Hi friends,
Welcome! Just by way of a reminder — and an introduction to you new subscribers — every month, I send out a collection of picture books for you and your littlest reader friends. The titles are usually along a theme, but sometimes they are an author feature (I’ve featured Mem Fox thus far, with a couple more planned for this year!).
These are all titles that I have held in my hands; some of them are from our shelves here at home, and many others are from my local library. All of them are collected at my storefront on Bookshop.org.
This month, since many of you are sticking closer to home in the wintry weather, I thought I’d give you some titles that will help you enjoy home! These books explore the joy of home comforts.
There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. - Jane Austen
Home is Where the Birds Sing, Cynthia Rylant. “Home is where there are stories to tell and stories to hear. It is where your own story starts.” I loved this picture book showing the insides of various homes and families. Every page shows what’s different about people’s homes, yet it majors on what they have in common.
A House, Kevin Henkes. This is a good one for the toddlers among us. It’s a question-and-answer style book with very simple illustrations. We spend some time looking at the features of the house and the things around it, and then we see people go inside. That’s when this house becomes a home. It looks like this one also comes in board book format.
The Blue House, Poebe Wahl. This story tells of a dad and his son who have to move out of their rental home and find somewhere new. It explores the grief that comes with leaving a familiar place and shows the good that can come with the next place. I’d recommend this for older children who might be struggling with the idea of moving.
Perdu, Richard Jones. Perdu (French for “lost”) is a homeless dog who’s hungry and looking for a friend. He spends a day wandering in the city, being lectured and shooed away. Finally, a little girl finds him and takes him home. The illustrations are warm and simple. Warning: this book may make you want to adopt a dog.
And we were never going to get through this topic without a mention of one of my all-time favorite books: The Little House. You can learn more about that book and its author here in this Story Warren post.
Happy reading, everyone!
A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to my affiliate link at bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!