Valentine's Day Picture Books for Kids that Adults will Love Too

Are you looking for a Valentine's Day book for your child?  How about one of these picture books?
Snowy Valentine by David Petersen

David Petersen's Mouse Guard books are so amazing that I didn't hesitate to buy his picture book debut about a bunny who searches the forest valley for the perfect Valentine's Day gift for his beloved Lilly.

Arthur's Valentine by Marc Brown

Arthur receives a Valentine message from a secret admirer.  When she sends him another message saying to meet him at the movie theatre, who could be waiting for him?



Fancy Nancy: Heart to Heart by Jane O'Connor (Author), Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator)

True to her name, everything about Valentine's Day is fancy for Fancy Nancy.  Help her follow the clues to find out who sent her a secret Valentine.




Please share some of your favourite Valentine's Day books for kids.

Celebrate the Year of the Dragon Part 1: Picture Book

In celebration of 2012 being the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar, in this series of posts I will recommend children's books featuring dragons, starting with picture books.

1.  "The Paperbag Princess" by Robert Munsch (Author) and Michael Martchenko (Illustrator)

In this hilarious tale, a dragon destroys Princess Elizabeth's castle, burns her clothes and snatches her fiancée, Prince Ronald.  Wearing only a paper bag, the resourceful princess sets off to find her prince.  She outwits the dragon and rescues the prince, who turns out to be no Prince Charming.

I have fond memories of this book which I owned as a child, along with a copy of Robert Munsch's "Mud Puddle" (both in miniature format, perfect for little hands).  My favourite part was, and still is, when Princess Elizabeth calls the spoiled Prince Ronald "a bum" (and rightfully so).

2.  "Merlin and the Dragons" by Jane Yolen (Author) and Li Ming (Illustrator)

Jane Yolen draws upon Arthurian legends in this book, which features Merlin telling a young King Arthur  a story about another boy who had a prophetic dream about battling dragons.

Chinese New Year Books for Kids

Celebrate the Chinese New Year on January 23, 2012 with one of these picture books (click on the covers to learn more):

Follow a Chinese American family as they get ready for the Lunar New Year in this colourful picture book for ages 3 and up.





This picture book for ages 3 and up tells about the preparations to be made for the Chinese New Year in rhyming couplets.  As the story is told, the book folds out like an accordion, revealing the parade's dancing dragon.



   In this original folktale for ages 6 and up, when a boy comes home from the market with an old wok instead of food, his parents worry they will have nothing to eat for their Chinese New Year's Eve dinner.  Then the wok rolls out of their house, and comes back with a wonderful surprise.


Does your family have a favourite Chinese New Year book that you'd like to share?  Please leave a comment below.

Winter Reads: Picture Books for Snowy Days

I remember the joy of waking up as a child to find that the outside world had been magically transformed by a snowfall during the night.

Here are some picture books that are perfect for snowy days (click on the pictures for more details):

1.  "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats  

A classic, award-winning children's book you may remember filling you with wonder when you were little.







2.  "The Snow Day" by Komako Sakai


A small rabbit is delighted to learn that kindergarten is closed due to the snow. But then he learned his daddy's flight home has been cancelled and he feels like he and his mommy are alone in the world (don't worry everything ends happily).


3.  "Just a Snowy Day" by Mercer Mayer
Follow Little Critter as he enjoys the perfect snowy day (comes with touch & feel, pull tabs, flaps and scratch & sniff):

New Year's Books for Children

Is one of your New Year's resolutions to read more to your kids?  Start by teaching them about the New Year with some of these books (click on the covers to learn more about each one):

Shanté discovers how different cultures celebrate the New Year when she sets out to borrow black-eyed peas from her neighbours.





 P. Bear invited all his friends for a fancy New Year's party.  As the clock strikes one, one whale arrives.  When the clock strikes two, two horses arrive.  As the countdown continues, your child will learn how to count and tell time.





Squirrel doesn't know what a New Year's resolution is.  Luckily Bear the librarian can tell her, and as she walks through the woods to think of one, she helps her animal friends along the way.




If you know of any good New Year's books, please share them by adding a comment.  Happy New Year!

Writing Prompts: Christmas Story Ideas

Do you want to write a Christmas-themed children's story?  Here are some ideas to help inspire you:

1.  A boy wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to discover that Santa has left presents, but the special homemade cookies he and his little sister left out for him were not eaten.  What if he hears a noise outside and chases after Santa to give him the cookies?  What if he hears his sister coming down the stairs and has to hide the cookies so she won't be disappointed too?   You decide what happens next.  

2.  On Christmas day, all the kids in town are crying because they all received coal in their stockings.  Some of the older children decide to travel to the North Pole and demand that Santa give proper gifts to the younger children.  When they get there, what do they find?  Do you think it was Santa who left the coal?  You decide what the answer is.

Christmas Book Picks Part 4: Novels

Christmas can still be a magical time of year for older children.  Click on the pictures below to learn more about some popular Christmas-themed novels:

Christmas Book Picks Part 3: Early Readers

Some Christmas chapter books for beginning readers (click on the photos to learn more):



Did your child enjoy these or other Christmas-themed early readers?  Please leave a comment below.

Christmas Book Picks Part 2 - Picture Books

What's your favourite Christmas picture book?  Below are some books to share with your children over the holidays (click on the pictures to learn more):

Christmas Book Picks Part 1 - Board Books

Time to start counting down the days until Christmas!

There are so many wonderful Christmas board books to choose from.  Click on the pictures to learn more about the following recommendations: