am so excited to share the creativity, beautiful words and dreamy watercolour illustrations with you!

When I received the book, I opened it to find the sweetest words to go along with a simple concept of counting and numbers. Tamara's mission is to create purpose-filled resources for children and educators and this book is the perfect tool to initiate conversations about mindful moments in life, all while counting numbers! I found that my shoulders relaxed a little and my own mind switched to calm with each page I turned. When I read it to the kids the next day, they seemed to feel the same way. 

Here is an example of number 3, a page filled with words every child would love to hear.

Not only an enriching book unlike any counting book I've come across before, it looks beautiful on the bookshelf along with other treasures in the girls room too!!!

Tamara has kindly shared a freebie to go along with the book that I'm sure your kids would love. If you are interested in purchasing the book, you can find both the hardcover version and softcover versions below.

Buy the hardcover here!

Buy the softcover here!

I'd love to hear your thoughts...are you enjoying the new column about books we love? 

IF YOU LIKED THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS TOO!

MY COLOR IS RAINBOW

OVER & UNDER THE SNOW

HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING...

When I became a Mom, I found that my love and passion for books and reading with my children grew. They loved books as babies and continue to love the time we read together now too. Watching the kids form ideas and develop stories and role play around the books we read continually fascinates me and brings so much joy. 

Why books? Why literacy? Here's why.

When I worked a corporate job, I had the chance to travel a lot, meet clients from so many industries and generally become fascinated with so many different businesses. One of my clients was a coal seam gas company whose business had exploded. They had found resources, built a business that went from 4 founding members to a team of 500 within 2 years! It was an exciting project and I was involved in writing a strategy for them for learning and development. What does this have to do with literacy? A lot actually. What I found astounded me. Here we were in one of the most developed countries in the world and the spread of education ranged from PhD graduates all the way to workers who were illiterate. Some people could NOT read the safety documents. It was the first time I truly understood the significance of literacy for every child everywhere.

As I mentioned in my post about what's coming up this year, I am so excited to share this new series on the blog where I'll be sharing books that we love, from my kids (and me!) to yours. 

I hope you find some inspiration to pick up a book and sit down with your little one and explore the story's imaginative world together.

In launching this column, I wanted to share a brand new book written by the incredibly talented Agnes from my favourite creative kids site hello, Wonderful and beautifully illustrated by Yuliya Gwylim. The book is called My Color is Rainbow and is a story about love and acceptance. The story follows 'little white arch' as he takes a journey to discover his true colours. As he ventures through the pages, he discovers that life really is about all of the different experiences and emotions that we encounter.

Doesn't the book look so cute on our new playroom shelves? When I read the book with the kids, we talked about the different emotions that played out through the book and what made them feel these emotions. Below is a collection of the things that represent what the kids decided make them feel calm (art, nature, being outside, family, and music).

There have been some incredible projects made over the past week or two to tie in with the launch of this book, including this Rainbow Magic Trick and this Rainbow Paper Ball Garland as well as many others that you can find on the hello, Wonderful Instagram page.

My Color is Rainbow can be purchased through Amazon.com or through Plaeful. 

STORY TIME WITH THE STORY BOX

Anyone who has been following along for a while knows that I am an active advocate of literacy in young children. So, it comes as no surprise that I LOVE this new subscription to books delivered for kids. Say hello to The Story Box! When I was young, my house was full of books and when I had my own children, I knew I wanted the same. These days, we are so lucky to have so many ways to get books into our homes, without even entering a book shop. 

This subscription is online based and the ordering process is straight forward. There are three packages to choose from: the board box package, the picture box package or the family package. When the box arrived, I was not only impressed by the simple but lovely packaging, but also that each box is curated by a speech pathologist. A parent guide was included in our picture book package, which detailed things to do with your kids while reading the books as well as an add on idea for a craft after you've read the books. Genius!

The kids LOVE opening packages and this one really feels like a present. The books are high quality and all three kids instantly fell in love with Hooray for Hat, with Xavier quickly picking up the line, "Go away, I'm grumpy" with the biggest smile on his face. 

Not only fun for your own kids, The Story Box offers such a great idea for a gift subscription for any favourite little one in your life.

The Story Box has kindly offered to share the code READ for US$5 off the first order. Please note that shipping is currently only available within the United States.

* This post was created in affiliation with The Story Box. All words and photos are my own.