Crayons, votes, yarn. Cats and writing. And the best soup ever.
Seriously this soup is so good you can thank me later.
More than Peach
By Bellen Woodard and Fanny Liem
This was the book I read to my four and five year olds at school to launch Black History Month. We talked about how history is made all the time, and history can be made by kids too!
Bellen noticed that when kids in her class wanted the peach crayon,
they called it the skin color crayon.
But skin comes in more than one color!
Bellen changed the language and changed the world by
creating a set of crayons representing tons of skin colors!
The kids and I looked closely at ourselves and our skin colors and how no two were the same. We were all happy that Bellen created these crayon sets, which I’m pretty sure the big crayon makers then copied when they saw she was so successful.
Bellen is local to us and we got to meet her in July of 2022!
Check this one out for an inspiring story about a kid who saw a problem and created a solution, and a great way to talk about all the beautiful colors of skin the world.
Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote
By Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
We JUST started reading The Questioneers chapter book series and my seven year old LOVES them. And I love them too! These kids are so inquisitive, smart, caring, and empathetic.
Everyone should read this specific one: Sofia’s class is voting on a class pet, and she’s the commissioner of the elections. The class goes through setting up eligibility requirements, sharing facts and not misinformation, and then when the election comes…one vote goes missing!
It’s a fun story that truly gives children an idea of what goes on in an election, and might as well start early this year since it’s going to be a big election. And why not read them a story that takes place in a such a kind, inclusive, empathetic world?
Check this one out for an excellent overview of elections and an excellent read aloud for the kid in your life!
The Three Billy Goats Fluff
By Rachel Mortimer and Liz Pichon
One class at school is reading different versions of the Three Billy Goats Gruff and this is my favorite!
In this one the Troll is upset about the noise over the bridge and threatens to eat the Billy Goats, but they have to cross over and eat the grass because it makes their fleece extra fluffy. And Mother Billy Goat needs that extra fluffy fleece to make into yarn to knit into cozy things.
The troll is cute not creepy, and Mother Billy Goat comes through with her fiber skills to solve the problem and make the Troll’s life so much better.
The illustrations are whimsical and I really love how the problem is solved in a caring way. The kids loved it too!
Check this one out for a sweet and fluffy retelling that kids will love!
Elvis And The World As It Stands
By Lisa Frenkel Riddiough and Olivia Chin Mueller
Have you ever seen those Instagram accounts
that recommend the best read alouds
and they’re all literally 50 years old?
For some reason the algorithm loves to show me these videos,
which honestly just makes me mad.
When you dive deeper on most of these accounts,
they are mostly concerned about what they call questionable values and topics in kids books. Straight talk? They don’t want their kids to know about the current world we live in.
Let me go on the record to say this: there are plenty of great classic kids books. AND if you’re only reading classics to your kids? At the best, you certainly aren’t reading them books that reflect the diverse and inclusive world we live in. At the worst, you may be exposing them to racist stereotypes. Don’t take it from me; google some of the older books and see what comes up.
One of my goals is to try to update these recommendations.
I know one of the reasons that people like a classic like Charlotte’s Web is because it’s an animal story. So I’m going to be reading more of them so when people finish the amazing book that is Charlotte’s Web, they can move on to more books about animals and learn about the world we currently live in!
One day Elvis and his sister Etta are at the shelter, the next he’s being adopted by a family. He has to get back to Etta, but in the meantime he’s liking his new owner, a girl named Georgina, how she loves building with legos, and the other pets in the house.
Georgina lives with her Mom and sees her Dad on the weekend; we love reading about all types of families. And the pets and the humans are their own found family. I liked the voice in this one, the pets, and the realistic way the story ended.
I think it would be a great read aloud!
Check this one out for a book about pets, families of origin and found families, and a kid dealing with her parents being separated but still being a family together.
Little Stories Of Your Life
by Laura Pashby
I’ve just started reading this one and I couldn’t wait to tell you about it.
You know when you hear someone talk about writing and it just clicks with you.
You think, “this person gets it. This person wants everyone to capture these fleeting moments in their lives!”
That’s this book.
That’s this person,
Whether you think you are a writer or not, you will become one after reading this book, so I’m going to need all of you to read it. I want to read the little stories you share!
Check this one out for some inspiration to look at your life and notice all the little magic moments. And to be a writer! Seriously, I want to read what you share!
We LOVE this soup, and we call it The Best Soup Ever.
We make enough to eat for three days,
and it gets so much better each day.
You know when you just need some soup to make things a bit better?
This is the soup.
And it’s actually award winning;
my sister-in-law made it, with some added red pepper flakes,
for a soup competition at my Mother-in-law’s work.
And it won!
Note: at the time of making this printable, we used to use the mini raviolis from Trader Joe’s that you could get in the pasta section, but they stopped making those; we now use tortellini.
Anyway, download it here!
Let’s chat in the comments!
1. What little moment felt like magic to you this week?
2. What do you like about the book you’re currently reading?
See you in the comments and
happy reading until next week,
Kathy Ellen
A little moment that felt like magic this week: when both of my kids handed me the book Shake My Sillies Out and danced up a storm while I sang/read it to them. They absolutely love anything and everything Raffi, and you could see the joy in their faces as they moved their bodies and had fun together.
I'm currently reading the Little Stories Of Your Life book above, and I want to save what I love about it because I may do an entire post. I'm also reading The Wild Robot aloud to my oldest, and I really love how Roz, the main character, is so sweet and realizes very early on that she will have to adapt to the world instead of trying to shape it to adapt to her. I think life would be better if more people thought like that robot!
I’m so thrilled that you’re enjoying my book! Thank you for sharing it! My kids used to love Shake My Sillies Out when they were small.