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The Littlest Book Club//Fall Edition

October 25, 2017 Rachel Nevergall
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I believe one of the greatest ways to mark a season is through literature. Books reinforce the themes that surround a child. They are a bridge from what they are learning to how they are exploring. So while my children gravitate towards the same books on their book shelves over and over again, I make sure to gather books at the library that follow along seasonally to enhance their learning. 

But besides being an educational tool, reading seasonally is just so cozy. The nostalgia of a story that celebrates the best of a season brings on all the snuggly vibes. I never tire of the morning routine of two kids piling into bed with a stack of books. Christmas is one of my favorite ways of doing this, as evident in my Book Advent Calendar. But Fall is making a good fight for second, for obvious reasons. 

In my head I see September as Apple Season, October as Halloween/Pumpkin season, and November as Leaf season, but these can all be read at any time in the fall. While Christmas gets rushed into about one month, you really can never have too much Fall.

Here are some of our favorites (mostly mine because let's face it, I'm the reader and thus picker these days.)

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Apple Season Books

Apples are eaten year round in our house. But it feels so fulfilling to give them an extra special nod at this time of year. There were many more I was excited to read by alas, the Library Hold Gods were not smiling down on me this season. I look forward to adding more to this group next year.

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Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie

Our beloved character is back only she ages backwards and adorably. If only we could all be that lucky. This book will make you run to the kitchen to whip up your very own pie, and a recipe is included too!

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Arnold's Apple Tree

Little Arnold loves his apple tree not just for the apples in the fall, but for all the seasons that the tree provides for him. A great way to share about all of the seasons. 

Toto's Apple

With very minimal words, this book encourages problem solving in the reader to help the worm figure out how to get to that delicious juicy apple. And for those kids who love a gross ending, stay tuned!

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Halloween Season Books

Halloween can be a weird scary time for a toddler and preschooler. I'm looking at you Target and your 2 story high giant purple glowing ghost. So here is a circumstance where it is great to read books about Halloween to show the not so creepy side of Halloween. Some of these books are down right adorable. I can't say that for the Halloween aisle at Target.

Not Very Scary

Perfect for the little one a little confused and slightly afraid of the creepy things at Halloween, it is helpful to learn that often what seems scary can sometimes just be friendly. Also this one reads like the 12 days of Christmas which is very fun as everything adds up like a tongue twister in the end. Read it fast and giggles will ensue. 

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Room on the Broom

I first discovered this one last year when we watched the animated version of the story on Netflix. This is a rare instance when I think the movie is a little better than the book, mostly because I love the British narrator and the facial expressions of the animals. The story is a sweet look at how there is always room to be friendly and welcoming to friends in need. I might have cried a bit at the end (you'll notice that being a common theme.)

The Scariest Book Ever

If you are familiar with The Funniest Book Ever by the same author, you will love this Halloween Edition. Kids will get a kick out of the ghost who is super scared of the "forest" when the kids know it is filled with cupcakes, crafts, and kittens. A Halloween book that makes you giggle is a good book.

Birdie's Happiest Halloween

If last year’s election is still a bit too raw for you, this one might make you cry for sure. Halloween is a great time to remind our little girls, and boys, they can be anything they want, even the President of the United States!

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Creepy Pair of Underwear

We have read this one 627 times in our household. We all have it memorized. And while I would love nothing more than to return it back to the library never to read it again, it is still a pretty adorable book. I mean what kid doesn’t love a book with creepy underwear that exude that ghoulish greenish glow?!

Leaf Changing Season Books

Let’s just be real here. This collection of books fall primarily in the category of “my kids think they are kind of boring but I will read them anyway because they give me all the feels.” Trees are such a great expression of growth and change. These books give you that glory fall feeling. 

The Little Yellow Leaf

I already spoke on this one in my last post but it deserves a place on this list. I find myself walking around whisper cheering for that last little leaf on the tree to go ahead and be brave and make the change (and maybe I’m cheering a little bit for myself too.)

Bertolt

This is the story of a self proclaimed introverted boy who is ok with being different as long as he has the company of his beloved tree, Bertolt. I dare you not to cry at that end when the boy makes something beautiful out of the tree after a sudden death. Dare you.

Yellow Time

This book celebrates that lovely golden glowing time we find ourselves in right now. I know that the grays of winter will come but for now, I am soaking up all the loveliness, and loving this book. 

As an Oak Tree Grows

We often forget how long a tree can live. This story takes us all the way back to that first acorn planted into the ground 275 years ago and watches the world change as it grows. How mighty and wonderful our trees can be.

Leo's Tree

Talk about books to make me cry, this was one of the first books I received a week before the birth of my first child, and thus I associate it with my little ones' growing. Here baby Leo grows along with the newly planted tree. Trees grow, kids grow, it's all so adorable. 

//

That about wraps it up, although confession I picked up a few more of my library holds and it looks like I'm going to have to add a whole bunch more to next year's list. Happy Fall Reading!

This post contains some affiliate links, which means if you purchase through them, I make a small commission. That being said, these are my honest opinions and I was not paid to talk about any of the products mentioned. I just think they are pretty great! Also, the links send you to IndieBound.com, a site for encouraging sending business to local independent book stores. Support your neighborhood bookstores! And Happy Shopping!

← Create a Nature CollectorCurrently // Fall Edition →
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Hi there! I'm Rachel.

I believe each morning is a fresh start and I believe hot coffee is step one. 

It is here that I celebrate each day as an opportunity to seek the creative inside both our children and ourselves so that we can all       raise and shine. 

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If I showed you the sweet picture of the hairstyle I gave her for crazy hair meets Valentine’s day, would you also believe me that I don’t remember when she last bathed?

If I shared the fun crafty Valentine we made for his class would you also believe me that my house looks like a fraternity house at the end of a raging party?

If I show the darling babe all snuggled up under my chin that makes my heart burst with unspeakable joy, would you also believe me when I say parenting three is the hardest thing I have yet done in my parenting life?

Sometimes in these little squares, I have so much fear that I might post something that makes someone’s heart shrink a little bit with guilt or inadequacy. I worry you will think I am something you are not and that will make you feel smaller than you deserve to be, when in fact I struggle too. So much.

But then, if I keep quiet, not only am I not allowing myself to show you exactly who I am, how I like to love on my people, and what just makes me happy, I am thus not leaving space for you to do so as well.

If these things brings you joy, too, hurray. If something else does, I celebrate you. And if you aren’t in a space of joy, I’m sitting her with you too. And sending you ❤️. Never alone.

This has been my struggle for years. I saw self care as (by my)self care. And it seems it only got harder and harder to care for myself as I fought to be alone.

And so I’m trying something new. I’m learning to find the peace I need in my day right along side them.

So I move WITH them in tow. I read to THEM, as long as it something of MY choosing. I pick up a paint brush too when they paint.

And hopefully all this togetherness is teaching them what matters to me and my day too.

Shared on the blog today how I practice my *What Feels Right* list from yesterday when I can’t be alone.

What’s your go to care strategy when your little ones tag along? I test as a Highly Sensitive Person. 🙋🏻‍♀️Anyone else?

I like to think of myself as a noticer. From the way the snow sounds when it hits the ground to his sweet sigh as he nestles into sleep in my arms. I feel it all. And I mean ALL.

This can be a beautiful way to look at life, but it can also be EXHAUSTING.

But I decided to start using this skill for the better. I started to pay close attention to my day to notice patterns of when I feel off and when I feel right.

My list is not revolutionary. It is nothing you don’t already know to be true. But sometimes we need to really acknowledge the simple ways we can manage our days to feel joy, to feel peace, to just feel right.

Sharing my list of What Feels Right on the blog today to maybe inspire you to pay attention to your own list.✨Now your turn...What Feels Right to you? Yes his sweatshirt is on backwards. Yes this happens on the regular. It’s become his signature look. But the important thing is he got himself dressed and no one had to use their angry voice!

I am quite excited to introduce a new series on the blog today called ☀️Raise your Mom Game☀️ It’s a way to share the great ideas learned from regular, cool, smart moms (and dads) like us. I believe parents are super heroes with powers to battle the everyday parenting struggles. And they are willing and happy to share these with fellow superhero parents so we can all win.

It’s not about the quick fix, because none of us are broken. We just sometimes need a fresh perspective to tackle familiar challenges in parenting, another play in the playbook, tool in the toolbox, option in the portfolio. Am I giving you enough metaphors here?

Today, I go first with my big frustration in getting kids dressed. I feature two great ideas for both of my kids from fellow parents @kelseywilliams and @ladderica. And I filmed one in the stories so go check it out. After you read the post, of course 😉. And remember, this is a village. So please share with me how you are Raising your Mom Game. And what helps you Shine.☀️ “...I make so many beginnings there never will be an end.” Louisa May Alcott

She opened up 6 crisp white books, completely blank, exactly as she asked them to be, for writing down her own stories. Obviously I was thrilled to grant this Christmas wish. It wasn’t 5 minutes later that I turned around to find her set up at the dining room table, pen in hand, words flowing to the book. “Now you realize these are special, right. You can’t throw them away and start over if it isn’t just as you want it to be.” “I know.” Barely glancing up. Back to work.  Her confidence and self assurance just taunting me.

She has no trouble diving in. She doesn’t worry about where the ending is taking her. She doesn’t hesitate and doubt herself along the way.

She just BEGINS.

It is with this same resolve that I choose to take with me throughout this new year. To not hesitate with my step one. And to not be afraid to be new at something.

Last year I explored being enough. And with that I determined, there is also enough time, space, energy to take more step ones.

To BEGIN.

Introducing my 2019 word of the year ✨BEGIN✨ on the blog today.

A month in and I already love where this word is taking me. My skin is still soft from the humidity of Texas, and my heart, and stomach, are full in the way only a winter escape can bring. But it feels right to be home. It feels right to see snow softly falling in February. And to be all piled up together as a family again. ❤️❤️❤️ You know that welcoming feeling you get when you go home to mom and dads?

They make you your favorite meals. You take comfort in the familiar space. You just feel so warm and loved and cared for.

We got that welcomed feeling when we made it back to our old home in Austin town this weekend.

We had all our favorite meals, barbecue, tacos, queso, more tacos. Memories flooded us around every corner, date nights, family adventures, milestones crossed. And most importantly, we got to feel loved by “family,” or rather the friends that became family when you needed it most.

This is how it should be when you make a place a home, no matter how short the time was in your life. It should make itself a little home in your heart and always open its arms wide to you when you come back.

So glad we will always have Austin.

And tacos. 🌮 Confession time... I sometimes daydream about being a mom of just one baby.

Not that I don’t love each and every one of my kids more than my heart can even find words for, because obvi I don’t even need to clarify that for you.

It’s just that this multiple and different needs thing all at once is very very hard on my brain capacity. And also my heart.

I sometimes dream of a world where I get to have each of my babies one day at a time. And then we all come together for one big epic fun filled Sunday as a family of five. Wouldn’t that be fun??!! But then I see the oldest reading a book to the middle. Or the middle tickled with himself at how he can make the baby giggle. Or there’s the epic family snuggle sessions in the king size bed before someone, all of them, demand breakfast. And then I remember we are right where we need to be and who we need to be with.

But also sometimes it’s super fun to just be with one. We snuck away together with our baby to a place that still has a piece of our heart, Texas. And while I miss the other two, it feels like a gift to enjoy that stage where it’s just you and me and a baby makes three. I can hardly remember him that tiny, but I’ll never forget when she started reading to them. 📚 Reading creates strong memories, doesn’t it. “For some it’s a physical place in which I remember reading. The beach, the hammock, the couch under a blanket. For others, it’s a place in time. A difficult pregnancy. A foggy newborn stage. A challenging stage of parenting. And for some, it’s a moment that I realize is one of a momentous milestone. Like seeing her read a book for the first time. Or reading our first chapter book series together.” Eighteen Memorable Book Moments in 2018 on the blog today. The answer to snow-mo and other FOMO related cases (see last post if you are confused 😊) ?? Be a noticer.

As promised, I shared about my process of creating a Reverse Bucket List on the blog today.

You don’t need a fancy planner, a complicated system, or even a lot of time. You just need a photo storage system of your choice, a few questions I list in the post, and a couple of minutes to do some thinking.

It’s my own way of doing goals and reflection. But I would love to see what you learn too. So I’m creating a hashtag!! Tell me how it works for you with #raiseandshineandnotice 🥳
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away”
— Pablo Picasso
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