Articles tagged book recommendations
General / If you're a parent and...
Happy July 4th! This holiday inspires me to read books about American history: presidents, symbols, battles, trivia, monuments, houses – there are some great stories! Tomorrow we’ll wrap up a day of parades, candy, fireworks, barbecues, and swimming with two of my daughter’s favorite books: Looking At Lincoln and So You Want to Be President. She read one … Continued
General / If you're a parent and...
Today is the last day of school – let summer vacation begin! Planning child care, camps, vacations, work obligations, and family visits has been a three month process. And we all know that despite these best-laid plans, our carefully structured calendar will be rocked by the unforeseeable – beach days interrupted by afternoon thunderstorms or … Continued
The last time I was volunteering at a book giveaway, where we let each child in the school pick out a new, free book to take home, I had several middle school aged boys say to me “There’s nothing here I want.” Or “I don’t see anything I like.” It’s times like that I try not to … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
Lots of news over the past two weeks! Here’s the roundup: First, happy Children’s Book Week! In the brilliant ideas department: Florida kids (and Salt Lake City, and a few others) with overdue books are allowed to read down their library fines–instead of having their borrowing cut off until they scrape together fees. Way to keep the library accessible to the … Continued
General / Book Recommendations / If you're a parent and...
I love a good story. But making them up on the spot doesn’t come naturally to me. I dread when my child asks “tell me a story.” She usually asks when I feel least creative – driving to school, waiting in the doctor’s office, or sitting in her bed in the middle of the night after … Continued
Last week, on a school day, our alarm went off and my husband and I did not jump out of bed. We lay there looking at the ceiling for a few minutes, you know, in dread. It was, as we call it, “time to wake the donuts,” and man, we really didn’t want to. Truth … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Happy Friday! We’re digging out after Vulcan dumped two feet of fresh snow over Vermont. Which means all this weekend we’ll be doing our two favorite activities: reading and skiing. Here are some clips from the last two weeks. Meredith found a lot happening in Ohio to help third graders pass reading tests: When more … Continued
Photo Credit My only child celebrated her 100th day of kindergarten in February. As a parent new to public school, I was surprised that this is a milestone…and reminded that I have a lot to learn! Being new to CLiF, I have even more appreciation for how inventive schools, teachers, and parents are in designing … Continued
CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
Here’s a peek behind the scenes in the CLiF office. Julia is busy assembling a huge book order for CLiF’s fall programs through our partner First Book. It’s a thoughtful process. Lots of kids in New Hampshire and Vermont are interested in hunting, animals, and nature, so she’s including Tracking and Reading Sign by Len McDougall … Continued
If you are reading this, you probably really love books. But what if they were forbidden? Would you love them even more? Would you fight for them? Would you keep the stories in your head and pass them on so they would never be lost? Imagine if there was just one book left in the … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
With the promise of summer weather on the horizon, I’ve started to contemplate fun ways to bring our reading outdoors on warm, sunny days. Luckily with the world of Pinterest and creative blogs, I found a wealth of ideas for summer literacy activities. Unfortunately, children that don’t read and write during the summer months experience … Continued
Amidst a sea of bustling children, adorable little ones in strollers and Ergo carriers, and mamas-to-be looking radiant and curious, Julia and I set up a table at the Good Beginnings First Annual Baby and Child Expo to talk with parents about reading to their children from the get-go. Good Beginnings of Central Vermont is … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Recently, while at the library seeking new reading material for my son, Emmett, two books jumped out at me. Each had an enticing title, intriguing subject matter, and captivating imagery. And Then It’s Spring and Peaceful Piggy Meditation grabbed my interest, and without hesitation, I checked them out and nestled them into our stroller. Though the books are … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
In 1967 artist Leo Lionni wrote a beautiful book about a little mouse named Frederick. Instead of working like the other mice to gather food and straw for the long winter, Frederick sat quietly soaking up the rays of the sun. When the other mice asked Frederick why he did not work, he explained, I … Continued
I love a good bookstore. If I am visiting a town and I’ve heard about a cozy, quirky or otherwise interesting locally owned bookstore, you better believe I’m going to make some time to check it out. Luckily for me, I live in an area of Vermont that offers a plethora of bookstores to cater … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
A few months ago I tasked our readers with an important assignment: help me find books that I can read repeatedly without losing my sanity. For those of you who missed my first blog post, feel free to read it here. The gist of my request was that I now have a (just-about-in-only-one-week-where-did-the-time-go) two-year-old who has … Continued
Anyone with young kids knows the drill – it’s time for bed, you settle yourself comfortably into the rocking chair, prepped and ready for some quality snuggling and an exciting bedtime story. But when you send the little tike off to choose that evening’s book, you find he returns with the story you read the night before…and the night before that…and the night before that…
CLiF has served over 350,000 children since 1998.