In addition to being an author, I am a book reviewer and share my favorite titles for children 0-12 on my Instagram page @picturebookrecommendations. Please feel free to reach out if you are looking for a book on a specific topic for a kiddo in your life!
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“They honk their horn and start to zoom.
Baby’s on the move: Vroom vroom!”
This book is too cute! It features a little one on the move and attempting to crawl all the way to the other side of the room. They zoom around obstacles and work through the racetrack to get to where they want to go. It is filled with adorable humor and wordplay and is a winner from beginning to end!
Floor It!
@bextobinfine
@federicofabiani_
@randomhousekids
#crawl #baby #parenting #crawling #explore #kids
Is Fall your favorite season? I personally adore all things Fall! Hot chocolate, pumpkin carving, crisp weather, need I say more!? These two books each celebrate the season in their own way and are two of my new personal favorites.
We Want Leaves!: A Fall Chant
I LOVE this fall-themed read-aloud. It reads like a chant and celebrates all things fall from leaves to pumpkins to hayrides to spooky moments and more. I love the joy that falls from every spread and the way it leaves the readers getting ready to chant for the next season to come.
@fellow_travelerchick
@emilie.boon
@sleepingbearpress
Night of the Deer
This story is filled with magic, wonder, and rich, beautiful, evocative language. It tells a tale of two deer who appear otherworldly and are invited by a young girl to her school dance. When two elegant and unknown strangers join the dancing, Arabella thinks she just might know who they are.. This is a perfect seasonal read, brimming with wonder.
@thewritershouseonpeanuthill
@miramiroslavova
@sleepingbearpress
#fall #fallbooks #kidsbooks
Double digits!! Wishing the sweetest birthday to the boy who fills my life with sunshine. You know how to push every single one of my buttons, but no one can make me laugh harder or smile bigger. I adore getting to be silly with you and am continually in awe of the way you see and sort the world. You have the biggest heart and more empathy than I ever knew possible in a single human. You are crazy smart and when I watch you effortlessly connecting with everyone from zero to 100 I finish myself wishing I could be more like you. Every single moment with you is a gift and I thank God every day that I get to be your Mama. Happy 10th birthday my love.
Did you know the 100th anniversary of Jewish Book Week is coming on November 13th? The event was founded in 1925 by immigrant and influential librarian Fanny Goldstein.
This book tells Fanny’s story. It details her move from Russia to America as a young girl. Her family came to the States for its freedom to practice Judaism and had to leave behind their wealth and careers in the process. Fanny loved America, particularly the accessibility to books and education, but she faced many challenges and hardships both as an immigrant, a Jew, and as a woman.
This is the inspiring story of how she worked hard to become the first Jewish director of a Boston branch library at 33 years old. She wanted Jewish families to know their own history and created Jewish Book Week to encourage people to read about and celebrate Jewish culture.
An inspiring story of commitment to one’s belief and faith and the importance of getting books into the hands of readers.
Fanny’s Big Idea: How Jewish Book Week Was Born
#RichardMichelson
@alyssarussellillustrates
@penguinkids
@penguinclassroom
#jewishbookweek #jewish #jewishbooks
Here is the series my daughter has been recommending to all her friends! If you have kiddo that loves romance books, these are for you!
Weybridge Academy Series
1 Sweet Heartbreak
2 Sweet Temptation
3 Sweet Ruin
"The Weybridge Academy Series is amazing and one of my personal favorite romance series. Every single book is heartwarming and shows how great true friends are. Alexandra Moody has written three books that are full of surprises. These novels all follow a girl and her experiences and relationships at her new school. The main character is struggling to adjust to a new place while trying to spend time with her mother and deciding to feel about her father. I hope you give this series a chance because I think you will love it!"
– Eliana (11)
@amoodyauthor
#youngadult #romance
I know most of the store near us have skipped right over Thanksgiving and gone straight into their Christmas displays but I personally LOVE Thanksgiving and am excited to celebrate with my family and friends. I adore Thanksgiving themed books too because it always sparks the best conversations with my littles around gratitude. What do you enjoy most about Thanksgiving?
Gather Grateful
This is a special book. Beautiful lyrical yet accessible language complemented by warm soothing art shows creatures big and small gathering and preparing for the upcoming fall season - some to rest and others to celebrate and show gratitude.
@meganlitwinbooks
@scatterbee
@candlewickpress
Sarah Gives Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday
This is the story of a woman ahead of her time who broke gender boundaries and overcame obstacles to not only become a celebrated editor and family provider but also who worked tirelessly to turn Thanksgiving into a national holiday of gratitude.
@mikeallegrawriterfellow
#DavidGardner
@albertwhitman
Two-List Thanksgiving
I love this warm story fillled with deliciousness and love. It shows a young girl and her family preparing a Thanksgiving meal with two grocery lists, one for purchases to be made at the American market and the other at the Korean market. The story shows how they make classic dishes typical to both sides of their family but they all celebrate and enjoy one anothers company together on the big day.
@christine.whan
@polkadotwhalestudio
@beamingbooksmn
How to Make a Turkey Laugh
“Why is Thanksgiving the smartest holiday? Because it’s in Know-vember!”
This book is filled with Thanksgiving jokes sure to make everyone laugh! Are joke books a big a hit in your house as they are in mine? My kiddos can never get enough!
@parentnormal
@callistokids
Baby Turkey
I love this adorable baby turkey puppet book for babies’ first Thanksgiving! It is filled with bright colors and is perfect for introducing the season of giving.
@smallx2
@chroniclekidsbooks
#thanksgiving
I had never heard of doljabi, which is a Korean first birthday tradition that involves the guest of honor choosing an object from a set. Each object represents something different: a string for a long life or coins for wealth for example.
In this sweet story a boy learns about where the tradition came from and what each object in the set means as he helps his family prepare for the celebration. He hopes that his sister will choose the string but it is up to her to select the object for herself.
I loved learning about this Korean first birthday tradition. Have you ever seen this in person?
My Sister’s Doljabi
@gingerpark_
@bookbabe.frances
@violet_kim_illustrator
@albertwhitman
#Doljabi #korean #koreantradition
Clovis is back!
I love this series and just as with each book in the series the story is engaging, full of relatable humor and emotions while opening the door to some fabulous conversations with your littles.
For those of you unfamiliar, Clovis is a bull who runs a china shop - I’m sure you can imagine the humor here! This time a rival china shop opens and Clovis is angry. The two go head to head planning rival evenings to entice in new customers only to eventually find there is more than enough room for two.
I love the underlying message that it is okay to be competitive but rather than making another competitive person your rival, they might make a pretty wonderful friend instead.
Clovis Meets His Match
@authorkatelyn
@benji_williams__
@pagestreetkids
#competition #rival #kids #kidsbooks
Happy (almost) Day of the Dead! Día de los Muertos is celebrated every year on November 1st and 2nd.
A boy is preparing for the Day of the Dead and recognizes each special moment along the way and those whose memory we honor.
This Moment Is Special: A Día de Muertos Story (Day of the Dead)
@johnparraart
@simonkids
#dayofthedead #DíadelosMuertos
Happy (almost) Halloween! Squeezing in a couple more recommendations before the holiday begins! Which spooky reads are you picking up to celebrate?
Leonard Builds a Haunted House
Leonard has sold the creepy old family house and the new home he is building doesn’t seem even a little bit creepy - his family can’t understand at all, or at least they don’t until their neighbors stop by to welcome them to the neighborhood... a humorous story of family and turning expectations on their head.
@Drawwithmrmike
@mackidsbooks
Little Ghost House Hunts
Little Ghost is feeling overwhelmed by his large loud family and ventures out in search of somewhere quieter to haunt. When he finally finds what he is looking for he comes to find that perhaps the grass isn’t greener all the way on the other side. I love that this book shows finding a happy medium between finding what works for us and also for those we love.
@lucybranamsmileyface
@nataliehoopesart
@Sleepingbearpress
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
A board book version of the classic story we all know and love!
#KaraMcMahon
@schulzmuseum
@scottjretrocartoons
@simonkids
This Little Monster: A Spooky Nursery Rhyme
A spooky twist on the classic This Little Piggie nursery rhyme!
#DoriElys
@kathrynselbertillustration
@simonkids
One Happy Haunted House
A playful spooky interactive haunted house!
#JeffreyBurton
#neilclarkillustration
@simonkids
#halloweenbooks #halloweenreads #halloweenbooksforkids #halloweenbooksforchildren #halloween
Three FANTASTIC books for understanding science and how things change over time. Highly recommend them all!
This Is How You Know
This fantastic book makes you think about HOW you know what you know. It introduces science, explaining that it is the way discoveries are made - watching and tinkering. The book encourages looking for connections and patterns and warns them that it can be messy and hard, but also beautiful. I love this sweet celebration of science and questioning and imagining!
@kirstenwlarson
@cornelia_illo
@littlebrownyoungreaders
My Backyard Used To Be
This playful, lyrical book takes you on a journey back through time. It shows how a backyard has changed and evolved back through the years and encourages readers to look at their own backyards through a whole new lens. I love how it ends, wondering who will live here in the future. It encourages thoughtfulness and makes you wonder about connection and history right outside your door!
@lynnbaldwinwrites
@megan.elizabeth.baratta
@tilburyhousepublishers
From BAM! to BURP!: A Carbon Atom’s Never-Ending Journey Through Space and Time and YOU
This book is so cool! It explains what atoms are and that they never disappear. It then follows a carbon atom on its journey through time and shows how it has been part of many things from pants to even part of a breakfast burp! This is a brilliant way for a reader to understand and be excited by a carbon atom!
@melissastewartscience
@martalvarez.art
@charlesbridgepublishing
#science #childrensbooks


