50 Awesome Children's Books for Young Readers

Right around the time I got my first job as a camp counselor, I started collecting children's books. I was 14 years old at the time. By the time I had Jackson in 2010, I had an impressive collection of children's books. I even asked my dad to build a bookshelf for Jackson that I designed. He did, and that's where we store all of our children's books.

So, it's safe to say that I LOVE children's books. I love everything about them. Especially the ones with great pictures, and rhyming words.

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." -Emilie Buchwald

We read to Jackson every single night before bed. It's something we all look forward to. & we all have our favorites and take turns picking books out. It's such a special family activity to us, and sends a great message to our son.

I have put together a list of must-reads for your young child.

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
2. Edwina the Dinosaur who didn't know she was Extinct by Mo Willems
3. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (And other Dr. Suess books) by Dr. Suess
4. My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis
5. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld
6.  Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri
7. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
8. The Napping House by Audrey Wood
9. Moosetache by Margie Palatini
10. Llama Llama Red Pajama (And other Llama Llama books) by Anna Dewdney
11. The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
12. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
13. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
14. We're Going On a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen
15. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd
16. This is your Hair By Tood Parr
17. HICCUPotomus by Aaron Zenz
18. Someday by Allison McGhee
19. Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Scott Magoon
20. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (And other If You Give... books) by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond
21. I'll See You In the Morning by Mike Jolley and Mique Moriuchi
22. Diary of a Worm (And other Diary of... books) by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss
23. The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane Derolf and Michael Letzig
24. Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
25. Mrs.McBloom, Clean up your Classroom! by Kelly Di Pucchio and Guy Francis
26. Mrs. Wishy Washy's Farm by joy Cowley and Elizabeth Fuller
27. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
28. Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne More
29. Corduroy by B.G. Hennesy and Jody Wheeler
30. Roadwork by Sally Sutton and Brian Lovelock
31. Snowmen At Night (and other Snowmen books) by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner
32. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram
33. The Goodnight Train by June Sobel and Laura Huliska-Beith
34. There's a Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz
33. Curious George by H.A. Rey
34. The Potty Train by David Hochman
35. How Do Dinosaurs Say I love You? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
36. Oh No, Little Dragon! by Jim Averbeck
37. The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman
38. God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren
39. On The Night That You Were Born by Nancy Tillman
40. Baby Beluga (And other Raffi books) by Raffi
41. What Makes a Rainbow? By Betty Ann Schwartz and Dona Turner
42. Hands Are Not For Hitting (And other books from the Best Behavior Series) by Maritne Agassi Ph.D.
43. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
44. Willow by Denise Brennan-Nelson
45. Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
46. Bedtime is Cancelled by Cece Meng and Aurelie Neyret
47. Hippopotamus Stew by Joan Horton and JoAnn Adinolfi
48. Stone Soup by Ann Mcgovern and Winslow Pinney Pels
49. Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
50. Little Blue Truck by Alice Achertle and Jill McElmurry

So, go check some books out at the library, or order them from amazon.com! Books ALWAYS make great gifts! As always, read, read, read!

Also, which books from this list are your favorites? What are your favorite children's books not on this list? We are always searching for new books! Please share!

The Best Wake Up Call {Ever}

I have the sweetest boy in the world. 

At some point in the night, Jackson sneaked into our bed, right in the middle of Kyle and I. I normally hear him come in. Last night, I did not. 

He likes to some times sleep with out a shirt on- like Daddy- and waking up to see his little bare arms with their disappearing baby fat pockets in the middle of the night was priceless.

Around 7:45am, I was woken by a soft sweet kiss on my neck, and the words "hi mamawuv".

I call him babylove sometimes, and one day he responded by calling me mamalove. It melts my heart every time. I adore it. 

Please, let him stay as sweet as he is now. 

12 things I miss about Breastfeeding

Our Jackson was born in 2010 and I had always known I wanted to nurse my babies. Despite some having their doubts, I nursed our little boy full time, round the clock until he was 18 months. It was wonderful, other than the persistent thrush I had to battle for almost all of the 18 months. Sometimes I think back to our nursing times, and miss it deeply. I threw together a list of what exactly I miss for this post. My hope is that new moms who are struggling with nursing will read this, and it will give them the strength to push through the tough times. (I am in no way telling someone they are less of a mother if they don’t nurse their baby. But sometimes all someone needs is a little encouragement. You can do this).

12 Things I miss about Breastfeeding:

1. Midnight snuggles- Even though I complained about having to wake up in the middle of the night, and it got old after a few months, I miss it now that it’s gone. It really wasn’t that bad, because I got used to it after a while.

2. Being the sole nutrition and food source for my baby- When I was nursing, I loved being the only person who could feed my baby. I rarely pumped because I didn’t need to, and because I could never pump much. I loved that the food I was feeding my baby was fresh from the tap, and whole, and personalized to his needs. Now that he is 3, and I have to actually prepare and keep track of what he is eating it’s so much harder to make sure he’s getting everything he needs.

3. Milky baby smiles- The best thing in the world to me was watching my baby pause to smile at me while he was nursing. It was so sweet!

4. The convenience- There was no packing of snacks, and bottles or cups when I was nursing. It was grab a few diapers, wipes, and go. I loved not having to wash bottles, or prepare anything beforehand for a trip.

5. That I could sooth him, and calm him down instantly- If he was upset, hurt, scared, or overwhelmed, all I had to do was nurse him, and he was instantly calm. Now it takes a lot more patience and mental capacity to curve a tantrum, or make a boo boo better.

6. Weight loss- When I was nursing, I was the smallest I had ever been. I ate as much as I wanted, and looked good. Now, I’ve gained some of it back, and have to watch what I eat. That’s not fun.

7. Being sick didn’t last so long- When my baby had a cold I would just nurse him constantly, and he would be cleared up in no more than 3 days. Now it can sometimes take up to a week before the yuckies are out of his system.

8. The many many uses for breast milk- Breast milk is good for so many things. I used it to clear up pink eye, and an ear infection. I used it to heal cuts, and to moisturize skin. It’s like a cure all. It’s a wonder that doctors don’t prescribe breast milk as the treatment for many ailments. Really.

9. The conversations- When I was nursing people were constantly asking me questions about my thoughts, my experience, how it works, and many other things. I always tried to use those times to educate people about the benefits of breastfeeding. I honestly believe that many stereotypes are because people just don’t understand how it works, and it’s not “normal” to them because they haven’t been exposed to it enough.

10. The boobs- I loved my boobs while nursing! Now they are just a saggy mess.

11. It was an excuse to keep my baby close to me- If we were out in public, or with a big group of people and I didn’t want someone holding my baby, I would sometimes just say I needed to nurse him. It worked like a charm every time. My baby also got over stimulated very easily and wanted to be close to me, so it worked out perfectly.

12. The rest- I thought nursing was hard work. Until I had a busy toddler who could talk, run away from me, and was too smart for his own good. Now that’s hard work. I’d be so grateful to be able to sit down for 10 minutes every hour to cuddle my child. I try now, and he just runs away.

I hope that reading my precious memories has touched different mothers in different types of ways. For the mothers who are currently nursing, I hope it highlighted the need to cherish every nursing minute with your little one. It does pass so quickly. & for the alumni nursers, I hope it has made you think of the precious moments and countless hours you spent nursing your little nurslings however long ago that was. 

Tell me, what do you miss about nursing your little one? What is your most precious memory?

Being Mommy

Today is Tuesday, so this is my first parenting post. {Yay!}

I thought it would be fitting to tell all my new readers a bit about motherhood from my view in the world.

//I am the mother of a 3 year old little boy, named Jackson. I'm sure any mother can relate when I say my son is my world. He's my biggest on-going project, and I fully intend to get a good grade on this roller coaster of a project. He is an amazing little boy, full of wonder, and more life than I've ever seen in a person.

//We spend all of our days together, playing, exploring, and learning new things about each other. Jackson is so much fun, and keeps every day different and interesting.

//I never know whether to describe myself as a working mom or a stay at home mom. I work part time as a nanny, but I never have to leave my son. He gets to come to work with me! How cool is that? We really do have the best of both worlds. For now at least.

//During the school year I go to school somewhere in between full time and part time depending on the semester. I major in Elementary Education. Hopefully I will be starting my first year teaching the same year Jackson starts kindergarten. Then we can still enjoy summers together. 

//Some days being a mother is HARD. But I was put on this earth to be a mother. I always knew it & most days I can't get enough of it. It is the hardest, most rewarding job I have ever had. I can't wait to see what kind of person he grows to be. 

I'd love to know what your thoughts on this post are. I'd also love to hear any suggestions for posts you'd like to read about. Please give me you suggestions.

xxxx

Elizabeth