I love the idea behind Petite Picasso Books — a great way to preserve some of your children’s best art work.  You can make books for yourself, grandparents, dad or as a surprise for your child.  Check out the fun t-shirts with art and the original art of your child’s “knuffle bunny” or other favorite stuffed animal! 

Posted under Books, Dad Gifts, Kid Gifts, Mom Gifts

On Tuesdays, we will write about “play” and how adults and children alike can have this in their lives.

I came across this and other pictures of Christopher Niemann’s New York-inspired lego creations today and just love them (click on the link to see more).  I will show these to my son when he gets home from school and see if we can play. 

Christopher Niemann also has a new children’s book that looks great — The Pet Dragon — A Story about Adventure, Friendship and a Chinese Characters !  What a fun gift book this would be.  

Posted under Books, Happiness Project, Kid Gifts, Play

Every Monday, we will write about the importance of “connection” in our lives and how we can establish and keep connections.

One of the most valuable ways to connect with your child is to read with your child.  We have started Lena’s Lovely Bookstore as a way to share our favorite books with you.  We are always adding new books and always reading, so check it out.  We would love to hear your thoughts and favorites.

Also, we are attempting to divide the books by our categories of: connections, play, giving to others, purpose and learning. These are the categories we are working on for the happiness project.  

But, no matter the subject matter of the book, the act of reading is most important.  It’s a great gift to give any child.

Posted under Books, Connecting, Kid Gifts

One of my son’s favorite books right now — and mine as well - is Batman, The Story of the Dark Knight by Ralph Cosentino.  Although there are many superhero books to choose from (believe me, I know), this is a new one that is gift-worthy for sure! It has a comic book feel to it, but with truly great pictures and a simple yet complete telling of how Batman became Batman.  

Posted under Books, Kid Gifts

A favorite book of mine last year was Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. She also did an interview with Oprah last season and shared her three suggestions for what to do every day.   I recently came across them again and thought I’d share them with you:

• Start a journal and answer this question every morning: What do I really, really, really want? “You have to say really, really, really three times or else you don’t believe it. And answer it truthfully and do it again the next day and the next and the next,” she says. “Because you can’t set your journey if you don’t know what you’re for.”

• Write down the happiest moment of every day in a happiness journal. “It’s a way of reminding myself what really makes me happy and what doesn’t,” she says, “and learn and study and look back and see what is it consistently.”
   
• Refine your mantra. “I say refine, not choose, because we all actually already have a mantra. We just might not realize that we do. Whatever you repeat constantly in your head is your mantra whether you know it or not, and that is leading you on your way,” she says. “So if you’re repeating, ‘I’m a moron, I’m an idiot, I’m a failure, I’m a jerk, I’m a loser,’ it’s your mantra. So decide whether that’s working for you. … Maybe it’s not and then maybe you might want to choose a different thing to try to say whenever you remember that you’re thinking what you’re always doing.”

Posted under Books, Uncategorized

The Gifted Grass Hopper is a site for giving books ! No surprise, then, that I love it! Two former first grade teachers, Jen and Laura, started this company as a way to help families find books. They bundle books together by topic and age and prepare a really cute grasshopper gift bag for your child.  

Great Gift Idea: Great gifts for young kids, and I love the smaller bag/party favor option for a birthday party!  

Thanks also to The Gifted Grasshopper for its donation of a bookbag and book for Operation Shower! 

Posted under Books, Kid Gifts

My six-year old son and I recently completed “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” by Kate DiCamillo. This is the truly lovely story of a beloved toy rabbit that becomes lost and the journey it takes looking for its way home.

We really enjoyed reading this book together, but it was not without having to have very frank discussions. There are instances where we needed to talk about death, aboout being poor, and about losing something you love.  But I love books that give us a chance to talk and address issues — when they are ready.  

Most of all, we talked about the importance of love and friendship and we laughed at some of the funny lines that we still quote to each other, such as:

• “And so Edward Tulane became Susanna” and
• “Look away, Lucy,” he said to the dog, “let’s not embarass Malone by staring at his nakedness.” 

My son loved these lines — we had to read them over and over.  I’ll leave it to your imagination to think about the context of the lines.  Or . . . you could just get the book. 

Posted under Books, Kid Gifts, Quotes

One of my new favorite gifts to give are the “Make Your Own Books”  from Scribble Press.   Scribble Press is a “place to write, illustrate and publish original books.”   Each book prompts you with cues and blanks on each page to create your story. They are very simple, but they give the child a real sense of pride in making their own book.  

My son makes his own books with regular paper stapled together all the time, but he LOVES making these books even more! We purchased one for Father’s Day and my son created a wonderful book for his Dad.  And, of course we had to purchase the “if i were a superhero” book.   

I also love the idea of the “when i was your age” book.  It will be my turn to have a little fun.  

Posted under Books, Dad Gifts, Friend Gifts, Mom Gifts, Storytelling