Winter Picture Books

Winter is officially here! Celebrate the season with your little ones with some of these lovely, recently published, wintery picture books.

Best in Snow by April Pulley Sayre
A non-fiction picture book with beautiful photographs showcasing the beauty of snow.


No Two Alike by Keith Baker
Two little red birds fly through a wintery scenes discovering unique elements along the way. This book is great for spotting similarities and differences.

Waiting for Snow by Marsha Diane Arnold
Most of us can relate to that feeling of waiting and waiting for the first snow fall. In this book a group of cute forest animals try their best to make it snow.


Into the Snow by Yuki Kaneko
A young child plays in the snow in this beautifully illustrated book.

When the Moon Comes by Paul Harbridge
A gorgeous new book about a group of kids anxiously awaiting the perfect cold night to play hockey on the frozen lake.


Pablo in the Snow by Teri Sloat
A fully white sheep gets lost while out exploring the snow and must find his way home.

Messy Munchkins

This week, on Friday December 22nd, we are hosting a program called Messy Munchkins! This event is a multi-sensory play group for kids ages 0-5 and their caregivers. We'll have fun (and messy!) activities for kids and adults to explore and play with.

We love to offer opportunities for kids to engage in free sensory play. Young ones are busy learning about their world, which they observe through their senses - seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Sensory play is play that stimulates these senses. It's great for kids to engage in this kind of play because it stimulates their brains which builds nerve connections in the brain's pathways, it helps develop fine and gross motor skills, and it's fun! Play is an important part of childhood - and life!

If you're interested in ways to encourage playfulness in your home or want to learn more about sensory play, check out some of these books.

Picture Books to Share with Kids
Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg
Edward Gets Messy by Rita Meade
A Perfectly Messed-Up Story by Patrick McDonnell
Mix It Up by Hervé Tullet
A Stick is an Excellent Thing by Marilyn Singer
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis'
I Hear a Pickle and Smell, See, Touch, & Taste it, Too! By Rachel Isadora



Further Reading for Grown-Ups
First Art for Toddlers and Twos: Open-Ended Art Experiences by MaryAnn Kohl
Loose Parts: Inspiring Play in Young Children by Lisa Daly
Loose Parts 2: Inspiring Play with Infants and Toddlers by Miriam Beloglovsky
Raising A Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues by Lindsey Biel, M. A. and Nancy Peske
Time to Create: Hands-on Explorations in Process Art for Young Children by Christie Burnett
The Toddler Brain by Laura A. Jana, M.D.

Ms. Alison's Favorites of 2017

So many great books were published this past year. I wish I had time to read them all! It's challenging to narrow down the best books of the year, but here are some of my favorites from 2017.

Picture Books 

Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds
In the follow up to Creepy Carrots, Buster the bunny is back. This time though, instead of carrots creeping there is a strange pair of green glowing underwear. This book is hilarious, goofy, and just weird enough to be perfect.

Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima
This is a story of a unicorn named Kelp who lives under the sea with a group of narwhals. Something's not quite right, so Kelp goes off searching for a place to fit in. It's a sweet story about belonging, identity, being true to yourself and finding family and love. Plus, kelp is totally adorable.







Kids

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez
Twelve year old Malú moves away from her Dad and everything she's ever known to Chicago where she tries her best to follow the first rule of punk: be yourself. Malú is a lovable character and her struggles with her parents, her identity, and her friends are very real to life. I loved the artistic zines scattered throughout the book, too!






Teens

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
This book was an absolute joy to read. Dimple and Rishi meet at a tech camp the summer before college they are in very different places. Dimple is avoiding her parents persistence to consider an arranged marriage. Meanwhile, Rishi is a hopeless romantic ready to woo Dimple into falling in love with him. This book is funny, sweet, adorable, and just a delight to read.





They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Spoiler alert: they both die at the end! Even though you know it going in, it still hurts when you get there. This book covers all the tough stuff: life, love, family, and death as we get to know that characters Mateo and Rufus in just one day.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Wow, what a powerful debut novel by Angie Thomas. This book inspired by the Black Live Matter movement is a must read. Starr Carter lives in two worlds: one her black neighborhood and the other her white school. One night, her life changes forever when she witnesses her childhood friend, Khalil's death at the hands of a police officer.

Adults

This year I didn't read a lot of adult fiction books, but I did read a this non-fiction title by Joanna Faber and Julie Adair King. How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen has been very useful in my interactions with young humans at the library and at home. Anyone who has little ones in their life will find this book useful! Joanna and Julie have a very realistic approach to life with young kids. Many of their tips are ways to re-frame challenges and build up communications skills of both the adults and the children.

Wordless (and Nearly Wordless) Picture Books

Have you ever read a picture book with out any words? Wordless picture books are great for developing storytelling skills like narration, description, and sequencing. They are excellent learning tools for pre-readers, beginning readers, and older children alike.

Check out one of these beautiful books to share with a child in your life. Talk about the pictures and what you see in each page. What story to the pictures tell? What moods and feelings do they bring up? Who are the characters and what are they thinking and doing?

Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle
This book showcases an adorable, charming dancing duo. It has be followed by a series of books featuring Flora and others including Flora and the Penguin, Flora and the Peacocks, Flora and the Ostrich, Flora and the Chicks.

Journey, Quest, and Return by Aaron Becker
This trilogy follows a young girl and boy on epic adventures to castles, forests, ancient kingdoms and more. The detailed illustrations build a rich and inviting world for readers to enter.

A Ball for Daisy by Christopher Raschka
Daisy the dog loves playing with her ball. What will she do when her ball is lost? Children will love reading about the adorable Daisy.

Ah Ha! by Jeff Mack
Just two works are found in this funny book about a frog. The ups and downs of life as a frog are reflected in each page.

La La La: A Story of Hope by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Jaime Kim
This beautifully illustrated book has just one work repeated through it: "La". A little girl is alone when she starts to sing. No one calls back to her, but she persists in sharing her song with the world.