Category: FAMILY

A Classic Berenstain Bears Bibliography

Berenstain Bear Classics Bibliography List

The Berenstain Bear Classics, originally classified as the Berenstain Bear First Time Books, are staple series of my childhood.

I fondly remember my mom reading this series to me. Each story taught life lessons and felt so relatable. But the artwork? I loved the artwork and I still do! It’s very unique, warm and welcoming.

I realize now as I research this that as much as I loved the books I knew, there are so many more I’ve never had the pleasure of reading! I am starting to collect these Berenstain Bear books to read to my daughter, so I’ve created this one-page handy dandy bibliography to keep track as I go! Please feel free to use it too if you need it!

Please feel welcome to check out the other bibliography lists I’ve compiled!

Pixar Animation Studios Watch List

Pixar Watch List

I grew up watching a healthy dose of animated Disney and Pixar movies, they had a positive impact on me, and I would love to continue the tradition with my daughter. We’ve already watched a few and as her attention span grows I’d like to watch more. Let’s be honest though, child(ren) or not, you’re never too old to love and enjoy these films. I’ve created this handy dandy Pixar watch list to keep track; please feel free to use it as a reference!

  • Toy Story
  • A Bug’s Life
  • Toy Story 2
  • Monster’s Inc.
  • Finding Nemo
  • The Incredibles
  • Cars
  • Ratatouille
  • Wall-E
  • Up
  • Cars 2
  • Brave
  • Monster’s University
  • Inside Out
  • The Good Dinosaur
  • Finding Dory
  • Cars 3
  • Coco
  • Incredibles 2
  • Toy Story 4
  • Onward
  • Soul
  • Luca
  • Turning Red
  • Lightyear

Walt Disney Animation Watch List

Walt Disney Animation Studios Watch List

I grew up watching a healthy dose of animated Disney and Pixar movies, they had a positive impact on me, and I would love to continue the tradition with my daughter. We’ve already watched a few and as her attention span grows I’d like to watch more. Let’s be honest though, child(ren) or not, you’re never too old to love and enjoy these films. I’ve created this handy dandy Walt Disney Animation Studios watch list to keep track; please feel free to use it as a reference!

  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
  • Pinocchio
  • Fantasia
  • The Reluctant Dragon
  • Dumbo
  • Bambi
  • Saludos Amigos
  • The Three Caballeros
  • Make Mine Music
  • Song of the South
  • Fun and Fancy Free
  • Melody Time
  • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
  • Cinderella
  • Alice and Wonderland
  • Peter Pan
  • Lady and the Tramp
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • One Hundred and One Dalmatians
  • The Sword and the Stone
  • The Jungle Book
  • The Aristocats
  • Robin Hood
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • The Rescuers
  • The Fox and the Hound
  • The Black Cauldron
  • The Great Mouse Detective
  • Oliver and Company
  • The Little Mermaid
  • The Rescuers Down Under
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Aladdin
  • The Lion King
  • Pocahontas
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  • Hercules
  • Mulan
  • Tarzan
  • Fantasia 2000
  • Dinosaur (CGI)
  • The Emperor’s New Groove
  • Atlantis: The Lost Empire
  • Lilo and Stitch
  • Treasure Planet
  • Brother Bear
  • Home on the Range
  • Chicken Little (CGI)
  • Meet the Robinsons (CGI)
  • Bolt (CGI)
  • The Princess and the Frog
  • Tangled (CGI)
  • Winnie the Pooh
  • Wreck-It Ralph (CGI)
  • Frozen (CGI)
  • Big Hero 6 (CGI)
  • Zootopia (CGI)
  • Moana (CGI)
  • Ralph Breaks the Internet (CGI)
  • Frozen II (CGI)
  • Raya and the Last Dragon (CGI)
  • Encanto (CGI)

How to Clean – Maple Town Flocked Toys

How to Clean - Maple Town Toys

Have you ever watched Maple Town? It is an animated series from the 1980s featuring anthropomorphic animal characters, within an adorable utopic town, that taught little life lessons in each episode. When I was little, my mom recorded it onto VHS for me and I watched them over and over; I also had several of the toys and I still have them!

These toys have been up in the rafters of our garage for over 20 years! They’ve held up better than my My Little Ponies (see how I cleaned them here), but they are still careworn and very dirty. I want to clean these toys to prepare them for my daughter to love and play with!

If you have any flocked toys, whether they are Maple Town characters, Sylvanians, Calico Critters, So Soft My Little Ponies or another, I’ve created this handy guide to help you give them a good cleaning without removing their flocking. Let’s get started!

FLOCKED TOY
How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
Before cleaning.
How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
After Cleaning.

SUPPLIES

  • Container
  • Powdered OxiClean
  • Toothbrush
  • Paper or dish towels

INSTRUCTIONS

Important! Since flocking is attached to the toys with glue, warm to hot water or air could dissolve the glue and remove the flocking.

  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Patty Rabbit before cleaning.
  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Cleaning Patty Rabbit with OxiClean solution and fingertips.
  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Bobby Bear before cleaning.
  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Dirty water from the toys.
  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Dab drying Bobby Bear.
  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Patty Rabbit after cleaning.
  1. If your toy has any clothing, remove it and set it aside (see “Clothing” section below).
  2. In the container, prepare a small batch of the OxiClean per the instructions with warm water. Allow the water to cool completely.
  3. Take the toothbrush, dip it in the OxiClean bath then gently tap the water onto the toy to wet the flocking (this may take several dips and taps to wet the flocking over the whole toy). We are not scrubbing with the toothbrush, just transferring a controlled amount of water onto the toy. 
  4. Use your fingers to rub the OxiClean water into the toy’s fur and set it aside for 10 to 15 minutes. I set mine on a white plate and boy did some dirty water drain off of them (see photo)!
  5. After your toy has sat for 10 to 15 minutes, turn on your tap on the lowest stream it can distribute water, and carefully rinse each character. Take care not to linger too long over joints so water doesn’t leak inside.
  6. With a paper towel or dish towel, gently dab each toy to remove excess water, then set them somewhere safe to dry overnight or longer until they are dry to the touch.
  7. If your toy has any clothing, continue see the “Clothing” section below.
CLOTHING
How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
Maple Town character clothing, before cleaning.

SUPPLIES

  • Container
  • Powdered OxiClean
  • Needle (Optional)
  • Thread (Optional)
  • Scissors (Optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Important! If you’re worried about a particular article of clothing, please do a spot test first, before soaking the whole item.

  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Patty Rabbit’s clothing before cleaning.
  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Fanny Fox’s clothing before cleaning.
  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Mama Rabbit’s dress before cleaning and repairing.
  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Soaking the clothing in OxiClean.
  • How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
    Maple Town characters and clothing laid out to dry.
  1. In the container, prepare the OxiClean per the instructions with warm water.
  2. Place the toy’s clothing in the warm OxiClean mixture to soak. There are some types of fabric that will not react well in OxiClean.
  3. Keep an eye on the clothing and remove it from the bath once clean. Some of my toy’s clothing was clean within 30 minutes, some of them took a couple of hours.
  4. Remove the articles of clothing from the soak and rinse them thoroughly. Squeeze the out the excess water, smooth out any wrinkles, and set them aside to dry.
  5. If there are any loose threads the clothing that will not unravel the garment if cut, you can use the scissors to snip them off.
  6. If there are any tears in the clothing, select thread that is similar in color and thread your needle. Carefully sew the tears back together using appropriate, simple stitches.
  7. After your toy and its clothing are clean and dry, re-dress, and display or enjoy!
How to Clean - Maple Town Toys
How to Clean - Maple Town Toys

Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama Bibliography

Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama Bibliography

I fortuitously found our first Llama Llama book at a local library book sale. It was October and I collected what halloween-themed children’s books I could find, then brought them home. Zoey immediately fell in love with Llama Llama Trick or Treat, handing it to us over and over again until both my husband and I could (and still can) recite it from memory. 

Since October, we have collected Llama Llama Gives Thanks, Jingle Bells, I Love You and Easter Egg. As I researched the author, Anna Dewdney, I was deeply saddened to hear that she has passed away. Her stories and her artwork are so heartfelt and beautiful; we love them, and will continue to collect and read all of her books.

As we continue to introduce Zoey to more Llama Llama stories, I’ve created a bibliography of Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series. Please feel free to use it too if you need it! Her estate has released some books posthumously and I’ve decided to include those that have the same look and feel as the originals.

Posthumously

Please take a look at other Children’s book author bibliographies I’ve created here:

Mercer Mayer Core Little Critter Bibliography

Mercer Mayer Core Little Critter Bibliography

Mercer Mayer’s core Little Critter books are another staple series of my childhood!

I fondly remember my mom reading All by Myself, Just Me and My Dad, Just Me and My Mom, Just Grandma and Me, and (my personal favorite) Just Go To Bed! The stories felt so relatable and cozy and the artwork, although quirky, was also very warm and welcoming.

As I research this series, I realize that as much as I loved the books I knew, there are so many more I’ve never had the pleasure of reading! I am starting to collect Little Critter books to read to my daughter, so I’ve created this one-page handy dandy bibliography to keep track as I go! Please feel free to use it too if you need it!

See my Bill Peet bibliography here, and my Dr. Seuss bibliography here!

A Sweet and Simple Toddler Easter Basket

Dear Easter Bunny,

Thank you and your helpers for all that you do! Since I was a little girl, your operation has grown into something that could rival Christmas morning! It’s enthusiastic and impressive to say the least, but I don’t think our little girl needs all the bells and whistles this year.

My daughter is a 19th month old toddler this Easter and I would like to request up to six items for her Easter Basket that are simple, sweet and more useful than not!

Thank you for taking a look!

DIY Spring Sensory Bottle

Happy Spring everyone! Spring has now sprung and it’s a time for fresh growth, vibrant colors and new life! Part of the fun in raising Zoey is making things that teach and fascinate her. And, if I’m being completely honest, I find sensory bottles fascinating too, so let’s make one!

SUPPLIES

  • A 16 ounce clear, plastic bottle
  • A funnel
  • 1 1/2 cups of white rice
  • 3/4 teaspoon of white vinegar
  • Green food coloring
  • Miniature insect (or other spring inspired) erasers 
  • Glue (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Place the rice in a resealable plastic sandwich bag.
  2. Add the vinegar and food coloring to the rice. You can add however many drops of food coloring you’d like, I added 20 drops.
  3. Seal the bag and shake well until the color is well dispersed throughout.
  4. Spread the rice onto a baking sheet and allow it to dry overnight.
  5. Place the funnel in the mouth of your bottle and use it to fill the bottle with half of the rice.
  6. Remove the funnel and add half of the insect erasers.
  7. Screw the lid back onto the bottle and shake until well incorporated, then remove the lid and replace the funnel.
  8. Add the rest of the rice and the rest of the insect erasers.
  9. Replace the lid onto the bottle and shake well again until well incorporated.
  10. If your child is older and you worry about him/her undoing the lid, you can coat the inside of the lid with glue, then screw it back onto the bottle. This will secure the lid and make it harder for little ones to unscrew the lid and create a leak or spill the bottle’s contents.

Enjoy!

The Benefits of Reading to Children

Stack of Children's BooksZoey’s Bedtime Story is a nighttime ritual I started last year, and this year, the adventure continues! I made a New Year’s resolution to read to Zoey every night this year and we have yet to miss a day!

Reading has always been very special to me. I remember my mom reading to me as a child and I believe it had a profound impact on my love for reading and books, not to mention my performance in school. I want to continue that tradition with Zoey. I want her to hear my voice, hear the diction and the pronunciation, see the beautiful images and eventually enjoy the stories. I imagine her sitting in my lap or lying cozy in her bed while I sit next to her and read, her eyes on the book with rapt attention. In reality, she sits on my lap for about five to ten seconds then tootles all over the room while I keep reading and trying to pull her attention back. I keep going because I know tat the more we read, the more she’ll settle in and pay attention.

There are many benefits of reading to children, no matter their age!

  • Increased attention span
  • Bonding between parent/guardian and child
  • Cognitive and language development
  • Creativity
  • Expanded vocabulary
  • Life lessons
  • Listening skills
  • Social and emotional development

So if you haven’t started reading to your little one(s) it’s not too late to start today! And if you’ve started reading to your little one(s) and their attention is anywhere but on you and the book don’t give up! Consistency is the key!

Please come follow along on my Instagram where I post which book we’re reading each night in my story, and every book I’ve read to her has been saved to the highlights on my profile.

I’ve started a Pinterest Board of all the books I would like to read to Zoey or share with her someday. Check it out to get inspired and please let me know if there are any children books you would recommend; we love sharing stories!

A Dr. Seuss Children’s Book Bibliography

Dr. Seuss Children's Book Bibliography

Another of my favorite children’s authors is Dr. Seuss!

See my Bill Peet bibliography here!

So many of this man’s books were read to me throughout my childhood and I’m sure you’ve had a similar experience! The artwork is uniquely appealing, his wordplay is masterful (have you read Fox in Socks?) and above all each story has a good moral that can teach all who read it!

I am starting to collect Dr. Seuss books to read to my daughter, so I’ve created this one-page handy dandy bibliography to keep track as I go! Please feel free to use it too if you need it!

POSTHUMOUSLY