Kid Minds Picture Book Reading Calendars give you a full month of inspiration, fun, and family bonding.
From picture books that you can use with kids of all ages as conversation starters (and warm-up activities) to fun holidays (big and small) that you and your kids can use to turn any day of the year into a celebration.
If you need ideas on how to turn book reading into a juicy conversation starter, visit the Best Story Time Ever post.
If you want to find out how I got obsessed with reading, visit the 365 Books a Year post.
As always, Kid Minds Calendars are FREE.
Click HERE to download yours (or click the link under each month)!
January can feel like a letdown for kids, with the holidays over and the return to school. But January is the birth of a new year! And with this comes a wonderful opportunity to plan for the future, celebrate achievements, and use the time indoors to read more books. These January books are filled with snowy cold winter vibes and celebrate domestic pleasures like soups, baths, and hobbies.
It’s the last month of winter, and at this point, the season can feel bleak and endless. But it’s not! So take advantage of the weather to enjoy your snowy adventures and cozy evenings one more time. Plus, as these books will demonstrate, February is filled with invitations to discover and learn: it’s library lover’s month, Black history month, inventor’s month, music month…. dive in!
Spring! As the equinox approaches, let these books rekindle your love of plants, bugs, and nature: Earth Day and Wildlife Day beckon. Or take a cue from the fact that March is Women’s History Month and Irish American Month. Or (and this might be our favorite kind of holiday), go for the unexpected – Spinach and Waffle Day or Pig Day! As you can imagine, this month has inspired some fabulous books.
Flowers open, leaves unfurl, warmth and sunshine invite us back into a world busy with hatching eggs, ducklings, and baby bunnies. Poetry makes the season sing – it’s National Poetry Month. On the other hand, perhaps you prefer to play April Fools all month long – it’s National Humor month! Either way, these books will help you and your kids make the most of April.
May seems to be everyone’s favorite month all over the world – this is the time of abundant blooms, outdoor adventures, and sunshine. We never tire of books celebrating natural wonders – the miracle that is strawberries, gardens, and bees. However, if you crave creative variety – how do Space Month, Dinosaur Day, D-Day, and Star Wars Day sound?
June! Beaches, picnics, lush trees, blue skies, ice cream, and long, long, long days of barefooted freedom. Whether these books remind you of the bliss this season has to offer or simply accompany you to the beach chair or hammock; they will enrich your experience and bring along a fantastic cast of characters, including the Dalai Lama, Helen Keller, and Jacques Cousteau.
July is the summer of summer. Hopefully, you’ve become one with the rhythm of fireflies, campfires, friends, and family road trips. Do your kids complain of boredom in the summer? Teach them how to find their own fun. Our books are here to help. They ignite the love for the season with everything it has to offer and show glimpses into the fascinating worlds of painter Frida Kahlo and adventurers Amelia Earhart and Sir Edmond Hillary. Long Live Anti-boredom month!
August stretches out and starts to get sleepy… but there’s still time for summer fun! Let these books help you take advantage of the dog days of summer with bucket lists for seasonal experiences like eating watermelon and jumping into a cold pool (not at the same time, perhaps :), plus imaginative adventures for Pirate Month.
We may have been clinging to summer, but nature has been preparing for this for months. September brings with it shorter days, colder nights, the beginning of the end… Don’t resist. Lean into it. Look to these books for a burst of fall activities celebrating apples, turning leaves, pumpkins, Hispanic Heritage Month, and (I’m proud to say) banned books.
October can trigger a cultural split: on the one hand, is a heartwarming harvest with its squashes and apple cider, and on the other is the strange love of the spooky, ghoulish, and ghostly. I say, let’s have it all! I’ve also selected great books to help kids deal with schoolwork, bravely embrace their passions, and be inspired by people like Eleanor Roosevelt and Ada Lovelace.
As always, I love using all the forgotten, famous birthdays and obscure holidays to broaden my kids’ (and my own) horizons. In November, we are graced with Fibonacci, Marie Curie, homemade bread, voting rights, and picture book month! Don’t worry, though; I’ll never neglect the classic stories of fall, Thanksgiving, and past and present contributions of Native Americans.
December usually begins hectic and rushed, but by the end, hopefully, you’re able to attune yourself to the peace of nature’s sleep. And then, magically, the winter blooms with festive joy – lights on houses, wreaths, music, and a bouquet of holidays from myriad cultures, all finding joy in the most unlikely of seasons.
Reinvigorate your family traditions with some beautiful books. I promise comfort and rituals with a healthy dose of surprise.
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