This is not an exhaustive list.
Daniel Tiger books
Goose and Duck
You Should Meet series- Jesse Owens // Katherine Johnson // Mae Jemison // Misty Copeland. // Women Who Launched the Computer Age
Showing posts with label leveled readers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leveled readers. Show all posts
Monday, February 24, 2025
Friday, May 6, 2022
Great reads for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
All Thirteen (middle grade nonfiction)... This is the powerful, amazing story of 12 boys and their soccer coach who were trapped in a rapidly flooding cave. The story garnered national attention and it was beautiful to see that a great number of people from all over the globe worked together to rescue them. Along with moving me, this book also taught me a lot about Thailand and Thai culture.
American Girl: Corinne (secular, middle grade)... This one has culture and racism focus but not really any history. The focus is much more on other things but I wanted to include this anyway.
The Caged Birds of Phnom Penh (picture book)... We read this picture book during a Cambodia unit. We learned a little about Cambodian culture and enjoyed our protagonist's clever way of ensuring her dreams come true.
Chinese Menu (secular, middle grade)... Grace Lin has done such a great job combining fantastical folklore with true history behind various popular Chinese dishes. Bonus- beautiful illustrations!
Finding Spiritual Whitespace (Christian nonfiction)... This was a beautiful book about healing and diving headfirst into God's comfort but she also dove a bit into her heritage as it pertains to her childhood trauma. I often call this book a Christian mental health memoir.
The Firekeeper's Son (picture book)... I love Linda Sue Park's writing and we enjoyed this picture book about signal fires in 1800s Korea.
Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same (leveled readers)... These leveled readers by Taiwanese-American author Grace Lin are fun and cute with just a touch of culture.
Lon Po Po (picture book)... This is a Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood. We actually know this one from a book DVD, 20 Fairy Tales.
The Magnolia Story (Christian nonfiction)... This book is about the businesses and life of Chip and Joanna Gaines and it does spend a little bit of ink on Joanna's half-Korean heritage.
Sylvia & Aki (secular, middle grade)... This one talks about a Mexican-American family working a Japanese family's farm during their time in a Japanese Internment Camp. Both girls' experiences are shown, back-and-forth. This is a true story but it reads like a fiction novel. I really enjoyed this one.
What is Nintendo? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... This one is of course a huge hit at my house and even i enjoyed learning about the history of Nintendo.
Where is the Great Wall of China? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... Not all of these books have been yeses for us but this one was and gives a good, illustrated look at the history of the Wall.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (middle grade)... Part fantasy, part Chinese folklore, full delight 🤗 We listened to this one on audio and were so happy with it!
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
17+ beloved books about toys coming alive
There is a reason Toy Story is such a hit. It's the same reason so many of us love The Island of Misfit Toys in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. (Little Golden Book versions here and here)
I, like so many children, desperately believed as a kid that my toys came to life when I left the room. I remember setting them up in specific positions so that I could sneak into the house and then burst through the door when we got home, just so I could see if they had moved. I even remember loudly proclaiming that we were headed to church and that I was coming right behind my family but then running back to my room and flinging the door open to see if they had moved yet.
There is something so magically delightful about imagining your very favorite dolls and stuffed animals coming to life and this is one of my favorite book lists yet just for that reason! I hope you will find some old favorites and some new goodies on this list.
Babushka's Doll (picture book) ... This is a fun way to kick off this list because unlike the other toys on this list, this one is very naughty! Babushka's doll makes all kinds of mischief but all's well by the end so it's a fun read.
The Christmas Dolls (chapter book) ... This book is about a little girl in an orphanage who ends up with two less-than-desirable dolls and loves them to pieces. It's a simple but sweet story and it made a fantastic Christmas buddy read with my five and six-year-old daughters.
David McPhail's toy love board books (board book)... We don't have any of these anymore but my little ones all loved Bella Loves Bunny, Ben Loves Bear, and Olivia Loves Owl. The toys aren't super alive in these ones and in fact remain perfectly still, but they're still personified by way of "Bella loves Bunny. Bunny loves Bella."
The Doll People (middle grade) ... I never read these books as a kid and have only read the first so far (there are four books in the series, plus a Christmas story that may just be a picture book?) but I really enjoyed it! This is the story of a doll family who wake up when the humans aren't around. A new doll family moves in and some big adventures happen as a result!
Hitty's Travels (chapter book) ... I never read the middle grade original but B and I enjoyed buddy reading these chapter book adaptations about a 100-year-old doll and all the life she's seen! This is a four-book series featuring Civil War Days, Gold Rush Days, Voting Rights Days, and Ellis Island Days. Slavery is portrayed in a very mild and gentle way in Civil War Days--mild and gentle enough that slavery doesn't seem like a big deal at all--so you may want to skim this one and then determine how you'd like to further that discussion.
Honk Honk Beep Beep (board book) ... This one was such a hit for little A! This is a simple rhyming board book that shows a father and son figurine riding a toy jeep up to the window to watch the sunrise. They stop to help (and be hindered by) other toys along the way. This is a classic picture book in the sense that the majority of the story is told through the illustrations.
The Little Engine That Could (picture book) ... A bit of a stretch for this particular list since the dolls and toys are just bit players asking the train to help them get to the other side of the mountain but I still had to include it since it's such a classic!
The Nutcracker (picture book, chapter book, and middle grade!) ... One of our favorite secular Christmas traditions about a Nutcracker doll who comes to life to battle a giant mouse kind with a toy soldier army and then sweep Marie/Clara (depends on the version) off to the land of sweets! As blasphemous as it may sound, ETA Hoffman's original isn't actually my favorite version! (But check out the Susan Jeffers illustration version if it's one of yours). The seven-headed mouse king and the Perlipat story line kinda creep me out. My son enjoyed Scholastic's chapter book adaptation last Christmas and all four of us love Mary Engelbreit's super simplified picture book version. We love Jan Brett illustrations though and enjoyed peeking at her new version in a bookstore last month.
Raggedy Ann and Andy collection (leveled readers)... Raggedy Ann and Andy are characters and dolls) who have survived for ages! My mom still has my old Raggedy Ann doll and my mother-in-law still has hers, too!
The Steadfast Tin Soldier (picture book) ... I have a picture book copy of this one my mom gave me for one of my childhood Christmases! (Side note: Save some of your kids' favorite picture books, goodness. It felt so special to watch my children pour over the same illustrations from my same old copy!) This one is about a play room that comes to life at night, but in particular about a defective toy soldier and the paper doll ballerina he's in love with.
The Story of Holly and Ivy (chapter book*)... A little girl who longs for a doll and a doll who longs for a little girl--a perfectly heartwarming Christmas tale! *I've categorized this one as a chapter book for its length and ideal age level but unless I'm misremembering, it's actually just one long picture book without any chapter breaks.
The Teddy Bears' Picnic (picture/board book) ... Simple and sweet, an oldie but a goodie. I never remember the tune to the song so this book makes teddy bear-loving D very happy.
The Velveteen Rabbit (chapter book) ... This book shows up as a picture book too but the chapter book original is my favorite. It's sad in a lot of ways but brings me the feels, as they say.
Winnie the Pooh (middle grade) ... For some reason Winnie the Pooh has become a baby-and-toddler icon in US culture so I find that it's often "outgrown" just before the best age for appreciating it! Really, these books are ideal for fifth-ish grade readers and pack such a delightful punch! Some of my very favorite quotes come from Winnie the Pooh and I tell Ryan every year on our anniversary, "I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen."
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (middle grade)... This one is a major, major stretch. There's a chapter about china doll people so I threw it in here but I'm 99% sure there's only the one chapter and the whole rest of the book is just about Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion and their quest. (No, you're not crazy... if you've only seen the movie then you only really know about the Wicked Witch, flying monkeys and munchkins but not the china doll people, Winkies, or any of the other characters)
You are Special (picture book) ... We love Max Lucado and really like this one. The Wemicks are wooden dolls but they're never really talked about as being someone's dolls, aside from their discussion with/about their creator. This is a fantastic book of spiritual allegory, though, and I can't recommend it enough!
Monday, December 13, 2021
Our favorite Christmas leveled readers
Can You See What I See: Christmas... This is just like an I Spy book. It doesn't have much to read but my kids love these!
Frosty the Snowman... This is just like the movie so my girls are big fans.
The Gingerbread Pup... Not technically a Christmas tale as it's a Gingerbread Man retelling but gingerbread feels like Christmas, no?
How the Grinch Stole Christmas... Classic! My kids read this one all year long.
I Spy: Merry Christmas... It doesn't have much to read but my kids love these!
Jesus is Born... The nativity story in easy-to-read language!
Nate the Great: Crunchy Christmas... Fun little detective series great for 2nd-ish grade level readers.
The Nutcracker Ballet... We all love this one because we're Nutcracker people!
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Great books to complement a budding sewing interest
I thought I'd tell you today about some sewing-focused books I have loved... Actual sewing books I adore and sewing-heavy fiction for children and adults alike!
American Girl's Addy, Isabelle, Josefina, and Kirsten books feature quite a bit of sewing. Isabelle isn't my favorite but I adore the other three! (See my full list of American Girl reviews here)
Beneath the Seams... This grown-up contemporary Christian fiction novel is all about sewing! This is a really great look at the fashion industry, humanity, and balancing motherhood with career aspirations. Definitely recommend!
The Canada Geese Quilt... I love Natalie Kinsey Warnock's writing. This one is ideal for 4th-ish grade reading level readers. Ariel and her grandmother work on a quilt for the arrival of Ariel's baby sister.
The Josefina Story Quilt... This leveled reader is about Faith's family's journey west and Faith's quilt chronicling her chicken Josefina's life.
Little House books are filled with sewing stories and are probably the very reason she wanted to learn! We've enjoyed the full series as audio books read by Cherry Jones, B loves the chapter books, and all four kids have enjoyed the picture books for years.
The Nesting Quilt by Cathryn Falwell... This sweet book is like a picture book version of Canada Geese Quilt... A young girl and her grandmother make a quilt to prepare for the arrival of her new sibling.
One Yard Wonders... I also like their Fabric by Fabric One Yard Wonders and Little One Yard Wonders books, too. These are great books full of small sewing projects using only one yard of fabric.
The Quilt by Ann Jonas... This is a short and simple picture book showing a young girl's love for the various fabrics in her patchwork quilt.
The Quiltmaker's Gift... I love this gorgeous book about a woman who makes the most beautiful quilts but only for those who need them, and a king who doesn't need one but is willing to do anything to get one. Touching and heartwarming, a clear favorite for my family.
Sew Dolled Up... This is a fun project book of simple felt dolls of a few styles and all kinds of outfits.
Sew Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp... This is my very favorite sewing book because it taught me how to use my sewing machine! It's very informative and easy to understand with several adorable projects.
Storybook Toys... The prettiest project book! These projects are a little too advanced for me but I'm still trying to learn them because I just love them!
Thursday, January 28, 2021
Homeschool History: Revolutionary War
We've been working through American history and I've decided to list our favorite resources for a specific time period ever so often. We'll start today with the Revolutionary War and the resources I've used for ages 5-7.
Adventures in American History... My mom got us this Adventures in Oddysey audio drama and it's a huge hit. They just want to plow through it and I'm constantly having to convince them to wait for the next episode until we've read books and explored other resources for the subject they just learned about!
Bedtime History Podcast: Paul Revere's Ride // George Washington part 1, 2 & 3
The Good and the Beautiful's History Year 1... These lessons were a bit lengthy if you're only working with the early elementary crowd but my son still loved it. The lesson book, the Big Book of History stories, the Keys of History board game, all of it.
Picture Books: American Girl: The Story of America (this is such a fun timeline book! Each time period is much too brief to be used alone but it's a great sidekick!) // George vs George // George Washington's Teeth
Early readers: George Washington: the First President by Sarah Albee // Imagination Station books 13-15 // Ranger in Time: Night of Soldiers and Spies
Middle Grade: Toliver's Secret by Esther Wood Brady (we read this a read-aloud, as recommended by TGTB's history unit. I liked it. A was on the fence at first but loved it by the end).
Videos: America: the Story of Us (definitely best for ages 10 or 12 and up) // Animated Hero Classics: George Washington
I've shared before that my childhood history lessons were dry and lackluster. I retained very little of it so I've been enjoying learning alongside my children. Those elements of history that did stick for me all involved historical fiction making it all come alive so I'm reading a historical fiction grown-up book with some units, too. For this one I read Rachel Hauck's Christian fiction timeslip The Love Letter. Romantic stories are never my favorites but I did like this one (she's a great writer) and it did indeed help this time period come alive for me! I don't necessarily recommend it for high schoolers but you know your kid better than I do!
*Many of these links are affiliate links. I'll receive a small commission for referring you to the product/website but you won't pay anything extra.
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