Books

I go through a cycle of "free-time" activities. For a while I read like a crazy person, then I may sew for a month or two, then make some cards, and start it all over again.

Recently, I've been reading. This is the easiest activity to do, as I don't have to drag out a sewing machine or stamping supplies.

A few of my recent (in the last year) favorites: [you can also find me on goodreads here. I'll let you go there for my reviews as well, but just know if I am posting it here, I loved it]

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Ruby Red Trilogy (reads like one long book) by Kerstin Gier

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

Princess Academy (re-read this one) and Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale

Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson

Tuesdays at the Castle and Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George

Hopefully you can have a few distracted hours! :)

A few of my favorite Christmas books

I'm not sure I could ever compile a list of Christmas books that is totally complete, but here are a few I pulled out of my Christmas box last night and sighed as I organized them. [in no particular order, just the order I pulled them out - all links are to Amazon, because I love them]

• Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright. A feel good story with a simple action that even the youngest of children can understand.  We all save our change for other things, why not to serve others?
• A Christmas Thief by Carol Lynn Pearson. Another classic feel good story, but I love how it centers around a nativity. 
• The Witch's Christmas by Norman Bridwell.  I love that witch.  I love her at Christmas.
• The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. This one I actually have two extra copies of and I'll send it to you if you need one of your own.  Love, love, love.
• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojceichowski.  I'm really hoping my kids will sit still for this one this year.  The illustrations are lovely and the story is too.  Another one about a nativity.  I'm a sucker for nativities.
• The Innkeeper's Wife by Lynda M. Wilson.  I love when I can relate to a story, and I can relate to this one. 
• The Other Wise Man by Henry van Dyke.  If you haven't read this one, you may as well just drop what you are doing now.
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. I assume you are not breathing if you don't know about this book.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. My mom actually tried to memorize this book one time.  Read it with that in mind next time and you'll understand why she chose a different book to memorize. :)

I'm missing so many, it is almost embarrassing.  So tell me, what is your favorite?

100 Children's Books

If there is one thing I could spend all of my money on, it is books.  Specifically children's books.  I love them.  I have to be even more diligent because Easton gets book orders now, best day ever.

 

I've been wanting to build up my children's library and have been scouring the internet for different children's book lists.  Caldecott winners, best books overall, etc.  I found this list published by Scholastic and thought it would be a great place to start. 

 

Books we own (and have read) are underlined and the ones I have read but do not own are in red. We do pretty decently with the top 50 and it goes downhill quickly from there.

 

I don't think any one list can contain all of my personal favorites, maybe I'll aspire to compile a list of my own...

 

1. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

2. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

4. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jacks Keats

5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

7. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

8. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

9. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

10. Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

11. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

12. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

13. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

14. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

15. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

16. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

17. Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt

18. When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan

19. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

20. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

21. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

22. Corduroy by Don Freeman

23. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

24. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

25. The Giver by Lois Lowry

26. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

27. Black on White by Tana Hoban

28. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

29. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

30. My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco

31. The Mitten by Jan Brett

32. The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

33. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

34. Swimmy by Leo Lionni

35. Freight Train by Donald Crews

36. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

37. The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don & Audrey Wood

38. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

39. Zen Shorts by John J. Muth

40. Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton

41. Matilda by Roald Dahl

42. What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

43. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

44. Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

45. The Composition by Antonio Skarmeta

46. Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

47. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

48. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

49. Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport

50. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

51. Sylvia Long's Mother Goose by Sylvia Long

52. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

53. The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

54. Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges

55. Smile! by Roberta Grobel Intrater

56. Living Sunlight by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm

57. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

58. Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull

59. Dear Juno by Soyung Pak

60. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes… by Annie Kubler

61. The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

62. Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin

63. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

64. My Truck Is Stuck! by Kevin Lewis

65. Birds by Kevin Henkes

66. The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

67. Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

68. Counting Kisses: A Kiss & Read Book by Karen Katz

69. The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks by Joanna Cole

70. Blackout by John Rocco

71. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

72. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

73. Tea With Milk by Allen Say

74. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

75. Holes by Louis Sachar

76. Peek-a Who? by Nina Laden

77. Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold

78. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

79. Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

80. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

81. Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman

82. Ivy + Bean by Annie Barrows

83. Yoko by Rosemary Wells

84. No No Yes Yes by Leslie Patricelli

85. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

86. Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

87. Rules by Cynthia Lord

88. Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

89. An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston

90. Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault

91. Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh

92. What Shall We Do With the Boo Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowell

93. We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States by David Catrow

94. I Took the Moon for a Walk by Carolyn Curtis

95. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

96. Gossie by Olivier Dunrea

97. The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

98. First Words by Roger Priddy

99. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman

100. Animalia by Graeme Base