I never thought of “love and marriage” as a topic anyone would sit down to write a kids’ books about. I never sought out children’s books about love and marriage to read with my child. They just kind of wandered into the library bag… and some of them have become our favorite books. When I looked at them as a… Read more »
Does the kiddo in your life love superheroes? You’re in luck! There are lots of creative, fun kids’ books about superheroes that C-Man and I have enjoyed as much as Boy Detective did. And what would superheroes be without supervillains? So here are our favorites children’s picture books about superheroes and the Bad Guys/Gals on the other side. You may… Read more »
My child LOVES cats. For a couple of years, he practically stalked one of the neighborhood cats. Unfortunately for him, his father and I will never, ever get a cat. Fortunately for him, his grandma owns a cat, and at least his parents don’t mind reading books about cats. So here are the children’s books about cats that we liked…. Read more »
It’s been very “action” and “comics” around Planet Jinxatron lately, so let’s mix things up with a quiet set of children’s books. Plants are quiet, right? Perfect. Here are our favorite children’s books about gardens and gardening, which all go well beyond how to make green things grow. Even if you don’t have a young reader in your life, but… Read more »
If you’ve ever been trapped reading a boring book to a young person, I feel your pain. These books are NOT boring. They’re really well written, and the art is beautiful and interesting. Even better, they’re about magic. Strange happenings, special powers, and mysterious characters. What’s not to love? I’d hand them to an adult looking for a light read,… Read more »
Why aren’t there more awesome kids’ books about robots? Kids love robots! More kids love robots than probably love farm animals, and yet we’re subjected to billions of books about cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks. But I have been ransacking the Austin Public Library system and pickings are very slim. Folks, if there’s a city in Texas that should… Read more »
There’s a rumor that boys prefer stories with male lead characters. I’m not sure when that’s supposed to kick in. We’ve gone five and a half years and I see no signs of Boy Detective shying away from appealing stories with strong characters just because they’re led by girls. Which is great, because I like our reading to be as… Read more »
Many, many, many children’s books end with bedtime. It’s almost like children’s book authors know how much the parents of young children crave sleep and welcome assistance in achieving their sleep-related goals from literature. Sometimes, though, when you’ve had one of those verrrrrry long days, you may need something a little more explicit that the gentle suggestion at the end… Read more »
Pirate fever hit our house hard in late 2012. Seemingly overnight, my kid became obsessed with Jolly Roger coloring pages and drew new “treasure maps” daily. C-Man and I always thought of us as a ninja family in the ninjas v. pirates smackdown, so this was somewhat awkward. However, our son is our son, and we love him no matter… Read more »
I’m lucky that our trips to the library are usually family outings. That means one adult chases the kid and the other (me) gets to look through 40-60 books and find the ones worth checking out. Out of those, there are several fantastic ones that have stood out. This is the second post in a series highlighting those rockstars. I… Read more »