Today is the last day of National Young Readers Week (Nov 10 - 14) and I’m sharing my TAKE on some books to get your readers at home excited about reading. But first, let’s talk about National Young Readers Week. This week was founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut (Remember, BOOK IT?) and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. It’s an annual event the second week in November to raise reading awareness. Many schools recruit their principal, local authors or “celebrities” to read aloud to children in their classrooms. Some schools go as far as to challenge their principal to read all day long to students. We don’t celebrate this in my children’s school but I’m thinking I may need to suggest something for next year! Regardless, I’m always trying to inspire my children to read more so check out my TAKE on our new favorite books. Happy Reading!
Inspiring Books for your Young Readers
The 50 States Fun Facts - This is a companion book complete with a United States puzzle to the fantastic, The 50 States: Explore the U.S.A. with 50 fact-filled maps! We love these colorful and informative books especially when traveling cross country in a car as they are filled to the brim with facts and conversation starters.
The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation - This is the 4th book in a series about Princess Magnolia. One, with a daughter named Magnolia I was super excited to find a series with her name in it. Two, these books are perfect and sometimes a bit challenging for my 1st grader who is learning to read on her own. And three, I love how empowering these stories are. There are currently six books in the series and more to come!
When’s My Birthday? - We hear this question frequently in our house especially as a siblings birthday approaches. This book is beautifully illustrated and full of all the birthday questions. If you’re looking to get someone excited about their special day, this book will do the trick!
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus - The author Mo Willems, is a favorite in our house and his Pigeon books are at the top of the list. As a former writer for Sesame Street, Willems has a knack for appealing to children. This book will no doubt, have your toddler in stitches before it’s over.
Eye Spy: Wild Ways Animals See the World - This book is a must for animal lovers and those fascinated with science and/or the body. It is insanely illustrated. Literally, the reptiles look so real I get a little creeped out by the snake. The book is broken into sections: i.e. dog, cat, cow, reptiles etc… and shares details about how different species of animals see the world differently. For example, if you could only see the world in five colors. Each animal’s eyes has a flap in which you can open to explore their vision - it’s eye-opening!
A Big Guy Took My Ball - The Elephant & Piggie series from Mo Willems is another favorite in our home. The repetition of words and visual cues are perfect for early readers. The books share important messages are incredibly clever and appeal to preschoolers - second grade. I especially can’t resist all the of the books in the series that have won a Theordor Seuss Geisl Award.
Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes - If you’re a fashion lover and feminist you’ll love this book and want to share it with your children. The author Eva Chen is the Head of Fashion Partnerships at Instagram and is one of my favorite people to follow on Instagram. In conjunction with the launch of her first book she also collaborated with Janie & Jack to launch a Juno Valentine capsule. I’m currently trying to resist (very hard) from purchasing something but I’m a sucker for a collection and some of the looks are too cute!
