Book of the Month: Under My Tree

 Under My Tree by Muriel Tallandier and Mizuho Fujisawa is my September Book of the Month that celebrates nature and encourages appreciating our Earth's environment. Such a beautiful thing is a child's love of our planet.

Summary: During a visit to her grandparents, Susanne leaves the city behind and journeys into the forest. There she discovers how incredible the natural world can be in this charming story of friendship between a curious child and her favorite tree.

Ages: 3 to 8 years old

"And so, I said goodbye to my tree. I squeezed her tightly and rested my head against her trunk. --Thank you, friend, for making me so happy." 

I can tell a lot of effort was put into this picture book with the colorful and bright pictures, the loving storyline involving friendship and nature, the structure of the book, and the helpful discussion questions on most pages. 

This book would be perfect for any child who loves playing in nature, needs to learn about the seasons, wants to hear a friendship story that let's them think outside of the box, and for fun suggestions on how to learn from a tree. There is also a counting element in this book when counting Susanne's visits to her favorite tree. 

Tallandier and Fujisawa's book will make their readers want to find their favorite tree. 

Book of the Month: A Loud Winter's Nap

I was looking for a picture book that would get me more excited for winter and came across A Loud Winter's Nap by Katy Hudson.

Summary: Unmoved by his friends' attempts to draw him out with singing classes and snowball fights, Tortoise tries to settle down for his annual winter nap and instead stumbles into a wonderfully icy experience.

Age Range: 3-5 years

"Tortoise had just snuggled in for his long winter nap when..."

This is another great book from the bestselling author of Too Many Carrots. I like how this book can be used for kids to read about winter, animals, and sleeping. 

Tortoise is the grump in his group of friends for not wanting to enjoy and play during the winter. But he quickly realizes just what he's missing out on. 

I had to chuckle because he just can't get any sleep, and most of us grownups can relate to that. The way tortoise finds out just how fun winter can be is a funny and cute tie-in to the story. This is a wonderful picture book read for the winter!