Your Baby’s First Library Essentials

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Having your first child brings a multitude of checklists including but not limited to: finding a pediatrician, choosing hospital bag items, determining theme of nursery items, making a registry …on and on it seems to go. 

I’ve decided to make one list for you: Your Baby’s First Library List!

Below are around 30 essential books to starting a home library for your new baby. For more seasonal selections see my other posts via the search bar on the bottom right of the screen. For everyday reading, which is essential to the cognitive and linguistic growth of your baby, not to mention the bonding time that reading provides, you’ll want to snag a copy or two of these. 

As a small side note, I’ve opened up my own bookshop over on Instagram! I would love for you to do some of your shopping with me. You can find me here: Brooke’s Bookshop  

Feel free to make requests for books that you would love for me to find! 

Happy Reading!

 

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Picture Books to Jump Start Second Language Learning

Have you ever wanted to teach your children Spanish but were’t sure where to start? That’s exactly how I felt the beginning of this summer. 

Our family’s quest to learn Spanish all began with my oldest’s daughter’s prompting.  I asked a few homeschooling friends what they used and they suggested Duo Lingo and so she commenced her studies using this free online program. Next, I remembered a podcast in which a guest suggested using picture books to teach second languages, so I begin grabbing all the picture books with Spanish text I could find. Now the whole family, particularly my two year old daughter, is using our new, though limited, Spanish vocabulary throughout the day! 

Here is a list of our favorite picture books along with a few chapter books to get your family started learning Spanish in a fun and informal way. I intentionally chose books sprinkled with the language, but you can find many of your favorite picture books entirely translated into Spanish. Here is a good place to look. Let me know if there are any books you recommend.  Gracias! 

Juana & Lucas is a delightful chapter book filled with Spanish words that tell of a young girl learning English in school. 

Esperanza Rising, written by Pam Munoz Ryan, is a beautiful coming of age story dealing with migrant workers in California.  I loved listening to the audio recording of this book for pronunciation of the beautiful Spanish words speckled throughout the book. 

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Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Booklist: Medieval History to The Gulf War

Welcome all Classical Conversation families! Additionally, welcome to homeschooling families that use this list to supplement their medieval history study!

A few notes about the arrangement of books in this post:

    1. This booklist is a tool and not a checklist! Please use it to supplement your morning time routines or studies of CC memory work.
    2. My family will not read all these books listed each week. Instead, this will be a reference list for me to utilize in weekly book selections and in chapter book read alouds or read alones.
    3. The pictured links in the twenty-four week lists are arranged by picture books first followed by chapter book selections.
    4. Additional chapter books, audio books, missionary studies, and fine arts books, including a poetry section, are listed after the twenty-four week suggestions. 
    5. I will not be providing a download of this list, but encourage you to write these suggestions in under the Memoria section of your Foundations Guides.

It is my hope that this list proves to be a wonderful resource for your family enabling you to make memories around the shared experience of reading great books. Enjoy!

*All links below are affiliate links.

Week 1:

What Really Happened In Medieval Times is a wonderful resource filled with 8 biographical short stories on figures such as: Joan of Arc, Saint Patrick, Martin Luther, and more.

Week 2:

 

Geography: English Channel

Week 3:

Geography Selections: France

I Juan de Pareja is a chapter book set in Spain and based on a true story. This is one you will want to read to the entire family ages 8/9 and up! A personal favorite of mine.

Week 4:

 

Week 5:

The Book of Boy holds some religious beliefs that you may want to clarify or discuss. Perhaps it is a good one to read like a book club with your older students such as 5th and 6th grade. Check out this review over at Redeemed Reader. 

Timeline:

Week 6:

Week 7:

Week 8:

Week 9:

Geography Selections:

Week 10:

Geography Selections:

Week 11:

I was unable to find many resources on the French Revolution, with the exception of the two chapter books listed above (one of which was suggested by a reader), so I have opted to provide more books featuring France instead.  Please  leave  your  suggestions  in  the  comments  section. I welcome them!

 

Week 12:

Week 13:


Week 14:

Week 15:

Week 16:


Week 17:

Week 18:

Week 19:

A Single Shard is one of my all-time favorite books. Perfect for a meaningful read aloud!

Week 20:

Inside Out and Back Again is a book written in prose. The protagonist is based on the author’s real life experience moving to Alabama as a refugee after Vietnam. This book will provide many good discussion points about the treatment of people who are different from us in nationality, traditions, and religion. Check out Redeemed Reader’s post for discussion questions! 

I suggest these two incredible books by Gary Schdmidt for read alouds. The Wednesday Wars for upper elementary and middle school, and the second for middle school due to sensitive content. These are two of my very favorite books! The Wednesday Wars ties in Shakespeare as well which is a bonus!

Week 21:

My Brigadista Year is a coming of age story set in Cuba just before the Bay of Pigs. Probably a good fit for 5th or 6th graders knowing that propaganda is woven in the story as a reality of the time and setting. However, I loved this story because it tells how Cuba became a literate nation in such a short amount of time. You can read more about this book over at Common Sense Media. 


Week 22:

Week 23:

Week 24:

 

Audio Resources:

Additional chapter books to read aloud or to read alone:

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is the first of a four book series by Andrew Peterson. Read more about the series here The entire set is found in this book:

 

 

Missionary Biographies set during or just after WWII:

Supplemental Geography:

Books about our Great Artists:

 

Music for Composers Study:

Poetry:

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Picture Book Biographies of 30 Influential Americans

Picture books pack a punch for the whole family. Yes, even your teenagers! The beautiful illustrations and text with rich vocabulary targets a wide age range which is especially good for larger families. With picture books, you gain a great overview of a topic in a very short amount of time. Plus, if something or someone particularly peaks your interest, now you have a springboard from which to find more books on that topic. 

Since summer is quickly approaching, I have compiled a list of 30 picture book biographies of influential Americans, most likely many of whom you have never heard of before. Head to your local library or the Amazon links below and choose which people of American History you most want your family to learn about this summer. From artists to architects, authors to library advocates,  computer programmers to female firefighters, and inventors to scientists almost all fields of interest are covered!   

Below you will find the biographies listed in chronological order and divided into women and men. Enjoy your summer read aloud time!

Evolutionary time frames mentioned.

For more picture book biographies please see this post on the Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire books and this post on Kadir Nelson’s books. 

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New Books for Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is the perfect time to treat your mom, or any special woman in your life, to a new book, a gift card to her favorite restaurant, and a heartfelt handwritten note.

Here are some recently published books that I recommend. Each book focuses on women while providing back stories and behind the scenes looks at some of our most beloved stories including: Little House, Anne of Green Gables, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and the wife of C.S. Lewis. I devoured each of these books and hope you and the women in your life will eat them up as well. Happy Mother’s Day!

What new books would you recommend?

 

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Gifts for Your Easter Baskets

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While the truest gift of Easter cannot fit in a basket, I always look forward to a few carefully chosen items to bless our children with Easter Sunday morn. This year I am completely excited about the stunning coloring books I’ve linked in this post. In fact, I’ve already ordered two for our home! Additionally, below are some wonderful books that speak of spring and joy and hope. It is my desire that you either find a few items of your own here or inspiration for items to add to your baskets as you create memories this Easter Season. 

Let me add, the weeks leading up to Easter find our family reading through a pile of books, many of which are listed in this post: Twelve Books to Celebrate Easter With Your Family.  The memories that we build around these books, yearly traditions, and the gospel message are ones I hope will last long after gifts in Easter baskets are forgotten and all the chocolate eggs gobbled away. 

All ages:


 

 

Two of our kids share a room, which makes reading after bedtime a bit of a challenge. These little book lights are an easy solution. One is on its way to my door to pop in a basket of our own. 


Little Boy and Girl:

Elementary to Middle Grade Boys and Girls:

Spring is in full bloom. What about some resources to explore creation?

Handicrafts:


Missionary biographies and some favorite books for spring:


What are some of your Easter basket essentials?

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10 Children’s Book Illustrators You Should Know: Tomie DePaola and Ingri & Edgar Parin D’Aulaire

As we end this series, I must say that narrowing my choice to only ten children’s book illustrators you should know is more of a difficult task than you might presume. I have at least three others I could recommend to you, but alas, I will keep to the ten I initially promised and provide you with one for whimsy and one for historical content to finish up.

First up, Tomie DePaola. Tomie Depaola was born in 1934 in Connecticut. He has illustrated and or written over 260 children’s books. His work has won numerous awards including the Newberry Honor Award and the Caldecott Honor Award as well as the Smithsonian Medal from the Smithsonian Institute.

I love Mr. Depaola’s childlike illustrations for their vibrant colors, their fun spirited appeal, and their friendliness. His autobiographical stories are my very favorite and are sure to tickle your funny bone! Here are a few for you to enjoy:


Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire were a husband and wife team who immigrated to America from Europe shortly after their marriage. They were both born at the dawn of the 20th century and both passed away in the 1980’s. Ingri and Edgar collaborated on the art and text of all their works including their incredible biographical accounts, one of which, Abraham Lincoln, earned them a Caldecott Medal. The couple traveled and studied extensively for their biographical accounts making these children’s books notable for historical context in addition to the stunning stone lithograph illustrations.




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10 Children’s Book Illustrators You Should Know: Kadir Nelson and Sophie Blackall

Today’s first children’s book illustrator that you should know is perhaps the most talented illustrator among the ten I am highlighting throughout this series. Kadir Nelson, an American artist born in 1974, is most widely known for his stunning oil paintings capturing African American history. His oil paintings have been displayed throughout the world and his art work commissioned by Sports Illustrated, The Coca-Cola Company, The United States Postal Company, and Major League Baseball to name a few.  He has authored and illustrated several books and illustrated for multiple authors, including former President Barack Obama. 

Kadir Nelson has won multiple awards many times over including the Coretta Scott King Award and the Caldecott Award to name just two. Here are my favorite of his works. Perfect selections for February as we celebrate Black History Month and President’s Day. The pictures are feasts for the eyes and the historical content is rich for discussion.  

 

Sophie Blackall, originally born in Australia but now residing in Brooklyn, New York, is a two time Caldecott award winning illustrator. She is also the recipient of other awards including the Era Jack Keats Award, Society of Illustrators Founders Award, Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book, and New York Times Top Ten Picture Book. 

My family, from youngest to oldest, immediately fell in love with the stunningly illustrated book, Hello Lighthouse, and the charming story, Finding Winnie. Additionally, the beauty and richness of A Fine Dessert: One Dessert Over Four Centuries, captured our history and baking loving older children. Ms. Blackall has illustrated a few multicultural books including Ruby’s Wish and Big Red Lollipop highlighting Chinese and Pakistani culture respectively. Parent warning: The Baby Tree is a book to be read with a child when they are ready to know where babies really come from. So please, don’t plop down with this picture book until you are ready to answer this question with anatomically correct terminology. However, when you are ready, this book may prove the perfect choice for your child!

Here are our favorite selections illustrated by Sophie Blackall, a children’s book author and illustrator you and your family should know. 







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10 Children’s Book Illustrators You Should Know: Garth Williams

If you grew up loving the Little House books, Stuart Little, The Cricket in Time’s Square, or Charlotte’s Web, then you’ve had the pleasure of knowing today’s illustrator, Garth Williams. Garth Williams, noted as one of the most important children’s book illustrators in American history, was born in New York City in 1942. He studied in London and then moved back to the states post war, ultimately closing out his time on earth in 1996 while residing in Mexico. He illustrated more than 80 books in his lifetime many iconic in American Children’s Literature. Here are some of our favorites:



Also, this book looks like a good read, I can’t wait to check this one out for myself!

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10 Children’s Illustrators You Should Know: Tasha Tudor and Robert McCloskey


I am delighted to share with you this weeks two artists in our series of 10 children’s illustrators you should know: Tasha Tudor and Robert McCloskey.

The whimsy and old-world feel of Tasha Tudor’s works are what first captured my attention and eventually won my heart. Tasha Tudor’s artwork appears in over one hundred different titles published world-wide. Additionally, she both wrote and illustrated more than two dozen published texts of her own. 

Born in 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts, Mrs. Tudor primarily resided in New England all of her life, working their to her last years until her death in 2008. Tasha Tudor was a gifted artist who captured special moments, called upon remembrances of days gone-by, and cultivating the hearts and imaginations of generations past, present, and yet to come. I hope you enjoy some of my favorites of her works here.


Some author illustrators hold a sentimental place in our hearts. Robert McCloskey is one of those for me. I can hardly pass up a copy of Blueberries for Sal or Make Way for Ducklings, and will not indulge you by telling you how many copies I have owned or presently own of both these books.

Robert McCloskey was born in 1914 in Hamilton, Ohio. An artist from the start, McCloskey could play many instruments, carve and sculpt figures from soap bars to tree trunks, and would later, after publishing his first two books, serve as a technical sergeant based at Fort McClellan, Alabama during World War II. During the middle of war, McCloskey published his third book, Homer Price, one which I would recommend for boys of all ages to love and laugh over. Robert McCloskey died in 2003, leaving a lasting legacy for children the world over. 

McCloskey won two Caldecott Award Metals for his illustrations or Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings, and he both wrote and illustrated seven books of his own amid providing the illustrations for many other works. Here are a few of my very favorite of Mr. McCloskey’s books.


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