6 Kids Books We Are Loving Right Now.

Today I'm sharing a few children's books we've had on rotation lately! I absolutely love reading. You wouldn't know it in my current stage of life, because I feel like I don't have enough time for reading, even though I know it's on me to make more time for it. I've been doing a little better lately - I just finished reading Pride & Prejudice again and man, there's almost nothing better than that story. But I digress.

My mom told me when I was a little girl that she loved reading Nancy Drew books growing up. That really inspired me and I started reading the series, too, and that's what truly made me fall in love with reading. Such classic stories! I know my boys aren't old enough yet for those kinds of books but I truly believe that a love for stories and reading starts at this stage with focus from the parents - taking time to read to them every single night is one of our favorite family routines. I hope that my kids love reading as much as I do - it's helped me form my words and ability to communicate and understand so much of the world. It's helped me fall in love with writing! I hope that they find that same love for literature, as well. Everett is almost 4 years old and Daxton is almost 17 months old, and these are the books we've been reading lately with both of them.

1. Polar Bear Polar Bear, What do You Hear? - sound book
Daxton loves this book! He cracks me up the way he tries to make the sounds of the animals (he basically makes the same sound over and over and it's so funny). He's at the perfect age for all the Eric Carl books and this one is nice because it's a little larger than this one and this one (which are also so great!), and it also has the fun sound buttons for each animal! Also, this is a great price point for a gift!

2. Little Blue Truck's Springtime
Gosh, we are such fans of this Little Blue Truck Series (the original and Christmas version are so great!), and I was amped when I saw this one in stores. It's actually much less expensive to purchase here. I put this in Daxton's Easter basket this year and I have to say, the illustrations are ah-mazing. Like, so so beautiful. This book makes me happy to read, and Dax loves all the lift-flap options on each page. Less words, more colors, which is really perfect for his stage. Although Everett has been swiping this out of Dax's room and asking me to read it to him the past few nights... so it really makes all of us happy over here!

3. Winne the Pooh: Original Edition
We started reading Everett this series of "chapter books" a few months ago as part of his bedtime routine and he absolutely loves it! He feels so grown up, getting to read a big book, and he helps me fold over the pages when we stop for the night (I know - some of you might think that's a terrible habit, but I've been doing it basically my entire life and old habits die hard. And also, it's kind of fun teaching my son how to read books the way I did when I was young...) These sweet stories about the whole Hundred Acre wood gang are so classic and darling and funny, they are seriously still relevant to today! Except for the one part when Christopher Robin carries around a gun and shoots a balloon out of the sky. That probably wouldn't fly in this day and age of children's literature... but still! Such sweet stories. We are actually re-reading the first book again because Everett loves it so much. We still need to rent the movie, now that we've read the books. This is another set that makes such a beautiful gift - even a baby shower gift! These books are really pretty in person and you almost want to display them.

4. Little Excavator
Oh, boy books! We have exhausted our copies of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Mighty, Mighty Construction Site, so this book came along with a fresh take on the construction process and Everett loves it! I don't know what it is about boys and big trucks, but it is such a thing.

5. In New York
I've passed on my love for NYC to my sons, and Everett absolutely loves everything about that city! We have a few books about New York, and this one is his absolute favorite. It's not too detailed, but the illustrations are beautiful and we end up stopping a lot because he has so many questions. I should probably do a better job of having books about our own home town city (someone leave me a comment if you have any Atlanta-specific favorite kids books!), but this one is such a crowd pleaser and most nights he asks to read at least a page or two of this beloved read. And of course, this leads to him asking all the time when we are "going back to New York to stay in a hotel".

6. Dragons Love Tacos
Gosh, is there anyone who doesn't love this book? We usually tell this one in a Boston accent (I have no idea why??) and even though we got it years ago, it's seemed to resurface in popularity over the past few weeks in our house and we've been reading it a lot again. It's seriously so funny and the expressions on the characters faces are just priceless. Great for boys or girls! And taco lovers.

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Our Current Reads.

We are loving books in our household right now. Between my Intentional October reading goals and Everett getting chattier and Stevie following suit with my insanely early bedtime schedule, it's all getting very literate up in here. Everett is suddenly VERY into his storybooks and illustrations. When we're reading to him, he often flips back to a previous page, staring at the pictures for a minute longer. I can see him trying to understand. Pointing out the dogs, of course. Then going "Woo-woo-woo", which is his puppy sound. It's the best. For some reason, we have a stockpile of books about dogs, trucks, and New York City. Priorities, folks. I snapped a few photos of him reading with his Aunt Rachel the other day, and they are just too cute not to share :)

Our Favorites Right Now:
Little Blue Truck
This series is darling. Little Blue Truck and Little Blue Truck Leads the Way are a few of our rotating favorites, and I'm not kidding when I say that we read these books 5-10 times a day. When we open the story, Everett goes "Beep beep!" because of the sound the truck makes when he rolls into the big city. It's the best. I think the length of the book, the thickness of the board pages and the illustrations are absolutely perfect, especially for my his age.

BabyLit Don Quixote
Talk about trendy kid lit. Have you checked out these books yet? They are so cool! Everett LOVES Don Quixote: A Spanish Primer, and I will definitely be putting a few more of these on his Christmas List. We've even gifted a few - my favorites for girls are Pride & Prejudice: A Counting Primer, The Secret Garden: A Flowers Primer, Emma: An Emotions Primer & Sense & Sensibility: An Opposites Primer. The colors and descriptions are just beautiful - half the pages I want to frame and put up on my wall. Seriously.

This Is New York
I remember flipping through a copy of This Is New York in Chelsea Market when I was newly pregnant, living in Manhattan. I remember wanting to buy it, because it was such an iconic, vintage kind of thing, but then I didn't, because I felt like my secret would be out. Which is so ridiculous, because there are literally a drillion people living in that city, and I only knew about 10 of them at the time. That just goes to show how pregnancy hormones really do make a person strange. Our dear friends Anthony & Jessica (who I always brag on) gave us this book at our Gender Reveal party, and now I love reading it to Ev.

A Walk in New York
The sweetest book about a dad exploring the city with his son, A Walk in New York warms my heart every time I read it to Everett. The length of the book is a little extensive for him right now, but I think that's a good thing, because he will continue to grow into it. He always pauses on the page that shows the subway system (it's a complex picture, with hundreds of people doing different things like dancing, kissing and eating, on three different platforms!) - he studies the page so intently. Then he finally locates what he was looking for all along - "wwoo-woo-woooo!" Of course. The dog on a leash :)

How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?
I had no idea this book was part of a huge series, but it is! How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten? is so cute and labels the type of dinosaur doing things like counting his toy trucks, counting his paint colors, counting the socks under his bed, hehe. It's the simplest story, but Everett adores it. He loves pointing out the dinosaur's toy trucks and trains. Of course.

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?
Who doesn't love these books? Other than the redundancy, the pictures are gorgeous and it's amazing how much babies love them. Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? is the perfect solution once you get reeeeeally tired of Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear. Of course, in our family, we are boycotting The Very Hungry Caterpillar for very obvious reasons, but if you like the others, you would probably like that one too.

I'm realizing that we need to invest in some more books before Christmas time! Because we are wearing these reads out. And that's a good thing! What are you reading with your kiddos right now? Any recommendations for me?

P.S. - We read more than children's books! I've been tearing through The Happiness Project and For the Love and I am feeling so motivated and inspired by these women. Stevie's reading Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck because he is forever a business school student.