Blog Love: Orange Marmalade

Some months ago, I stumbled across a blog that has fast become a favorite of mine. I really hadn't subscribed to children's lit blogs until this one and there are only a very select few others I follow. While I get some good info and recommendations from BN Kids, Brightly, and Imagination Soup, my far and away favorite is Orange Marmalade. I look forward to new posts from this blog more than just about any other -- and my library list explodes on a regular basis as a result! I've been paring down how many sites I subscribe to, but this one is staying in my Feedly queue for the long haul.

If you are a parent looking for children's book recommendations -- or even just interested for yourself, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Jill has a real heart and love for children's literature and it shines through in all of her posts. Her focus is on picture books through middle grade and she covers a very wide range of titles -- from classics and Caldecotts to brand new releases, books newly translated into English, poetry and art, the occasional graphic novel, and much, much more. She values kindness and compassion, opening our minds and exploring our world, building bridges and nurturing empathy, getting outside and using our imagination.

Her posts have gently nudged me to expand my reading comfort zone and dive into poetry books and art books and all sorts of other books I might not have picked up before. Largely because of this blog, I visit the children's section of my library not just for my son, but also for myself. I never really stopped reading YA books, but I had almost completely stopped reading picture books and middle grade until I had my son. I now may have read more books Jill has recommended in these past few months than I have from any other single blog I follow. Sure, the brevity of most kidlit makes this much less of a time commitment, but the variety and quality of her book recommendations just continue to pull me in time and time again.

Her archives go back to 2010 and are a veritable treasure trove. She has a very helpful subject index as well as a title index. Realistically, I probably won't read though all those posts, but any time I search for something -- by topic, or book type, or title, something good always seems to come up. The most dangerous thing I can do is take a peek at the site to check on something before finalizing a Book Outlet order -- all of a sudden a bunch more books have landed in my cart!

But enough waxing poetic! I thought I'd share some of my favorite posts to give you a little taste of Orange Marmalade and see why exactly I love it so much. I also asked Jill to share some of her own favorite posts and she graciously agreed. Since I've only delved into the archives sporadically, her picks take us a bit further back than I've been able to explore. I hope some of these posts pique your interest, and apologies (sort of) in advance if I send you down a bit of a kidlit rabbit hole :)

First some of her "Musings" posts -- these aren't recommendation posts, but I think they paint a picture of where Jill is coming from, why she values children's books, and why she's created an entire blog dedicated to them:
* In a World of Sorrow, Shall I Dish Up Green Eggs and Ham?
* Reading as An Act of Listening
* On Never Outgrowing Picture Books
* Art Helps Us See Differently
* Books are for Wonder and Wondering
* Reading Beyond Baked Chicken

Best-of lists for the past two years:
* Orange Marmalade’s Juicy Book Awards 2015
* Orange Marmalade’s Juicy Book Awards 2016

Some of Jill's favorite posts:
* Sowing seeds of peace and refuge…some thoughts and book lists
* Turning over a new leaf?…a list of five books encouraging fresh paths for the new year
* The last homely house…a list of five brilliant books about building houses
* Flashlights and moon jumping…five books aglow with darkness
* Cold hands, warm hearts…five icy tales warm with love
* There’s a summer place…five nostalgic pieces of summer

Some of my favorite posts (so far). I have not read all the books, but I just love the variety of subjects covered. I tried to pare this list down, I really did, but it's still long :)
* Compassion ought not be political: read about refugees (Also featured here.)
* They also wrote a kids’ book…a list to celebrate my daughter’s graduation
* Words that dazzle, sizzle, nuzzle, puzzle…April is National Poetry Month!
* Tantalizing, electrifying, art history and appreciation
* Quiet wonderings, wild imaginings…five for kindling curiosity
* Mothers of the world…we salute thee!
* Can we do it? yes, we can!…books for Women’s History Month
* Each little flower, each tiny bird…books to inspire delight and care for the Earth
* Need a smile?…five books with miles of smiles
* Ancient stories for modern children
* Five quick peeks at artful alphabets
* Quietest and most constant friends…five books about books
* What the world needs now is love, sweet love…five full of love for Valentine’s Day

Lastly, I'm very much looking forward to her upcoming series for the summer -- come follow along with me!
* Buckle Up for a Tour of the World!…Books for Exploring Global Cultures with Kids

Reading with Kid: A Work in Progress

My son turned two at the end of April. I don't know how my baby is now a full-blown toddler -- he has been for quite a while now to be honest. Looking back at "1 year ago today" or "2 years ago today" pictures on my phone kind of kills me. It's such a cliche, but the time really does fly by so fast. And, no, I was not prepared for toddlerhood. AT ALL. I thought having a baby would be the biggest life adjustment, but now I'm not so sure. Going from having a needy, cuddly baby to a stubborn, ants-in-his pants toddler has been an education for sure. Babies and toddlers change so rapidly that whenever I feel like I sort of have a handle on a particular stage, it's onto a new one! I feel like the same thing has happened with my reading since he was born. I figured my reading habits would change once I became a mother, but I didn't anticipate how frequently they would continue to change as the months went by.

In the early days, I read far more than I thought I would because I read when I was pumping. I really hated pumping, so getting to read a book was a bit of a treat to help the time pass. I wasn't reading anything heavy or difficult, but I really surprised myself with how many print books I was finishing during the newborn days. It also helped that I was awake for way more hours than usual, so while I was so very tired, I was reading quite a lot as well.

After that short-lived phase, when he was completely on formula, I would sneak a few pages while feeding him or rocking in the rocking chair. These were oftentimes when he was sleepy -- and small enough to basically fit in one arm. I'd prop up a book and read so long as he was content, which was pretty often. There wasn't much better than snuggling up with my baby and a book during that stage.

Then, as he got a bit bigger, but wasn't verbal yet, I went through a big audiobook phase. I read aloud and talked to him SO MUCH throughout the day, that I didn't feel bad popping in headphones while we were out on walks and he was happily looking out at everything around him and soaking it all in. (I think we both needed a break from the sound of my voice, to be honest!) I listened to multiple Diana Gabaldon marathon audiobooks with no trouble at all over the course of several months. And if I could get the audiobook for my book club selection, I never had any issues finishing before our meetings. I did have a really hard time getting through print books though -- they were taking me forever because I didn't have much time for sitting still, non-audiobook reading.

Now at two years old, my son is talking up a storm, so I no longer listen to audiobooks while he's chatty -- which he always is when we go on walks. Occasionally, I will put on a children's audiobook in the car or on my phone with the speaker turned up, but it doesn't happen all that often. At this stage, he's much more engaged when a real-life person reads to him and he has pictures to look at. So for now, I'm back to a slower pace for audiobooks since I am mainly listening when I am not on solo kid duty, doing housework, after he's asleep, or on the occasional kiddo-less walk or drive. But when it comes to print books, I'm finding I have more time again! My son is getting better at playing on his own (as long as I'm in the room or nearby), but I can't be on my laptop or he's all over it trying to push buttons and "play" with it. So that means I can't get any work done during playtime, but it's a lovely "excuse" to read a chapter of a novel, dive into a graphic novel, or even to read some more "advanced" picture books for my own enjoyment. I think it's good that he sees me reading rather than on a screen and will be even more important as he gets older. As it is, I still think I spend too much time on screens and it's something I am trying to work on. Just yesterday he came over to me at my desk in the evening and said "no more computer!" Out of the mouths of babes, right?

So, if you're a parent, I'm curious how your reading has changed since your kiddo(s) came along? Any tips or tricks to cut down on distractions and screen time also appreciated!