Today, March 19th is International Read to Me Day

Today is International Read to Me Day - a day well worth celebrating for sure! Daysoftheyear (dot) com says, "Research shows children who regularly read have advanced literacy skills and a greater love for reading. The day promotes literacy and also encourages families and communities to engage in reading activities. It supports the idea of how everyone can play a role in nurturing a child’s love for reading."

While there are no shortages of books to read to a child, I'd like to recommend a few books for you to read to and with the children you love . . . 

• Life on the Amazing Goldilocks Planet looks at how God used
  
  His "paint brush of evolution" to create the world on which we live. Colorful illustrations and fun facts help children learn about our universe, space, planets, dinosaurs, and interesting animals alive today which all show us how amazing life in on this planet on which we live - the Goldilocks Planet where everything is "just right" for life to exist. It will equip parents and grandparents to hand down confident faith to the children they love by learning about some of the amazing animals in our world and how they help us know God is real. As Josh McDowell says; "Belief is knowing what we believe - Conviction is knowing why we believe it." This book will help you do what matters most - hand down confident faith! You will find it at the following link.
• illustrate my own books - If you are not an artist, or artistic
  
  person, when you see a book which you need to provide the illustrations for, you may think it is not the book for you. But, in this case with the  illustrate my own Known Bible Heroes, illustrate my own Unknown Bible Heroes, and important things Jesus wants me to know books, nothing could be farther from the truth! These books give you the unique opportunity to engage with the children you love in ways you never have when you read a book about a real Bible person, as since you and/or they will be providing the illustrations, you get to talk about what is happening, think through what the Bible person is saying, and basically really pay attention to the details so you are able to provide the illustrations! Just think about the fantastic conversations you will be able to have about the Bible people and how what they learned applies to you as well! These books are no ordinary Bible person storybook and they make fantastic gifts! You will find out more about the books in this series at the following link.
• 
  The Little Ginormous, Humungous, Hairy, One-Eyed Monster Boy's Adventures! In this book you will find two stories - “There are Teeny, Tiny, Itty, Bitty, Not-so-Hairy, Two-eyed People Children Under My Bed!” where children will identify with the little ginormous, humungous, hairy, one-eyed monsters when they think they see a peculiar, scary, and terrifying teeny, tiny, itty, bitty, not-so-hairy, two-eyed people child under their bed! Of course when grandma monster tells the monster boys there can not be a people child under their bed because the people children are at their grandma's and poppa's house on a sleepover, it opens up an important conversation about how the little monster boys are really very much like the little people children.

In “The Little Ginormous, Humongous, Hairy, One-Eyed Monster Boys & Their Not-So-Peculiar, Scary, or Terrifying Discovery!” the little monster boys discover teeny, tiny, itty, bitty, not-so-hairy, two-eyed people children are moving in to a house down the street, so they decide to see for themselves if they are really peculiar, scary, and terrifying - or not.

In these books children will discover, along with the little ginormous, humungous, hairy, one-eyed monsters they are able to make friends with children who may not look like them. Just because they do not look the same, it does not mean they are “peculiar, scary, or terrifying” because we all are very much the same, whether we look alike or not. You will find out more about this book at the following link. 

• Bedtime Fun with a Sweet Kitten named Candy! A Family of Her Own for Candy is a mostly true story about a little kitten and how she ended up with a family of her own. It is based on a true story of how Lynda and her husband, Dave decided to get a kitten from the Humane Society, so their grandsons helped choose the right one - which they named Candy. 

Lynda wrote this story for children and hopes it delights them - especially if they and their families want to get a kitten (or even a canine) from their local Humane Society. You will find out more about this book at the following link. 

Candy's Favorite Place is about a kitten the author got from the Humane Society and the places she likes to be. Candy enjoys spending time playing in boxes and resting on her pillows, but there is one place which is her favorite! Lynda wrote this story for children and hopes it delights them - especially if they and their families want to get a kitten (or even a canine) from their local Humane Society.

This book is part of the Candy the Kitten - and Me! books - after reading about Candy and her favorite places, the children you love will be able to draw pictures of their favorite places, or have you take photos of them in their favorite places to add for an unique book all their own! You will find out more about this book at the following link.

Candy the kitten is happy to share with you about the things which make her purr - and let you know about some of her friends which also purr! Be prepared to be surprised! Filled with colorful pictures, What Makes Candy Purr? is sure to become a favorite story.

And, not only will children love learning about the things which make Candy purr, but they will be able to make their own story about the things which make them purr - or which make them happy! Children will be able to draw, or have their parents or grandparents take pictures of them with the things which make them purr and then add them into the book for a story of their own by them! You will find it at this link.

In Adventures with Candy! you and the children you love will be able to meet Candy, and little kitten looking for a home and family of her own, discover the places where Candy likes to be the most, and learn what makes Candy purr! This book combines all three Candy stories from Lynda Freeman into one book with colorful illustrations, fun stories, and a wonderful little kitten you all are sure to love! You will find it at this link.

Praying Deeper Through the Psalms for Children is a book written by Lynda and her three grands to help children learn to talk with God. (It is available in print form from Amazon at this link and as a digital PDF in our Book Store at this link.)If we want the children we love to learn to walk closely with God, they need to learn to talk with Him. Praying Deeper Through the Psalms - Children's Edition is designed to help children - preschool through Middle School age - learn to do exactly this by praying the Psalms back to God. In this book you will find 52 weeks of Scripture prayers from the Book of Psalms and space for children to record their own prayer requests and how God answers. With Praying Deeper Through the Psalms for Children the children you love will learn how to talk with God - and will make their way through the Book of Psalms a thoughtful way as well.

the little answer book for children has activities and questions which will engage children as they learn the "whys" for the questions - is God real? what about science & God? if God is real, is He good?, and is the Bible true? As they think through questions, journal their answers, and participate in science projects and other activities, they will learn "why" they are able to have a confident faith!

Any of these books will be wonderful books to read to and with the children you love, today and any day! You will find out more about International Read to Me Day at this link.