My Milk Toof: The Adventures of Ickle and Lardee
Last year, I realized our favorite books needed their own list, so here's the 2nd edition. Here's the 1st edition.
This book was given to us a few years ago and is always near by. It's not really a story, but little vignettes depicting the adventures of these adorable teeth. Inspired by this, all the girls have made their own teeth out of sculpey to play with. So flippin' cute.
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #1: Wolf Brother
This is a surprise hit for us. I was looking for fiction while we were studying the stone age and found this series and the girls are in love with it. The first book is about a boy and a wolf and the wolf narrates some of the chapters. There's so much wonderful research in here. It's like taking a wilderness survival class from the sofa. We are in the middle of book 2 now and will surely read the rest. It's not funny or light at all— the drama and tense survival challenges they are thrilled by.
A neighbor friend told us about this book, and my 10 and 12 year-olds have read it repeatedly. I have not read it yet, but know it's about a girl and boy who have to repeat their 11th birthday over and over again. There are other books in this series and this one is their favorite.
Manga for the Beginner Chibis: Everything You Need to Start Drawing the Super-Cute Characters of Japanese Comics
All my girls draw a whole bunch and this book (and all the manga books by christopher hart) are very popular around here. Chibis rule the roost however, because who doesn't love cute adorable chibis!? There is a section on learning to draw chibi animals, too.
The Buddha's Apprentice at Bedtime: Tales of Compassion and Kindness for You to Read with Your Child - to Delight and Inspire
I read these short stories aloud to my girls and they love them. The illustrations are really lovely and the stories are simple and have a lot of issues to discuss. I wondered if it was too young for my older girls, but it's not, they ask for these stories almost every day at lunch time. Then we talk about them at length. I think they like the discussions afterward even more than the stories.
This book disappeared the day I got it. My eldest is a huge Percy Jackson fan and so this went into her bed and rarely comes out. I have heard her read it out loud to her sisters, and it's funny and interesting, but again, I don't see it much. She assures me it's super great. It's also big and impressive in hardback.
Kids Are Weird: And Other Observations from Parenthood
I bought this for myself because it made me laugh so hard and reminded me of Will and Abe in the best way, but now I can't get it away from the kids. They think it's so funny—because it is. It's all direct quotes from the author's son, and they are priceless.
There are more books that mean the world to us I have already blogged about this year, including: