My friends Jennifer and Haley gave me a Barnes & Noble gift card for my b-day. They know how much I love kids' books! I held onto the card for about a month, scared to make that final decision on what to buy. My wish list is so long that it's hard to commit! Here's what I finally chose:

This one...

Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins

Published 2009

Starred review from Booklist (excerpt): Lucy Cousins, best known for her Maisy picture books, presents eight familiar tales: “Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” “The Enormous Turnip,” “Henny Penny,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “The Little Red Hen,” “The Three Little Pigs,” and “The Musicians of Bremen.”... The writing is simple and direct, as befits these traditional tales. Illustrated in Cousins’ signature style, the bold, childlike pictures feature broad strokes of black paint defining the forms of characters and elements of the setting.

I bought this one last year for the library, and the young kids loved it. You'd be surprised how few nursery rhymes and fairy tales kids know now. I thought this would be a great selection for Kate as she grows up reading these traditional tales. And I love the pants the wolf is wearing. :)

And this one...

Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Published 2006

Starred review from Booklist (excerpt): Cookies provide the framework for this clever book, but the focus is really on the lessons to be learned about life. Designed as a dictionary of sorts, the book has an appealing design and delightful, endearing illustrations. Each spread features a word and a definition, which are further explained in an engaging picture. For instance, "Cooperate means, / How about you add the chips while I stir?"... Children and charmingly humanized animals mingle as they learn life lessons about everything from being open-minded to having regrets (too many cookies!). It all seems so real that young readers will want to jump into the pages and join the gang for milk and cookies.

As I've shared before, Amy Krouse Rosenthal is one of my fave authors. I love the simple, real-life explanations of each character trait. Since this book was published, more in the Cookies Lessons series have followed including themes of love, Christmas, and school. And right now, the 'love' one is on sale for $4.90 (hardcover!) at Amazon. I just added it to my cart. :)

Already thinking about what books to share next!

Happy Reading!