3 sweet books about berries
Blueberries, strawberries...moon berries? It's almost berry-picking season, and these sweet books are ripe for reading aloud.
This week’s books are all about berries! Our family grows strawberries every year, and you know I love to find books that match our real-life experiences. The books below celebrate strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and even some imaginative ones like cloudberries and boomberries. (Oh yes, there is great fun and giggles to be had!)
On an unrelated note, I’ve begun making some switches to more natural products around the house: wood cutting boards, glass food containers, non-toxic makeup and deodorant without aluminum or fragrance. If you’ve done the same and have any recommendations, I could use a few! Drop your favorite natural home, makeup or skincare products in the comments!
Recipe: So Good Fudge Pops (These are a yummy, low-sugar homemade fudge pop that tastes so good on a hot summer day!)
Easy way to be a fun mom: Let your children help. I can be quite a Type A mom, and when I’m cleaning, cooking or doing some other thing around the house and ask my children to help, I assume they are going to do it the way I would do it. Quite predictably, they do not. However, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing! It’s important for them to try things out and learn what is efficient and effective on their own. It grows their confidence and shows them that I have confidence in them, too. And sometimes my kids have better ideas than I do!
The next time you ask your little ones to put away some dishes or clean up their toys, let them do it the way they see fit—and then, this is the important park—be OK with that. :)
Fun read: “The 10-Items-a-Day Decluttering Challenge Is the Solution to Chronic Clutter”
“The Little Mouse, the Ripe Red Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear” written by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood
Recommended age: 2 - 5 years
From the writer and illustrator of “The Napping House” (explored in this newsletter) is this exciting tale about a little mouse who is looking forward to enjoying a big, red, ripe juicy strawberry—but there is a hungry bear nearby who loves strawberries, too! The little mouse will do anything to protect his strawberry. Can he eat it before the bear finds it?
This classic story is sweet, if a bit suspenseful, but there’s just the right amount of humor to put little minds at ease. (Note: There are no illustrations of the bear in this book, so rest assured if you have little ones who are easily frightened!)
“Blueberries for Sal” written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey
Recommended age: 2 - 5 years
If you read last March’s newsletter about little animals in springtime, you know I’m a Robert McCloskey fan. In “Blueberries for Sal,” Little Sal and her mother go to Blueberry Hill to pick blueberries, as do Little Bear and his mother. Will each mother go home with the right child?
I love McCloskey’s pacing with this story. It’s slower so that children have time to absorb what’s happening and mull it around in their minds before the action progresses. You can read more insight into “Blueberries for Sal” in this newsletter.
“Jamberry” written and illustrated by Bruce Degen
Recommended age: 1 - 4 years
This book is whimsical and weird, but sometimes you just need a book like that. A bear and a boy journey to Berryland, where they encounter an abundance of berries: blueberries, raspberries, trainberries, moonberries, zoomberries galore! From the illustrator of the Jesse Bear and Magic Schoolbus series, this is a fun, giggly celebration of sweet spring and summer treats.
“During the day in between its tasks, as often as you can, you should examine yourself to see whether your affections have been distracted by some object and whether you are still holding our Lord by the hand. Should you find yourself at a loss, gather your soul together and set it at rest. Imagine yourself like our lady, calmly working with one hand while holding onto our Lord with the other, or holding him with her other arm during his infancy.” — St. Francis de Sales
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I second Primally Pure! It has been the only deodorant I’ve found that actually works, and I live in Florida where it can get super hot 🤪 I also love Branch Basics and Force of Nature for cleaning, and Ilia and Well People for makeup 😊
We love Jamberry! I didn’t realize it had the same illustrator as Magic School Bus though!
Also, on the subject of natural deodorant—Primally Pure’s unscented is the only deodorant I’ve found that doesn’t irritate my skin. I hope they never discontinue it!