Habits of Wonder
It is fitting that a season of wonder should follow a season of gratitude. Gratefulness grows when we take the time to see and think about the good things in our lives. The skills of authentically seeing, of thought-filled reflection are necessary for developing the habits of wonder.
Playfulness and laughter, a willingness to explore - to see life as an adventure - and a desire to seek out the beauty around us are necessary to cultivate a sense of wonder! Developing these traits takes time: time we spend with our children playing, exploring, looking for the beautiful and time for our children to grow into these attributes. "A good book also gives us moments of wonder and joy and laughter. What better way to intentionally give our children their own moments of noticing the Love which knits life together?"
Sharing good books with our children - babies to young adults - is one of the best ways to continue to nurture the habits of wonder together!
What we read is instrumental in who we become! Playfulness
Adventures
Beauty
Books available at Bookshop.org
Thankful Taking time to express gratefulness for the good in our lives is essential to our children's well-being - research draws clear correlations between the practice of gratitude and mental and emotional health in children and teens! As important as thankfulness is to individual well-being, it is also essential for community well-being - celebrating milestones in a community's life has been practiced across cultures since the beginning of time. And, usually, the biggest celebration of gratitude is for the harvest - who isn't grateful for a secure source of food?!
I hope this month's books will help you to share with your children habits of thankfulness as you choose how to navigate the tensions between the two national holidays on the fourth Thursday of November: Thanksgiving Day and A Day of Mourning. As much as I love the family gathering together on Thanksgiving Day, it is not a holiday I can celebrate any longer since it commemorates the beginning of the centuries-long oppression and genocide of this continent's First Peoples. If you would like to learn more, begin with Native Hope's The History of Thanksgiving from the Native American Perspective. However you commemorate the day, focus on those values which bring us together: truth, humility, integrity and gratitude. May your harvest gratitude be rich in
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This is a wonderful fictional story about the life cycle of the pumpkin plant! Children will understand Tim's sadness at letting his first Jack o' lantern go to his surprise and excitement at new spring plants and pumpkins ready just in time to carve a second Jack! |
Do you remember Bemelmans' Madeline? These books were a staple in our home simply because Little Madeline was delightfully real and always causing some sort of trouble - even when she was being good! I stumbled across Frankenstein in my search for excellent picture books for All Hallows' Read and laughed and laughed and laughed - the poetry and the images are a definite send up of Madeline. |
While not scary in the traditional Halloween sense, The Ugly Pumpkin resonates with a child's fear of being different and left out because of the difference. Similar to the Ugly Duckling fable, all it takes for Ugly Pumpkin's fears to assuaged is to learn he's not a pumpkin! |
Don't Celebrate Halloween?
What if you do not celebrate Halloween in your home or simply choose to avoid scary stories all together? Well, there are still some wonderful pumpkin-oriented books to share with your children!
Children love shapes - circles, hearts, spirals, squares, triangles! As they learn about shapes, our kiddos want to make sure we know about them too! And when your little one tells you she loves you with her heart and her triangle, you can be assured she understands shapes! Just not anatomy - yet. |
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie is the perfect book for littles while your older child is reading Pumpkin Circle. While it is shorter in length, the pictures are stunning AND the gentle tease about "what else are pumpkins used for?" will keep the interest of those kiddos waiting to hear about Jack O'Lanterns! |
| Harper Collins' Let's Read and Find Out series teaches preschoolers and young elementary school kiddos basic science concepts and are written and illustrated with an understanding of how children think! For example, one of the first illustrations in From Seed to Pumpkin is of pumpkin seed packets with a focus on the Cinderella and Jack O'Lantern packets because children know about pumpkins from the fairy tale and the holiday! |
Happy All Hallows' Read!
Nonna
Purpose
The Stories Matter
mission is to give parents a reliable & thoughtful resource for finding children's books.
Disclaimer: Most of the books reviewed can be found at your public library or purchased through your local bookstore.
I am affiliate of Bookstore.org and will earn a commission if you click through the links and make a purchase from the Stories Matter storefront.
But, really, VISIT YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY!
Thank you!
I am affiliate of Bookstore.org and will earn a commission if you click through the links and make a purchase from the Stories Matter storefront.
But, really, VISIT YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY!
Thank you!
Categories
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All Hallows Read
All Things Technology
Animal Stories
A Season Of Wonder
Beyond My Door
Celebrity Authors
Empathy & Kindness
Exploring Simplicity
Harvest Day Reading
Heroes & Heroines
Laughter's Medicine
Mother Earth
Nonna's Reading Guides
Summer!
The Heart Of Winter