I love story time, there is something so tender, so sweet about snuggling up with your petites and reading a story.  There are a few stories that we have that are so incredibly sweet they bring me to tears every single time I read them.

The first book I wanted to share with you is Someday by Alison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds, Scholastic Inc., 2007.  I bought this book before Zoe was born and remember just sobbing sitting in my new rocking chair in an empty nursery as I read this story to my growing belly.  As I read this story to my girls this afternoon tears streamed down my face because this is the journey of a girl who becomes a mother – in that moment everything changes.  This is such a beautifully written story about a mothers love and how she watches her daughter grow into a woman and have a child of her own.  This story is perfect in every way.  I love it.  I love how it encapsulates all of what I feel for my petites now and what I can only imagine I will feel as they grow older.  (I should probably grab a box of tissues if I am going to tell you about the other two books).

I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld, Chronicle Books, 2015.  This book was given to Zoe when she was in the hospital.  It is also a lovely story, each line starts with I wish you more it is filled with lovely sentiments that every parent would hope for their child.  “I wish you more treasures than pockets” is one of the lines that speaks to my petites, as their pockets are constantly filled with little stones, pussy-willows, flower petals and any other treasure that they find along the way.  This book is perfect for parents of boys and girls alike.  The illustrations showcase a diverse group of petites making this a perfect book for anyone who has wished something special for their own petites.

The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin, Random House, 2015.  I have written about my love for Emily Winfield Martin before, here and here, oh that’s right and swooned over here prints here.  Her illustrations are stunning and filled with whimsy and are delightful.  The opening line in this lovely tale is When I look at you and you look at me, I wonder what wonderful things you will be.  This books is filled with incredibly sweet sentiments that all parents wish for their petites.  Like all of Emily Winfield Martin’s work this too, is perfect for your petites shelf.

Hopefully you will enjoy these sweet books and especially with Mothers day just around the corner these might be the perfect books for the favorite Mama in your life.

Pierre The Maze Detective: The Search for the Stolen Maze Stone by Hiro Kamigaki & IC4DESIGN is probably one of the most fun books I have seen in years.  Growing up Where’s Waldo was one of those books that was sought out on library day at school.  I remember searching for that red and white striped cap and getting lost in all the little details.

Fast forward almost 30 years…

Pierre the Maze Detective is so much more fun and engaging than Waldo (sorry, Waldo, you were cool thirty years ago, but now your story is just a little, well…flat).  Basically this book is a game, and there are four things you need to do.

1. Find the START sign and follow the maze to the goal, but beware there are pesky things blocking your way, so you need to be creative in your maneuvering.
2. Extra challenges, Pierre’s friends will ask you to find lots things (perhaps a green dinosaur, or a kings throne).
3. Find Hidden Objects: stars, trophies, treasure chests within each maze
4. Find the shortest route that isn’t blocked to the goal sign

The premise is that you need to help Pierre, he is a maze detective and he has been just waiting around for another job.  All of a sudden Pierre’s adorable friend Carmen (who wears a perfect pink pea coat), arrives to tell him that a huge crime has occurred, she has the newspaper clipping and a letter from the culprit, Mr. X who has stolen the Maze Stone and turned all of Opera City into a maze!  Of course Pierre is up for this challenge as any Maze Detective of good merit would be.

So if you choose to help Pierre solve this crime you will enter into the world of Opera City and the 15 mazes that Pierre will need to solve to uncover the clues to find Mr. X.  You will travel through a cafe, hot air balloon festival, castle, forest, a busy port, haunted mansion, and of course an ocean maze complete with a craken!

This book was so much fun, every night my husband and Zoe and I would lay in her bed scouring the mazes to locate all of the hidden items (sometimes as many as twenty), and giggle at all of the silly things happening in the pictures.  We would race to see who could find the items first.  It was an absolute joy to scan the pages together with excitement for how to solve the maze and locate the hidden items that Pierre’s friends has specially requested we locate.  When it got close to the end of the book we found ourselves feeling equally excited because the mazes had been so much fun, but also sad because a special part of our nighttime routine was soon to end.

A little bit about the art…it’s AMAZING!  Seriously, wait until you can spend a few minutes looking at all of the fine details that come together to make this book so perfect.  I found myself getting really excited every night to spend time with my family, but also to see what else was in store in these stunning illustrations.  I guarantee your kids will love this book.

Perfect for kids 6 -11 year olds, I think it would be perfect for traveling with children as it takes a lot of focus to find all of the items and through the maze, with that said the book is oversized, so if you have space constraints check into that.  I could see this book being good for kids who need to build their stamina for focusing; it was great to watch Zoe slow down and look for detail and learn to scan and ignore everything else she was looking for.  Also, this book smells amazing!  Added bonus of course.

I can’t wait to hear what you think, seriously, I love nothing more than chatting about books!

Erin