HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING

It's that time of year again where we are reading more books. We read books at bedtime every night all year but now they start to creep into our routine at other times too (waiting in the car, after school downtime, weekend mornings). It Starts with a Seed is a new favourite book in our house this Autumn that we are all in love with!

With both magical illustrations and lovely words, the book walks through the journey of how a tiny seed becomes a home to creatures, grows leaves and becomes a beautiful tree. The colours and stages scream Autumn but truly this book captures all of the seasons and lasts throughout the whole year. 

You can find this gorgeous book on Amazon in the US here or in Canada here. You can also find at your local neighbourhood bookstore. Happy Thursday friends!!

GIVEAWAY {WITH LOST MY NAME BOOKS}

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED...

It's GIVEAWAY time!!!

You know I love a good kids' book and these ones are INCREDIBLE. Lostmy.name is a company that creates magical books for children that incorporate a child's name and turns them into the centre of the story! You may have heard of the adventurous tale of The Boy Who Lost His Name, or The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home and The Kingdom of You and if not, head over to their site and check them out! 

When our kids saw their name in the books, they really were blown away. "How did you do that Mommy?", "How did the author know my name?" were a couple of questions that quickly followed. As a Mom, other than fascinating my kids, I love the story lines and the lovely quality of the pages.

Well, today we are GIVING away not one, but THREE of these beautiful stories to three lucky winners! Head over to my Instagram page to see all of the contest details and tag your friends!!!

Giveaway closes Friday June 30th. Winner will be announced on the blog and also on Instagram. Good luck friends!!!

HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING...

Here in Vancouver, Spring STILL hasn't fully arrived but I am fully embracing it here on the blog! One of our newest books is a special one perfect for Spring, called BEE that Xavier was given for his 4th birthday, a few weeks back. This book is a lovely start to Spring themed books with every page bursting with flowers in scenes of the outdoors, as well as...bees!

The story takes a journey through the bustling life of a bee; kids will love the little peek through holes and searching for the ladybug on each page while parents will love the educational aspect associated with teaching kids about the importance of nature and the role of the bee in our world. 

Beautifully illustrated with rhyming throughout, BEE comes highly recommended from our bookshelf to yours!

You can buy BEE at your local bookstore or by clicking here. Happy Thursday friends!

See other books we love...

MINDFUL 1,2,3

OVER & UNDER THE SNOW

MY COLOR IS RAINBOW

HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING...

Books that spark the imagination always stand out for me as a Mom. I adore Tap the Magic Tree for the creativity, beautiful illustrations and for the different way it presents a simple concept of seasons. This book is engaging, truly magical and is one of our favourite books that comes out over and over again. 

The kids love this book for the fun way it engages them through interaction. Tap the magic tree ignites children's imaginations by asking for their involvement (brushes, taps and blows, etc.) and tells the journey of a tree through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

We have books all over our house; in the kids room, in the playroom and books seem to seep into our living room too! Although we read daily each evening before bed, I try to find other times to sneak in books too. Now that the girls are in school, I love picking up a book and reading together once we get home from preschool and school pickups and before dinner. I find it's a great way to reconnect and sit together. When do you read with your little ones? 

HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING...

Here in Vancouver, there has been record breaking snowfall this winter and today, the kids and I are taking a snow day! I couldn't think of better book to bring out than Over and Under the Snow written by Kate Messner. This book is not only beautiful (the texture and thickness of the pages is just perfect in my opinion), it is a special story all about what is happening under the snow while we exist above it.

Here is a page from the book:

I love books that explain concepts to children in just the right way and this book does just that in explaining that animals eat, sleep, hide and play over and under the snow. Today we are going to go outside to find squirrels, birds and see if we can find traces of what might be happening under all of this snow. It might never snow this much again here so it seems like the perfect opportunity!

At the end of the book, there is an index with pictures of the animals you meet in the book and factual information about what these animals do to survive during the winter. My 5-year-old twins love this type of information and I'm sure older kids would too.

I love setting up little invitations to play for the kids like the one below with these wooden toys and seeing where their imaginations take them to re-enact the stories we've read or experiences we've had.

Have you seen this concept in a book before? Any other must read ones for winter and snow? I'd love to hear in the comments below!

LOOKING FOR MORE BOOK IDEAS? TRY THESE!

MY COLOR IS RAINBOW

MINDFUL 1,2,3

STORY BOX SUBSCRIPTION