Children's Book Monday

{Life for us lately is beautiful, as ever, but there have been some wonderful changes on our horizon as well as an injury and illness and doctor's visits... soon I will fill you in on this beautiful mess.

But if there's ever a constant in our lives, after the Lord, it's books, so I thought I would at least share a few of our recent favorites with you today... thank you for still being here, kind friends!}

The Boats on the River
by Marjorie Flack, pictures by Jay Hyde Barnum

Oh, my, we adored this book. It had to be returned because another patron was waiting for it, but we have it on our hold list again because it was that good! I, myself, can't even forget about the beautiful illustrations- so vintage, so detailed, such stories in the drawings of amazing boats; ferries, warships, ocean liners... Even though the recommended age of readers for this book is four to eight, my Gideon was riveted by it, and requested it often; I can't wait to slip it into his book bin again. (Also recommended by Flack: Angus Lost and Ask Mr. Bear- so fun!)

Mountain Born
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin

This is our current family read-aloud, and it has been so enjoyable. Divided into two halves, the seamless stories of a little boy named Peter and his black-wooled lamb combine through the growing-up years and are laced with precious lessons from Peter's parents, a shepherd, life experiences on a farm, and the Bible. Throw in some dangerous wolves and you have two thumbs up from the entire family!

The Story of the Easter Robin
by Dandi Daley Mackall, illustrated by Anna Vojtech

A little girl's concern for the robin making a nest on her windowsill draws reassurance from her grandmother, and a lesson and a story while they decorate eggs the Pennsylvania Dutch way- blowing out the insides and dipping the delicate shell. Peppered throughout the book are Grandmother's quiet words about the crucifixion, and the legend of a robin whose breast was colored in a very special way. This beautiful book resides in our spring basket by the table, and has been read many times this month already; we were grateful to find a picture book about Easter that combined scripture, nature, and legend to create a beautiful story worth sharing with our children.

I also have several other springish books on hand right now, as well as some incredible finds, so I've updated my Shelfari with the contents of our book bins. Perhaps you can discover some of our favorites at your library!

Happy Reading!

(If you wrote children's book reviews in the past few weeks, would you consider providing the links to those as well? I'd love to add to our list! Thank you!)