A Royal Wedding Found Only in Picture Books:

First come the attendants:

from Kate Greenaway's Marigold Garden.



















Then we have a lovely image of a bride and groom, complete with top hat:

from Joan Walsh Anglund's book, A Child's Year.










And lastly, if you want to delve further into a royal wedding, ballet style that is, check out:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Joan Walsh Anglund does Valentine's Day quite well, don't you think!  I took a photo of the February spread from her book A Child's Year (c. 1992), which has this inscribed on the title page: Published on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Little Golden Books.

Seasons

Okay, how many of you out there enjoy reading about the changing seasons as much as we do?  It's so much fun to identify spring, summer, fall, and winter by the different clothing we wear, alterations in nature, traditions we take part in, specific songs or poetry we sing, the food we eat, and the seasonable rhythms we fall into.  The first three books pictured below are our most loved "reads" on the seasons.  The kids select them several times each month.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

A Book of Seasons by Alice and Martin Provensen ~ This is our very favorite book about the changing of the seasons!

The Year at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen ~ Not only does this book guide you through the seasons, it guides you through each month through the perspective of a farmer evaluating his family's annual duties.  I recommend this for the older young children.

Mama Loves by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and illustrated by Kathryn Brown ~ a nostalgic book that subtly chronicles different seasons of the year through a child's point-of-view, written in blank verse, of what his/her mother loves to do with him/her.  Another one of the kids' very favorites. Note: makes a wonderful Mother's Day gift to mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers.  My own mother gave this to me for my very first Mother's Day.

Out and About by Shirley Hughes ~ contains several individual poems to identify each season of the year with delightful illustrations from the English born Shirley Hughes.  Ask: what season does this poem remind you of?

Colors by Shirley Hughes ~ poetic word lists for each color, with Hughes' lovely illustrations.  I recommend this for the tots.

Around the Year by Tasha Tudor ~ With her noted illustrations from yesteryear, Tudor chronicles each month with nineteenth century tasks.

A Child's Year by Joan Walsh Anglund ~ Anglund's Hallmalk card like illustrations feature each month.  I suggest this for the youngest children.

My Favorite Time of Year by Susan Pearson ~ one family's story of experiencing the changing seasons.  It's a little wordy for the young ones to sit through.