6 New Book Lover's Favorites

Our family loves books.

It almost seems to be written into our DNA. My Gran wrote books, my mom was a voracious reader, my brother studied journalism and has written a book of poetry, I... taught kids how to read? Lol. The point is - we love books! So today is for us. Today is National Book Lovers Day!

So here are some of my "new" favorite children's books! 

1. Home by Carson Ellis                                   

As a family for whom the concept of "home" can be a little fluid or even confusing at times, this book is a great reminder that homes look different for everyone. It is beautifully illustrated - so much so, that I actually have it displayed, rather than hiding on a shelf. It invokes a kind of thoughtfulness, which I appreciate. 

2. We Are The Gardeners by Joanna Gaines

Yes, I'm on the Joanna Gaines bandwagon, and I don't care! We love this book and how it sweetly follows a family's journey into the ups and downs of gardening. Since we read the book, my son has been on the lookout for worms, a.k.a. detectives of the soil. Again, this book has lovely illustrations in somewhat muted colors.

3. Island Boy by Barbara Cooney

This is the perfect book for those of you out there with boys who have sensitive souls. It paints a beautiful picture of a full and simple life lived by the ocean. I'm a sucker for illustrations, and once again the pictures are breathtaking. We have this book up on a (reachable) shelf in our son's room, and I often catch my eyes resting on the face of the sweet boy on the cover.

4. BabyLit Sense and Sensibility

We really love the BabyLit books! They are board book primers based on some of the classics - such as The Jungle Book, Sherlock Holmes, Emma, The Secret Garden, etc. Each one has a theme, such as "opposites" or "numbers". I honestly can't recommend these highly enough!

5. The Honeybee and the Robber by Eric Carle

I am a big fan of Eric Carle! When starting to plan our little girl's 1st birthday party, I knew I wanted it centered around one of his books, just like her big brother's. I'm on kind of a "honeybee" kick, so I was thrilled to find this interactive book! I don't think it's been printed many times, as I was only able to find used ones of it on Amazon. The copy I bought was in wonderful shape, looked as good as new!

6. She Persisted Around the World by Chelsea Clinton

I was so thrilled when my mom got this book for us! I loved the original She Persisted, and was eager to read the "Around the World" edition. I was very happy to see Malala Yousafzai, one of my personal heroes in it. This is a terrific book for both boys and girls, to see the kind of impact you can have when you won't take "no" for an answer.

So, there you have it. From one bibliophile to hopefully another - what are some of your favorite books you've recently discovered? 

Early literacy is so important. There are numerous studies that show that children who are exposed to books from a young age grow up to be stronger readers, more empathetic, have a healthy imagination, and enjoy reading into their adulthood.

Reading allows us, as well as our children to travel to places they couldn't otherwise. It teaches them to look at people and situations from a different point of view. It opens their minds to new possibilities - what a beautiful gift to give our children.

So, celebrate today by curling up with a new book, or an old favorite. You can't go wrong. 

Secret Garden Nursery

It would seem that we are just about a month away from the arrival of our little girl!  Since we found out, we have been busy making all the necessary arrangements, most notably - turning Dan's office into a nursery.  The rooms in our apartment are what Europeans call "youth rooms", which means they're on the smaller side.  All that means, is that it forces you to be more creative with how you fill the space - a challenge we readily accepted!

For the nursery theme, we started out with an Anne of Green Gables/Secret Garden idea in mind - which kind of evolved into gray and white, with wood and floral accents.  It's easy get "cluttery", especially in a small room, and especially with kids' stuff.  So with everything, we tried to use things that were multi-functional.  The nursing sofa, for example opens up into a twin sized bed - perfect for fussy nights, or when grandma comes to visit!  The changing table is actually a dresser, the rug is also a play mat, the diaper caddy will also be functional after being a diaper caddy, the shelf is also a closet (of sorts), the baby gym easily folds up, etc.  Okay, enough stalling... here are some pictures!

All we're missing now is the baby!  I have to say, my favorite things in her room are the shelf with the branch, the wreath, her name art, the dolls in the rocking chair, the parasol, baby gym, blankets and play mat.  Okay, all of it, lol!  We're ready for you, baby girl!

Here's a list of where we got some of her treasures:

Crib, sofa, book shelf, diaper caddy, dresser - IKEA
Floral mobile wreath - Alison Michel on Etsy
Ljubljana city scape print - GUD Shop
Beloved pillow - Little Fruit Tree Shop on Etsy
Baby gym - my mom has a friend who is a carpenter, and he built the frame for us.  We specifically asked that it would be collapsable, and that the center rod would come out - this way we could take the toys off to be used in other situations as well.
Baby gym hanging toys - Baby Dreamland Toys on Etsy
Clothes hanging shelf - the white shelf part is from IKEA.  The same carpenter then drilled holes in the shelf.  We found a branch we liked, stained it, drilled holes in that too, and attached it with hemp rope.
Baby Lit Books - Baby Lit
Blonde doll and "Jocelyn Rose" needle work - PjulcsY - she is a Hungarian doll maker, and I just love her dolls' sweet faces!
Blanket, flower-shaped swaddle and play mat - Elodie Details
Three "ladies" sitting in rocking chair, and dolls on bookshelf- made by my mom, based off of Tilda doll patterns.
"Have Courage" sign - I painted it.
Little Bird Wreath - Babushka's Boutique
Sheet and changing pad cover - Burt's Bees