Nonna's Simplicity Reading Guide, 2023

3/7/2023

Living Simply: An Intentional Choice

Our world drives us to consume more and more, but it's not necessary for a happy, healthy life. Nor is it necessary for every moment of our day to be over-scheduled - too many activities can cause ill health and anxiety for our kiddos.

Living simply is to make a choice - an intentional choice about a way to live within the world. A choice to live without over consuming or over scheduling our lives.

I'd like to suggest a simple way I remember what is important to me: focus on loving people and nature while remembering to hold and use things in the best way possible for the earth. It's also a way to teach our children how to live simply in the world.

Parent's Simplicity Credo

Love people
Wonder at nature's magnificence
Use things wisely

Anything else leads to heartache.

Love People

I love this story! Marisol lives exuberantly outside any of the boxes others use to define her.

We must teach all of our kiddos - and then support and encourage them - to be unabashedly themselves just like Marisol.

Okay, so every time I read this book I get teary-eyed. Yep, every single time. The power of one simple act of kindness can be overwhelmingly inspirational even in a picture book!

Loving people is contagious! A neighbor girl's decision to walk to school with Vanessa draws in the whole neighborhood of children to support her.

With the feel and look of a folktale, the story follows the theft of Rosalind's lemon and the ensuing harm to the tree caused by a broken branch. Rosalind doesn't understand why someone would steal her lemons until she meets wise La Anciana who helps Rosalind to heal the tree & to experience compassion for the thief. This is a very sweet picture book with an emphasis on the empathy required to act kindly.

Mike, a young mixed-race boy, celebrates who he is with lots of energy and a bit of sass for all the questions about why he is different! All children should have Mike's confidence in who they are - it would be far simpler then for children to simply love and celebrate others' differences!

Welcoming others who are different from ourselves is a first step toward really appreciating how our differences make us stronger together. The aspirations in the book are not really so hard to make happen if we simply share with our kiddos the inherent value of others.

Wonder at Nature's Magnificence

Wow - I just looked through Stories Matter reviews and realized I love nature and animal books! If you type in any of the following terms in the page's search box, you will find loads of books to share the wonder of nature with your child:

Nature
Mother Earth
Bears
Butterflies
Elephants
Animals
Tree
Garden

And here are a few more to add to the collection!

The Gardener is one of my all time favorite picture books!

The power of a packet of flower seeds and a hard-working, determined heroine is wondrous. I used to read this story repeatedly to my children who remember it fondly - I hope - to this day.

A beautifully illustrated story to share with your kiddos.

This is a stunning book with simple but color-rich illustrations of seeds and how they produce fruit or flowers. But the beauty of the books doesn't stop there! Using seeds as a metaphor, author Lemniscates empowers children to decide how to use the seeds in their hearts.

Can a vegetable be beautiful?

Can you wonder at it's beauty?

Yes. Yes, you can if it's a Gail Gibbons book! She's a master at depicting the simplicity of a pea or ear of corn. Don't be surprised if your kiddo wants to grow her own veggies!

Use Things Wisely

It was difficult, but I chose to add Too Many Carrots as part of March's focus on simplicity rather than to April's curated books focused on laughter. And, yet, it may just show up next month as well - it's that laugh out loud funny! It's one of the most visually cheery, humorous picture books I've read in a while.

What do you do when all the things you need are lost in a fire? I love the heartwarming way in a very difficult, but encouraging story is told. And the illustrations are not only beautiful, but stunningly appropriate to share this story with young children.

Every parent knows their kiddo has toooooooo many toys. This book is a laugh out loud joy to read alone - or with your child.

The book is not preachy, but a hilariously realistic view of how a child's life is tied up with his toys, but also what happens when he can let go.

Making choices to live simply takes practice, but we can do it! Choose just one book to share with your kiddo
this month as part of the practice,
Nonna