Big Books, Little Ears

Reading chapter books to toddlers, preschoolers, and beyond

Book Reviews

Baby Monkey, Private Eye

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“Baby Monkey! Someone has stolen my jewels!”
– opening line of Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin

I love finding a beginner chapter book where I wasn’t expecting it!

We were playing at the library when a striking black, white, and red cover of a thick chapter book caught my eye. Let’s face it, the naked monkey holding a giant magnifying glass was pretty eye-catching, too. [Read more…] about Baby Monkey, Private Eye

Narwhal and Jelly

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“One day when Narwhal was out for a swim, he found himself in new waters.” – opening line of Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton

My husband loves videos of bad Family Feud answers. If he seems stressed or sad I just have to casually hop on YouTube and pull up a compilation video of some of the worst answers. I even have a video on my phone of him falling off of the couch because he was laughing so hard while watching one particularly bad answer!

It’s nice to have something that is guaranteed to make him belly laugh.

My son also has something that is guaranteed to make him belly laugh: Narwhal and Jelly books. These graphic novels just tickle his funny bone, big time! [Read more…] about Narwhal and Jelly

Little House in the Big Woods

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Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.
– opening line of Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I have my original Little House books that I got when I was 7 years old. They have been lugged in boxes through a bunch of moves. They have sat faithfully on my shelves in Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Michigan.

These books have seen a lot. They are dogeared, especially Little Town on the Prairie. The Long Winter is warped from shower steam after being forgotten in the bathroom for a few days. The bindings are all broken in, except for The First Four Years, which I didn’t read as many times. [Read more…] about Little House in the Big Woods

Mom Has to Read, Too: What I Read in May

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Spring has come to us here in the little woods…at least that’s what the calendar says. It has been a rainy and cold few weeks, even though it is the end of May.

For church yesterday I had on a sundress and flip flops, until I realized it was 48° F. Thankfully, I had time to put on something warmer. The worst part was that since I switched to pants, that means I shaved my legs for nothing.

An upside of all of the cold and rain is that it has been good weather to snuggle down with a good book. I read three really great books in May. [Read more…] about Mom Has to Read, Too: What I Read in May

A True Home

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“Home is where the heart is, or so she’d heard.” – opening line of A True Home

Imagine if you ran a hotel for woodland creatures. Seriously, take a second and think about it. If you are picturing a cozy place in a giant tree where every detail for every type of guests is thought of, you are basically picturing the Heartwood Hotel!

I recently read A True Home, the first book in the Heartwood Hotel series. I think I appreciated way more than my kids did the fact that the author had thought of EVERY detail it would take to run a hotel for small woodland animals. Also, it could just be that I could really use a few nights of uninterrupted sleep at a luxury hotel – I was way more interested in the private bird balconies and skunks’ hot tubs than I should have been. [Read more…] about A True Home