Classic Children's Stories

My dear friend, Jen, asked for help in finding some classic children's stories for her son and daughter. Here are a few of my suggestions.

I don't know if you can even find this anymore, but this is my favorite version of "The Three Little Pigs". This is the copy I grew up with and I snatched it up (along with a few others) when my mom was thinning out the kids' books a couple of years ago. I want my kids to know the actual classic story before they read variations (and there are a lot of variations out there). It's hard to find tried-and-true classics, but this one fits the bill for me.

Info: Hardbound, 28 pages
Published: Derrydale Books
Distributed by Crown Publishers

This is a series which also includes "The Three Bears", "Little Red Riding Hood", and "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". I do not have the others, but I want them.

In my desperation for finding the classic version of these stories, I bought this paperback combo book. It has "Gingerbread Man" (good), "Three Billy Goats Gruff" (ok), "Jack in the Beanstalk" (not good), and "The Little Red Hen" (good). It works for now until I can find copies of these stories that I really like. I bought this at Barnes and Noble about a year ago.

I am still searching for a version of "The Three Bears" that I like. Let's tag team this, Jen, and keep each other posted on our progress. Anyone else with ideas or suggestions...let me know and I'll make sure to pass it on to Jen too.

Some other suggestions for your children's collection:

I love this collection of classic fables. Each fable is one page long and has absolutely beautiful illustrations. My four year old loves these and they have a moral at the end which I love.

I just love this book. It simple and sweet and the illustrations are amazing. It's the story of little Kate who won't go to bed. Her mom begins telling her about all of the baby animals that are already asleep and soon Kate is sound asleep too. I'm always so happy when my son chooses to read this story before bed with me.

What is a children's collection without a little Shel? My four year old is really starting to get into these and has a blast reading the funny poems. We have all of his children's books and we'll slowly grow into them as the boys get older. We've even read "The Giving Tree" once and he stayed with me through the whole book, I was impressed.

I would love to hear about your favorites....I'm always expanding my collection!

Hanging Pictures

We moved the first week of December and I am only now getting around to hanging some things on my walls! I found this great trick in a magazine years ago and I thought I would share it with you. My photos for this post aren't that great, sorry. We were halfway through before I thought to grab the camera.

First, make a template of each of your frames. I use my son's art easel paper that's on a big roll. It's cheap and he can color on it after I'm done. Label your templates so you remember which one goes where later on.
I use masking tape to place my templates on the wall. This way, I don't make any holes in my wall until I'm absolutely certain where I want my pictures. I can adjust them and/or switch them out as much as I want and when I am finally satisfied.....then I ask my husband to hang them for me. It takes him no time at all since all the templates are labeled. He just hammers, levels, and DONE!

Now, I could hang my own pictures, but my husband is MUCH faster than I am....so we'll both just stick to what job we are best at, right dear?

Here is a collection of pictures almost finished. If you have a bunch of small pictures like me and a huge wall that they will drown in if hung, try grouping them into a square or rectangle shape. It gives the illusion of one larger piece, even though it's all smaller frames.