Author: Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life

Books That Feel Like Spring!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized14 Comments

Spring is on the way! It might be slow in getting here to Michigan, but I know that it is coming. I can see the crocus and hyacinth and tulips starting to pop up out of the ground, the birds building their nests, and soon, just maybe I will hear the spring peepers calling at night again. I have already heard the scratchy croak of the red-winged blackbird, a true sign that spring is on the way, the same way that a junco signals wintertime. The world is telling me the spring is coming, and this means, spring reading! It is still chilly enough here in the morning and in the evenings to get all cozy with a blanket and a cup of tea and a book.

I always kick spring reading off with Watership Down, every single year. It is my favorite book of all time, and I always find something new in its pages, something different will resonate, my favorite characters switch, and despite knowing it backwards and forwards, it never gets old to me. So Watership Down is the first book on my list.

The rest are all a mixed bouquet of genres and ages, of books I plan to read, or have already read and think they need to be included on this spring book list.

This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.

Ghosts of Greenglass House || The Darling Buds of May

So The Ghosts of Greenglass House maybe shouldn’t technically count as a springtime book, since it takes place during the winter and at a snowed in hotel, but..for some reason this cover feels springy even though it is sort of Christmasy. I am keeping it and pretending it is totally spring. Then, The Darling Buds of May. I loved the television show The Larkins, which is based on this book series, plus this cover is beautiful!! The Larkin family, in the tv show at least, seems to completely embody living in the moment, enjoying life to its fullest, all of that, and I am excited to see how the tv show did.

Raspberries and Vinegar || Wild Mint Tea

Spring always makes me think of all the fresh fruit and vegetables that will soon be making its way into our local stores, fresh from the farm, and this series, A Farm Fresh Romance, just called to me with the beautiful covers. There are five in the series, but I will start with the first two books and then we will see. They are free with Kindle Unlimited right now. Raspberries and Vinegar is the first in the series, and I don’t understand this title, other than it is supposed to describe the personalities of the characters. Is there something I am missing though? Do these two things pair well together? Wild Mint Tea is the second in the series and well, I am sucker for mint tea so I added that one too.

Flowerheart || The Magic All Around

I have seen Flowerheart around the internet on blogs and YouTube and Instagram for two years (?) now, and it is time I get to it. I love books that have a little bit of magic in them and this sounds like such a whimsical, magical read.

Which brings us to the next book, The Magic All Around. I already read this one this year, and I absolutely inhaled it. I don’t usually read a book in a day anymore, but this one sucked me in and I could not put it down. I loved it so much. It reminded me of Garden Spells and Practical Magic, and I just loved this story and how everything unfolded. Definitely recommend if you are an Alice Hoffman or Sarah Addison Allen fan!

The White Hare || By Ash, Oak and Thorn

The White Hare is another book I have already read, but I am hoping to read it again this spring. It was one of my very favorite books last year, and reminds me so much of a Mary Stewart or Barbara Michaels book. It is so atmospheric and filled with folklore, and is set in Cornwall, which is one of my favorite settings. (My full review)

By Ash, Oak and Thorn has been on my shelf for a year or two, and I AM going to read it this year. I am. It is too cute not too. It is about these wee little Guardians of the Wild World, who wake up after a winter hibernation and have to undertake a journey, helped along the way by birds and animals. Melissa Harrison also has a book called Spring, which is part of her Seasons series; Billy bought me Winter for Christmas, maybe I should ask for this one for Mother’s Day.

Daisies for Innocence || Flowers and Foul Play

Two cozy mysteries, and two magical/enchanted gardens. I can’t wait to “dig in”. (ok, I apologize but I couldn’t resist that pun!) I also can’t handle that little corgi on the cover of Daisies. I am obsessed with corgis right now.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives

I think this book sounds so beautiful. Food and memory are so intertwined. I am looking forward to this book that explores this relationship between the two. I am sure all of us can name so many memories connected to a certain recipe or a meal, and I am looking forward to this book read so much. Plus this cover is adorable!

And that is my list! I am sure that I won’t get to all of these, but you never know!

What books are on your radar this spring?

Hello, April!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Hello16 Comments

I have always said that I loved fall most of all…but I do think spring gives fall a real run for its money. I never used to like spring much, yet as I have gotten older, and particularly after I had a little spring baby, I have begun to love it. Maybe even more than fall. But that is a secret between us, ok?

The slight chill in the air and the warm, sunny days give me life, after a long winter of chilling cold, and seeing nothing but gray and white, nothing of color or brightness. Spring truly is a time of renewal and hope. Flowers peeping their little heads up, getting outside and breathing the freshness of the spring air, all the little animals running about busily while birds build their nests. I love to lie in bed in the morning and hear the birds greeting the dawn, to enjoy the chill morning under the quilt with my coffee and my kiddo, knowing that these days will be ending soon so I had better soak them up before the heat and humidity of summer forces me to abandon such cozy pursuits.

Usually around this time of year, I have nurtured little seedlings to plant outside. This year however, our garden plan is much different. This year, we are all about the flowers and trees (and maybe a basil plant and a few tomatoes..but nothing crazy). Our plan includes roses and zinnias and dahlias, and bigger things, like evergreens and birch trees. Why does this feel more like settling in, a sense of permanency in a house I have lived in already over twenty years? Yet it does. The putting down of real roots.

The rains of spring get me down a little, and I have to remind myself that it too has a place, to help all those plants and roots and animals to live. Our roof is a bit leaky though, and I cross my fingers and pray that it can hold out a bit longer and that a small fix will do the trick. It makes me think of that Mary Oliver poem, Making the House Ready for the Lord, although I hope more than anything that there are no small creatures living in my home, as much as I love them( although I might make an exception for a family of rabbits). It is enough that the rain has found its way in.

Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but
still nothing is as shining as it should be
for you. Under the sink, for example, is an
uproar of mice — it is the season of their
many children. What shall I do? And under the eaves
and through the walls the squirrels
have gnawed their ragged entrances — but it is the season
when they need shelter, so what shall I do? And
the raccoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard
while the dog snores, the cat hugs the pillow;
what shall I do? Beautiful is the new snow falling
in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly
up the path, to the door. And still I believe you will
come, Lord: you will, when I speak to the fox,
the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea-goose, know
that really I am speaking to you whenever I say,
as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.

Wyatt and I have our raincoats hanging on the hooks near the door, bright blue for him, green for me. Billy has a yellow one, but he has not yet brought it out, although he has worn his wellies a few times already. My boots still sit in the closet, waiting for the moment we go for a spring walk together after a rain, or for when I venture out into the yard finally to get it ready for homeschool outside and morning picnics on the grass, which is really clover not much grass. Soon Wyatt and I will be sitting on the porch too in the evenings, watching for Billy to pull up in front of the house after work. I am also looking forward to lighter, easier dinners! I love the comfort food of fall and winter, but by the time spring arrives, I am more than ready for more salads.

My reading too, gets lighter for the most part. I will read the occasional thriller on rainy days or weeks but I find myself reaching more for the fantastic, books filled with magic and whimsy and wonder and romance. I have my starting spring line up of authors and titles all ready!

And phew, that is enough from me! What about you all? How do you feel about spring? What are you looking forward to most?

Thursday Afternoon Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized9 Comments

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful week so far. I actually have a mug of mint tea here next to me rather than coffee, and we have just been to the library and the pet store (for crickets -I resisted adding another pet to the menagerie even though Wyatt really wants a guinea pig. I am allergic or I would be getting him two!)

I already shared this week about our trip to the giant used bookstore in Detroit. We did a little more exploring after we left, but not a ton more. We attempted to visit another used book store that is located in an old bank.

However, we neglected to check the hours first and they were sadly not open yet. We were all feeling a bit hungry anyway, so we went in search of food. Mexican always sounds good to me, and we stopped at a food truck and grabbed some tacos for Billy and I, and a cheese tortilla for Wyatt. We ate them parked under a billboard on a side street near the expressway, a space that was filled with other diners like us. The tacos weren’t terrible, but I have had better. They were actually a little boring and bland, if I am being honest. Sorry taco truck! I also hung out the window at a red light so that I could snap a photo of the Fisher Building. It is absolutely beautiful inside.

Wyatt had also gotten a new chapstick that he was obsessed with for a while. He had the most moisturized lips for a few days!

Later that evening, Mermaid Girl joined us for a Kids Moon Club Party to welcome in the Worm Moon! I did not have as many decorations as usual, I struggled with decorating in a worm theme. I did however make worm and dirt pudding, which turned out strangely delicious. Just Jello Chocolate Pudding mix, crushed oreos, and some gummy worms, and voila! Done. The kids loved them. For dinner we had a Mermaid Girl favorite – sprinkle noodles, which is what she called it when she was just 3 or 4. Sprinkle noodles are well, noodles (vermicelli this time) with butter and freshly grated parmesan. It was pretty tasty as well, honestly, and totally kid friendly. I served this alongside magic moon meatballs, which were just regular meatballs with a fancy name.

After dinner and dessert, I read the full moon story for the month while the kids colored, then we moved on to the main event, the craft project. Wyatt had loved making our animal portraits so much that we made them again, this time with Mermaid Girl. This time, Wyatt made a wolf, and Mermaid Girl made a tabby cat.

The night was over all too soon! Next time I will start earlier, as we didn’t have a chance to play a game, which the kids wanted to do. There is always next full moon, which is the pink moon. I am pretty excited for that one too!

And that is it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today, it makes you smile!

The Bookstore With One Million Books – Literally

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Detroit25 Comments

On Saturday, we stepped out to one of the coolest bookstores in our area, John K. King Books in Detroit. This place is an institution around here, especially for readers.

Housed in an old factory building that operated from the 1940s to the 1970s, it is rather unassuming from the road. Maybe you might pass it by, thinking it didn’t hold much of value. But were you to stop and step inside, you would be whisked into the dreams of every book lover, with four floors of books, stacks that tower to the ceiling, and seem to go on and on indefinitely on those old factory floors. It’s truly like a weird, wonderful world in there. One feels like Dorothy must have upon entering Oz, Lucy entering Narnia, or any other character who stumbled into something like a dream.

When you enter, the staff greets you warmly and hands you a map. Yep a map. However we made a grand entrance upon the scene – we entered in style. When we arrived, we opened the front door and immediately in front of us were two sets of stairs – not very easy for us to navigate with Wyatt’s wheelchair. As luck would have it, a Detroit fire truck pulled up at the same time, and out popped a fireman who was heading inside to look for a book. He saw our predicament and helped Billy carry Wyatt up, one on each side of his wheelchair, like Wyatt was in ancient Egypt. I can’t make this up. When we got all the way up, the staff told us that there were elevators, and that it even accessed the parking lot, so leaving was going to be much easier, since I am sure our fireman friend would be long gone. We got our maps, and prepared to enter the labyrinth. And seriously, the first floor is like a labyrinth!

Laid out like a rabbit warren, I soon found myself lost and absorbed in the books. I had a goal though: to find the children’s books. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stay as long as I wanted, as I had a nine year old in tow, so I wanted to explore, and hit the one section I really wanted. Thankfully, it was on the first floor and easy to find! There were so many books though! I was excited and also super overwhelmed. I browsed the shelves, pulled books out, put them back, over and over again. I also had an extra mission – to find the Nancy Drew books to see if they had any for Lisa, over at Boondock Ramblings, who is collecting and reading them.

At first, it seemed like it would be simple.

I found the section and I thought, I did it! Success! Sadly though, they were all sold out! The staff there told me that they sell out very quickly, which I am sure they do. I quick chatted Lisa and told her the sad news, and told her that while there was no Nancy Drew, there were a ton of Hardy Boys and a few Bobbsey Twins. After some back and forth, she decided that if I wanted I could pick her up a Bobbsey Twins book. Then we had to decide on how vintage she wanted it…

I will reveal all books bought at the end of the post – suspense!

I prowled through more of the shelves, having no idea where my husband and son were by this point, lost in reading title after title.

After some time I thought I should probably look for my family. I asked the woman at the register if she knew where they went (and she called me young lady, bless her) and she directed me up to the second floor.

I took the stairs and finally found them on the third, after I explored the second floor and couldn’t find them. I did call Billy to see where they were. I had to. I met them up there and Wyatt was getting super bored, so we decided Billy would take him outside and I would finish up, which meant sweeping through the third floor super fast and then paying.

For the second photo, I was standing in the middle of the room and the shelves were down the middle and off to both sides. I can’t stress just how many books this was. You can see Billy in the distance as well, pushing Wyatt.

After I breezed through quickly, I went back down to the first floor and purchased my books, knowing that I would be back soon. I have already asked my cousin Brian to go back with me one day; we often take used book store shopping trips together and this will be the biggest one. I am super excited about it, and so is he!

A few things, if you visit. It is huge, but there are phones to the front desk on each floor. As far as mobility, well, they try. There is an elevator but even with Wyatt’s little kid wheelchair it was hard to get around. There are just so many books crammed everywhere it was hard to fit through the aisles. It is on the edge of the downtown area, so it is one of the safer areas, however still, like in any big city, keep aware of your surroundings.

And now, the books! I didn’t buy many, as I was sort of overwhelmed and I didn’t spend all that much time there.

First, up, Lisa’s Bobbsey Twin book. And mine! I decided to get one too, and there was one with a houseboat, one of my favorite things! I would love to stay on a houseboat! So I had to treat myself to that one.

I had been on the lookout for Carol Ryrie Brink books. They only had Caddie Woodlawn so I picked it up. I was really hoping that they had The Pink Motel but alas, they did not.

Then I picked up these rather randomly. I had not heard of any of them but they called to me.

I loved the covers of the bird book and the blackberry book, and then I just thought the pond book was too cute.

And..that was it for our first trip to John K. King! We had other adventures after we left, but those are for a future post. I can’t wait to go back to this bookstore again – it just has so much!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized19 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! We had a pretty average week around here – school, errands, appointments, etc. Yesterday though we explored John K. King Books in Detroit, which is a massive used bookstore. Four giant floors, all laid out like some sort of rabbit warren. It was exciting as well as a bit overwhelming! I will probably post more on it later this week. Then we had Mermaid Girl over last night to celebrate the Worm Moon. It had been so long since we had a moon party and Mermaid Girl actually asked us when we were going to have another one, so of course I obliged her! We had a blast! Today I have church this morning then I think we are going to catch up on some household things, not very exciting but necessary.

Read Last Week:

I LOVED The Magic All Around. So much, that I read it all in one day, something I rarely do anymore. But I was reading it every available moment I had, until I was done. I just loved the characters and the story. It was a pretty quick read as well. I also love Thimble Summer, although I am not quite finished with it yet. I will hopefully finish up this afternoon. This copy has the most endearing illustrations!

Reading this Week:

I am reading two middle grade books again this week. I have read them both before, but it is fun to revisit. I haven’t read the Konigsburg book since childhood so that will be like reading it all over again for the first time probably, but The Westing Game is one of my favorites, and I have read it many times.

I am gearing up to for my annual reread of Watership Down – I have a feeling it will be my read next week.

Posted Last Week:

Billy-isms and Winnie the Pooh

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up- Birthdays, Cute Critters, and Old Books

Watching:

We finished up Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale and while it was really good, I found it so disturbing. Mob mentality and so much anger, it really bothered me. I had to intersperse watching it with Murdoch Mysteries and Death in Paradise to get through watching the whole series. We have also started Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency which is super weird and bizarre, but we like it. It is sort of violent in some scenes, but thankfully they are not too frequent. It is a very strange show but I want to know what the heck is happening! It is based off the Douglas Adams book The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, which I have never read but just might. I also now want a corgi, because there is an adorable little corgi in it.

Look at that sweet face!

And that is it from me this morning! Have a great day everyone!

Billy-isms and Winnie the Pooh

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn day in the life18 Comments

So one day while driving around, Billy and I fell into a rabbit hole about personality types and our friends and Winnie the Pooh. Mainly, how we thought everyone had a Winnie the Pooh character to match their personality, and then of course, deciding who we were and who our friends were in the 100 Hundred Acre Wood. Then we of course went off on another tangent about whether we all had secondary characters and who those were. Then I wondered if anyone else had wondered all of this too, which of course they had, and I found there were all sorts of quizzes and tests that match the characters to the Myers-Briggs Personality test, which was yet another rabbit hole for us. And I feel I have begun to ramble but stay with me, this was all just to warm up to the topic of my husband being a human Winnie the Pooh, but one who wears pants of course.

Billy is my perfect counterbalance, as I am to him. I am the Piglet to his Pooh, and even this probably not very scientific version of the Myers-Briggs tests shows this. I am not one hundred percent sold on these types of things, but they do ring with some truth. According the online tests we have taken, Billy is an ISFP and I am an ISFJ. Or Pooh and Piglet.

“Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?”

”Supposing it didn’t,” said Pooh after careful thought.”

I always say Billy is a like walking calm-bomb. Like just being near him is so relaxing, he exudes waves of calm and peace. It’s funny, because during a huge problem at his work a few years ago, one where Billy and his boss actually stayed at work together for three days working on it, his boss said something similar, that Billy is just so calming to be near. You get a sense that everything is going to be ok. He is laid back and confident and pretty agreeable, and is always willing to help. Billy’s mom told me that he was always like this. Just unflappable. She also told me that he was impossible to discipline because he nothing really bothered him and he found ways to entertain himself; she would send him to his room, take things away, and she would find him just singing to himself, happy as could be.

What got me thinking about this again is something Billy has been saying and doing. His “May as well” attitude. If you are doing x, then you may as well do y. If you are in the basement doing something, then you may as well thrown in a load of laundry. If you are heading to the bedroom, you may as well pick up Wyatt’s socks off the floor and throw them in the dirty clothes. (Wyatt always tosses his socks hither and yon – he is a total Roo) You get the idea. And I have started to do it myself. It just seems like such a gentle way to get things done, and multi-task. Instead of looking at it like a chore, it’s a may as well.

Billy has other little Billy-isms that I have learned and implemented. One thing he does is the “ok”. If someone is giving him their opinion on how to do something or maybe just opinion, and Billy is not of the same mindset, instead of disagreeing with them outright, he just says “ok”. Like a verbal shrug. Then does it his way anyway. This really only works if it is something that he doesn’t need to collaborate on, something that is his own already. He says there is no point in arguing with someone you are not going to change their mind on.

Billy also tells me all the time that it is “ok to just be ok.” Because as we established, I am Piglet and can come up with a worry about anything. He says sometimes I can just bounce from one thing to the next, and that it is “ok to just be ok”. So I have started to internalize that Billy-ism as well. Because he is right, it is ok just to be ok.

What about you all? Are you a Pooh or a Piglet? Or maybe a Tigger or an Owl? I would like to think I am also a little bit Kanga, but I might also be a little bit Rabbit…

Thanks for reading through this probably silly post of mine!

If you want to take these quizzes, click here. You should not have to pay for this quiz! If it asks you to pay then it is the wrong one. Look for this in the article.

Not sure what your personality type is? Take our in-depth personality questionnaire here. Or you can take the official MBTI® here.

I clicked on the first option which didn’t make me pay.

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, homeschooling13 Comments

Hello everyone! It is snowing here. Snowing. It is not sticking thank goodness, but I am so ready to just be able to leave my house without layering Wyatt and I all up to go outside. I long to step outside barefoot and in a t-shirt again! I mean I guess I could do it now but I would freeze my toes off!

It has been cold here for days, and we have been sticking close to home. And honestly, I complain about the weather but it does have its benefits. I love all the family time we have been having here at home together. Lots of game nights with popcorn, or on the couch tucked into a book, or all the creations we have been making together!

On Saturday we spent quite a bit of time together sitting at the table, making these little creature portraits. Billy made the badger, the rabbit is Wyatt’s, and mine is the fox. We actually loved making these so much that we have been eating eggs all week so that we can make more! They were so simple to make. Just a few simple supplies are needed to make them, just paint and glue and cardboard and egg cartons. I found them on Instagram and we put our own spin on them. This woman’s Instagram is filled with super adorable craft ideas!

Billy has also been making his little miniatures for me too.

I am still on my older book binge. I can’t stop with these old books, and I love the vintage copies the best. I intentionally seek them out from the library, over the more modern copies of the story, with the shiny new covers. I love a shiny new cover, don’t get me wrong, but for these books, I like reading the older copies, because then you find things like this. Isn’t this beautiful? It’s from the end pages of Thimble Summer, and it was just such a happy surprise to see this artwork when I opened the book.

I was also going through the millions of boxes of my books I have in storage, and found a book that was my mom’s. I don’t think I am going to read it, but the cover…sigh. So pretty.

The main event of the weekend however was my little niece’s birthday party! This little nugget turned one! I can’t believe it. We loved celebrating her first year around the sun! It was a fun afternoon spent with family, watching the presents getting opened, cake being smashed and eaten, albeit very daintily. My favorite part was her face when we all stood around her and sang Happy Birthday. She was looking at us like we were all crazy, and it cracked me up.

Finally, I added a new printable to my Etsy store, all about frogs, just in time for spring – and world frog day, which is today!

If you are interested you can pop over here! (Use code SPRING to get 20% off until Saturday the 22nd)

And I am off! Wyatt and I have a full day today! We have school of course, and then after I want to make cookies and visit the library before I go to my mom’s later this evening to help her with a few things. I don’t usually book my days like this anymore but.. I am sure we can do it. I am thinking start the cookies before school, pop them in the oven and while we work on one of topics for today they can bake – then we can eat them!

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized23 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you are all doing well this morning! It is again freezing here, and I am wondering just where the warmer days are. For now I will have to remain content with my coffee, quilt, and cat to warm me. Today we have a first birthday party for Little Girl. I can’t believe she is one already! March is a big birthday month in our family; we have four different kiddos with birthdays, and Wyatt is the one to kick them off at the beginning of the month.

So what did I read last week? I managed to finish two books, and also finish up an audiobook.

I read What You Are Looking for is in the Library and The Bellwoods Game. I had started a different middle grade book for middle grade March but couldn’t get into it, so I switched it up to The Bellwoods Game, which I did enjoy. I absolutely loved the Aoyama book!! As for The Girls from Hush Cabin, I listened to that on audio and it was ok. It sort of slowed way down in the middle, with no real action, and then the end seemed to drag on.

Reading This Week:

This week I am reading Thimble Summer for middle grade March, and also The Magic All Around, which I received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Posted Last Week:

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Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Mini Book Review: What You Are Looking for is in the Library

Easter Basket Book Suggestions

Watching:

This week we watched Murdoch Mysteries and Death in Paradise. Billy also has us watching a show called Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale and it is really well done but it is very intense for me, and disturbing. It is not scary in a supernatural way, but it is in how ugly people can treat it each other. I think it is like a modern day Crucible in some ways, and everything is so out of hand in the show right now, chaotic and upsetting. Thank goodness we will watch the final episode of the season tonight. I am ready to move on!

And that is it from my neighborhood! What is going on in your world?

Easter Basket Book Suggestions

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn holiday gift guide9 Comments

Every year, I struggle with the Easter Basket. I don’t like to just buy random toys and candy because to be honest, Wyatt already has a lot of toys and I know his grandparents will fill him up on candy. So I try to find useful items, things for the summer, for outside, things like that. One thing Wyatt loves is books – so this year, I am just going to go all in on a book basket, with one or two pieces of a candy, and maybe a small toy. He just had a birthday and has games and toys and a fully stocked art cabinet, so we are good there too. So it feels like the perfect year to do a book basket, and I was thinking I would share some suggestions with you guys in case you wanted to add a book or two to those Easter baskets this year as well! (not that you have to! You know what the kiddos in your life like!) And I feel like this post might get long! I will try to keep the suggestions from getting out of control!

So, here are some suggestions of old books and new books, for the little readers on up!

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. I would make a small commission if you were to purchase something from a link at no extra cost to you.

The More You Give || Franklin’s Flying Bookshop || Backyard Fairies

Backyard Fairies by Phoebe Wahl is fantastic. I love anything by her. This book is about a little girl searching for fairies. Are they there?

Franklin’s Flying Bookshop is an adorable story about a little girl named Luna and a dragon named Franklin who love books and reading, just like Wyatt does. (and me) These two start a flying bookshop to share the love.

The More You Give…this is maybe one of my favorite books I have read, including books that I read for me. I feel like it is a modern day take on “The Giving Tree” which I loved as a kid but it is so depressing. In this story, a young boy and his grandmother live together and have a great life filled with pancakes and hugs and nature. Together they plant an acorn which becomes a tree, etc. Eventually the boy grows up and teaches his daughter this lesson and so on, until the meadow they lived in becomes a forest. I am not doing this book justice in this review. It is just so beautiful and I want everyone to read it because that will be infinitely better than whatever I have to say.

Rabbits & Raindrops || Escargot || The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, & The Big Hungry Bear

Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky I started a collection of Jim Arnosky books for Wyatt when he was a little baby. I always loved them and I would pick them up at book sales when I spotted one. This is a favorite of mine, and it feels so springtime. Plus, rabbits!

Escargot by Dashka Slater Wyatt has ALWAYS loved this book, and still does. It is seriously one of our all time favorites. This little French snail has slid his way into our hearts, and will probably stay there.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood Another favorite. I read this to Wyatt so many times when he was little, and it was always delightful. How will this mouse keep the big hungry bear from eating his perfect strawberry?

The Velveteen Rabbit || Grasshopper on the Road || Frog and Toad Are Friends

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams I am sure we all remember this heartwarming, heart wrenching tale of the velveteen rabbit, who just wanted to be real. It touched my heart at an early age, and I never looked at my stuffed animals the same way after reading it. I felt it just needed to be on this list, and this copy looks gorgeous, with the illustrations drawn by Erin Stead, who does beautiful work.

Grasshopper on the Road by Arnold Lobel We are huge Lobel fans here. We actually have a whole stack of his books on the table to read as I type this up. Wyatt really liked this tale of a grasshopper who is just being himself, a grasshopper enjoying his journey down the road.

Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel A classic, beloved Lobel, that everyone must read. Sweet tales of two good friends, a frog and a toad.

Charlotte’s Web || The Wild Robot || Heartwood Hotel A True Home

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White Another classic that I am sure we all know and love. A book of loyalty, love, friendship, that yes, tugs at the heartstrings but is worth the tears. A story that won’t be forgotten. When I asked Wyatt what his favorite read aloud we have read together was, this was the book he said. I actually have a wonderful memory of reading it to him while we were on a mini trip to a tiny farm, and the rain drummed softly on the windows above the bed. It was one of those moments, you know?

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown A tale of found family, in the weirdest of ways. Roz the Robot is washed up on an island and has to learn to live a different life than a robot would normally have. For a machine, she has a big heart, and learns to adapt and change and love.

A True Home (Heartwood Hotel #1) by Kallie George Oh, how I loved reading these gentle books to Wyatt when he was younger! They are simple, sweet stories, of the small woodland animals who make their home in the Heartwood Hotel. They are like family, and the stories just give you the warm fuzzies.

The Wind in the Willows || Anne of Green Gables || Watership Down

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame This book is such a delight. It is actually the very first chapter book I read to Wyatt – and he was only 7 weeks old! I read it to him when he came home from the hospital, on warm April days with the windows open, and the scent of our apple blossoms was on the wind. Perfect moments, perfect book. A true classic that will make you want to go boating and on picnics!

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery Romantical, clever, imaginative Anne deserves a place on everyone’s bookshelves. Anne allows you to dream of a better life, one filled with whimsy and where everything is special, even the tree outside your window.

Watership Down by Richard Adams Ok. So if you have been around here before then you know that Watership Down is my favorite book of all time. And yes, this book is a bit darker (ok maybe more than a bit?) than the others on this list. It is the story of resourceful, clever, brave rabbits who seek out a better world and life for themselves. I find it so inspirational, full of friendship and loyalty, bravery and quick wittedness. It does have its scarier moments though, so keep that in mind.

And.. I am going to call it here. I could go on, there are so many wonderful books out there!

Mini Book Review: What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review9 Comments

“This place has atmosphere, different from a bookshop with just new books. In here you sense the weight of time, stretching way back to the past.”

I love libraries. I always have from the time my mom first took me as a very little girl. I would wander the stacks happily, choosing books, first from the children’s book section and then later as I got older, from the fiction section. In middle school, I was the library aide for one of my classes. In high school, I would often hide from the noise of the lunch room by eating in the library. As an adult, I worked in an elementary school library. Libraries are my happy place.

I was excited to read this book, because I do think that you can find a lot of what you are looking for in the library. I wasn’t sure what to expect though from this slim novel. Sometimes when a book is beloved by the public, I am not always a fan. This time however, I feel that all the appreciation and accolades are warranted. I absolutely loved it. Every story, every word. I loved Komachi and her enigmatic ways, her needle felting, her almost supernatural insightfulness.

“What are you looking for?”

Just this question alone could have multiple meanings, right, depending on what you are talking about or thinking about, or where you are. Are you looking for a book, a box of cereal, your glasses, or maybe an answer to that feeling within, a dream you have hidden, or an answer to worry or doubt. In the library one would be correct to guess that most likely, someone is looking for a book. But in Komachi’s library, they might get a little bit more. A bonus gift, or maybe something deeper.

There are five different stories wrapped within these pages, and each one is as good as the last. I did have favorites of course; I loved the stories of Natsumi, a former magazine editor. Former because after she had a baby, she returned to work to find her position had been changed, and while she loves her daughter she desperately misses her old life. Then there is Masao, who is at a completely different season in his life, a retiree from a lifelong career at one company, who now feels lost and like he has no friends, no purpose, no hobbies. I loved his story the very best, and I loved that this was the story the book ended on. I felt it was perfect as the first story, the story of Tomoka, is the story of a young woman just starting out in life. Perfect, full, circle.

This book is beautiful. I plan on buying own copy, but I found this one in the library.

“From now on, I intend to gather close all the things that are important to me. I will make my own anthology.”