Halloween Books!

One thing that I thought would be fun to do on this blog is to review children's books.

My daughter has an amazing appetite for books. Before she was even one year old, we always had books that were easily accessible to her little hands. We encouraged her to explore chubby board books, soft fabric books, and squeaky tub books. She loved them all. My daughter has a great deal of energy and I have often wondered if she might have a touch of hyperactivity- but she can sit for hours while you read her books. So, I have become quite an expert on children's books. There are some books that I love - perhaps because of amazing illustrations or a fun rhyme scheme... there are some books that I don't like as much - the story is annoying, the characters irritating... and then there are stories that my daughter likes. Sometimes we like the same stories. Sometimes we don't. (That can be exceptionally painful)

Anyway, so I thought what better way to kick things off than with a review of

some Halloween books!

Room on the Broom is my absolute favorite Halloween Book. The illustrations are fun, the story line is clever, and it is a blast to read. My daughter loves the kindly witch who shares her broomstick with others - who later come to the witch's rescue when she is in trouble. It is a great story about community building and helping one another. I would recommend this one for the permanent home library.

Tonight was my first night to read Skeleton Hiccups. The drawings are fun and the skeleton and ghost are not scary at all. It is the story about a skeleton with the hiccups. His friend the ghost tries to help him out by giving him lots of ideas about ways to make the hiccups go away. I bought this book because it received positive reviews on Amazon - and although it was fun, I didn't see it as a book that would be in my little one's favorites. Check this one out at the library.

Big Pumpkin is all about a witch who decides to plant a pumpkin. When it is time to pick the pumpkin to make a Halloween pumpkin pie, she realizes that it is so big, she needs help getting it off the vine. It is another story about helping others, but also has a message about how sometimes brains are more important than brawn. My daughter enjoys this book- and enjoys repeating the words that are echoed from page to page (which is an excellent beginning reading skill). This is another one I would recommend for the permanent library.

I will try to review a few more Halloween books this weekend.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween!

Welcome!

Where do you begin? I guess I could begin with a purpose and some ideas of what I want this space to be...

1. A place where I can share creative ideas and projects that you can do with kids.
2. A place where I can share my artistic endeavors related to my children.
3. A place where I can talk about parenting and children.

As a mental health therapist in her forties with a four year old and a one year old, I can quite honestly say that I thought about parenting for years before I actually became one. It has been so much more than I ever could have fathomed. Through this blog, I want to share my unique voice as a mother, an artist, and a therapist. My hope is that I can be helpful to someone- and create a community that can support me as well.

Okay- I think that is a good enough mission statement for now. I am excited to see what will happen next:-)