Anyway, I thought I would tell you about the most recent Bible we purchased to read with our boys.  We always read from the Bible at bedtime with our boys and some children’s Bible’s are rather ‘thin’.  Or if it is one we have liked we read through it all in a few months and then start over and wear them out quickly.  We went through 3 copies of this Bible.  We needed something new a few weeks back and we came across The Action Bible.

It is designed in a comic book format and is fun for our boys to follow.  The artist who illustrated the Bible has worked for Marvel and DC Comics and has done as awesome job with the stories.  It is a great way to get our boys interested in the Bible stories beyond just the one illustration that many children’s Bible’s offer.  It does take a few liberties to add more to the story (such as an individual’s internal thoughts) but it does not take away from scripture.  If you are looking for something new and different this is a fun one to read.  It is not set up for carrying to church to read with scripture reading, but makes the stories really come to life.  Especially if you have a child who is into comics.  You might want to check this one out.

In the mean time can you recommend any books you have read recently in the comments.  We would love to hear what you are enjoying.

I happen to follow The Pioneer Woman and remember when she was releasing this book.  When I came across it at the library I was excited to check it out with the boys.  We all really enjoyed this one.  This book is full of humor. There were times when I had to explain the humor to the boys but they loved the story.  The illustrations are fabulous and really cute and helped the boys understand the story.  I think this is one we just might have to add to our own book collection at home.  We highly recommend this one.

This is the second book Eric has written about Pete the Cat.  The first was Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.  We have not read that one but all the reviews on both of these books look excellent.  You can find a musical download of the story song at this site.  You can also find some YouTube videos for Pete the Cat entertainment.  This is a fun book with bright illustrations.  My boys loved the story and ‘reading’ along with me when the lines repeated themselves.  This is a great books that all kids are going to love.

Do you know Pete the Cat?

We have enjoyed reading the book Honk Honk! Beep Beep! by Daniel Kirk several times this past week or two.  It is a rhyming story about the toys in a little boys room getting up early in the morning and making a journey across the room to see the morning sunrise out the window.  Several times in the rhyme Honk Honk! Beep Beep! is repeated.  I let the boys say it after they caught on.  They have even picked up the book themselves and ‘read’ it on their own.  It has bright, fun illustrations and is great for a little one who loves cars.

We went off of the theme of the book to create our own track for our cars.  This is another inspired project from Pinterest.  Can’t get enough ideas from there.  :)  I decided against putting it on my furniture but the boys didn’t know any different anyway.  I happened to have a roll of masking tape in the house.  I am not real sure why we have it, but it made the cost of the fun free.  We threw in some signs and trees from our GeoTrax collection and we should have a few days of fun with this track.

Recently we have read a couple of Boxcar Children books by Gertrude Chandler Warner.  I loved these books when I was young and had quite a collection.  Elijah has enjoyed the mystery genre and is excited to get through each one to figure out what happens.  We picked up a couple different ones at the library to read.  They don’t have all of them and we picked them based on things in the title that he liked, but they don’t really have to be read in order.  I wanted to read the first one first but I had to put it on hold at the library in order to get it so I did have to explain a little to Elijah about the characters when we started but he didn’t care.  We are going to start #1 tomorrow night.  These are great reads for both boys and girls and can be enjoyed as a read aloud or alone for a young reader.

Another series we have really enjoyed recently is the Imagination Station Series by a few different authors including Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker.  I first heard about these books last summer when Moneysavingmom was reading them to her children.  She spoke highly of them so Elijah and I checked them out.  Of course the library only has 1 and 3 in their system.  So Elijah got #2 for Christmas (he still asks me how Santa Clause knew he liked those books) and we recently bought #4 at a local discount Christian bookstore.  The books are about two young cousins who travel back in time in Mr. Whitaker’s Imagination Station.  While they are not accurate history books they do contain historical figures and depict actual ideas from the time.  We finished #4 tonight and so far we have talked about the Vikings in Greenland, a gladiator battle in Rome, the Mongols in ancient China, and knights in England.  These would also be enjoyed by both boys and girls.

We highly recommend either of these series.  They are both fun and pretty easy for younger guys to understand.  What chapter books would you recommend?

I read this one with my three year old, Josiah, one night when he decided he wanted to read while the other two were busy coloring.  He said he liked the book and he liked them going in the dark.  I have seen him sit and look at the book several times on his own.  The illustrations are very unique.  Each monkey in the book is made with thumbprints of the author/illustrator and his son.  The book could be used with children to encourage them to create their own animals out of handprints, footprints and thumbprints.  It is a cute story that inspires bravery and creativity.  There is even a game you can order that goes with the book here.  This is a fun book and we think children of several different ages can enjoy this one.

This is a fun story and great for reading out loud.  My boys enjoy making animal sounds so they liked repeating after me.  It was also a great learning tool for them to tell me what sound the animals were suppose to make rather than what they were saying.  There is the  idea of the cat being able to do magic which isn’t really my thing but it isn’t a huge emphasis and didn’t bother my kids or cause questions.  This is a quick fun read for farm animal loving kids.  We would recommend this book as a read it again mama.

We enjoyed this book and it’s bright fun illustrations.  I think this is a lesson that not only children can gain from but also adults.  We love our stuff and like to hold onto it instead of letting go and giving ourselves a more peaceful home.  As my boys get older they accumulate so much more and sometimes it is hard for them to let go of things they think they need but never play with.  While we don’t have the extreme of Daisy, where when we reach across the room and touch things in every direction, we do have times where we have to par down and let go of things that have no value to us anymore.  This story has great timing for us because I am getting ready to prepare items for a semi-annual children’s consignment sale in our area and I can use this story with my boys.  Less truly can be more.

So Elijah and I read a chapter book this week at bedtime called Willimena Rules! 23 Ways to Mess Up Valentine’s Day by Valerie Wilson Wesley (#5 of the series).  It is the story of an african american girl Willamena (Willie), who is in 3rd grade.  Willie worries about Valentine’s day every year.  She is sure that every year she won’t receive any valentine cards and will be humiliated in front of her class.  She is so worried that when her big sister Tina suggests she send herself a card just in case she doesn’t receive any, she goes a little overboard.  Willie had several extra cards and ends up sending herself 23 cards.  With only 25 students in her class, who all sent Willie a card, it is evident that something suspicious is going on.  Willamena has to admit what she did and ends up being embarrassed, but a new boy who is also having a rough day after the party gives Willie a special card he made for her and they both end the day feeling much better.

The story was a fun read for me and Elijah.  He liked looking at the illustrations.  I liked being able to talk to him about being nice to new people and to people when they have embarrassed themselves. It was a very easy read and Elijah has constantly talked about Valentine’s day since we read it.

Since my kids are not in school yet we haven’t really ventured into the Valentine world but we made a few valentine’s for a few special family members and a couple of friends.  We used some paper, crayons, foam sheets, and a heart punch and went to work.

We happened to finish a roll of toilet paper right before we started this (well I did since I use the majority around here with 4 boys and myself).  So we shaped it into a heart and used it as a heart stamp.  I saw this on the internet recently but I am not sure where.  I didn’t pin it on pinterest so I can’t find it now but you can see the red hearts on the yellow paper above.  They turned out better than if we had drawn them ourselves.  We also made a special valentine for daddy using something I did pin on pinterest called handprint valentines.  They are super cute.

I didn’t take very many photos because some of the individuals who will be receiving these valentines might be reading but we had a fun time cutting (with children’s scissors), coloring, glueing, and painting.  Do you make special valentines with your kids?