amandajhouston We love to read over here! Here’s some of the children’s books I’ve posted about so far. These are some of our favorites! Click on the images or links to learn more about why we love them!
if you have any favorites you want to share, please send me a message!
It’s fun to read books that are so relatable, especially a children’s book our kid loves too. I love when we check out books from the library that we later decide to purchase for keeps, like this one! (Another great thing abut the library – getting to test them out) It’s no secret we love the hardware store too✔️, but this story is also about a family moving in to a new house that needs a little bit of work✔️ The author and illustrator also decided to make the family biracial to honor their own families✔️ So check check check to all things relatable! The last couple pages really makes us smile too: after the dad takes a long trip to the hardware store, the mama asks “but where are the picture hangers?” aka the one thing mama asked for, aka the one thing her hubs of course forgot. extremely relatable 🙃✔️✔️✔️
We bought these books recently (surprise! Saks Fifth Avenue online has a great book selection!) and I’m so pleased to report they’ve made it to the favorites pile! I love books that show stories of diversity and inclusion, whether that be the obvious purpose of the book, or in a subtle theme throughout. I love when characters, stories, and pictures have people with light and dark hair, different face shapes, eyes, noses, smiles. Faces and features that also look like mommy’s, and it is important for us to have these books so our kid can also think “hey that looks like me too”. I wish I had more of that growing up. If you would have asked me 10 years ago if it mattered, I probably would have told you otherwise. But in my own journey of acceptance and believing in myself, I can now see and reflect more clearly on the desire I had as a little girl wanting and needing to see more people who look like me, or different representation in general, to be the hero of stories, even as simple as other colors of people also can make and play with friends, what it looks like to have friends, have fun, and have adventures too.
🤍👯♀️☀️🏕📚
Shop on my LTK or head to my Amazon storefront.
This❤️book. With Seollal (or Lunar New Year) coming up, I’m so excited to celebrate, and celebrate with my little one especially. One who, like the book says, has “eyes like Mama”. I continue to grow an appreciation and love for the deeper meaning and values around the celebration – being with your family, honoring your elders, honoring those who have passed on, and of course, eating really delicious food that also serve a purpose, having its own symbolism and beautiful meanings. I hope my children grow up with a sense of pride, being comfortable in their skin – I know I wish I did. I hated my eyes, I hated how “flat” my lashes were. I hated how hard I tried to make them different. As an adult, (and especially as a mom) finally embracing the asian culture, I feel more at home in who I am than ever before. A sense of beauty and a sense of belonging as we get to celebrate our eyes that kiss in the corners together.
“Some people have eyes like sapphire lagoons with lashes like lace trim on ballgowns, sweeping their cheeks as they twirl. Big eyes, long lashes. Not me.
I have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.
My eyes are just like Mama’s.
When Mama tucks me in at night, her eyes tell me I’m a miracle. In those moments when she’s all mine, flecks of dancing gold tell me I’m hers too.
My eyes crinkle into crescent moons and sparkle like the stars.
My eyes find mountains that rise ahead
My lashes curve like the swords of warriors”
Shop on Amazon !
(post is also on my instagram)
.
I hope this book is in every home. This is a favorite in ours, and is the one our kiddo always runs to and chooses to read first. Some days, we turn the corner to see it being enjoyed quietly, opened on the floor, pages being flipped through one by one. It’s a book both my husband and I first read and said “wow okay so our teams at work might also benefit from this”. 😆 it’s a book about building hot air balloons but each have their own processes and skills when completing their own. It celebrates those differences and shows how beautiful it all is when we come together.
Author: @joannagaines
Illustrator: @julianna_swaney
Some of my favorite pages include:
“It doesn’t take us long to see, that we all work so very differently…” “Some of us work alone. Some of us work side by side.”
“Some of us are quiet and like to think things through. Some of us like to chit chat about all we have to do…”
“We may not look or think the same, but we all have important part to play.”
“All of us can be kind, compassionate, and gracious…”
“So remember who you are. This is your life to live. Don’t ever hold back. You have so much to give.”
We were gifted this wonderful book from our friends after our first was born. For the dads out there creating and building/Home Depot’s favorite customer, this book is for you. Tears were shed so you know its gotta be good. Fun, silly, and sincere. Author and illustrator: @oliverjeffers “‘What We’ll Build’ is the story of parenthood; the hopes and dreams we have for our children’s futures, the protection we give them and the sharing of ever-lasting love.” – review from @primaryteacherbookshelf
