Our Favorite Halloween Books for Kids

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Over the years we have collected a number of Halloween books for our kid’s library. Finn has always loved Halloween, and he has passed that joy on to Penelope. Throughout the year, Penelope will randomly ask, “what do you think you will dress as for Halloween?” or “What costume do you want for Halloween this year?” It’s so adorable! Needless to say, she was so excited to pull out our Halloween books again this year. After a few readings through our favorite books for Fall, I added these to the book basket too.

No Such Thing

No Such Thing is hands down my favorite Halloween book. I love Ella Bailey’s illustrations, and the storyline is really sweet. There are so many details to the illustrations, and Penelope and I had a lovely time looking closely at every page to spot the little ghosts causing mischief. Sadly, it is out of print, but sometimes copies come available on eBay. I also highly recommend checking if your library has a copy! That’s where we first discovered it.

Ghosts in the House!

Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara is such an adorable book! I really like the simplicity of the color palette, which really enhances the illustrations. It’s a simple story for toddlers/preschoolers. Penelope originally planned to dress up as a witch for Halloween this year, so she liked that the little girl was wearing a witch’s hat. Finn loved this one when he was younger.

Mr. Pumpkin’s Tea Party

I discovered Mr. Pumpkin's Tea Party by Erin Barker at the library last year, and it is so cute! Penelope is big into setting up tea parties, so this was perfect for her for Halloween. It is a simple counting book with beautiful illustrations. It’s fun and festive but not overly spooky.

The Scariest Book Ever

When Finn got home from school and saw The Scariest Book Ever by Bob Shea one in the book basket, he declared, “Oh yes! I love this book!” and promptly sat down and read it. He giggled all the way through. :) I read it to Penelope as well, and she liked all the illustrations. It’s been a favorite for a few years now.

Little Blue Truck’s Halloween

Penelope loved the Little Blue Truck books so much when she was younger. I added Little Blue Truck's Halloween to our collection two falls ago. She was excited to pull it out and read it this year, but I think it is geared much more toward toddlers and preschoolers. It is really cute, and I am excited for Azelie to enjoy it as she gets a little older.

Grimelda and the Spooktacular Pet Show

These—Grimelda and the Spooktacular Pet Show and Grimelda the Very Messy Witch—have been a very fun addition to our library. They each have a fun, festive, rhyming story featuring Grimelda, a little witch with big hair and a messy house. My personal favorite is the Spooktacular Pet Show, but both are good. (I bought my copies on eBay, but you can also check if Amazon has them.)

I have one honorable mention, not pictured above, that I would be remiss to leave out. Finn went through a big Curious George phase, and one of his favorites (year-round) was Curious George Goes to a Costume Party by Margret Rey. It is included in A Treasury of Curious George. It is a cute story for toddlers and preschoolers and definitely captures the magic of dressing up in costume!

Do your kid’s have any favorite Halloween books we should add to our collection?

Kid's Book Review: The Insect Detective

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We love books around here, and kid’s books are no exception. I wanted to share this book with you all because we really enjoyed it, and it feels fitting for summertime. We borrowed it from our local library, but I would definitely add it to our personal collection at some point. Without further ado, I give you, “The Insect Detective” by Steve Voake. (You can find it on Amazon here.)

The book has a simple story about how any child can be an insect detective, and then it goes on to talk about a few common bugs that kids have probably encountered already—bees, wasps, and dragonflies, to name a few. I appreciated that it included information about the various insects, but it was definitely accessible to a child and not dry or overly textbook-like. It also explained words that kids might not have learned yet, like “solitary means alone”.

The illustrations are stunning! They maintain a very simple aesthetic and yet are so beautiful in person (my photos do not do them justice at all).

This was my favorite spread. The pond and water lilies were so beautifully painted.

And then it concludes with a few simple ways that children can practically become an insect detective. Although Finn (age 4) could follow the story and information, I felt a few of these activities were probably for older children to be able to do on their own or concentrate for longer periods of time to watch an insect. That being said, I think an inquisitive child of 3 up through an elementary-schooler could enjoy this book.

I would love to know if you have read any good ‘bug’ books recently! Finn is very interested in bugs currently.

Finn's Fall Wardrobe Wishlist

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Fall is here! And between the cooling weather and Finn starting school, I have been on the look-out for some new items for his wardrobe.

He is on the border between 3T and moving up to 4T, so I am slowly picking up new pieces in 4T to add to his closet. Since he started going to school three times a week, it would be nice to have a few more shirts and pants to add to his rotation, thus making laundry less pressing. Also, all of his sweaters and sweatshirts are getting too small, and we will definitely need those come winter. So, I pulled together some shirts, sweatshirts, and pants that I would gladly add to his wardrobe.

11. Thermal U-Shape Joggers in Olive Through This // 12. Thermal U-Shape Joggers in Lost at Sea Navy // 13. Relaxed Fleece Cargo Joggers in Clove // 14. Monster Critter Socks // 15. Harrison Casual Sneakers

What are your favorite stores for kids clothes? Any pieces you are eying for your kid’s closet?

Design Inspiration for a Baby Girl's Room

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Baby girl's room is coming along, and today, I wanted to share my inspiration and general design direction for the space. 

I'm not sure if there was any particular jumping off point for how this room came together. I knew I wanted it to feel cohesive with Finn's room, which is across the hall. That meant sticking with white walls (Behr Polar Bear) and pulling in some darker grays to mirror his room. I also wanted the room to feel calm and a bit more muted than how his turned out. I came across the rug on RugsUSA (linked below) and fell in love. It is so beautiful in person, and it is really soft too. I really liked how it pulled together a lot of the colors I wanted but in a muted way. It ended up guiding a lot of the other decisions for the room.

From there, I knew we would need a dresser for storage. The closet in her room is small. And after a lot of searching, I decided on the gray storage cabinet to corral toys, dolls, and books. It will also serve as a landing place beside our rocking chair for a lamp and our phones/water/whatever while we feed and rock the baby. 

Originally, I was going to use our crib from Finn (this one) and paint it dark gray. While searching Craigslist for something else, I came across a Jenny Lind crib in white for a great price. I couldn't pass it up! It saved me a lot of effort to not have to paint the other crib, and I absolutely love how it looks in the room. It fits so well with the other elements. 

I plan to use art to bring in some pops of color. I have a vintage bird print I bought in Paris last summer, and I want to make an abstract art print as well. I also have a ton of images of flamingos saved and hope to print one or two to hang in the space. Eventually, I would like to add the Dotted Iris print from Etsy (linked below). I think the colors are perfect for her room, and I like the vintage vibe of it.

There you have it! I'm hoping to take photos of the space as I finish it up in the next week or so here. Below is the source list for all of the items. 

Source List

DaVinci Jenny Lind Crib in White

Burt's Bees Striped Crib Sheet in Gray - These are the best! So soft and fit very well. 

Gray Curtains

Swan Mobile

Louvaire Ashen Traditional Rug - This rug is so beautiful in person and very soft under foot.

Keekaroo Changing Pad — We have had this changing pad since Finn was born, and I HIGHLY recommend it! It is so nice that you can wipe it off rather than having to run it through the washing machine when it inevitably gets wet/dirty.

3-tier Tray - to corral diapers, wipes, butt cream, etc on her dresser

Dotted Lavender Iris print

Storage Cabinet

Rabbit blanket

P.S. Here's the Inspiration for Finn's Toddler Room as well as the final result, Finn's Room. 

P.P.S. Affiliate links are used for some of the Amazon products. I receive a small commission if you purchase through my affiliate link.

Finn's Toddler Room

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Finn's room has come together over time, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. We finally got a 'big kid' bed for him, so I thought I would take a few pictures to share. In case you would like to see how the room has come together, you can check out my previous posts—Design Inspiration for a Toddler Boy's Room and Progress Update–Finn's Toddler Room.

I love that this room has a lot of pieces that hold special meaning to me. The bed frame my dad had refinished for me when I was a teenager, and I have always loved the style of it. Initially, I wanted a black iron frame bed for Finn, but I didn't want this frame to get ruined in the garage. I really like how it looks in his room, though, so it ended up working out.

My grandmother made the quilt, and the triangle blanket is from Target (although it looks like they don't sell it in the navy anymore). It's so soft.

The desk is an antique from my parents. Finn doesn't really use it right now, but I think it looks cute with his other stuff. I need to give that stool a sanding and fresh coat of paint.

It isn't my preference to have the bed in front of the window the way it is, but it allows for the best flow of the room. It also makes opening the curtains much easier than how we had it before.

The dresser was a Craigslist find a few years ago. I painted it a dark gray for Finn's room.

I like that the art ties together the blues, oranges, and yellows from throughout the room. The Animal World Map (to the left in the photo) was on my wishlist for a long time, and I'm so glad I got it. Finn loves animals, and it is just a happy print. It's from Little Universe Shop on Etsy, and you can print it in a variety of sizes to fit your space. I found the Cheetah and Lion images via Pinterest and printed them at home to fit my frames.

The panda lamp is from Target, and it still makes me smile every time I see it.

These Ikea shelves work so well for kid's books. I painted them the same white as the walls—Behr Polar Bear. The curtains are from Ikea as well.

If you saw my post, Things Finn Says, you know he loves animals. We keep a few of his beanie babies in his room in this basket, and then we have two other baskets in the living room. He loves to play '5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed' with them.

The rug is from Overstock. It was in our office area at our last house. I probably wouldn't have bought it for this space, but the color works surprisingly well with everything I had already picked out for the space.

The Sailboat Mobile hung over his crib at our last house. I like the sculptural element it adds to the room, and it gently spins when the furnace turns on. The rest of the art is a combination of thrifted pieces and prints I bought. The Be Brave and Be Bold prints are from Minted.

The 'Little Warrior' image, as I call it, is an image I found on Pinterest and printed at home. Finn's name means 'Little Warrior' so I thought this was a fun addition to his room.

Source List

Panda Lamp by Pillowfort | Mariam Curtains in Blue | Wire Basket with White Handles | Wall Rack for books | Triangle Blanket | Rug | “Be Brave” print | “Be Bold” print | Animal World Map | Sailboat Mobile | Little Warrior image | Cheetah image | Lion image