Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) recommends a favorite book:

I love Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child for its assertion that magic is all around us, as long as you look closely. My children, six and eight, both love this book as well and often ask me to read it to them. The book opens with Annabelle looking for fairies in the "cement and weeds" near her house despite her father's firm statement that she won't find them. Annabelle's firm belief and tireless searching are rewarded when one Saturday she finds a boy with wings, as big as her finger, shivering in the breeze. As soon as he has introduced himself as "Jethro Byrd, fairy child," Annabelle spies a miniature ice cream truck that has fallen from the sky. Jethro's family -- his father, mother, grandmother, and baby sister -- are trying to tug the truck back to upright and ask for Annabelle's help. She quickly helps and then invites them to her house for tea.
Annabelle leads the Byrd family back to her house and introduces them to her parents. She wonders why it is that her mother is looking the wrong way when she heartily greets the Byrds, and then, suspicious, asks her father if he can see them. He claims that he can but Annabelle can tell that he can't. Sad, she asks Jethro's mother why her parents can't see them. "He's too grown up," the fairy tells her. "He doesn't have time for fairies." As I read this line I choke up, every single time. Is that true?

After a lovely afternoon playing music and dancing, the Byrds tell Annabelle they have to go. Crushed, she asks if she can go with them. No, they tell her. She is just too big. As they leave, the Byrds give Annabelle a fairy watch which tells fairy time. "Time goes by slowly for fairies," they explain. The watch fits right on her fourth finger. The ice cream truck lifts into the air, flying away, and the Byrds leave with a reminder to wind her watch and to "keep looking." That night, Annabelle sees fairies all around her neighborhood.

Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child reminds us that for those who look carefully, the world is full of startling beauty. It reminds us that there are wonders -- magic, even -- to be found if we slow down and walk at the pace of a child, take the time to look at what they see, and, most of all, to believe.

My life list includes writing a couple of books that have been percolating in my brain the last couple of years (I'm actually drafting outlines for a potential publisher!). Meanwhile, I have a few friends who published books this year and I'm utterly thrilled for them! These titles technically are no longer new releases (though a couple of them, er, were in fact so when the review copies were sent to me during my Violet babymoon), but I wanted to share them before more time elapsed. The first title would be an entertaining gift for a new mom; the second and third handy for aspiring mamapreneurs.
Let's Panic About Babies!

I was thrilled to see my delightful friend Alice Bradley and finally meet the lovely Eden Kennedy -- co-authors of Let's Panic About Babies! -- at Camp Mighty last month. With the exception that it reminded me that I received their book about 10 minutes after returning home from the hospital with Violet and it eventually disappeared into the vortex that currently is my office. Though I have, in fact, gazed into Violet's eyes with the laser sharp adoration portrayed on the book's cover, as a not so panicky second time mom I had many laughs while reading this book -- particularly while deciphering the tables, graphs, and diagrams. If you need a comical break from all the "should's" typically associated with parenting manuals, Let's Panic is a welcome respite. Also, start following Alice and Eden's blogs. They are such smart and funny writers.

The Digital Mom Handbook

Audrey McClelland and Colleen Padilla were among the first mom bloggers I connected with online when the mom blogging scene exploded five years ago. They both are truly bright and generous spirits in this space and this year they published The Digital Mom Handbook, a guide to helping moms figure out the nuts and bolts of creating a digital career. Imparting their advice, as well as that of many mom bloggers (I'm honored to be included in the book), Audrey and Colleen help readers through top down elements such as finding one's passion, to bottom up building blocks such as handling pitches and navigating social media platforms. This book is great for newbies, but I also found it fun to read what fellow bloggers had to say about their journeys into digital careers.

MOM, Incorporated

I only had a few minutes to thumb through MOM, Incorporated at Aliza Sherman and my lovely friend Danielle Smith's Boston book launch party this past fall, but at said party, the authors talked about something in their book that really resonated with me: the persistence with which women apologize for their actions (often when not justified), and how it's time to stop that behavior. Ever since that day, I've been trying to start less e-mails and conversations with "I'm sorry I didn't do ______" (try it -- it's both challenging and liberating!). Meanwhile, MOM, Incorporated drills down into the how to's of building a business (e.g, business plans, incorporating, finances, tech) while having a family.

I hope you enjoy these books. I'm so grateful to know these talented authors!

I'm trying to get back into the habit of reading before bedtime, as both a means to transport and unwind. I so enjoyed Katherine Center's book recommendations earlier this year so I decided to query on my social channels for literary inspiration. The responses were so fantastic that I wanted to post the recommendations here, both to share the wealth and archive for myself. I left the responses intact instead of simply listing the books because the comments definitely are helping guide my choosing. Print this list out for your library/used book tote or go crazy at your local bookstore or on Amazon (note: I included affiliate links below). Thanks to everyone who commented in, and enjoy! And if you have other books to recommend, feel welcome to add them to the comments.
Via Twitter:

@nancyholtzman: If you haven't read ROOM that gets my pick. Couldn't put it down. author Emma Donoghue.

@Misserikas: Chris bohjlian's new book is what I'm reading so far so good:)

@ummnuseebah: read God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy. it's a beautiful read, with gorgeous use of language.

@liasynthis: Let The Great World Spin. Really enjoying it.

@domnicella: Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet or Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Also, Cleopatra (nonfiction).

@RockcCT: invisible bridge is a big but compelling book - a must read!

@acbranger: fav book ever Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Also loved Cutting for Stone

Via Facebook:

Carmen: Read Outlander. It's a bit slow for the first 100 pages or so, but rapidly picks up steam and will hold your interest like no other for the next 7 books. No, really - I promise.

Sarah: I don't generally read novels but when I do it's chick lit by Jane Green, Jennifer Weiner or Sophie Kinsella. Have you read Little Earthquakes?

Mara: Just finished Falling Together by Marissa de Los Santos - highly recommend.

Liz: The Hunger Games (if you haven't already)... Recently finished Minding Frankie (Maeve Binchy) and Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult), and currently working on A Week in December, Sebastian Faulks.

Marie: I second Hunger Games. Or along those lines, The Maze Runner. Or I have a whole other list of teen sci-fi post-apocalyptic novels to choose from :)

Mark: The Art of Fielding has lived up to the hype.

Jennifer: If you go the Outlander route, let me know. Read the first five books and enjoyed them. Also just read S**t My Dad Says which was given to me as a gift. Not really a novel but totally hilarious!

Sharon: Cutting for Stone by Verghese or The Invisible Bridge by Orringer - both GREAT reads!

Sharon: This might sound really lame... I'm re-reading The Thorn Birds!

Marcy: Have you read Middlesex? I think it's actually the best novel I've ever read. So well written. The language is inspiring, and the characters are really well developed. It's insightful and funny. It took the author 9 years to write it, and you can tell. What did you just finish reading?

Liz: Reading Life, the Keith Richards autobio now. Great fun so far.

Candy: The Art of Racing in the Rain. Sweetest story ever and the ending will have you in tears of joy :).

Susan: Still Alice. Finished it today and really liked it.

Sharon: Still Alice is very good as is her next one which I read this summer and also liked, Left Neglected, both by Lisa Genova.

Katherine: Cutting for Stone! Just finished it and really enjoyed it :)

Paige: Just finished The Night Strangers byChris Bohjalian...highly recommend!

Greer: Invisible Bridge, History of Love, Secret Daughter

Cynthia: Have been reading Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie mysteries and enjoying them very much. Novels about a declining Britain with a bit of crime and dry humor thrown in.

Amy: Sarah's Key and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Both were fantastic stories - both are highly recommended.

Kerry: I have to second Sarah's Key, good read.

Dianne: I keep re-reading Daphne Du Maurier's House on the Strand - absolutely compulsive.

Susan: I read patti smith's memoir just kids - couldn't put it down!

Jenny: Blueprints for Better Girls. Vivid writing and interesting tie-ins across the short story characters.

Erin: Room by Emma Donoghue

Gwen: Cutting for Stone... outstanding!

Lisa: The Help and The Book Thief

Claire: The Hunger Games Trilogy

What a bunch of reading rock stars no? I cannot wait to get my hands on a stack of these recommendations! Thank you everyone!

Today, Kate shares a home fitness recommendation (shockingly well timed as I've been thinking of taking ballet but haven't found a class that works with my schedule):

I have written before of my love of ballet, a love that has been kept at a very long arm's length by my lack of necessary talent, drive, and height. However, a recent discovery allows me to feel like a prima ballerina for a few minutes each day: Ballet Conditioning -- a wonderful DVD by Element (the producers of Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners) -- offers several hours of appealing and fun exercises, all based on classical ballet positions and stretches and all aimed at toning and lengthening different muscle groups.

With my desk chair serving as a barre, the positions bring me back to the ballet classes of my childhood -- tendu! plié! port de bra! -- and I have a moment of living inside the grace and elegance of dance. But don't be fooled: this is a hard workout that will leave your thighs burning and your arms feeling like rubber.

Today, Lindsey shares a game that's fun for kids and grownups alike:

A few months ago I realized that I was rushing my children through dinner and bath to make sure we had time for TV before bed. Startled by this, I simply told them the next day that we weren't going to have TV. We enjoyed a more relaxed dinner and evening and that was that -- the transition was shockingly seamless. Instead, after bath and before bed, we now often play a short game. I admit that some of the board games stacked in our family room are, quite frankly, a little slow for me.
Subsequently, I was glad to discover Rat-A-Tat Cat. This card game has become an obsession for all three of us. My 6- and 8-year-old play it together, though they prefer when I play with them. The game is simple: you deal four cards in front of each player, two up and two down. The goal is to wind up with the smallest number of points represented in your four cards (the cards are 0-9). Taking turns drawing from a pile of cards in the middle, you can swap out cards you draw for your face-up cards or take a chance and swap a card with a known value for one of your face-down cards. There also are a couple of other cards, such as "peek" and "swap" which allow you, respectively, to glance at one of your face-down cards or to swap a card, even a mystery one, with another player.

Rat-a-Tat Cat has the right mixture of speed (so I don't get bored) and simplicity. All three of us have won before, without anyone going easy or stressing out, and this makes the game more fun. It's a perfect game for the airplane and for up to four players, and I've overheard my 8 year old playing it on a play date before. One round takes about 10 minutes, and so far nobody around here is bored! I highly recommend Rat-a-Tat Cat.

Probably due to my denial about the summer's end, I'm a little stunned that today is Laurel's first day of school (and other than some morning grumbling, it went off without a hitch...no tears at drop off!). I know many of you have already started the school year or are starting this week so I wanted to share a few of my favorite tips for making mornings easier, plus some excellent back posts to help with transitions. Because experience with Laurel has taught me that transition can be easy (last year) or challenging over many months (two years ago). Good luck everyone!

Here are five tips to making mornings easier:

1. Wake up 10 minutes earlier. Without fail, whenever we give ourselves 10 extra minutes of breathing room, mornings feel more calm.

2. Prep two days of lunches at a time. We find that lunch making is less painful in the mornings when some of the pieces are already in place a couple of days a week. On Mondays and Wednesdays I pack Laurel's fruit and vegetable containers and set aside snack options (e.g., yogurt, granola bars) for two days. I'll make the main course (e.g., sandwich, mac and cheese, etc.) fresh the morning of school depending on what Laurel is in the mood for.

3. For those with kids with long hair. Laurel has very long hair and it's prone to major tangling. And dealing with a super snarly head in the morning is time consuming and does not help morning grouchiness. I comb out her hair the night before (and sometimes braid the hair) to minimize morning tangles.

4. Lay out clothes the night before. This is an easy task that you can have your kids take care of. They'll love the autonomy and it will help avoid clothing battles in the morning. I also recommend being OK with whatever your kid picks (i.e., not worrying about things matching) so long as the clothing is weather appropriate. Laurel tends to pick combos of patterns and colors that I might not assemble but if the clothes make her happy and make for an easier transition, why pick a fight when it's really not necessary?

5. Remain calm. I feel as if I give this advice a lot when it comes to parenting but it never fails me! I find that if I get sucked into the drama and get cranky in response to Laurel's behavior, the bad mojo escalates, whereas when I can remain calm and redirect, we can diffuse the situation quickly.

Do you have other tips? I'd love to hear them in the comments below!

And here's some great back reading regarding back to school transitions:

Fall structure strategies

Easing back to school jitters

Kindergarten transition tips, part I

Kindergarten transition tips, part II

Back to school books

The keepsake item that helped Laurel make it through her first year of elementary school

Image credit: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today, Kate recommends a thought provoking book about motherhood:

“The essayist Caitlin Flanagan has developed a successful career writing thoughtfully and often with acerbic humor on issues of family, marriage, motherhood, and feminism. She courts controversy by raising uncomfortable questions about whether men or women are better suited to housework, whether small children should be cared for by anyone other than their mothers, and whether contemporary women are fundamentally unsuited to accept the sacrifices required by marriage. She points at working mothers, stay-at-home mothers, and work-at-home mothers -- in other words, all of us -- and asks us to look into ourselves to understand our motivations, our compromises, and our choices and their impacts on our children. She is also the mother of twin boys, and a breast cancer survivor.
Her fascinatingly readable 2006 collection of essays To Hell with All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife is the kind of book that you may love or you may hate but you won't be able to avoid thinking about. From her analysis of the Martha Stewart phenomenon to her description of her own postpartum depression and isolation -- a chapter that rang true for me -- Flanagan is honest about her own flaws as a mother and so allows her readers to be the same. The result is enlightening, engaging, guilt-inducing, and often laugh-out-loud funny. Whether you know her work from magazines like The New Yorker and The Atlantic or are coming to her fresh, Flanagan and To Hell with All That are worth getting to know.”

Stephanie Precourt projects remarkable light, positivity, and gratitude; qualities -- along with her lovely writing style and beautiful photography -- that make her blog Adventures in Babywearing so wonderful to visit (even for those of us who are beyond babywearing). I first met Stephanie at the inaugural Disney mom bloggers mixer, during which time she was pregnant with her daughter Ivy; since then, it’s been a joy to be connected with this kind and thoughtful friend. For the fourteenth installment of my Simplifying the Holidays guest blog series, enjoy Stephanie’s reflections on the nothing and everything of the holidays.

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From Stephanie:

I don't usually buy new books. But the boys had a special reading night at the local bookstore recently and a small, simple book caught my eye: The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell.

We had a voucher: for every purchase that night, a percentage would go to the school. I grabbed the book without even opening it up. I never do this. But I just had a feeling about this book.

I let the boys each pick out something at their reading level and paid. When we got home I pulled out The Gift of Nothing and set it on the end table. At that point, it matched the Christmas decor.

Then it was the book chosen for bedtime. The simple photos tell a simple story: of what do you give to someone that has everything? Nothing? There is so much stuff. It's hard to find "nothing." But if you can be still, you will find it. And nothing, can be everything to someone.

Every year we seem to scale back our Christmas more than the last. And our Christmases aren't much, if you’re measuring by number of presents under the tree. But that's not what we think counts.

It's not just for financial reasons; it's partly because when you think about it, we really have everything we need and want. Of course there is always the latest this or that. But, the excitement of those new things grows dim so soon. My mother's heart can't take the highs and lows of so many I have to have this! toys that now await new batteries deep within a toy box, in pieces under the bed, or left to weather in the backyard. Here is how our family celebrates:

1. We encourage our whole family to consider spending time together rather than money. And for the parts of our family that do have money to spend, we do something special together. This holiday, in place of presents, we went to a water park hotel for a weekend with Grandma & Grandpa and aunts and uncles and all the cousins. The kids all understood this was their Christmas gift from Grandpa & Grandma. There would be no presents to open, but memories and time spent with each other to last much, much longer.

2. With the other grandparents, we'll go to the museum and see the Christmas trees around the world. We'll spend that day together and have a "lighter" Christmas on Christmas Eve.

3. At our house, on Christmas morning, there will be small toys and candy inside the stockings, and a couple of gifts for each child under the tree. Nothing extravagant, but definitely thoughtful gifts that are not only useful, but special and imaginative.

4. On gifts: just as I prefer to keep the gift-giving simple, I long for the gifts themselves to be simple. Maybe handmade, and most importantly something that captures the spirit of the recipient. I've bought Ivy a felt tea set (her very first tea set), and the boys each a secret compartment vintage book. I'll fill the books with some individual little treasures for Noah, Carter, and Gray.

I know it's certainly not much. And it's definitely not "nothing."

But it means everything.

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Note: I'd like to thank @summerm for telling me about the secret compartment books; such a perfect suggestion for my boys ages 4, 7, & 8. If you are up to the task, I found an awesome DIY video on how to make a secret compartment book. I thought about giving it a try, but it would be too difficult to do without the boys finding out. We also have a very small, simple house.

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Stephanie Precourt has been married to her husband Jeff for 10 years & is the mom of three boys (Noah, Carter, Grayson) and a home-birthed girl (Ivy). She works from home as the voice of Adventures in Babywearing, as well as SheKnows.com's Real Moms Guide. She also freelances for NWIparent Magazine and the NWIparent blog Close To Home, and is the Managing Editor for 5 Minutes For Parenting. You can follow Stephanie on Twitter at @babysteph.

Despite being a digital mom, I’m that mom; the one who refused to have anything but natural wooden and soft toys around Laurel as a baby, the one who has steered clear of anything battery operated since. Until recently. And while I remain a proponent of the learn through play philosophy via basic tools -- you’ll always find a plentiful supply of books, paper, paint, colored pencils, sculpting clay, dry pasta and beans + measuring cups, etc. at our house -- I now feel that it’s possible to merge certain electronics into the mix with Laurel; as a supplement, with benefits, and without taking over.

Read on for my review of LeapFrog’s Leapster and Tag learning systems, as well as to learn how to be one of two winners to receive LeapFrog products.

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I’ve heard about LeapFrog several times in the last couple of years but it wasn’t until BlogHer Boston that I saw the Tag reading system (briefly) at an exhibition table, and then the Leapster learning game (again, briefly) at the home of one of Laurel’s friends. But it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I decided to introduce Laurel to LeapFrog.

Admittedly, I was a bit nervous, (probably somewhat melodramatically) envisioning Laurel opting for noisy non-volume-controllable electronic devices over good old fashioned cuddle and play time with me and Jon. But I also was intrigued, particularly given that Laurel and I were starting to explore reading. I was interested in trying out the Tag as a means to encourage Laurel's reading and independence (she tends to be a tad resistant to independent play), and the Leapster as a form of educational entertainment, particularly while we’re on the go.

And after Laurel’s initial excited frenzy (during which I was a little concerned that I would need to restrict LeapFrog hours), I was relieved to see her chill out re: usage and was thrilled to see these tools enhance her learning experience while being super fun.

The Leapster2 is a handheld unit that comes with a starter game and has a cartridge slot to accommodate any of 30 or so other learning game titles (everything ranging from Disney fairies and princesses to Dora to Star Wars). The games are structured to encourage math and language skills (e.g., via number recognition, letter recognition, counting, etc.) as well as pattern recognition (e.g., colors, shapes) through games. Since Laurel knows a bit of Spanish, she especially loves Dora’s Camping Adventure, as well as the Disney Fairies and Princess and the Frog games. Game levels adapt along with your kid’s progress (the console can track multiple players) and you also can connect the Leapster2 online for all sorts of extra perks (plus parents can get learning progress reports), though admittedly we haven’t even gotten to this phase because there’s been plenty to explore within the Leapster2 itself.

I’ve found the Leapster2 to be especially handy to bring along when I anticipate a wait (e.g., doctor’s office, grocery store); otherwise, we haven’t had to worry about over-usage at all around the house. And yes, you can adjust the volume on the device.

The Tag system is very cool and pretty much mystifies me technology-wise. Basically you have the Tag Reader stylus + books that look typical with the exception of some small icons on each page. Like the Leapster2 games, the book options span classic tales and popular characters (Laurel especially loves Olivia and Dora). Before you get going you need to connect the Tag Reader to your computer via USB, download the audio for your Tag books, then load the stories onto the Tag Reader. (Sounds like a lot of steps but it's quick and easy.) Then simply touch the icons with the stylus and the Tag Reader will read by page and engage kids in games related to the page contents (designed to help with reading comprehension, object identification, etc), or touch word by word. And as with the Leapster2, yes, the Tag Reader offers volume control.

At first, Laurel would simply use the stylus to read the entire page or she’d want me to read the book to her, but now that she's learning more and more words at home and school, it's been very cool to see her use the stylus to read word by word. And now she's at a point where she can read many words on her own and uses the stylus as a prompt to help her when she encounters an unfamiliar word. Though we still spend countless hours reading books together, the Tag allows her to have independence with books (which in turn gives me a bit of time to get dinner together, put out client fires, or whatever).

In sum, I’m really impressed with the Leapster2 and Tag systems. They offer a fun mode through which Laurel can learn and play independently, but in an enhancing, not replacing, way; the majority of our play remains offline and hands on. Also, after attempting to watch The Little Mermaid with Laurel the other day -- which essentially boiled down to me fast-forwarding through the parts that scared her...which was a lot -- it also occured to me that another benefit of the Leapster2 and Tag systems is that they offer kids a way to enjoy their favorite characters in a far more interactive and less intense way than a movie.

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THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winners Jennifer & Jackie!
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Now, want to be one of two winners to receive LeapFrog goodies? Here’s how:

Visit the Leapster or Tag product pages, then email contests@bostonmamas.com (with ‘LeapFrog’ in the subject), and name a Leapster game or Tag book your child would love to play or read.

One entry permitted per person; US residents welcome to enter.

Entry period closes at midnight EST, Sunday, December 6, 2009.

*Two lucky winners will be drawn using Random.org. One winner will receive the Leapster2 + Princess and the Frog game ($95 value). The second winner will receive the new Chat & Count phone ($15 value).