Friday Favorites...summer children's books!

Welcome, FRIDAY!  It's The Hubs' birthday today, so this post will be short in sweet.  Coffee & a family breakfast out are calling my name.

This edition of Friday Favorites will be about sharing my favorite children's books for summer!  Dane will be 20 months at the end of the month and one of his most favorite activities ever is listening to stories.  #raisingareader 

I started reading to him at a very young age & he just loves it.  Being a former kindergarten teacher, I know firsthand the importance of early literacy encouraged at home.  I am SO thankful that he loves books & can only hope that his love for reading grows.  I think the teacher heart in me also loves organized books, so all of his books are organized in themes based on the seasons.  Don't judge.  We are loving his summer books right now & I just added a few new ones to his bookshelves!  

ONE.  Sea Rex by Molly Idle

I read through this book while at Barnes & Noble the other day and had it ready to purchase when Dane threw a colossal fit upon being removed from the train table.  #toddlerprobs  So, I abandoned the book & purchased it on Amazon that night!  This is an adorable story with great illustrations.  It is about a dinosaur at the beach and learning the rules for swimming: wear sunblock, don't swim after eating, always jump in feet first, etc.  I think it will be one we can read again and again every summer because it is fun & also has great lessons for beginning swimmers. 

TWO.  Baby Loves Summer by Karen Katz

Oh gosh.  We own about 10 of Karen Katz' board books.  Great for infants/young toddlers, they are "lift the flap" books with different fun themes & colorful illustrations.  The summer themed one is perfect for right now and Dane will point out things like "towel" and "hat" that he notices we take to the pool also.  

THREE.  The Boy And The Ocean by Max Lucado 

The Boy And The Ocean is a Christian themed children's story with some of the most beautiful illustrations I have ever seen.  It is pretty lengthy, so geared toward older toddlers+ but tells the story of a boy and his dad near the ocean, with his dad explaining that God's love for us is deep and never-ending, much like the ocean.  We will definitely be keeping this book around for awhile.  

FOUR.  Hello by Highlights 

We all remember the Highlights magazines as kids, right?  They were always in my doctor's office & at the library.  One of Dane's Christmas gifts this year was a subscription to Highlights for babies/toddlers called Hello.  They are short books and include poems, a short story, hidden pictures to look for and other fun things!  The Hello books recently have all been spring/summer themed so it was the perfect edition to his summer bookshelf.  They are also easy to hold for little hands & can be thrown in a diaper bag for road trips!  

FIVE.  Hooray for Hat by Brian Won

I saved the best for last.  Dane requests that we read "Hoo Hoo Hat" at least 10 times.  An hour.  No joke. Sometimes it is the first word he says when waking up in the morning.  When I think of summer, I think of the zoo and this adorable book is about various zoo animals who are feeling grumpy and eventually cheer each other up by giving their friends a hat.  The text is simple and the animals are fun to identify.  I think it is so important to teach our children the importance of helping others and this book definitely helps teach that.  Add this to your summer bookshelf today!  

And there you have it.  What are your favorite summer children's books?  I would love to hear & add them to my list!  Happy Reading!