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Tag Archives: book lists

Bookish Novels Which Delight in the Written Word

Book lovers delight in the written word and doubly delight in books about books. This year I was introduced to The Last Bookshop in London and A Place to Hang the Moon both are delicious books filled with characters who understand the draw of a good story and the difference a book makes in one’s life. Sharing a book with someone instantly forms a connection. A conversation about a favorite book speaks volumes about the people that we are and the people we want to become. I hope that you enjoy this list of bookish novels that speak to the heart and encourage the soul.  Several of these are available in the shop so be sure and search under Grown-Up Books.

~Brooke

 

Categories: Book Lists Life of a Reader

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Family Read Aloud Books for Fall and Thanksgiving

Each year our family celebrates the first day of fall with a tradition we’ve come to call, Fallibration. During our annual celebration, we eat a pumpkin themed breakfast on fall themed paper plates and napkins, read all of our favorite fall picture books, and proceed to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Remastered Deluxe Edition). We’ve carried on this tradition for several years and our pile of books has grown along with our excitement over the day.

Here is a list of our favorite fall picture books (many of which are listed under Holiday at BrookesBookshop.com) that we believe you are sure to enjoy! We will be reading and rereading these throughout October. Then read to the end to find our favorite Thanksgiving books too!






Filled with traditions, food, and travel, Thanksgiving is among one of our family’s favorite holidays of the year. I know it can be easy to race through November festivities as we rush to welcome Christmas décor and the unlimited Christmas movies on tv. However, I discovered that I feel more comfortable leaving out the pumpkins and fall décor if we are reading stacks of great picture books to celebrate the season. This list is filled with gems, many of which teach more about the holiday than I ever learned in school.
Which ones on this list are your favorites? See any new to you or notice some that I missed? Let’s chat in the comments!




Make sure and check out all the fall books at BrookesBookshop.com! I pray that this is a beautiful time of celebrations and memory making this fall.

Categories: Book Lists Children's Books Holiday Books

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Books for Your Easter Celebration

It can be easy to leap into spring planning for a break from school and work, and eagerly seeking the signs of a new season: dogwood blooms, azaleas, buttercups, and irises. Next thing we know, Holy Week is upon us and we have just enough time to break out our Easter resources and decorations.

Our family anticipates celebrating Good Friday with a trip to the local bakery to grab fresh hot cross buns, dying Easter Eggs on the Saturday before Easter, and perhaps initiating a few new traditions. However, the best way we celebrate and focus for Resurrection Day is by reading a heaping stack of books. So, until we savor the hot cross buns and dye eggs, we ready our hearts and prepare our minds with some of our favorite books to celebrate Easter. Below are several books that we return to each year.  Happy Easter!



Categories: Book Lists

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Picture Book Biographies of Great Americans

Picture books pack a punch for the whole family. Yes, even your teenagers! The beautiful illustrations and text with rich vocabulary targets a wide age range which is especially good for larger families. With picture books, you gain a great overview of a topic in a very short amount of time. Plus, if something or someone particularly peaks your interest, now you have a springboard from which to find more books on that topic. 

Since summer is quickly approaching, I have compiled a list of 30 picture book biographies of influential Americans, most likely many of whom you have never heard of before. Head to your local library or the Amazon links below and choose which people of American History you most want your family to learn about this summer. From artists to architects, authors to library advocates,  computer programmers to female firefighters, and inventors to scientists almost all fields of interest are covered!

Below you will find the biographies listed in chronological order and divided into women and men. Enjoy your summer read aloud time!

For more picture book biographies please see this post on the Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire books and this post on Kadir Nelson’s books.

Categories: Book Lists

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Christmas Books for You and Yours

We’ve decked our halls and trimmed our trees. Our large blue wooden box of Christmas books sits stuffed to the brim and many titles have already passed through little hands.

We add to our Christmas book collection each year and develop new favorites as we revisit old friends. Traditionally our family celebrates the season at a slow pace as much as possible. Several years ago I wrote about 5 Helpful Principles Every Type A Woman Needs to Embrace and I’ve since tried to abide by them. With my husband working in the ministry the Christmas calendar has the potential to quickly fill up with church events alone so we have traditions that we maintain in our home but not always around town. The first and foremost tradition is reading wonderful books!

Christ is the central focus of Christmas in our home and here are the books we read to aid us with that intention:

Most of the books we read embody the spirit of Christmas without telling the Christmas story explicitly. There are many many of these but here are our favorites:

While Santa doesn’t deliver presents to our house (read more here), we have a few which incorporate St. Nicholas and Santa Claus. Here are some that we would recommend checking out at your local library or adding to your collection:

Santa Mouse may be the cutest mouse you will ever meet!

Don’t you love a wonderful Christmas story? The kind that offers peace, hope, and good will towards men?  Me too! I reread A Christmas Carol every year and typically I Saw Three Ships and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Following is a list of my 16 most cherished Christmas chapter books to read aloud or individually. Please share your favorites in the comments and feel free to ask me any questions that you have.


 I have a few that I’ve introduced to at least one of my children and plan to introduce to each of them this year:

 The Little Match Girl made an impression on me when I was a child. It is one that I haven’t shared with my children but plan on doing so this Christmas. I think this will open the door for rich conversations around our responsibility to look for ways to help others. 

Finally, I’ve posted here about Christmas books that have corresponding movies. Check out the list and see if there are any of your favorites!

Merry Christmas to you and yours. May your days awaiting the celebration of Christ’s birth draw you nearer to the heart of God.

Categories: Book Lists Christmas Books Holiday Books

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