There is nothing I love more than an excuse for a good picture book! Picture books, despite popular belief, are for all ages. I think more middle school and high school teachers should incorporate more picture books into their curriculum, but that’s another conversation for another day.
Here are the three Valentine’s Day books that we’re reading on repeat this year!
The Love Letter by Anika Aldamuy Denise
A cute book that teaches us the impact we can have on one another in our small acts of kindness.
The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond
I love the illustrations in this book! So simple but so beautiful. And a fun, cute Valentine’s Day book, too.
This Is Not a Valentine by Carter Higgins
I love that this book shows that Valentine’s Day is so much more than sending cards to one another.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-tutoring-kids-with-text-books-8922396/
The other day I spent some time in Barnes & Noble just browsing, picking up books, and flipping through pages aimlessly. It was so nice!
One section caught me a little off guard in the children’s section, a whole wall of graphic novels! My first thought was that to my knowledge, there weren’t really enough graphic novels out there for a whole wall of these books, so I explored more. There were the classics, Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Captain Underpants. And then there were more.
The Secret Garden as a graphic novel. The Babysitter’s Club. A modern telling of Little Women as a graphic novel.
There may be some out there who have a “bah humbug” attitude about graphic novels in the hands of children, “It’s just all pictures! It’s not real reading!” they claim. But flipping through the books on the shelf, I was so excited about this new phenomenon!
First, it’s showing the world that graphic novels aren’t just for boys. When I was growing up, only boys read comic books/ graphic novels. It was such a boy thing. But now the options of books for both boys and girls are endless! Books are gender-neutral by default, but with the vast options available now, there’s certainly a book for everyone to connect with.
Graphic novels are an incredible resource for reluctant readers. The pictures do a great job of helping tell the story, leaving fewer words on the page. For struggling readers or readers with anxiety, fewer words on the page is extremely helpful. They are also smaller, bite-sized wording on a page instead of paragraph after paragraph like a chapter book. It’s so much less overwhelming and feels doable to read one speech bubble and move on to the next.
from The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat
Are graphic novels still reading though?
Oh, absolutely! Reading is reading, my friends! There are words on the page that brains are working hard to piece together and figure out. Their brains are working hard to take in the input of information between the pictures and the words on the page and create a story in their minds. It is absolutely reading!
Is there an age limit for reading graphic novels? No. Absolutely not. Reading is reading!! So if you see a high school-aged kid reading a graphic novel, celebrate the reading happening!
Graphic novels are a great resource in the reading world and I am so excited that they are gaining more and more traction as time goes on. Yay for graphic novels!
Be honest, what are your thoughts on graphic novels?
Recently I posted my 2023 book list, but these books were specifically the books I read by myself. Here’s a list of chapter books I read to my kids in 2023. For reference, my kids are 6 years old, 4 years old, and 1 year old. Obviously, the listening levels of the three different ages were not all the same. But learning a love for reading is more important than actually knowing the storyline at this age!
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
This was our first chapter book read together and of course, I bawled my eyes out at the end. I always do.
Stuart Little by E. B. White
We decided to keep up with the classics, you cannot go wrong with two E. B. White books in a row! This book was a fun read and we enjoyed comparing the book and the movie!
Matilda by Roald Dahl
I won’t lie, this book mostly went over my kid’s heads. It was a little too advanced for their ages and the British English took a lot of explaining. But we’ve been very into Matilda the Musical at our house, so it was fun to read the book and the background context of knowing the movie well made it a little easier for them to understand. It’s on our list to read together again a few years from now when they can understand it better!
Luna’s Rescue by Erica Richardson
I cannot sing this book enough praise! It was the perfect academic level for a read-aloud given my kid’s ages, and the storyline had us all hooked! There is a second book in the series and it’s on our list to read in 2024 because we are dying to know what happens to Luna’s friend, Hoover.
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows
Starting the Ivy and Bean series was a great choice for us. There are a lot of books in this series and Ivy and Bean are fun kids to read about. Again, another book that led to more books added to our “To Be Read” list.
The True Gift by Patricia MacLachlan
I was on a mission to find a Christmas/winter-themed book for the Christmas season that was age and developmentally appropriate for the ages of my kids. There are SO many good kid’s Christmas chapter books out there, but I needed something simple. This book was the ticket, it checked all of the boxes perfectly and was a cute story. I can see us reading this book together again next Christmas season.
My final number for books read in 2023 came in at 58 books. I always set a goal to read 50 books in a year, so accomplishing 58 felt great! Here is my list of books read. Please note that not all of these books will be appropriate for everyone. Please do your research on whether a book is right for you or not. Please also feel free to comment to ask about any particular book, I’d love to chat about it and give insight.
Key:
👂🏼 Audiobook 📕 Physical book 📘 eReader
Title
Author
1
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Jenny Han
👂🏼
2
Crying in H Mart
Michelle Zauner
👂🏼
3
The Case of the Missing Marquess
Nancy Springer
👂🏼
4
The Hotel Nantucket
Elin Hilderbrand
👂🏼
5
The Last Chance Library
Freya Sampson
👂🏼
6
House of Gold
Natasha Solomons
📕
7
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas
📕👂🏼
8
Hiroshima Diary
Michihiko Hachiya
👂🏼
9
It Ends With Us
Colleen Hoover
👂🏼
10
Thank You For Listening
Julia Whelan
👂🏼
11
Mad Honey
Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
👂🏼
12
Hitchhikers
Bernard Poduska
📕
13
Beach Read
Emily Henry
📕
14
A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem
Manda Collins
👂🏼
15
Edenbrooke
Julianne Donaldson
📕
16
The Beach Club
Elin Hilderbrand
👂🏼
17
Maybe Someday
Colleen Hoover
📕
18
Maybe Not
Colleen Hoover
📕
19
A Corner of the Universe
Ann M. Martin
👂🏼
20
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
J. K. Rowling
👂🏼
21
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Heather Morris
👂🏼
22
It Starts With Us
Colleen Hoover
👂🏼
23
Maybe Now
Colleen Hoover
📕
24
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
J.K. Rowling
👂🏼
25
We Were Dreamers
Simu Liu
👂🏼
26
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Gabrielle Zevin
📕
27
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
J. K. Rowling
👂🏼
28
Enders Shadow
Orson Scott Card
📕👂🏼
29
We Were Liars
E. Lockhart
📕
30
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Abbi Waxman
👂🏼
31
The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
Johnathan Evison
👂🏼
32
Turtles All The Way Down
John Green
📘
33
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
J. K. Rowling
👂🏼
34
The Unhoneymooners
Christina Lauren
📕
35
Britt Marie Was Here
Fredrick Backman
👂🏼
36
Hello Beautiful
Ann Napolitano
📕👂🏼
37
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
Mark Sullivan
📕
38
A Place to Hang the Moon
Kate Albus
👂🏼
39
The Rent Collector
Cameron Wright
👂🏼
40
This is Your Life, Harriet Chance!
Johnathan Evison
📕
41
The Last Thing He Told Me
Laura Dave
📕
42
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Suzanne Collins
👂🏼
43
Good Man, Dalton
Karen McQuestion
📕
44
The Measure
Nikki Erlick
👂🏼
45
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
Laurie Gilmore
📕
46
Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver
👂🏼
47
One For the Murphy’s
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
👂🏼
48
Tokyo Ever After
Emiko Jean
👂🏼
49
Forever, Interrupted
Taylor Jenkins Reid
👂🏼
50
Tokyo Dreaming
Emiko Jean
👂🏼
51
The Mostly Invisible Boy
A. J. Vanderhorst
📕
52
Counting the Cost
Jill Duggar
👂🏼
53
The Cheat Sheet
Sarah Adams
👂🏼
54
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Jennifer E. Smith
👂🏼
55
Resting Scrooge Face
Meghan Quinn
📘
56
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng
📘
57
A Return to Christmas
Chris Heimerringer
📘
58
Found in a Bookshop
Stephanie Butland
📘
I cannot wait to see what 2024 has in store for my reading journey! What books would you recommend I add to my reading list for the year?
It’s here, it’s finally here! The Christmas picture book list of 2023. To see past Christmas picture book lists, head here.
A Creature Was Stirring by Heather S. Pieczynski
“‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a— MOUSE! He had never heard of a mouse not stirring. It was the most glorious night of the year! So he stirred. Squeaked! Eeked! Anything but sleep.” -Goodreads
This book had us giggling on every page! The small, loveable mouse also felt relatable to how my children act on Christmas Eve.
How Does Santa Go Down The Chimney? By Mac Barnett
“Mac Barnett’s iconic talent for earnest deadpan humor and Jon Klassen’s irresistibly funny art honor the timeless question with answers both ridiculous and plausible, mounting in hilarity as the night continues.” -Goodreads
This book is exactly what every child asks at some point. How exactly does Santa go down the chimney? We loved the illustrations and the humor of the book.
The Nutcracker by Jan Brett “Jan Brett makes this classic her own by setting it in snowy Russia and adding whimsical touches to the favorite elements of the traditional ballet. Enjoying this book will be an instant Christmas tradition for families who love the ballet and those new to the story.
As perfect a gift as Jan Brett’s classics The Mitten and The Night Before Christmas.” -Goodreads
The illustrations along with the changed setting of this book gave the classic story of The Nutcracker a fun, exciting new change.
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas poem by Clement Clark Moore, Illustrated by Mr. Boddington
“Mr. Boddington’s Studio provides a fresh take by using the same poem and updating the style” -Goodreads
We were oohing and ahhing with every page flip because of the amazing illustrations. The color palette used in the pictures flowed incredibly well and the bright colors drew us into each page.
I’ve been working on my 2023 Christmas Picture Book list for almost a month now, there are SO many good Christmas picture books out there and this is my favorite post I write all year! Picture books are magical year-round, but for some reason, the magic seems to double around Christmas. We’re not quite ready to roll out the red carpet for our 2023 list, so to hold us all off, here are all of the links to past year’s Christmas picture book lists.
My second year of writing a Christmas picture book lists almost felt wrong because it seemed like so many incredible holidays and celebrations were left out. Thus came the Christmas Book List as well as several other lists of holiday books!
Our reading bingo charts have become pretty popular with the reading crowd around our town! Each holiday and season I’m getting new requests for more. You can see our past reading bingos here:
As always, these are FREE to download. We love sharing this free resource for those who need or want it. These bingo charts have been great for readers who want a challenge and for readers who need some motivation or direction to get started.
On the bingo chart, there are several squares for reading books about different winter celebrations and holidays. If you don’t know where to find these books, look no further! We did the work for you last winter! Check out our winter holiday book lists:
