Here we share a quick what-is-this-all-about part. Pretty straightforward- what’s the story about- but for curious mama’s like me, a bit of info to whet your appetite so you can see if it’s something you want to bite into.
What we look for: the best of language: story and storytelling. The stories we read (and tell!) are so important in shaping our kids (and our!) view of the world! Here we’re looking for world-class stories that are also written masterfully. We want the kinds of writing that our kids will love even at different ages, and that will even keep us grown-ups engaged after reading it over and over again. We want to expose our kids to imaginative stories and lively writing, and we share what we find that we love best!
AND because we speak English and Spanish (some of us are still learning!) and want our children to learn this too, we’re looking for all these things in English AND Spanish. It doesn’t mean we need every book to be bilingual; it just means we’ll be reviewing some of both! If that sounds like something you’re looking for, follow along!
In picture books, we understand that the illustrations are a HUGE part of the storytelling (and in some cases ARE the storytelling entirely!) We’re looking for high-quality artwork across a wide range of media to expose our kids to great art from an early age.
We especially love to use these book-artworks as diving boards for art lessons, so we love to learn a little bit about the illustrator’s process when we can! When we find books that teach (by their illustrations and/or their story) about artmaking, creativity, and encourage thinking outside of the box– we fall in love right away.
We’re a culturally diverse group of families in a beautifully diverse neighborhood, and we’re constantly looking for ways to teach our kids to value themselves and the way they were made as well as help them learn to love and value other people, finding what they have in common and also celebrating their differences. So we want books that show a variety of skin tones, hair styles, personalities, and cultures. We want our kids & their friends to pick up these books and see their own skin tone or culture celebrated and honored, and to also have opportunities to learn about each other, exploring other places, people, and ways of doing things. When we find books with diverse characters where people are portrayed with respect and dignity, we have found our jam.
So this is what we’re looking for, and we don’t think it’s too much to ask. We don’t feel like we should have to sacrifice any one of these categories (though every once in a while there is one that blows one category so out of the water that it doesn’t matter how the rest of it ranks). What we’re looking for are the homeruns; books that have the whole package. What we share here are our absolute favorites: old books, new books, classic, decorated, or under the radar– whatever we want to include in the library we want to pass down to our grandchildren.
We love sharing those gems with you along the way. If what we’re looking for in a book sounds like the kind of thing you’re looking for too, then join our community and follow us here to keep up with our latest posts!
AND if you have a book you’d like to share with US, please do! We love to hear about new(to-us) books and find other like-minded book-lovers. Hit us up with an email at ellachattanooga@gmail.com!
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