Beehive Books and Art is reader-supported. Thank you in advance for purchasing through my links. Read more at my affiliate disclosure.
Welcome!
This website is a place for anyone raising a reader – from a baby to a 12-year old!
Here you’ll find ideas and information about reading with children from birth to age 12 and beyond including:
- Books – Short and Longer Reviews of Recommended Books, sorted by reader age and ability
- Books Lists – Lists by topic, holidays, and other interest areas to help you select great books to read with your kids
- Raising Readers – Tips that have been shown to work to help you help your kids with their reading
- Art and Activities – Ways to expand from books to art and activities
How the Site is Organized:
Book Reviews
- Reviews of the kids books I think are the best
- I include lots of details, like inside photos and Easter Eggs
- For homeschooling families (and families who do activities to support school) you’ll find Expansion Circle ideas – ways you can expand from the book to other important subjects such as geography, history, science, and math
Book Lists
- I create lists of books based on various topics to help you find the right books for your kids
- Topics include common holidays and seasons plus interests like graphic novels, pirates, fairy tales, etc
- There’s a list to help you put together a baby’s first library
- My recommended books that have won awards – like the Newbery and the Caldecott
- Books for moms and dads – to help you learn how kids read and what the best ways are for us as parents to support them
My booklists are hosted by Bookshop.org. The link in this button will take you there so you can explore all kinds of recommendations to support your reading journey!
Raising Readers
- Learn about the types of books and reading material available for children
- Discover ways to help children learn to read and love reading
Raising a reader might be the number one thing you can do to help your child success in their adult life. The best part is that it does not have to be really hard to do. It’s possible to do it without tears on your child’s part. I share ways you can help your child become a reader. No matter what type of experience they are having at school.
Art and Activities
Activities ideas provide suggestions for ways to:
- Expand learning from a book or interest area
- Follow your child’s interests and tack on learning in the meantime
- Open ended activities to encourage creativity and help a child explore their individual likes and talents
- Activities that take various lengths of time
- Our favorite tools and materials!
What Else You’ll Find at Beehive Books and Art
I’m always adding more content to this website. Here’s a smattering of some of the other fun things you’ll find on the site!
Ways to Be Book Rich
This term also means: “How to Have A Lot of Books Without Spending Too Much”
To “be book rich” is to have a home that is full of books and other printed material. In educator lingo it’s called “a print-rich environment”.
Homes that are print-rich consistently produce to children who find success in their adult lives.
I talk about ways to “be book rich” frequently – especially ways to do this without spending enormous amounts of money. It is very possible to build a home library stocked with a diversity of content – books by different authors and different illustrators, from different publishers, and featuring different types of stories. Read more here about the many, many places and ways to get books!
Easter Eggs
You may have heard of the term “Easter Eggs” as it is used in the gaming world. It refers to surprises that a game designer hides in a game. For a quick learn of this idea watch the 2018 film Ready Player One. Content advisory – This film might be okay for a 10+ year old. There is some language in the film so I recommend you check the parent advisory list found on the film’s IMDB first to see if the film is appropriate for your values.
I use the term “Easter Eggs” to refer to surprises we find in books. These surprises are a lot like precious gems. If you know where to look you can often find these gems in every book you read with your child. They are like little scavenger hunts or mysteries. Looking for them is fun! It builds an inquisitive mind. And these fun finds also expand the meaning of the books.
Here’s an example of what can happen. Once at our home we read a book. It was about a Christmas tree. It turned out that if we had not read the “Easter Egg” we would have completely missed the whole meaning of the book! If you’re curious the book is The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story written by Gloria Houston and illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Barbara Cooney. I will give you a hint, the Easter Egg is found in the book’s dedication.
Expansion Circle Ideas
An “Expansion Circle” is a term coined by me to describe a method for how you can expand out from a book into just about every subject imaginable.
You can use Expansion Circles to teach your child various subjects (if you homeschool) or support your child’s learning (if your children are in brick-and-mortar or cyber school).
Here’s an example of how to use an Expansion Circle.
You start with a book that is interesting to your child. Let’s say your child loves fiction and dragons and movies.
That child will probably love the book The Hobbit (this illustrated edition works well with kids), either as an independent read or as a read aloud.
But they may have zero interest in poetry. Well, guess what? The Hobbit includes poetry. Now you’ve explored poetry. You can leave the poetry exploration at that, or maybe you can go to the library with a challenge – find poetry books that are similar to what was in The Hobbit.
Your child may not be interested in learning about world geography. But you can expand from The Hobbit to talk about England (where the author is from) and New Zealand (where they filmed The Hobbit movie). You can watch the special features in the 2012 film version of The Hobbit, one of which focuses on New Zealand. Now you and your child have learned about world geography.
That’s just one example of how Expansion Circles can work. In many of my articles about books you’ll find my recommended ideas for ways to expand from that book to other subjects. I’ll continue adding this type of content in coming years.
Most of All – Have Fun!
More than anything I hope that you have fun exploring the wonderful world of children’s literature!
More than anything I hope that you have fun exploring the wonderful world of children’s literature!
There are loads of wonderful books to read aloud with your children, for your children to read independently, and even for you as an adult to enjoy.