WTBA is a collection of and conversation about powerful books that strengthen, elevate, inspire and help to grow powerful, resilient kids. We're a book oriented guide for parents, grandparents, educators, aunts, uncles and anyone involved in nurturing children and caring for friends.
Things go amusingly awry when a monster writes a letter to his cousin Fred. The letter is accidentally delivered to the little boy under whose bed Fred lives.
Read MoreThis is a wonderfully circular book. Amelia smiles, her smile is contagious and spreads all around the world and finally finds its way back to her - and she smiles again!
I love a book that shows (but doesn’t preach about) the interconnectedness of people around the world – this book manages exactly that.
And I think the key is the joyfulness of the illustrations. There’s a fuzziness* to them that invites the reader into the edges of the world each character inhabits.
Read Moreages 0 to 3 years
One-year-old Angus’s favourite book at the moment is A Christmas Carol from the BabyLit series.
If you’re not familiar with BabyLit, they're board book primers (covering things like animals, counting, sounds, flowers and much, much more) that are a sweet introduction to classic literature. The words are simple and each page connects an object to a story via engaging artwork. For example, in A Christmas Carol:
Read Moreages 0 to 8 years
‘It’s like ...who sank the boat!' That’s how my family often describes an overwhelming day, too much of something, or a time when we've gone one step too far.
In this story, there’s ‘a cow, a donkey, a sheep, a pig and a tiny little mouse’ who decide to go for a row on the bay. One by one, they gingerly climb in the rowboat and restore the equilibrium before the next passenger. Finally it’s the tiny little mouse’s turn and so in it jumps. You can guess what happens next I’m sure!
Read MoreWhen you’re a worm on a mission to get to an apple, you need determination and imagination – and you need to be a go-with-the-flow sort of worm. There’s a great punchline in this book and easy to ‘read’ pictures too.
ages newborn to 8 years
ages baby to 8 years
I lent this book to my children’s school and it disappeared for a week or two. I shouldn’t have worried – it came back to me with a new plastic cover, making it one of our most carefully preserved books! Here's how it goes:
A conversation about books + kids. A website resource and book reviews for educators, parents, grandparents. The main focus is emotional resilience.
