making lately: kid art storage solutions

Inspired by Kelsey's recent post about making a photo book of kid art (well, that and a nearly expired free 8x8 photo book code on Shutterfly), I recently finally completed an album of Hendrik art that I'd been meaning to get around to making. Which then made me think of sharing about how I manage all of the kid art and papers that every mom of school-aged kids knows start accumulating from day 1 of preschool.... and could fill your entire house if you don't figure out a process for handling them.

In order to not actually have to keep all of the million papers, but still get to enjoy them and to treasure the good ones (because, let's be honest, there are a lot of throwaway "art" papers that come home), here's my approach:

Have a designated place for (temporary) display

In the playroom we have these giant clips mounted on the wall, and I use them to let Hendrik choose his favorite items to display - but the deal is that we have limited space, so it's time to say goodbye to an older piece if he wants to put up a new one. When we did his big kid room this fall I added a bulletin board by the desk so that he has an additional spot to put his treasured items. The rest he knows we recycle (even if there are occasional times when he gets upset about seeing a "treasure" in the recycling bin - see the final step below...)

Snap photos of your favorites and include them in photo albums

This is where I ascribe to one of Gretchen Rubin's maxims from The Happiness Project: don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. While it might be nice to scan the pieces for the best reproduction of the images, or get out the fancy camera for better quality shots, I remember that the point is (1) to have memories of Hendrik's interests/abilities/creative ideas from different stages of development that we can enjoy looking back on and (2) not have tons of paper clutter, so I just lay the stuff on a white table and quickly snap an iPhone photo before I recycle it. Then, a couple of weeks ago when I decided it was finally time to make the book, I just pulled all of the saved photos off my phone, uploaded to Shutterfly and put together this album (using this kid art themed layout design was perfect for making it cute and quick!). Aside from the art, it was really fun to include snapshots of how he wrote his name at different ages.

Have one storage bin for the ones you really can't part with

I keep one Rubbermaid bin in the basement for memorabilia, so the really special stuff goes in there - but then the key is to clean it out occasionally, like the end of each school year, in order to keep it manageable. Also, sometimes you'll look back and think, that was cute, but I really don't need to keep 12 daycare art projects that the teachers helped him glue together, so then you smile at seeing them once more and then let go of them later.

"Disappear" the rest

Having learned my lesson on this one, I don't toss the stuff in the recycling bin immediately when it comes home from school. First I let Hendrik show me all of his things, then I let them sit on the counter until after bedtime, and then they just disappear before morning... Key here is to not have them be visible when your kid opens the recycling bin to put in his yogurt cup the next morning. Made that mistake with a spelling test earlier this year: "but I worked so hard on that!" (Yeah, okay.) But really, part of the process is setting up an expectation that we can enjoy the process of making the drawings and enjoy looking at them, but we're not going to keep all of them forever. He just understands that by now even if he's not always super thrilled about it - but having the result of the photo album to show him definitely makes it easier, because it's so cool to see everything compiled.

That's my quick rundown, which was greatly inspired from the start by Kelsey's post on managing kid art - and then thanks to her for the updated post about putting together the art album, because Hendrik and I are both thrilled to have his here to page through now.

five things Friday: sizing up edition

As happens with every new season when you have a growing boy, I've been noticing that it's time to size up again on Hendrik's clothes in spring weights. Always a fan of the chambray and stripes, that's where I head first for my selections, as long as my full grip on the reins of his wardrobe acquisitions is still in place (we'll see how many more years that lasts).

 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

In general, I'm still shopping the "toddler" section for as long as I can - the 5T sizing there is pretty much the same as the XS in the boys' section, but the clothes are so much cheaper in toddler! Old Navy is a pretty good source for basics like a chambray button-down and elastic-waist pants that are still cute (a must for us - he doesn't like to do zippers or buttons...not to mention that things tend to fall down on this beanpole kid, so drawstrings help!). H&M is the other place I've found pants that actually fit him. Old Navy has also been a go-to for PJs for a long time (along with Gap) - they are such a deal and have always held up quite well, plus they do such adorable patterns and prints. We're not quite to short-sleeved weather, even under a quilt, but it's coming soon, and last summer's PJ sets are definitely not going to fit any more.

And I do love to check J.Crew for some wardrobe additions that are a little different from the Old Navy and Target that are the main shopping options in this town - if you check the clearance section or shop the sales, you can get some pretty fun stuff for decent prices. Plenty of stripes options of course! And fingers crossed that these Native for J.Crew sneakers that I ordered during a recent sale work out. No-tie is definitely a win for mom and kid when you're outfitting a 5-year-old.

Most of these selections are getting packed in the suitcase soon for spring break - can't wait for the milder weather to break out the sized-up spring gear!

pin to present: paper plate projects

When you end up with 5 snow days and 2 winter break days within about 3 weeks, that's a lot of "bonus" mom time... we started with cookie baking/decorating when we were running low on enthusiasm for the normal Legos and books, and then we moved on to Pinterest-inspired crafts!

I had this huge stack of standard white paper plates leftover from something, so Hendrik and I just scrolled through Pinterest's ideas for "paper plate art" and came up with quite a few fun options - but these llamas from Handmade Charlotte were just the cutest things, which made them the winner choice for both of us for our crafternoon session.

All you need is some paper plates, scissors, and glue, and you can quickly assemble several of these guys, ready for painting. It provided just the right level of entertainment and novelty for our last day of winter break, but I've saved a few more options (below) to my board in case of future snow days (please, no! but then again, I realize this is Michigan).

 rainbow | painted flowers | heart sewing

reading lately: chapter books!

Everyone in my household is ahead of the 2019 reading goals game at the moment, thanks to our Florida trip... where we discovered we're at a new magical age of kid where he actually wanted (and was able) to sit and read to himself poolside with the rest of us, which was delightful for my own reading time, but also just for the sake of this budding little reader! All of a sudden he's gotten good enough at reading on his own that he's actually been starting to tackle a few (short) chapter books solo, after we read them to him for the first go-round.

For this stage of early reader, these are some favorite shorter chapter books that we have enjoyed lately:

Magic Tree House
While we like to do longer chapter books with him as well, it's nice to have some slim ones like this series to be able to finish in a couple of days. I find the dialogue rather inane in these, but Hendrik loves the time travel to various historical eras (he's an especially big fan of the dinosaur one, but also enjoys the Egypt and knight ones), and he likes the semi-suspenseful endings to many of the chapters when Jack and Annie get themselves into semi-sticky situations in whatever era they've traveled to - because he's always asking me to read another. Dinosaurs before Dark is the one he picked up to read on his own after hearing it read aloud, and he did really well with it!


Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea!
We came across this on vacation when browsing for a new book for Hendrik (didn't bring enough along!), and it looked adorable just from the cover alone. Lucky kid was shopping with his grandma, who bought him the book and finger puppet set, so we got to discover how adorable it is overall. It's more of a graphic novel layout, great for the cute illustrations and funny dialogue of these two sea creature friends with a mutual love of waffles. Narwhal is an exuberant, infectious kind of character, with Jelly as the perfect foil - if you're a fan of Mo Willems (Elephant & Piggie), this is similar in tone and format for a little bit older readers. We can't wait to read more of this series.


Bink & Gollie
Our original favorite short chapter book series is Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo, so of course we had to try this series from her too. These are almost between a picture book and a chapter book - they have chapters, but quite a few illustrations, and occasionally a bit of a graphic novel layout. I like that the stories about these two friends show them being creative and imaginative together, but also show them having some disagreements or frustrations with each other - and then working through those. The series of 3 books is pretty quick to read through, and they're all sweet. (I also like reading stories with girl protagonists to Hendrik - not being overt about it or anything, but just giving some balance and avoiding falling into a trap of pigeonholing certain books for "boys".)


Magic Tree House Fact Trackers
At the end of each Magic Tree House book we've read, there has been a teaser chapter from the accompanying non-fiction volume called a "fact tracker," in which kids can learn more details about the era that Jack and Annie visited in that book. Very enterprising of these publishers, because of course when we finish a story, Hendrik things we should definitely get the fact tracker! He is a kid who really loves facts though; this one has inspired him to get out his own notebook and copy down things like Jack does in the stories. The dinosaur fact tracker was the one he picked on our book-buying outing in Florida, and it's a good non-fiction option for kids around this age if they have particular historical interests.


The Boxcar Children
I saw this on a Kindle deal a while back and just couldn't resist - I loved these books as a kid. I started reading it to Hendrik in Florida as well, but I have to admit that he didn't love it as much as I remember doing - but then, maybe the first book is just a little slow, since it has the setup of actually finding the boxcar, whereas some of the other stories have a bit more action. Comprehension level and length of chapters/overall book are good for this age though, so we'll keep trying, and see if I can kindle the flame of love for this one in the next generation...

If this isn't the most idyllic reading situation, I don't know what is... take me back, Florida!


Sharing on Show Us Your Books.

pin to present: art cart

Even before I started watching the Marie Kondo Netflix series, I was in a tidying up mode, brought on by Christmas... particularly in our playroom, where several new Lego sets and more needed a new home. Making room for those involved some weeding out of "little kid" toys, but then I also assessed the drawers full of haphazardly arranged art supplies - and decided I needed to turn to Pinterest for inspiration for a more elegant solution. Enter the art cart!

I was going to go with an inexpensive white cart that is a lot like the inspiration photo, but then Target.com's helpful "recommendations" feature showed me this bigger library-style cart, and I fell in love at first sight. More storage space, and such a fun color.

We have a lot of built-in storage in this room, so we already had the wire baskets, glass jars, and utensil caddy for storing these supplies, but they were kept on various shelves and inside cupboards that were out of Hendrik's reach. Now all of the supplies are out and in sight, which makes for a festively colorful display - plus, when we can immediately see what we have, Hendrik is more inspired to create with it, and he can access it all on his own as well. The first day we had it arranged on the cart, he right away pulled out some glue and pompoms and made a fun collage. All around, we love it!

I linked some similar storage solutions above that are working well for us - glass jars are great for various crafty things like pompoms or acrylic paints, a caddy holds all of our markers and scissors and such, and wire baskets hold other miscellaneous supplies like stickers, pipe cleaners and so on (separated in individual ziplocs), along with a separate one for paper, coloring books, and workbooks.

mini me Monday: big boy room

While we're on the subject of crossing things off my 18 in 2018 list, since the end of the year will arrive before we know it... #16: design a big boy bedroom. Hendrik is still sleeping in the converted crib toddler bed, and - also on the subject of things arriving before we know it - it won't be long before he's too tall for it, so I thought 2018 would be the time to come up with the big boy room.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

For various reasons it'll actually be sometime next year when we actually make any kind room update, so I was kind of glad to see I had worded it as "design" rather than something like "set up" on my goals list, because that still allows me to sit and daydream about what it might look like a bit, even if it's not happening now - and still allows me to feel like putting together this mood board of my ideas "counts" as crossing off the item on my 2018 list.

As with his nursery/current room, I am definitely all about having something that works for his current age but also for the future. While I still love the mostly gray/tan/white neutral with little pops of turquoise color scheme in the current room, for an updated room I'm leaning toward taking that same turquoise accent color and making it feel a little more grown up by going with slightly darker neutrals of navy and dark gray.

Feels sort of "ageless" for a boy, which is perfect for long-term usage. And speaking of perfect - how great are these Lego patent prints that I found? I'm not really into themed rooms, but I don't want it to be so neutral that it's devoid of fun or personality for a kid - but for someone who is SO Lego obsessed, this is the perfect way to bring that in, but still with a cool design vibe. The one thing I have purchased already, because I know even if the room doesn't end up with exactly these items, we'll for sure use the prints!

5th birthday arty party

We love a good party theme around here - so far Hendrik's birthday shindigs have mostly been coordinated around foods he likes (avocados! ice cream! everything!), but this year we went for one of his favorite activities: arts & crafts. For our first attempt at having a party with little school friends over, I thought an arty party would be a fun way to keep some preschoolers occupied for a bit... realizing later that it could have been semi-disastrous to give 5 boys a bunch of paint, and also blue frosting, but they all took their art very seriously, and had a great time!

It turns out there are tons of art party ideas on Pinterest, and even a whole line of art party items you can buy on Amazon, so I took advantage of both to plan a fairly simple yet cute (because I can't help myself) event. At this age Hendrik loves to help with this stuff, and as long as he thinks it's fun, I'm rolling with it! Here's what we came up with:

Invitations: inspired by this napkin design, I came up with a quick postcard design in Photoshop and then had them inexpensively printed by Zazzle. But I saw similar cute printables like this on Etsy as well, like this, this, or this.

Decor: going with the paint theme, Hendrik and I stopped by Lowe's and picked up some paint sample cards, which are in this great pointed banner shape already, and then just punched holes and strung them on bakers twine. Did the same with a pack of pom-poms from the craft store. Other than that, just did this fun coloring tablecloth and cute paint splatter napkins from Amazon, and the painter tee for Hendrik that I just couldn't resist (this or this would also have been perfect).

Craft projects: first things first, I covered the table with a big disposable tablecloth, and put out aprons to keep the kids from getting too messy (which I decorated with temporary tattoos - so fun!). Then I set out jars with all of our favorite craft supplies: acrylic paints, paint brushes, washi tape, googly eyes, felt letters, assorted pom poms, and glue. To decorate, we had some party hats along with some cute little white pumpkins I got at the farmer's market for 50 cents each. And then all of these Montessori classmates know the necklace "work" where they string on noodles and such - so I thought they would love a Froot Loops + peach rings edible necklace craft. I just put out some supplies in little bowls and some yarn from my craft stash, and that occupied them all for a bit longer as well!

Cupcakes: I got this idea from Pinterest, to have the kids decorate their own cupcakes with a variety of sprinkles placed in artists' paint palettes. They turned out so cute, and I was impressed how long the kids spent on carefully placing sprinkles onto their cupcakes! Just went with a boxed funfetti mix and jar of blue frosting to keep it simple, but I put the frosting into a piping bag to make it look fancier on the cupcakes.

Party favors: this is the part I'm most proud of... I came up with the idea of a "creativity kit" for each of the kids to take home - and aside from the temporary tattoos I ordered on Amazon, it was totally free! I happened to have some clear cone shaped treat bags, so I just went into my craft stash and put in some fun stuff, like googly eyes, pom poms, stickers, pipe cleaners, paper clips, and even some leftover mini play dohs from Hendrik's last Valentine's handout. Along with a felt letter of each kid's first initial and a cute washi tape closure, these were a hit! If you don't have a craft stash of my size, you could replicate easily with a kit like this from Amazon.


So that was Hendrik's 5th birthday arty party - followed the next day by a family dinner with 16 extended family members and his choice of spaghetti and meatballs. And we've been building his new Lego sets ever since... I think I sense a 6th birthday party theme coming on!

pin to present: printable pencil toppers

Among the (many!) exciting things about turning 5 this week for Hendrik was the chance to bring a birthday treat to share with his classmates. But in a time where it feels like every holiday has turned into Halloween, with how much candy gets handed out, I thought maybe we'd look for some ways to go the non-edible route. And then I remembered a variety of easy pencil toppers I've spotted on Pinterest before, so we whipped up our own...

The inspiration shown here is a very cute free printable, but a personalized version is super easy if you just take a cute Instagram photo, overlay some text, and then print out sheets of them. After I cut out the individual squares, I just used an x-acto knife to cut two small slits for the pencil to slide through, and, voila! A perfect gift that's not sugary and that's not just another random trinket. I mean what kid who's learning to write their letters can't use another pencil - especially a fun stripey variety that I got inexpensive packages of on Amazon (of course).

Mini play dohs make a great non-food/actually useful little giftie too, or I bet swirly straws would be a big hit with the preschool/kindergarten crowd as well - might hang on to this idea for next year!

mini me Monday: Hendrik-isms, v. 4

How could this have been 5 years ago already?! My sweet, silly, smart little boy is suddenly seeming not little at all. He's grown out of all of his pants again and is seeming super long to us (for a short person like me, his measuring in above 50th percentile for height seems like a feat!), but more than that, he's doing mental math and writing and (starting) reading like a champ. So fun - yet so bittersweet, of course - to see his personality and smarts shine through, in his creations and in completing his "responsibilities" at school.

On his big day, I thought it would be fun to share some of his funny comments from recent months. I've been writing down these Hendrik-isms since the last time I posted them, so some of these are a little old now, but all still very Hendrik...

On the facts of life: womans get people born, not mans.  

Speaking of babies, he's got aspirations: I want to have 50 more cousins! (Remember, Aunt Hanneke is about to have one baby?) Then Aunt Clayre will need to have 49!

More on family relations: you know, if things were different, Daddy could have married Aunt Clayre, and then YOU would be my aunt. (Uhhhhhh?)

Agreeing that we live in a pretty prime location near our city's downtown: yeah, but it's not the awesome-ist spot in the WORLD. (Oh really, where is?) Probably the grandest palace.

Regarding his aspirations for having pets: if we didn't have Daddy, we could have a dog AND a cat!

His own recipe for "strong pills" after seeing daddy make his after-workout "strong" smoothie: milk, water, 10 cups smashed energy bars, vitamin A, vitamin b9.

Regarding some creature he learned about in Australia week at school: it's no bigger than a mouse!

Regarding the reason for having 4 different painting implements: because we wouldn't want to spoil the colors.

Upon being told he could get another "pack" in the Thomas & Friends iPad app if he used his own money on it (and retrieving said money from his piggy bank): okay, so do we just put the money inside the phone now, or next to it?

Expressing his frustration with being told what to do all the time: you're just driving me around like crazy!

When I walked into the room wearing my cool-girl (I *thought* so, anyway) jumpsuit, in a bright voice: Oh! You're wearing scrubs like daddy! Email scrubs! (Appropriately suited to my job, rather than daddy's operating room one, I guess...)

Playing "would you rather..." with my parents: would you rather snuggle in a blanket all the time, or be blind?

His take on evolution: dinosaurs probably lived on about the second day that the Earth was a thing.

And still we have to keep a little glossary of funny phrasing/pronunciation. He still insists he's correct on a lot of these things (choosing not to believe me, the person WHO CAN ACTUALLY READ. Anyway...)
conna - gonna
moomies - mummies
octapliss - octapus
construction book - instruction book (where is that construction book, in fact?)
strawberry zucchini - strawberry kiwi


And now with that Monday amusement, I'm going to go cry over some baby photos for a while until my big kid comes home from school to open his present (Legos, of course!).

five things Friday: he's 5! edition

It's a very special edition of the "5 things" because this weekend is all about celebrating 5 years of our favorite boy! He's been counting down for weeks to his "friends party" on Saturday, and his "family party" on Sunday, and we're all ready to go with cupcakes and festive banners and more. In celebration, 5 favorite photos from his 5 years...

Plus - 5 of Hendrik's favorite things:

1. Clif Kids bars from his "lunch time bin" (where I put all of the snacky-type things and he gets to have one per day).
2. All things Lego, especially following instructions to build 3-in-1 Lego sets and taking trips to our local library's amazing Lego Lab, which has thousands and thousands of pieces to play with.
3. Lion King dance parties, with the BEST interpretive dance moves you can even imagine.
4. Watching Octonauts while I make dinner.
5. Doing pretty much any kind of craft project, especially with cousin Emily (who has got to be one of his 5 favorite people!).

And 5 of our favorite things about him:

1. His up-for-anything nature. Suggestions of baking something? Grocery shopping? Walking downtown? Going golfing? Organizing the playroom? His response: "Yeah! I'll do that!"
2. His unfailing curiosity and interest in learning new things. I mean, the kid can tell you about thyroid surgery and dwarf planets.
3. His creativity with arts & crafts and with language.
4. The way he says "moomies" instead of "mummies" (makes me smile every time).
5. That one sweet little dimple and his sunny smile.

Happy Friday!

pin to present: back to school interview printables

Back-to-school season is in full swing ... while I am over here reveling in the fact that the preschool schedule is a bit more loosey-goosey, and Hendrik doesn't start until next week. We've been having such a good summer that (while I am admittedly ready on some days to have my house back to myself) I am happy as can be to soak up the sun and beach time while the weather's still so perfect. In fact, Hendrik and I are taking a bonus 4th day on the Labor Day weekend with my mom, since we have no school to get back to town for on Tuesday, woohoo!

top row: left, right | middle row: left, right | bottom row: left, middle, right

But that doesn't mean we aren't excited about the school year to come - and as part of our preparations, I was reminded of the Pinterest-inspired back-to-school interview printable I came up with last year - along with a round-up of all of the free printable options out there that are great if you want to start this tradition on your own!

Just as I had hoped for with my own sheet, it was really fun to see how Hendrik's responses to what his favorite things and future dreams are have changed over a year (or not! Duplos/Legos as the favorite toy and cereal as the favorite breakfast still reign supreme) - and also to see how his skills with writing and drawing have developed too. I had forgotten that at this point last year writing his name was just a giant H and E. This year he's got all the letters, and he has improved at writing much smaller too. (Last year's almost-4-year-old preschool start on the left, this year's almost-5-year-old on the right.)

I think these are going to be super fun to have in our yearly memory books, and they're really easy to do - not too late to start up the tradition if you haven't yet! As Gretchen Rubin says, "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" - doesn't have to be done exactly on the first day, and if you didn't start at preschool, no worries. Just start whatever grade your kid is in now, and I promise it will be fun to look back at next year when you fill out the next one.

Happy start of school, everyone!

pin to present: popsicle stick crafts

For Hendrik, I think this is going to be the summer of art projects. He is SO into all kinds of crafts right now, and luckily we have an amazing babysitter, my cousin, who watches him while I work - and she has been all over finding inspiration on Pinterest to keep him busy.

So I can't take credit for any of these creations, but I thought it would be fun to share the variety of projects they have come up with, based on one supply alone: popsicle sticks. A super inexpensive and versatile craft supply, it turns out.

There have been planes, snakes, picture frames, super heroes, and even popsicle stick popsicles! Many of these projects just use basic supplies that you've probably already got - glue, crayons, construction paper, paints - but then if you just get yourself a pack of googly eyes, you'll be pretty much set to create popsicle stick projects galore. All totally doable and fun for a preschool aged kid - especially if you need some ways to keep occupied by this point in the summer...

reading lately: read-alouds

Last week I posted some book reviews for great summer reads for yourself, but I've been doing a lot of another kind of reading lately: reading aloud to Hendrik. We do it throughout the year of course, but this summer he has been SO eager to listen to a chapter (and another, and another) on the beach after he gets out of the water and all wrapped up in a towel. Much as I adore my own beach reading, this is going to be one of my favorite things about this summer, for sure.

So I thought I'd recap some the read-aloud chapter books that have had Hendrik begging for "just one more chapter" - and that we enjoyed reading just as much as he enjoyed listening.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Roald Dahl is a big winner with many kids, but Hendrik got especially into this one (and the sequel) this summer. He was on the edge of his seat, waiting to see if Charlie would get one of those coveted golden tickets to be able to go into Mr. Wonka's factory, and he was incredibly taken with the imaginative nature of the factory and all of the creations, frequently bringing up in regular conversation the idea of ice cream that never melts, or gum that never loses its flavor. 5/5 stars


Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln?
I mentioned the Mercy Watson series in my last review of great books for preschoolers, and having read through that series multiple times, we decided to try the companion Tales from Deckawoo Drive, of which this is one. In this series each book focuses on a different character from the neighborhood, and Mercy Watson makes a couple of appearances too. I love that they've got kind of a 1950s retro feel but with a modern take (a problem we've been having with attempting Beverly Cleary books - I have fond memories of them, but they just are feeling too dated in terms of gender roles and more, and they just haven't been as successful in our reading time with H). Also love the great illustrations - they, along with the Mercy Watson series, are a great mid-point between picture books and chapter books. 4.5/5 stars


Charlotte's Web
Beloved of many, you probably don't need any plot recapping of this one. I'll say it still holds up as a great book for kids this age - it's the very first chapter book we did with Hendrik, and it held his attention and interest. And provided us for plenty of opportunity for talking about love and friendship and of course also the facts of life - i.e., death. (Fun, fun. But probably good to do.) Which is a note for any of you who might have forgotten this plot point, like I did... we did some preparatory discussions before the chapter where Charlotte dies. But really, such a good one. 5/5 stars


Mr. Popper's Penguins
I'm not sure whether I actually ever read this one growing up, but I downloaded it on a $1.99 Kindle deal day, and I pulled it out at the beach when H needed a little entertainment. Besides feeling super cool that he was getting read a book from Mommy's Kindle, he loved the idea of a penguin as a pet, and laughed out loud at some of the penguin's antics. He learned all about Antarctica in preschool, so he liked all of those references too. This one might feel a bit dated (see reference to Beverly Cleary above), but it was engaging enough to work - I think part of the key there is short chapters, to keep a fidgety preschooler engaged. 4/5 stars


James and the Giant Peach
Roald Dahl again - out of the several we've read, this has been Hendrik's other favorite. Again, the imaginativeness of the whole story - I mean, it starts out with James' parents being eaten by a rhinoceros, and then there's the whole idea of a peach growing so big, the insects that grow huge and talk, the adventures undertaken, like being carried by a flock of birds lassoed with silk spun by the spider - just catches the fancy of a kid this age. Fun for grownups, too! 5/5 stars


Obviously we love Roald Dahl and Kate DiCamillo - what other favorites have you encountered for this age group, or do you remember from your childhood? I'm excited for when he's old enough for some Judy Blume, especially Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge, and of course the ultimate is going to be reading aloud the Harry Potter series - but we've got a few years to wait, so we need some other winners in the meantime...


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