I also make videos on YouTube! 

There are so many great books in the world, I couldn’t possibly list them all, but here’s a few to get you started.

I’ve separated them into age categories for those of you who might be looking for age-specific books; however, I’ve read most of these books to all ages, and would recommend most of them for any age/gender. After all, some kids are early & agile readers, and some are not; but all kids love to be read to. (Even those big 10yr-olds who might say otherwise, but will happily snuggle up at reading time!)

ps. This is an ever-growing list- I’m sure I’ve missed some great ones, and I’m always reading new books. So, feel free to check back every few weeks to see the new additions!

Infant & Toddler

(Ages 0-3)

• Indestructible Books! (These are amazing for infants and teething toddlers. Trust me.)

• Press Here, By Herve Tullet

• Mix It Up!, By Herve Tullet

• Say Zoop!, By Herve Tullet

• The Foot Book, By Dr. Seuss

• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,  By Dr. Seuss (any Dr. Seuss, really!)

• Moo, Baa, La La La, By Sandra Boynton

• Blue Hat, Green Hat, By Sandra Boynton (All the Boynton books are amazing.)

• Goodnight, Gorilla, By Peggy Rathmann

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar, By Eric Carle

• Bear Snores On, By Karma Wilson

• Egg, By Kevin Henkes

• Color Dance, By Ann Jonas

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, By Bill Martin Jr.

• We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, By Helen Oxenbury

• Not A Box, By Antoinette Portis

• Not A Stick, By Antoinette Portis

• Corduroy, By Don Freeman

• The Napping House, By Audrey Wood

• Harold and the Purple Crayon, By Crockett Johnson

• ABC, By Dr. Seuss

• Tuesday, By David Wiesner

• Where is the Green Sheep?, By Mem Fox

• Where is Baby’s Belly Button?, By Marion Dane Baver

Preschool

(Ages 3-6)

• Elephant and Piggie series, By Mo Willems

• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (+ series), By Mo Willems

• The Snurtch, Words by Sean Ferrell, Pictures by Charles Santoso

• Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day, By Jamie Lee Curtis, Illustrated by Laura Cornell

• There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon, By Jack Kent

• Sweet Dreamers, By Isabelle Simler

• The Second Sky, By Patrick Guest, Illustrated by Jonathan Bentley

• a greyhound A Groundhog, Written by Emily Jenkins, Illustrated by Chris Appelhans 

• The OK Book, By Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenfeld 

• Duck! Rabbit!, By Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenfeld

• Monkey Time, By Michael Hall

• Little i, By Michael Hall

• Are You My Mother?, By P. D. Eastman

• The Book With No Pictures, By BJ Novak

• Squish Rabbit, By Katherine Battersby

• Don’t Copy Me!, By Jonathan Allen

• This Is Not My Hat, By Jon Klassen

• Stick and Stone, By Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld

• The Most Magnificent Thing, By Ashley Spires

• How To, By Julie Morstad

• I Walk With Vanessa- A story about a simple act of kindness, By Kerascoet

• Pool, By JiHeyon Lee

• Square, By Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen 

• Circle, By Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen 

• Triangle, By Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen

• Windblown, By Édouard Manceau 

• Wait, By Antoinette Portis

• Bread and Jam for Frances, By Russel Hoban, Pictures by Lillian Hoban

• The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners, By Stan Berenstain

• The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies, By Stan Berenstain

• The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble With Chores, By Stan Berenstain

• Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn, By Kenard Pak

• Please, Mr. Panda / For Favor, Sr. Panda, By Steve Antony

• When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old’s Memoir of Her Youth, By Jamie Lee Curtis, Illustrated by Laura Cornell

• Inch By Inch, By Leo Lion

• Unplugged, By Steve Antony

• Rude Cakes, By Rowboat Watkins

• Bernice Gets Carried Away, By Hannah E. Harrison

• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, By Judith Viorst, Illustrated by Ray Cruz

• You Are (Not) Small, By Anna King, Illustrated by Christopher Weyant

• Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!, a sonic adventure by Wynton Marsalis, Illustrated by Paul Rogers

• My Heart Is a Compass, By Deborah Marcero

• Listen To Our World, By Bill Martin Jr. & Michael Sampson, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

• Little Green Peas, a BIG book of colors, By Keith Baker

• ABC Dream, By Kim Krans

• Underwear! By, Jean Harney

• Am I Yours?, By Alex Latimer

• The Cutest Thing Ever, By Amy Ignatow, Illustrated by Hsinping Pan

• You Can Do It, Bert!, By Ole Könnecke

• How To Cheer Up Dad, By Fred Koehler

• Ten Little Caterpillars, By Bill Martin Jr., Illustrated by Lois Ehlert 

• Strictly No Elephants, Written by Lisa Mantchev, Illustrated by Taeeun Yoo

• Grumpy Monkey, By Suzanne Lang, Illustrated by Max Lang

Primary School

(Grades K-3)

• Bob Books: Set 1, Beginning Readers, By Bobby Lynn Maslen, Illustrated by John R. Maslen (There are many sets of the Bob Books, and all are great. Very helpful for beginning readers!)

• The Black Book of Colors, By Menena Cottin & Rosanna Faría 

• Rosie Revere, Engineer, By Andrea Beatty, Illustrated by David Roberts

• Iggy Peck, Architect, By Andrea Beaty, Illustrated by David Roberts

• Ada Twist, Scientist By Andrea Beatty, Illustrated by David Roberts

• Jack (Not Jackie), Words by Erica Silverman, Pictures by Holly Hatam

• The Day You Begin, By Jacqueline Woodson, Illustrated by Rafael Lo'pez

• A Million Dots, By Andrew Clements, Illustrated by Mike Reed

• Worm Loves Worm, By J. J. Austrian, Illustrated by Mike Curato

• A Family is a Family is a Family, By Sara O’Leary, Illustrated by Qin Leng

• This Plus That- Life’s Little Equations, By Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Illustrated by Jen Corace

• Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, By Christine Baldacchino, Pictures by Isabelle Malenfant

• When Sadness is at Your Door, By Eva Eland

• Sulwe, By Lupita Nyong’o, Illustrated by Vashti Harrison

• Remembering Crystal, By Sebastian Loth

• Teddy’s Favorite Toy, By Christian Trimmer, Illustrated by Madeline Valentine

• Carl and the Meaning of Life, By Deborah Freedman

• A Most Unusual Day, By Sydra Mallery, Illustrations by E.B. Goodale

• Dad And The Dinosaur, By Gennifer Choldenko and Dan Santat

• The Good Egg, By Jory John and Pete Oswald

• We don’t eat our classmates!, By Ryan T. Higgins

• Red- A Crayon’s Story, By Michael Hall

• Alma and How She Got Her Name, By Juana Martinez-Neal

• Under My Hijab, By Hena Khan, Illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel

• A Friend For Henry, By Jennifer Bailey, Illustrated by Mika Song

• Festival Of Colors, By Kabir Sehgal & Surishtha Sehgal, Illustrated by Vashti Harrison 

• Little Red Henry, By Linda Urban, Illustrated by Madeline Valentine

• Oliver, By Birgitta Sif

• The Museum, Story by Susan Verde, Art by Peter H. Reynolds

• Not All Princesses Dress In Pink, By Jane Yolen & Heidi E. Y. Stemple, Illustrated by Anne-Sophie Languetin

• Squashed in the Middle, By Elizabeth Winthrop and Pat Cummings

• Leonardo the Terrible Monster, By Mo Willems

• Is That You, Eleanor Sue?, By Tricia Tusa

• I Am Going!, by Mo Willems

• All Are Welcome, By Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman

• There is a Bird On Your Head!, by Mo Willems

• You Will Be My Friend!, By Peter Brown

• My Teacher is a Monster!, By Peter Brown

• Squashed in the Middle, By Elizabeth Winthrop, Illustrated by Pat Cummings

• Horton Hears a Who!, By Dr. Seuss

• Horton Hatches the Egg, By Dr. Seuss

• The Day the Crayons Quit, By Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

• The Day the Crayons Came Home, By Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

• Maybe Something Beautiful (How Art Transformed A Neighborhood), By F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, Illustrated by Rafael López

• Sergio Makes a Splash!, By Edel Rodriguez

• Orion and the Dark, By Emma Yarlett

• The Itchy Book, By LeVyen Pham

• Me…Jane, By Patrick McDonnell

• The Dark, By Lemony Snickett, Illustrated by Jon Klassen

• Silly Street, By Jeff Foxworthy, Illustrated by Steve Björkman

• The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon, By Mike Thaler, Pictures by Jared Lee

• Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band, By Kwame Alexander, Illustrated by Tim Bowers

• Dude!, Word by Aaron Reynolds, Art by Dan Santat

• The Word Collector, By Peter H. Reynolds

• Ish, By Peter H. Reynolds

• Idea Jar, By Adam Lehrhaupt and Deb Pilutti

• If You Give A Pig A Pancake, By Laura Numeroff, Illustrated by Felicia Bond

• Happy In Our Skin, By Fan Manuskin, Illustrated by Lauren Tobia

• Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew (series), By Carolyn Keene, Illustrated by Macky Pamintuan

• Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket, By Barbara Park Illustrated by Denise Brunkus

• Junie B. Jones Toothless Wonder, By Barbara Park, Illustrated by Denise Brunkus

• I Spy (A book of picture riddles), Photographs by Walter Wick, Riddles by Jean Marzollo

• Margaret And The Moon- How Margaret Hamilton Saved The First Lunar Landing, By Dean Robbins, Illustrated by Lucy Knisley 

• The Girl With A Mind For Math- The Story of Raye Montague, Written by Julia Finley Mosca, Illustrated by Daniel Rieley 

• The Watcher- Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps, By Jeanette Winter

• The Rabbit Listened, By Cori Doerrfeld

• The Dot, By Peter H. Reynolds

• Love Is Love, Written by Michael Genhart, PhD, Illustrated by Ken Min

• Because, Score by Mo Willems, Performance by Amber Ren

• Fancy Nancy The Dazzling Book Report, By Jane O’Connor, Pictures based on the art of Robin Preiss Glasser (1st reader)

• Fancy Nancy Spectacular Spectacles,  By Jane O’Connor, Pictures based on the art of Robin Preiss Glasser (1st reader)

• Amelia Bedelia Gets a Break, By Herman Parish, Pictures by Lynn Avril (1st reader)

• Amelia Bedelia Tries Her Luck, By Herman Parish, Pictures by Lynn Avril (1st reader)

• Forever or a Day, By Sarah Jacoby

• if i was the sunshine, By Julie Fogliano and Loren Long

• Zombies Don’t Eat Veggies!, By Megan Lacera & Jorge Lacera, Illustrated by Jorge Lacera

• Music for Mister Moon, Written by Philip C. Stead, Illustrated by Erin E. Stead

• The Fun Book Of Scary Stuff, By Emily Jenkins, Pictures by Hyewon Yum

• The Chicken Squad- the first misadventure, By Doreen Cronin, Illustrated by Kevin Cornell

• The Chicken Squad, Dark Shadows - Yes, Another Misadventure, By Doreen Cronin, Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin, Cover by Kevin Cornell

• Luna & Me (The True Story of a Girl Who Lived in a Tree to Save a Forest), By Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

• Little People, Big Dreams- Marie Curie, Written by Ma Isabel Sánches Vegara, Illustrated by Frau Isa, Translated by Emma Martinez

• Yellow Kayak, By Nina Laden, Illustrated by Melissa Castrillon

• Lines, By Suzy Lee

• Infinity and Me, Written by Kate Hosford, Illustrations by Gabi Swiatkowska 

• The Cow Who Climbed A Tree, By Gemma Merino

• The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water, By Gemma Merino

• First Grade Dropout, Written by Audrey Vernick, Illustrated by Matthew Cordell

• Jacob’s Room to Choose, By Sarah and Ian Hoffman, Illustrated by Chris Case

• Tomorrow Most Likely, Words by Dave Eggers, Pictures by Lane Smith

• Leo a ghost story, By Mac Barnett, Pictures by Christian Robinson 

• Rock What Ya Got, By Samantha Berger, Illustrated by Kerascoët

• Shark Lady- The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Kceans Most Fearless Scientist, Written by Jess Keating, Illustrations By Marta Álvarez Miguéns 

• The Doctor With An Eye For Eyes- The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath, Written by Julia Finley Mosca, Illuatrated by Daniel Rieley

• It Feels Good To Be Yourself (A Book About Gender Identity), Written by Theresa Thorn, Illustrated by Noah Grigni

• She Persisted (13 American women who changed the world), Written by Chelsea Clinton, Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger

• Extra Yarn, By Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Jon Klassen

• You’re Snug With Me, By Chitra Soundar & Poonam Mistry

• Where Are You From?, By Yamile Saied Méndez, Illustrated By Jaime Kim

• My Brother Otto, By Meg Raby, Illustrations By Elisa Pallmer 

• Nadia The Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still, By Karlin Gray, Illustrated by Christine Davenier 

• Art And How It Works (An introduction to art for children), Written by Ann Kay

• Brave Molly, By Brooke Boynton-Hughes

• The Tide, By Clare Helen Welsh, Illustrated by Ashling Lindsay

• The Hueys in The New Sweater, By Oliver Jeffers

• Charlotte The Scientist Finds A Cure, Written by Camille Android, Illustrated by Brianne Farley

• Ask Me, By Bernard Waber, Illustrated by Suzy Lee 

• Kate Who Tamed The Wind, Words by Liz Garton Scanlon, Illustrations By Lee White

• This Is How We Do It- One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World, By Matt Lamothe

• The Girl Who Thought In Pictures- The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin, Written by Julia Finley Mosca, Illustrated by Daniel Rieley 

• You Can’t Do That, Amelia!, By Kimberly Wagner Klier, Illustrations by Kathleen Kemly 

• Pocket Full Of Colors- The magical world of Mary Blair, Disney artist extraordinaire, By Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville, Illustrated by Brigette Barrager 

• Swarm Of Bees, By Lemony Snicket, Art by Rilla Alexander 

• This Moose Belongs To Me, By Oliver Jeffers

• Keith Haring- The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing, By Kay A. Haring, Illustrated by Robert Neubecker

• The Vast Wonder Of The World - Biologist Ernest Everett Just, By Mélina Mangal, Illustrated by Luisa Uribe

• Sonia Sotomayor a judge grows in the Bronx- la juez que creció en el Bronx, By Jonah Winter, Illustrated by EdelnRodriguez

• Joan Proctor, Dragon Doctor (The Woman Who Loved Reptiles), By Patricia Valdez, Illustrated by Felicita Sala

• Emma Dilemma, By Kristine O’Connell George, Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter 

• French Toast Sundays, By Gloria Spielman, Illustrated by Inbal Gigi Bousidan

• Franny’s Father Is A Feminist, Written by Rhonda Leet, Illustrated by Megan Walker

• My Brother Charlie, Written by Holly Robinson Peete & Ryan Elizabeth Peete with Denene Millner, Pictures by Shane W. Evans 

• Say Something, By Peter H. Reynolds

• Giraffe Problems, By Jory John, Illustrated by Lane Smith

• Thank You, Omu!, By Oge Mora

• Frankencrayon, By Michael Hall

Primary School/Tweens

(Grades 4-8)

Teens

(Grades 8-12)

GrownUps

Crafts and Activities

As we all know, keeping the little ones engaged, and learning through play, is a huge part of being a caregiver. So, here are a few fun things I’ve used that will keep you and your munchkins having fun (and learning too)!

Make your own frames

If you’re like me, you want to frame (almost) all of your kid’s art. Their little brains make some fascinating things, but framing it all would be soooo expensive!

My solution- washi tape!

Water beads

There are so many fun ways to use water beads. From sensory play to painting, these little squishy marbles can provide hours of fun.

fine motor skills

Crafts aren’t just fun, most encourage the development of your little ones’ fine motor skills. Here are some activities that are fun, and great for your kiddos development!