16 hours ago
Sharpening Shares is a long-neglected series on the blog in which I share various Christian resources I have found spiritually edifying lately. These are some of our family's recent favorites!
Paul Washer's Studies In Proverbs Lessons - Paul Washer leads a proverbs Bible study for children and young adults and up through this podcast - there are 89 lessons covering the first four chapters of Proverbs (at least so far). These lessons are so thorough and offer so much wisdom to my kids - and me too! I would recommend this as especially helpful starting in 4th grade, but my younger kids listen in with some Bible verse coloring sheets. You can also watch video versions here, and I was excited to see that Paul Washer just recently started recording lessons again starting in Chapter 5!
Catechism Music from Brian Sauve - The kids and I have been working on memorizing the Westminster Shorter Catechism for years now (it's a marathon, not a sprint). We recently starting listening to Sauve's catechism songs on Spotify, and I like how easy these are to listen to - they'd even be nice to just play in the background around the house.
Chapel Library - I was recently made aware of Chapel Library, a ministry that will send you FREE Christian literature each month. You just sign up for an account, select which books or pamphlets you want them to send to you, and checkout for free! I tried them out last month and selected several tracts, some catechism booklets for my kids, and a few pamphlets from authors such as Charles Spurgeon, A. W. Pink, and J. C. Ryle. They have a whole lot more available to request and also a great free app where you can listen to audio versions of alot of the literature!
Loving The Lost Prayer Guide - A friend of mine from our church recently made me aware of this handy little booklet from the International Mission Board. This guide gives information and prayer prompts for 52 unreached people groups around the world. We use a curriculum that teaches world history and geography with an emphasis on praying for different countries around the world, and it's been a really meaningful part of our homeschool lessons. I love that this prayer guide is so compact and will hopefully help us continue that habit through the summer months! Also, I forgot to mention, you can order the booklet for free.
To Seek And To Save by Sinclair Ferguson - This is a devotional for the weeks leading up to Easter, and I am enjoying it - each day has reflections on Jesus's own travels toward Jerusalem leading up to His sacrifice on the cross for us. Ferguson pulls out great points of personal reflection, but I really appreciate how this devotional concentrates on pointing us to Jesus, not ourselves. I'm sure it'll make an appearance when I eventually write an April book roundup, as I'm on track to finish it by Easter Sunday! Bookmark it for next year.
Facing The Cross: A Homeschool Morning Time And Family Worship Guide For Holy Week - Since we are currently in Holy Week, let me remind you of this free guide to reflect on the cross and the Resurrection this week as a family! We haven't worked through this before, but I'm planning on using it with my kids this week.
As someone who watched the Duggars way back in the day, I was curious when I saw Jinger on Allie Beth Stuckey's podcast recently, talking about why she now disagrees with the teachings of Bill Gothard that her family followed growing up. I had never even heard of Bill Gothard, so I was interested to read what she had to say.
I was hoping for a couple things from this book. First, I hoped to see a biblical examination of the teachings of this Gothard guy. Second, I was keeping an eye out to see if Jinger was going to be throwing her parents under the bus, which I hoped she wouldn't do, since I do think that even as adults we are called to honor our parents, albeit in a different way than when we are children.
I thought this book lived up to my hopes in alot of important ways, and didn't in a few small areas. Though I think Jinger did give a good amount of scripture in addressing why she now disagrees with alot of Gothard's teachings, in some areas she did not do a thorough job of it, or her current positions didn't seem well thought-out.
The best example of this is in Chapter 3. Gothard's most infamous teaching is against any type of preventing of pregnancy, and the "quiver full" verse in Psalms 127:5 is often quoted to support this. Jinger briefly says that "not everyone's quiver is the same size, therefore birth control is a gift from God to wisely regulate the size of your family". I put that in quotes because that is almost exactly what she said, though there may be a slight variation because I had to type it out while listening to the audiobook - please excuse any slight mistake.
I think that phrase I italicized above is definitely a jump. I wouldn't necessarily agree that birth control in general is a gift from God, and I can't think of anything in the Bible to support that statement. The morality of the birth control pill and IUDs in particular is questionable at best. The pill's affects on society have been quite mixed. If we are talking about trying to wisely plan the size of a family by abstaining, natural family planning, barriers, etc, I don't personally see anything wrong with that biblically, but hormonal, abortifacient birth control is quite a different story. Jinger makes no distinction in what she means by "birth control". Unlike most of the book, this is one position she takes that she really doesn't explain scripturally at all, which makes it seem like more of a reaction against Gothard and the way this teaching has harmed people, rather than a well researched position. I agree with Jinger that Gothard’s stance that people should have as many babies as possible is not what the Bible indicates, but it doesn’t follow that all birth control is automatically good. These are tricky issues that can’t be reduced to one statement. The section on this in her book was very short. Perhaps she will clarify in future books.
Aside from the few issues that I feel she should have explained more or clarified better, I thought this book did a pretty good job of explaining why alot of Gothard's teaching are false biblically. Alot of this was addressed in the context of Jinger's own memories and experiences, so I wouldn't call it a thorough or systematic addressing of the problems with Gothard, but it was interesting nonetheless. As someone who used to watch the show, I appreciated getting an inside look at Jinger's process of escaping a legalistic mindset to finding freedom to rest in Christ and His righteousness.
As far as whether Jinger throws her parents under the bus, I can say that the answer is a resounding "no". I thought she did a great job of talking about some of the problems she sees with Gothard without portraying her parents in a negative light. Every story she shares about her parents is a positive one, and though they may likely disagree with some of the stances she takes in this book, she takes extra care to honor the positive impact they have had on her life and not air any dirty laundry. It was very well-done on that front, and a great example of still choosing to honor her parents into adulthood with how she speaks about them.
One thing that Jinger does very well in this book is explain the subtleties of a legalistic mindset as opposed to obeying out of love for Jesus. It was sweet to read about her relationship with her husband and how he helped to gently point her away from her religious to-do lists and toward Christ. Even though Jinger does know that alot of nonbeliever's are going to be picking up this book, she does not shy away from taking a strong stance on the authority of God's Word over man's word and sharing the true gospel throughout.
So much of her story she uses to point to Christ and His work to save us on the cross, and encouraging others to rest in that. I also appreciated that she seemed to be gearing parts of the book toward people she knows who are still entrapped in Gothard's teaching and relying on their own works to be pleasing to God. She appeals to them to look to Jesus and find their rest in the salvation that He offers through His sacrificial death and resurrection. I think that was very encouraging and well-done. I also had to appreciate that Jinger says herself that she is still in the process of sorting through her own false beliefs and grounding them in Scripture instead, so it will be interesting to see how this ends up looking for her in the future.
Definitely an interesting book if you were ever a Duggar viewer, and overall this was a book that points to Christ. Even though it seems like alot of Jinger's journey out of legalism is very fresh and still in process, it was nice to read this book and see that she hasn't abandoned her faith and seems to be on a biblically sound track.
Note: I can provide more information on the problems with the birth control pill and it's abortifacient effects upon request, but you can also read this post from WAY back in the day for more information to get you started if you want to research it on your own.
Happy Spring!
It's been a difficult start to spring for our family because my grandfather passed away three weeks ago. I don't want to write alot about it here, but that's what's been going on. He was a wonderful grandpa, and I miss him very much.
It's felt weird to write anything on here with so much sadness the last few weeks. I'm just going to ease back in with a Wednesday Five today.
A Quote
"This is strength - this is peace - to feel, in entering on every day, that all it's duties and trials have been committed to the Lord Jesus - that, come what may, He will use us for His glory and our own real good!"
-John Paton
A Book
I've been slowly working my way through several larger books, so I haven't read as many books this month. I did, however, order a new one called 32 Christians Who Changed Their World by Glenn S. Sunshine. This one looked interesting to me because it's supposed to be short biographies about more ordinary Christians in history that made an impact.
I've also started reading the Sacketts Series by Louis L'amour. It's a nice time to be starting this series, because my grandpa read many Louis L'amour books over the years and it reminds me of him.
A Bit Of Nature
We honestly have not been out in nature much this spring so far, but the sunrise this morning was so interesting...there is moisture in the air, and instead of a blazing sky, it was as if all the air outside had turned a luminous pink.
A Recommendation
If you are reading this before Thursday, I want to recommend that you sign up for this three-day, online webinar from Generations curriculum - they are giving away a free PDF resource to all the live Zoom attenders each day! Yesterday I got this book for free, which is a resource I was thinking about buying for my second grader next year. I'm looking forward to seeing what the freebies are today! (Also note, the Generations website has a deal to get a free read aloud - usually $15-20 - with every order of any amount! I might have taken advantage of that deal yesterday too.)
For a really random recommendation, also check out this mascara, which has long been my favorite and was an asset this month - it really stretches out my lashes and makes them look so long! I prefer the waterproof kind - I can confirm it doesn't run at all.
A Moment Of Happiness
My moments of happiness this month are all related to losing my grandpa - from getting time to reminisce about him with my family while looking through old photos, to Derek giving grandpa a touching tribute at his memorial, to all my friends who have sent such comforting texts and notes or just checked up on me when they knew I was grieving. I've felt very cared for all around this month.
One of my blog friends, Bella at Over The Teacups, is doing a linkup called "If We Met For Coffee (or Tea)", and it's just a chatty-post linkup - I think that's right up my alley!
Today if we met for coffee, I'd tell you that my kids are finally (hopefully!) going to do their Awana Grand Prix tonight. It was cancelled last week for snow, and they've were so disappointed. They spent alot of time designing and painting their wooden cars for the Derby race. One of my little girls has a cardboard box car all ready for the "pineapple derby", where all the smaller kids sit in their cardboard boxes and watch a movie. It's all very cute. It's the event of the spring for them, but it seems to get cancelled every year at least once because of snow.
Today if we met for coffee, I'd mention something about how there is a tiny glimmer of spring when I go outside lately. March is always that transition month between winter and "spring", if what we have in the mountains can be called a spring season. I expect lots more snow this month, but also brighter evenings, more songbird twittering, and maybe even a crocus or two before it's time to write one of these posts again.
Today if we met for coffee, I'd tell you that I have Friday marked off in my calendar as the end of the current school term. I've been trying to split up the semesters into 8-10 week terms, and make a fresh school plan at the beginning of each new term. It is a time to look through all the curriculum, count up the weeks, and figure out if we are on track to finish on time. I'm very much hoping that we are able to finish a few subjects early, because there are some extras I want to sneak in before the end of the year - things like more art study, extra science lessons, and maybe a dabbling of civics. We will see how things appear on Friday.
Today if we met for coffee, I am sure that books would come up at some point, and I would be thrilled to report that I've finished 7 books in February, and almost all of them books that I can recommend! I have resolved to only spend time on books that I anticipate being able to recommend, which has honestly weeded alot of junk out of my reading. If a book has too much objectionable content in it, I have no qualms about quitting it, and if I'm not enjoying it I don't feel obligated to power through. Life is too short to read books that aren't worthwhile. I'd also probably mention that I decided this month to try to read a book by a Puritan every month for the rest of the year. Puritan writings are meaty, so that may be too ambitious of a goal. I've developed a fondness for the Puritans over the last couple years - say what you want about them, but it can't be denied that they were completely dedicated to doing everything to the glory of God. I'd much rather read a Puritan's advice about anything over any modern self-help book you could name.
Today if we met for coffee, I might mention that tomorrow is my monthly grocery shopping day. I've been skimping on purchases that last couple months and must stock up on a few things. Inflation is killing us here, and I'm worried about how much everything is going to cost - every time I go to the grocery store these days, the total ends up being 20-30% more than I thought it was going to be! I'm going to spend some time today taking inventory and making a meal plan for the next month, because counting every cost is important right now.
Today if we met for coffee, I'd have a bit of excitement in my voice when I talk about going to a one-day retreat for homeschool moms on Saturday. One of our state organizations is putting it on. The retreat is particularly timely this year, and I'm hoping for some great motivation for the home stretch of the school year!
Today if we met for coffee, I'd ask you how you are doing. I'd ask if you are getting any glimmers of spring, if you've read anything good lately. I'd ask if you find yourself slipping into a slump in March like I sometimes do, and how you stay motivated during these weird spring days. And you would give me all your updates and all your advice, and we'd sip our coffee (or tea!), and we might talk over each other, and we'd laugh, and at the end we would leave feeling refreshed.
---
You can join the linkup here:
Winter is starting to draw to a close, but we are expecting another snowstorm this weekend. I find myself squeezing in a few last-minute winter picture books before it's time to start looking to spring! These are a few of our favorites as of late, but I also want to point you to my first winter picture book list from last year. I'm glad to add a few more to our favorites pile this year!
The Small Walt Books by Elizabeth Verdick- This is a little picture book series about a small snow plow named Walt. I didn't include them in my last winter picture book post because I find the text a little bit hard to read in that it sounds a choppy when reading aloud...but I'm adding them to this post, because my kids have all loved them. For some reason Small Walt really sticks out in their minds! I think the boys like the vehicle aspect, and the girls think Walt is a cute snow plow. The pictures in all the Small Walt books have a classic, charming vibe.
Small Walt - Walt is the smallest snow plow on the lot, and they think he's too small to be of much help - until he proves himself by plowing the the top of the big hill!
Small Walt And Mow The Tow - Walt realizes he can't help a car that has slid off a snowy road - he needs help from a new friend, Mo the Tow!
Small Walt Spots Dot - In this book, a pesky dog causes trouble while the plows are trying to clear the streets - but Walt likes the little dog and wishes they could keep him.
The Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear - In this book, Charles sets off with his toboggan to find a wish tree, but doesn't think he'll ever succeed...but he does meet some animal friends on the way. The illustrations in this one are modern, but I love they way different parts of the pictures seem to glow!
Learning To Ski With Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen - This book is a classic in our house at this point - Mr. Magee decides to go skiing with his "little dog Dee", but ends up in hijinks with a moose! The rhyming in the Mr. Magee books is just wonderful - I love the rhythm of the poems.
Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Conner - This is a cute book about a family who lives in a snow globe, which is located in the living room of another family. The snow globe family longs for the day when one of the big family members will cause a really big snow storm - it's been so long since they could go sledding! My kids find this book amusing, and it's a cute story! There is one illustration of the snow globe dad in the bath tub which my younger kids found a bit scandalizing, but other than that it was a hit.
Brave Irene by William Steig - This book is a classic, but I have actually never read it until this year. In this story Irene's mom makes a fancy ball gown for a duchess, but a snowstorm swirls up and the mom gets sick, so it's up to Irene to deliver the dress. It's a really sweet story, and I like the interactions between Irene and her mom.
The Most Perfect Snowman by Chris Britt - Drift the snowman is a very plain snowman, with no hat, gloves, scarf, or nose, and he gets made fun of by the other snowmen because of it. One day, some kids give him everything he's dreamed of - all the snowman clothes, and a lovely carrot nose! But he becomes the most perfect snowman ever when he's willing to give all that up to help someone else. Really sweet story, with fun and dreamy illustrations.
Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella by Jan Brett - This story is exactly what it sounds like, with vibrant, imaginative illustrations of chicken Cinderella characters! We all thought it was really cute, and a fun reimagining of Cinderella.
Big Snow by Jonathan Bean - In this story, David helps his mom with chores while he waits for the snow to get deep enough to go out and explore. I think this one really captures the excitement of a snowy day for kids.
The Secret Staircase by Jill Barklem - Part of the Brambly Hedge series, this book follows Wilfred and Primrose as they head to the attic to prepare for the Midwinter concert - but they discover a secret staircase, leading to secrets rooms with all kinds of surprises! This might be my favorite Brambley Hedge book, and as always, the illustrations are so cute.
That's all I have to add to our winter book list for now! Non-Christmas winter books are so cozy and fun to read around our woodstove at the end of a homeschool day, and I look forward to continuing to add to our book list as the years go on!
I started this day off by finishing an audiobook while I walked to the mailbox, then I decided to make some salted caramel sandwich cookies. If this post ends up being a little disjointed, it's because I'm jumping up every 8ish minutes to take a batch of cookies out of the oven!
Just Life
She spends most of her day following the warm spots around the house, as you can see from the photos.
Our mailbox is empty this morning, as it's often been lately because apparently they can't get a mail carrier for our route. If I want my mail, I have to go down to the post office so they can give it to me. I made a couple trips down there last week to pick up Valentine's Day packages. Derek and I often skip gifts on Valentine's Day, but this year we both ended up getting each other something. I got Derek this shirt, and he got me a new Chi hair straightener because my old one was desperately old, and was also probably the reason that my hair stylist had to cut two inches of broken ends off a couple weeks ago. Though I'm told only two inches over the course of a year is pretty good for our dry climate here.
Derek made me a really wonderful Valentine's dinner, and decorated the school room and everything. It literally felt like a going out to a restaurant without even leaving the house. It was so sweet of him to go to so much effort, and really unexpected since we usually don't do much for Valentine's Day!
Aside from Valentine's Day, we also celebrated my oldest son's birthday in the last couple weeks. He is twelve. That feels so grown up - I remember being twelve and wanting to be included more in adult conversation at that age. I can tell he is at that point as well, and it's just hard to believe he is growing up so fast. He likes to remind me that he'll be driving in a mere four years. I try not to think about it too much.
On his birthday we went out to a local pinball arcade and let the kids have an unlimited hour of play - it was such a fun outing! My mom has been telling me about this arcade for a couple years, and I'm so glad we finally made it happen. I think Derek and I might make a date night out of it soon. We didn't pay for ourselves to play, and I was a little sorry we didn't, because I really want to try some of the games!
I have not given an update on Lulu here for a while, and she has grown quite alot since we got her. She definitely looks more like an adult miniature dachshund now (which, let's be honest, is still pretty small). Her favorite part of the day is right after Derek lets her out in the morning...she charges in the door and up the stairs, trying to catch me before I get out of bed. If I'm not getting up early, Derek gives her a boost onto the bed, and she races over to me, darts under the covers, and then squirms up until she is laying on her back with her head poking out of the covers right next to my face. Then she'll tilt her head over to me and snuggle for a while, until I sneakily tuck the covers around her and roll out of bed. We don't let her sleep on the beds at all at night, so this one little morning snuggle is the only time she gets. I have to say, having a soft, adorable little puppy dog tuck herself right in next to you is a nice way to be awakened in the morning.
Happy Mail And An Instagram Break
As a mini update on my New Year's goals: I did not paint last week, and I did not work on Ancestry.com. I did, however, receive a lovely letter from a childhood friend, and I wrote a letter, and plan on writing another today if I have the time. I highly recommend letter writing if you can find good people to write to. Since starting my letter-writing project, I've been keeping my own letters rather short so that it is manageable for me to write one per week, and I'm proud of the amount of letters I've stamped and mailed so far. I also forgot how nice it can be to receive a personal letter in the mail back. There is something really special about this form of communication - maybe it's easier to be honest when you are handwriting a letter, and maybe having to wait so long for a reply makes it a little sweeter when you spot handwriting you recognize amidst the junk mail.
Since we're talking about different forms of communication, I also decided to give Instagram another break. I was reading back through some of my old blog posts regarding social media, and remembering how lovely that year was when I wasn't on any social media at all. Even as I dipped my toe back into Instagram last year and have been using it more rarely, I still find myself rather sick of it again. One of the lasting benefits of being off Instagram for a whole year has been that it's much easier to recognize when the algorithm is messing with me, and when Instagram itself is bringing out negative feelings in me. I was feeling that way again recently, and decided to give it a break, until the end of the school year I think. Perhaps you'll be seeing more posts on the blog now! I also still post an occasional Bible verse or article on Twitter if you want to join me over there. Twitter just doesn't suck my time in the same way Instagram does.
Disjointed Thoughts On Wisdom Online
Speaking of Twitter, I saw this tweet over there last week, and it's been swirling in my mind since then:
I think the sentiment here is very true, whether we're talking about marriage or some other aspect of life.
I think it would be better for everyone if more young Christians had the wisdom to recognize when their experience is too fresh, that maybe they shouldn't offer advice until they have more years under their belt. That perhaps they can't have learned any real lessons until the experiences have marinated a bit.
Though age doesn't guarantee wisdom and there are plenty of foolish older people, a real depth of wisdom comes with fearing and knowing the Lord through the storms of life. Wisdom is a potential that might come to fruition as we walk with Christ through a variety of life experiences, good and bad, and those experiences can't all happen in only the amount of years that you can count on two hands. If wisdom comes, it comes with time.
On the flip side, I also think there is a derth of mature, wise Christian women actually sharing advice online - or in person either, for that matter. I wish older women would speak up sometimes, but then I see how they are sometimes poo-poo'ed or shot down when they do. Perhaps they don't speak because there are so few young women who want to hear what they have to say anymore. The gray-headed are not honored in modern America, often not even among Christians, and it's a shame on us.
All these thoughts are very half-baked on my part, but it's something I've been mulling over for a while. I'd love to hear what you think!
I've been severely neglecting my salted caramel cookie dough while typing that out, so I'll finish up now and get back to it!
How was your Valentine's Day, friends?
Have you been baking anything as winter starts to wind down?
Valentine's Day is one of our favorite holidays, and this year I set out specifically to explore all the Valentine's Day books at our library. I found quite a few good ones, and I wanted to share them!
Most of these are about adventures and mishaps with making and delivering valentines. All the books about kids making valentines are cute, but I like that I also was able to find a couple books about married couples doing something special for each other on Valentine's Day.
I did try to find a book about the history of Valentine's Day/ Saint Valentine, but I couldn't find one I liked! Perhaps I'll update this post next year if I find more books that fill in that gap, but for now, hopefully you can find some of the books on this list!
Llama Llama, I Love You by Anna Dewdney - This is part of the classic Llama Llama Red Pajama series. It is very short and sweet, so perfect for the younger set!
Here Comes Valentine Cat by Deborah Underwood - This one was very reminiscent of old comics to me (think Snoopy, from Charlie Brown). Cat does not like Valentine's Day, and he does not like that pesky dog next door - except maybe the dog is trying to be friends? Really simple and cute.
Valentine Surprise by Corrinne Demas - This is a story about a little girl who tries to make her mother a Valentine's card, even though none of her attempts at cutting out a heart turn out right. This one would be especially cute for the younger grades!
Franklin's Valentines by Paulette Bourgeois - Related to the old Franklin TV series, this book is like an episode of the show. Franklin loses all his friend's valentines, but then learns that his friends love him even when he can't do anything for them.
The Biggest Valentine Ever by Steven Kroll - Two mice cannot get along to make a valentine for their teacher - until they realize that their weaknesses may be complimented by the other's strengths if they can work together. I liked the illustrations in this one, and for a bonus, you may get a cute valentine card idea!
Happy Valentine's Day Curious George! by H. A. Rey - Simple picture book about Curious George's Valentine's Day party! Of course George gets in some mischief, as usual. Short and cute!
Little Bear's Valentine by Else Holmelund Minarik - Little Bear books are classics, and in this one, Little Bear has a secret admirer, and travels around to give valentines to all his friends - but he can't figure out who delivered the secret valentine (hint: it was Mama Bear). Really sweet story!
Happy Valentine's Day, Dolores by Barbara Samuels - This one is not one I would typically like, because it involves a little girl being sneaky and snooping in her sister's drawers, and a brief mention of kids thinking the young girl has a boyfriend (I don't encourage my kids to have "boyfriends"/"girlfriends" until they are near adulthood at least). But somehow this quirky little story just worked for me! It is about two sisters who bicker, but in the end they don't forget each other on Valentine's Day.
Ruby Valentine Saves The Day by Laurie B. Friedman - Ruby plans a party on Valentine's Day, but it snows and no one can make it up the mountain - so she brings the party to town square instead! Really cute book with vibrant illustrations,
Ruby Valentine And The Sweet Surprise by Laurie B. Friedman - Ruby turns up with a surprise - a new kitten, Sweetie Pie! But her pet bird, Lovebird, is feeling neglected. The pets try to one-up each other in making a valentine surprise for Ruby, but in the end they find out she can love them both. Pretty cute!
Little Blue Truck's Valentine by Alice Schertle - Little blue truck makes unique valentines for all his friends, but then gets a little sad when he realizes Valentine's Day is over and he didn't get any cards. But his friends didn't forget him after all! Cute, and the illustrations are so colorful!
The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting - Mrs Bear makes a plan to surprise Mr. Bear on Valentine's Day, even though it falls in the middle of winter when they are both hibernating! Her plans go awry, but Mr. Bear didn't forget about Valentine's Day either.
Snowy Valentine by David Peterson - Jasper travels all over the woods trying to figure out what to get his wife Lily for Valentine's Day - but in the end, he stumbles upon a special gift because of his love for her. Very cute.
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Paul Yalowitz - Mr. Hatch, who live s rather colorless life, receives a valentine saying "Somebody Loves You" - he feels so energized by that thought that he reaches out to all his neighbors and does nice things for them. But then he finds out the valentine was actually for someone else...but his neighbors make sure he knows that it's no mistake that somebody loves him. This was a sweet story!
Turkey's Valentine Surprise by Lee Harper - Turkey really wants to surprise his friends with secret valentines, but they somehow always know the cards are from him! This is a really cute and quirky book - my kids really enjoyed it!
Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! by Laura Hoffe Numeroff - This book does NOT follow the "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" format, but all the characters from that series make an appearance as Mouse makes them all a valentine - then they surprise him with cookies at the end!
Click Clack Moo, I Love You! by Doreen Conan - My kids love the Click Clack Moo books, and this one was really cute as the farm animals through a Valentine's party in the barn.
Groundhug Day by Anne Marie Pace - This is an unconventional Valentine's story, about animal friends trying to convince Groundhog to not be scared of shadows and stay awake for Valentine's Day. Really cute illustrations!
Do you have any favorite Valentine's Day books that I missed? I know there were a couple I wanted to check out that my library didn't have, so there may be a part two next year!
Happy Valentine's Day (early), friends!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
