Book of the Week: Week 7
Book of the Week - Week 7: Lucy & Tom’s Day
Week 7’s book was Jessica’s first official choice. I don’t know what exactly makes a classic, but I am going to confidently say this is a classic children’s book!
Another dual threat author/illustrator with a long list of books to her name. I learned this while looking to see if you can get a new version of the book (you can see from the picture below, ours is an old copy passed down through family), you unfortunately cannot get a new copy of this book easily. If you go to the Bookshop.org link, it is for a similar book by the same author.
Lucy & Tom’s Day cover, by Shirley Hughes
We read this book a LOT when the kids were young (from 1-2.5). They both really liked the pictures and asked questions about what the kids were doing, it felt good that all of the answers were wholesome and simple compared to some new books.
Title: Lucy & Tom’s Day
Author/Illustrator: Shirley Hughes
Publisher: Young Scott Books
Why we like it: Its simplicity and subtle humor make this book fun to read with kids of any age while still being appropriate for bedtime, which is when we do most of our reading.
Warnings: None
Link to buy
Link to the CozyKids store on Bookshop
See if your library has one of these, or look for a copy on Ebay. Otherwise, you can find other Shirley Hughes books on Thriftbooks or Bookshop and enjoy some classic, simple storytelling.
Best,
Matt
These books are all books our family owns and loves (as you can see in the pictures!). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps to support the creation of our content at no extra cost to you.
Book of the Week: Week 6
Book of the Week - Week 4: Cycle City
Week 6 was chosen by Jamie. It is a simple book about trying your best, every day, embodying a set of values and working towards them but not getting to upset when you fail, knowing you have tomorrow to try again.
This one is from a great illustrator that Jess who’s career Jess has been following for a while, the lettering is ornate and whimsical and there are a cat and rabbit on each page that the kids tend to follow and comment on.
Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave cover, by Jessica Hische
Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave is another book that can be read to young children (from birth!) up until they are five or six and the message resonates more and more.
Title: Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave
Author/Illustrator: Jessica Hische
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers
Why we like it: A good message about trying to be the best version of yourself every day but not being too hard on yourself if you fail. Keep trying, and keep growing.
Warnings: None
Link to buy
Link to the CozyKids store on Bookshop
As always, check this great book out at your local library or get a copy of your own through Thriftbooks or Bookshop and get your kids trying new things.
Best,
Matt
These books are all books our family owns and loves (as you can see in the pictures!). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps to support the creation of our content at no extra cost to you.
Book of the Week: Week 5
Book of the Week - Week 4: Cycle City
Week 5 was chosen by our son, Roman. He chose one that was actually more popular with our daughter, but then he does that with a lot of decisions he has to make at the young age of 3. Decisions including what to eat for lunch, what underwear to wear, whether he wants a home made fruity cookie or a Girl Scout Tagalong.
I was surprised that both kids picked interactive books as their favorites since they generally choose narratives to read or silly laugh out loud books from our upcoming collection (I’ll hyperlink it here when it is live) but that is why this is so much fun to do with them.
Be My Neighbor book cover, by Suzy Ultman
Be My Neighbor (not Mr. Rogers related!) is a seek-and-find book with liftable flaps on every page for kids to explore. The kids have both read this book since they were one and still enjoy, although it is requested less often. It has fun rhythmic writing with repetition on each page and adorable characters living in the neighborhood.
Title: Be My Neighbor
Author/Illustrator: Suzy Ultman
Publisher: Chronicle Kids Books
Why we like it: Engaging writing, cute illustration, recognizable animals, and an easy segue into having kids help with baking/cooking if you are interested in that!
Warnings: None
Link to buy: https://bookshop.org/a/101678/9781452177120
Link to the CozyKids store on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/book-of-the-week-picks
Find this one at your local library or get a copy of your own through Thriftbooks or Bookshop and enjoy watching your kids explore the neighborhood for the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies (although they don’t use sugar?!?!?) and then share them with everyone.
Best,
Matt
These books are all books our family owns and loves (as you can see in the pictures!). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps to support the creation of our content at no extra cost to you.
Book of the Week: Week 4
Book of the Week - Week 4: Cycle City
Week 4 was chosen by our daughter, James Juliette. She chose one that we have read at least 60 times, mostly at bedtime. I don’t recommend it as a bedtime book for all kids, but we had two separate styles of reading this one, one for daytime and another for night and that worked for us. It is an interactive seek-and-find book that combines searching for characters with a very simple plot line.
Cycle City is a fun, interactive book about pigs doing a lousy job planning a bike parade in the namesake city. As a result, there is a last minute push to invite key characters that the Mayor has to track down (the Mayor is a snail) and to name a Grand Marshall. It has stinkin’ cute illustrations, tons of points of interests to look at and talk about on each page, and characters that everyone can relate to.
Title: Cycle City
Author/Illustrator: Alison Farrell
Publisher: Chronicle Kids Books
Why we like it: Cute illustrations and fun, diverse characters make this book easy to enjoy with young kids. We have been reading it for two years and the kids still choose it regularly. Our daughter appreciates the pigs, our son the frog and polar bear.
Warnings: Can take a LONG time to get through!
Link to buy: https://bookshop.org/a/101678/9781452163345
CozyKids store on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/book-of-the-week-picks
Find this one at your local library or get a copy of your own through Thriftbooks or Bookshop and get your kids involved with Etta and the Mayor to make sure the bike parade goes off without a hitch.
Best,
Matt
These books are all books our family owns and loves (as you can see in the pictures!). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps to support the creation of our content at no extra cost to you.
Book of the Week: Week 3
Book of the Week - Week 3: Frog and Toad Are Friends
Week 3 brings you a great book for younger and older kids. Frog and Toad books are great stories for everyone, there are four books in total and each have multiple short stories. They are great for bedtime or a low key couch sesh, enjoy the simple stories about two characters who love each other kindly.
I wrote this once before but didn’t save it and now I don’t have as much energy to be creative or clever, the original draft was something special. Frog and Toad Are Friends is classic, it feels like stories from that era (60s/70s) and it is a real contrast to some of the modern kids content. There are no big bad villains, no explosions, no surprises every 5 seconds, just nice tales about friends.
Title: Frog and Toad Are Friends
Author/Illustrator: Arnold Lobel
Publisher: Harper Kids
Why we like it: Two characters doing simple daily tasks and going on adventures while treating each other kindly and lovingly. Calm enough to help move bedtime towards sleep and an extra bonus, there is a new TV show that is equally low stimulation!
Warnings: None
Link to buy: https://bookshop.org/a/101678/9780064440202
CozyKids store on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/book-of-the-week-picks
Check out this book and the others…and the TV show, you will feel warm and cozy and you might want to connect with someone you haven’t seen in a while, surprise someone.
Best,
Matt
These books are all books our family owns and loves (as you can see in the pictures!). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps to support the creation of our content at no extra cost to you.
Book of the Week: Week 2
Book of the Week - Week 1: Hello Lighthouse
The second Book of the Week is here! This one is another banger from a dual threat writer/illustrator who has gone on to create national sensations Captain Underpants and DogMan (which I only learned in the process of creating this post). This book is NOT those books, although I haven’t read much of those books, they could be great.
The Paperboy is a classic tale from my childhood (the 90s) or a boy waking up early to go deliver newspapers throughout the neighborhood. He has a companion in his dog who accompanies him through the deliveries, chasing squirrels and cats along the way and sleeps in the boy’s bed with him. It is a great story about how good it can feel to wake up early and be productive, the pride in doing something independently, and the unique feeling of being the only person awake before the sun comes up. The illustrations are vibrant, especially when the sun comes up towards the end of the journey.
Title: The Paperboy
Author/Illustrator: Dav Pilkey
Publisher: Hachette Childrens
Why we like it: A simple narrative about a boy delivering papers on his own, early in the morning and then going back to sleep after a job well done. Reminds parents of our childhoods and is a great, calm bedtime story. The kids enjoy the dreamy ending and adventures throughout the delivery.
Warnings: None
Link to buy: https://bookshop.org/a/101678/9780545871860
Link to the CozyKids store on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/book-of-the-week-picks
Once again, this book is appropriate to read during the day or before bedtime. We hope you check it out and enjoy it as much as we do.
Best,
Matt
These books are all books our family owns and loves (as you can see in the pictures!). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps to support the creation of our content at no extra cost to you.
Soothing Bedtime Narratives: 1
Bedtime is a great time to read books and spend quality time with the kids. If your kids are anything like mine, they pick their favorite books, even if they are books that rile them up. We try to keep those books out of their bedrooms and keep calmer, narrative style stories in there. Here is my first batch of recommendations:
Waiting, Kevin Henkes: a simple story, led mostly by the illustrations, of toys passing their time on their windowsill. Enjoying the changing weather, coming and going of other toys, and each others’ company.
Farmhouse, Sophie Blackall: a big narrative that follows the life of a house throughout its existence. From being built to the deteriorating state Blackall found it in when she bought the property it was on.
The Painter, Peter Catalamotto: a child looking up to their parent and wanting to participate in their work, vying for attention and love and having to wait until the time was right.
This Quiet Lady, Charlotte Zolotov & Anita Lobel: a child learning about a parent’s life before they existed. Through pictures around the house, the child is exposed to the highlights of their mother’s life, leading up to their own birth.
I hope these books serve you well, let me know what you think if you have any of them or get them soon!
Matt
Book of the Week: Week 1
Book of the Week - Week 1: Hello Lighthouse
I have been wanting to do this for a while, and I stumbled through the creation of this blog/social suite/content creation by just creating an Instagram account and posting low quality images of my first three book recommendations. Once that ball was rolling, now I would have to: create a blog, create a Pinterest profile, create a Facebook account, and the hardest of them all that isn’t done yet…create a TikTok account (and download the app and learn how to use it). And I’m doing it, and I know that once all of the initial work is done, the rest is simpler and I’ll get the hang of it.
The first official CozyKids Book of the Week is (was, since I am writing this three weeks later) is a bedtime favorite for our daughter, James (4). It is by our favorite illustrator who also plays dual threat and writes some of the most thoughtful, touching books for children we have encountered. Hello Lighthouse is a tale of the main character, a gentleman who has been tasked with manning a lighthouse. Initially, he travels there alone and settles in until his wife can join him, together they go through some challenges and then start their family in the lighthouse until the time comes to move on.
Title: Hello Lighthouse
Author/Illustrator: Sophie Blackall
Publisher: Hachette Childrens
Why we like it: Classic, rich illustrations that genuinely take you through the emotions with the characters. Speaking of, this isn’t a fluffy book, it is a tale of work and commitment to the lighthouse and to relationships with loved ones.
Warnings: Illness w/ recovery
Link to buy: https://bookshop.org/a/101678/9780316362382
CozyKids store on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/book-of-the-week-picks
This book is perfect for a day read and more than appropriate for a bedtime story. Expect more from us on Blackall’s books, she will likely be our first Author Feature as there are at least four of her books that are staples in the kids rooms.
Hope you enjoy it,
Matt
These books are all books our family owns and loves (as you can see in the pictures!). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps to support the creation of our content at no extra cost to you.