Category Archives: Children

Throwback Thursday (July 19) – The Chronicles of Narnia

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback for today is…

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I first read these stories as an elementary schooler, and still enjoy them to this day as an adult. (Oh, and for the record, I read them in the original published order, which is the order I think they’re meant to be read in — not the chronological order). I love the magical fantasy world of Narnia, the intriguing characters, the strong storytelling. I love the imagination and sense of wonder the stories convey. Yes, they are written as Christian allegory, and I personally love that aspect of the story, but they also can stand on their own as just a beautiful and wondrous children’s fantasy series.

I love these books as a way to introduce children to the world of fantasy and magic. We’ve introduced our girls to the first two, which they loved. I’m looking forward to being able to go through the entire series with them.

Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!

Throwback Thursday (July 12) – The Boxcar Children

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

PSA: Mandi is taking some time off from blogging, so she won’t have a Throwback Thursday post up today, but still be sure to link back to her blog as one of the hosts. She was, after all, the original mastermind.

My Throwback this week is…

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Yup, I’m going old school this week and featuring  a series I loved as a kid. The Boxcar Children is the story of four orphans — Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny — who strike out on their own in an attempt to stay together. They wind up taking shelter in an old abandoned boxcar, which they decide to make into their home. And while living in the boxcar, they solve mysteries.

Okay, so this is not the best-written series ever. The plots are far-fetched. The characters are pretty one-dimensional. And there’s nary a shred of realism to be seen.

But you know what? I don’t care. When I was a kid, I loved reading about their chipped dishes and their meals of blackberries and milk. I loved their loving sibling dynamic. I loved the cute little mysteries they’d solve. They were great books to hone my reading skills on, with an interesting story (to an early elementary-schooler, anyway) that kept me working my way through the series.

So no, I’m not recommending you pick this series up as an adult. Few books that appealed to me as a 2nd grader would impress me much now. But if you’ve got an early reader in your life — like I do — this is a great series to introduce them to the wonderful world of chapter books.

Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!

For the Moms

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On Friday, I posted some books that I love that feature strong mothers. But today, on Mother’s Day, I wanted to talk about books I can read with my kids.

I have two small girls, ages 3 and 6, and a huge portion of our time is spent reading books. Lots of books aimed at small girls are kind of eye-rollingly bad (i.e. most books featuring Disney princesses or Saturday morning cartoon characters), and I have gritted my teeth through more readings than I can count of Belle and the Castle Puppy and Dora Saves the Enchanted Forest. But there’s also a huge selection of children’s books out there that we all enjoy, and whenever possible, these are the ones I try to nudge my kids toward.

Here’s just a few of our favorites.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

Why kids love it: They get to be in charge! At the beginning of the book, the Bus Driver assigns kids a single task: Don’t let the Pigeon drive the bus! The Pigeon then tries to convince the kids to let him drive the bus anyway, but the kids have to stick to their guns, and mine get a huge kick out of getting to yell “NO!” at the petulant Pigeon.

Why I love it: Contrary to what I feared when we first got this book, encouraging them to yell “No” at the pigeon didn’t increase the amount of “Nos” they dished out to me and my husband after reading it. Phew. The Pigeon attempts to argue why he should be allowed to drive the bus, starting with cajoling and negotiation, then breaking down into an all-out temper tantrum. The kids take great joy in not caving to pressure, then I can use it as an object lesson about how not to get what you want.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Why kids love it: They can relate to Alexander and his endless complaining, but they also realize that he’s being super-whiny. They can feel a little superior in that they never whine as much as Alexander.

Why I love it: Alexander is really over-the-top. He decides everything in his life is bad, even when it’s not, and I always make sure to call my kids’ attention to the fact that he’s making a big deal about things that aren’t actually so bad, then ask them what kind of reaction they should have in those same situations. In their eagerness to be the anti-Alexander, they actually come up with reasonable reactions to most of the situations in the book. Then later, when we find ourselves in those scenarios, I can remind them what they said they would do instead of complaining. Sometimes they even remember.

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems.

Why kids love it: The story of little Trixie’s attachment to her beloved Knuffle Bunny is one they can completely relate to.

Why I love it: The story of Trixie’s Daddy’s harried quest to find a lost toy at the laundromat is one I can completely relate to. Plus the way the cartoon images are incorporated into the black-and-white photographs of Brooklyn, along with Trixie’s parents’ exhausted but determined facial expressions, are really amusing from a parental perspective.

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

Why kids love it: They love hearing the baby bunny and the daddy bunny “compete” to see whose love is bigger. They giggle each time the daddy is able to top the biggest thing the baby can think of, and enjoy trying to come up with their own metaphors for how much they love me.

Why I love it: It’s a cute illustration of the depth of love between a parent and child, and about how it can be nearly unfathomable to a child how much their parents love them. Plus, I adore that it inspires my kids to try to put their own love into words: “Mommy, I love you all the way up to that big tree outside!”

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

Why kids love it: They love the security this book gives them, knowing that even when they are grown up, we will still love them just as much as we do right now. They ask me all the time, “Mommy, will I still be your baby, even when I’m married with my own kids?” And this book is a perfect answer.

Why I love it: I can’t read this book without tearing up. Or even say that one heartwarming line: “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always; As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.” Because it’s so, so true.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, be your kids young or old, near or far. I hope they’re taking today to make you feel loved and appreciated.