instant library

on thanksgiving eve, i threw a little book themed baby shower for matt's sister!

it was really a lovely time, but you'll have to use your imaginations since my hands were full for most of the shower and i left my camera back home in oakland. i snapped these quick pictures before the party started.

on our drive down to matt's parents (which felt like it took days of "are we almost there?" "how much longer?" "how many miles?", but really only took 7 1/2 very long hours), i cut up old kids books i got at a used bookstore into bunting and then used a mini hole puncher to put holes in the corner of each paper flag. i tried to string the bunting in the car, but that was a disaster and i got all tangled up in string with piles of paper falling everywhere.  it was an easy, relatively fast, and inexpensive way to decorate! i decorated with some more kids books & a set of vintage wooden blocks i bought at a kids consignment store. viola!

i did sneak in a couple of games - a good excuse for prizes! but for the most part we snacked on desserts and chatted and opened gifts for the baby to be. everyone brought books, so by the end of the evening baby-on-the-way had quite a collection of books from board books up to picture books. i keep thinking of other favorites i would've given. 

speaking of books, have you seen these books? 

my mom bought m this one last year~

and i just got the girls this one a few weeks ago as a special treat!

they are darling books with beautiful, detailed illustrations. the story follows siblings adele and simon as they adventure through paris, and then in the second book, throughout america. poor simon is a little absent minded and loses his belongings page after page. my girls love spotting what he has managed to leave behind, as well as hunt for tiny objects on each page.

via

aside from hunting and finding simon;s belongings, each page is historically accurate and portrays famous landmarks and neighborhoods. they are pretty fun to look at.

what books should i know about that i might not?

and what are your go to books to gift, or to pull off the shelf and read with your kiddos?

(if you are looking for children's christmas books i just saw this post tonight!)