Our Favorite Valentine's Day Books 2021

My 4 year old has recently discovered that I like to decorate for holidays early. What can I say? It makes me happy. :) We've been ready for Valentine's Day for a couple of weeks now, and since it's the first week of February, I guess we can start talking about all things Valentine's Day! 

I've shared before that my girls love, and I mean LOVE, books. I'm on my fifth book of 2021, so they come by it honestly, ha! 

Today, I'm sharing the Valentine's Day books we're loving around here. And surprise! Some of them have extra little goodies that are included! I ordered all mine from Amazon, but if you find another deal somewhere else, feel free to share!

Click on any title or picture to be directed to the book!

*May contain affiliate links*

Avery - 16 months old

Llama Llama I love you by Anna Dewdney: We're Llama Llama fans over here! These books are always sweet, short, and fun.

My Fuzzy Valentine: I'm pretty Avery's love for Elmo has only grown over the months, ha! This one has a little velvet touch to Elmo which your toddler will love!

Where is Baby's Valentine?: This was Ella Mae's book when she was a toddler, and I promise you she is still obsessed with it. It has flaps, need I say more? :)

Ella Mae - 4 years old

Fancy Nancy: Heart to Heart - Her vocabulary has grown so much with her love for Fancy Nancy! It's a sweet, short story for a Fancy Nancy book. 

*BONUS* it comes with a sheet of stickers!

Pete the Cat: Valentine's Day is Cool by Kimberly and James Dean - Yes, Pete the Cat is still around our house, and Ella Mae says quotes from this book all the time now. It's a cute one!

*BONUS* it includes 12 Valentine's Day cards, a fold-out poster, AND stickers! Is the poster hanging on the back of her bedroom door as we speak? Yup. 

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose by Lucille Colandro - My 4 year laughs at every. single. page. in these books! She thinks that old lady is "so silly, Mama!".  I guess we'll be getting one for every holiday. 

Pinkalicious: Pink of Hearts by Victoria Kann - All the little girls in her class love Pinkalicious. It's a sweet story about friendship!

*BONUS* includes 8 Valentine's Day cards, a fold-out poster, and stickers!

Our Favorite Christmas Books 2020

With my oldest daughter, we started the tradition of letting her open a new Christmas book on Christmas Eve to read before she goes to bed. Between the books from my childhood and some I kept from my elementary classroom, we have quite a collection of Christmas books over here! And thankfully, my girls love them as much as I do. Today, I'm sharing the books my girls are loving this Christmas. Many of these are heavily discounted right now. You still have time to grab one if you need it for Christmas Eve!

Click on any title or picture to be directed to the book!

*May contain affiliate links*

Avery - 14 months old

Elmo's Christmas Hugs - We are big into all things Elmo right now, so to say that she loves this book is an understatement! Make Elmo decorate trees, play the piano, and give his friends a hug. It's CUTE. 

Christmas Surprise - We're at the stage where any book with flaps is an instant hit. I love this one because it has real pictures of Christmas objects and answers questions in complete sentences...great for language development! It also has a handle at the top to make it easy for toddler traveling all over the house, ha!

Babies Love Christmas - I mean, it's in the title! More flaps, more fun Christmas things. My baby loves it, I'm sure yours will, too!

Christmas in the Manger - I really love this illustrator, Felicia Bond! Her books are always so kid friendly and cute. This little rhyming book introduces all the characters in the nativity story. Somehow we got our hands on this book in July and we've been reading it ever since, ha!

The Itsy Bitsy Angel - It's what it sounds like - a Christmas remake of the Itsy Bitsy Spider but with an angel. It's about a little angel discovering the nativity story. It's really cute and catchy!

Ella Mae- 4 years old

Clifford's Christmas - I feel like Clifford will always be a classic! (P.S.....all the shows are on Amazon Prime Video!) She adores Clifford and we've read this no less than 85 times already this season. 

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell - She thinks the "Old Lady" series is hilarious! She giggles and giggles and talks about how silly it all is. It's also a short read which is a plus, ha!

Pete the Cat's 12 Groovy Days of Christmas - If you have a Pete the Cat lover in your house, you need to order this ASAP! My big girl has asked almost every grown up that has been in her house to read this to her and sing along, so be prepared for that! 

Merry Christmas, Curious George - Another classic character we are obsessed with. We love all the movies, shows, and books! Your George loving kid will ask for this book on repeat. 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - ahh, a classic!! I'm so glad she loves this one as much as I do! She loves all 3 versions of The Grinch movies. She loves to see Grinch decorations. She HATES to see the Grinch in person, ha! I think this story will always be a favorite in her heart, though. 

Are your kids loving any of these this year? Which one is your favorite?

Apple Books & a Surprise

There's something about September that automatically makes me crave all the apple things. This past weekend, we visited an apple orchard in my hometown since the weather was finally in the 70s and so pleasant. We live in the deep south, so there's not an abundance of apple orchards....and for a reason. There wasn't much to choose from, but we did leave with some apples and my oldest had an absolute blast!

When COVID-19 closed the country (and schools) in the spring, I started the Playing Preschool curriculum from Busy Toddler. The first unit is about apples, and my (then) 3 year old was obsessed with it! There were songs, crafts, lessons, and book suggestions....we loved everything about it! Ever since, she's been asking me to go apple picking, so when I found this place in my hometown, we decided to visit. 

She had so. much. fun. 

These are the books about apples we used and still love! They would be great for your apple unit in the classroom/homeschool, or just for fun for your kids at home.

Apples, Apples, Apples, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace - a fun story about a family going apple picking. The illustrations are different but awesome.

Ten Apples Up on Top by Theo LeSieg - EM laughs every single time we read this book! And has to count all the apples of course. If you're a fan of Seuss, you'll love it.

Apples by Gail Gibbons - seriously, Gail Gibbons is a nonfiction genius. She packs in so much information that's not too overwhelming for kids. I always learn something from her books...and I'm the adult, ha. 

Fancy Nancy, Apples Galore! by Jane O'Connor - we are BIG into Fancy Nancy right now in our house! This one was an instant hit.

And now for the surprise! EM loved singing this song when we did our apple unit, she even sang it at the apple orchard. So whether your picking apples, baking with apples, or reading about apples, this song will be perfect for your preschooler.

Now, off to bake with all the apples!