In honor of Valentine's Day: Thoughts on the romantic era novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, one of my favorites and kind of the stereotypical classic "romance" novel for a reason. I also talk about some literary theory "lite" books I enjoyed that take our appreciation to the next level.

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Books mentioned:

• • Pride & Prejudiceby Jane Austen
  • What Matters in Jane Austen? by John Mullan
• • The Darcy Myth: Jane Austen, Literary Heartthrobs, and the Monstersby Rachel Feder
  • Georgette Heyer (author)

Today I share the Newbery winners 2025 and my thoughts about them. Review all the winners for all the awards here:American Library Association announces 2025 Youth Media Award winners | ALA

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Books Mentioned:

• The First State of Beingby Erin Entrada Kelly

• Magnolia Wu Unfolds It Allwritten and illustrated by Chanel Miller

• The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy.

• Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar

• One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome

• Life After Whaleby Lynn Brunelle and illustrated by Jason Chin

• Home in a Lunchbox illustrated and written by Cherry Mo

• Louder Than Hunger by John Schu

• The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hoopermanby Gennifer Choldenko

Time to talk about a few more potential Newbery Award books! There are so many more that I'd like to share before they announce, but I'll have to talk about them AFTER if they do win!

Books mentioned:

• Louder Than Hungerby John Schu
• Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War IIby Adam Gidwitz
• Not Quite a Ghostby Anne Ursu
• The First State of Beingby Erin Entrada Kelly

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Monday January 20 is Martin Luther King, Jr. ,Day, so today I thought I’d share some interesting picture books about both the man and his mission in the Civil Rights movement.

• Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King by Jean Marzallo and illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
• Martin Luther King, Jr. by Marion Dane Bauer (My First Biography series by Scholastic)
• The Cart that Carried Martin by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Don Tate
• A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler and illustrated by Robert Casilla
• Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier
• As Good As Anybody by Richard Michelson and illustrated by Raul Colon
• My Uncle Martin's Big Heartby Angela Farris Watkins and illustrated by Eric Velasquez
• Martin and Mahalia: His Words, Her Song by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
• We March by Shane W. Evans
• I Have a Dream, with paintings by Kadir Nelson
• March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World by Christine King Farris and illustrated by London Ladd

For Older Kids

• If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Anna Rich
• ho Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?by Bonnie Bader and illustrated by Elizabeth Wolf

See my Martin Luther King, Jr. book study

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In this episode, I talk about four different middle grade novels published in 2024 that qualify for the Newbery Medal in the US.

I share brief summaries and my thoughts about them, and why they should be considered for the Newbery (or not).

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Tree. Table. Book. by Lois Lowry
• The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
• Olivetti by Allie Millington
• Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel MIller

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In this episode, I discuss the timeless charm of Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, which I read endlessly with my kids. I also bring up the reasons why so many don't like it!

I was once told my baby was "too young" for books, so this episode is inspired by that comment.

I share my personal experiences on reading this book with my babies, discuss what makes the book captivating for young readers, and offer insights into how and why you should be reading with babies and toddlers.

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Books mentioned in this episode: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Come meet me! In this debut episode, I introduce myself: a homeschooling mom of three and book lover with over 15 years of blogging about books at Rebecca Reads. I shares how my homeschooling journey fueled her passion for curating children’s literature, with some examples of my favorites. I'm excited to get started!

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Picture Books mentioned

• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• The Little Engine That Could (illustrated by Loren Long)
• Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
• The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale
• the Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo
• Frog and Toad series by Maurice Sendak

Middle Grade Books mentioned

• Charlotte’s Web by E.B .White
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
• Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Harry Potter series

Books for Grown-Ups

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky
• Wilkie Collins
• Charles Dickens
• Half of a Yellow Son by Adichie
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett