Books

Pesach (Passover) is upon us. It's Seder time folks! Just so you know, a Seder is a special (and specially long) meal which is accompanied by the reading of the Haggadah (the story of Passover). And a lengthy meal can only yield squirmy kids. Of course kids play a huge role in the success of a Seder, but one worries if all the symbolism and customs are lost on the littlest participants?

Since the rain, rain isn't going away in our near future I've been digging deep for simple projects that will keep my little one (and myself) from going looney. And because the downpours are ridiculously heavy I'm really hunting hard for projects that utilize items I already have on hand...Sorry kid, ain't no way mama is going out in THAT to get THOSE!

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday and NEA's National Read Across America Day One Pretty thing has put together a roundup of Seuss projects. It's a nice mix of how-to's, printables and recipes. Most ideas are easy and require very basic materials which you probably already have on hand.

It's a bag of learning and fun. Literally. Potato Chip Science kit (it's comes in a potato chip style bag) turns empty chip bags, tubes, and lids—plus spuds and chips—into a whole brain grab bag of experimental fun. Break open Potato Chip Science and munch your way through the areas of acoustics and aeronautics, forensics, and physiology. Feast on physics. Binge on biology and more. Discover the science behind world’s most miraculous munchie. It's great "for kids who like snacking on science." Sold!

When I was contacted by a press representative asking me if I'd like to review a copy of Mindy Avra Portnoy's new book A Tale of Two Seders I gladly accepted thinking it would be about the ways different families conduct Passover Seders. Boy was I wrong.

After being chewed on and read through over the past 10 years by our two voracious readers our worn out copy of Margaret Wise Brown's Good Night Moon has earned it's rightful place on our bookshelf.

J Otto Seibold's Olive, My Love contains all the best things about the holiday... Love, hearts, friendship, adventure, chocolates and dogs. Such a fun Valentine's Day book we had to mention it twice!

Read more about this fun Valentine's Day story here. Happy Valentine's Day!

A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. continues to be one of my favorite books about the great civil rights hero and I love reading it to my kids each January.

We seem to be giving a nice amount of books as holiday gifts this year. And although a book is a treasure in itself I thought it would be kinda fun to tuck a little extra something in between the pages of the books. That's when I came across this photo bookmark tutorial from Craft contributor Christine Koh.

I really do love children's holiday books. We fill our humble living space with decorations and a full basket of themed books we've collected over the years. At this point we have such a nice collection of books for each holiday that we are, perhaps, even slightly more excited about the books than the decorations.