Lillian’s Library: books that go through the seasons
Sometimes when I scour the internet to find books on certain themes for my daughter Lillian, I never quite find what I’m looking for. In fact, I often come across books by chance after all my searching just walking through the library or the store. In case you’re sometimes doing similar investigating, I decided to start a series on books that Lillian is reading lately from her bookshelf at home or from the library. Today I’d like to share three really wonderful books on the seasons.
- Inside Outside by Lizi Boyd
This delightful picture book starts and ends in winter time, transitioning through the seasons on each page, alternating with scenes indoors and outdoors. There are endless details to point out on each page, from the fun the boy has inside (like hanging up pictures, making sailboats, or reading books under a little teepee), to his outside projects (like building snowmen, planting a garden or making a tree house). My daughter just loves listening to me point out things, and she also likes the little peek-a-boo cuts on each page that give a glimpse into something on the previous and next page. - I am a Bunny by Richard Scarry
In this book, you’ll follow the bunny Nicholas as he tells you his favorite things to do in each season. My favorite thing about this book is the beautiful and detailed illustrations. Though less jam-packed with things to point out than Inside Outside, there is still plenty to talk about while you enjoy the rich illustrations with your child. You can count the butterflies Nicholas tries catching in the spring, see a jumping frog and dewdrops in the summer, spot all the colors in the falling leaves in the autumn, spot Nicholas’ snow tracks leading back to his hollow tree home in the winter and more. - Baby Loves Summer! by Karen Katz
For the last book, I’d actually like to recommend a small series of books by Karen Katz. These four lift-the-flaps books go through the seasons joyfully as you turn each page (and lift each flap) to discover the fun each season has to offer. These books are really great to read during each season because they have so many things you can point out to your child when you go outdoors (butterflies and tulips in the spring, the big yellow sunshine in the summer, yummy apple pie in the fall and a snowman in the winter, etc). Lily and I have a lot of fun reading these books together!I hope you found some books on seasons that you haven’t read before with your child, and would love to hear any favorites your family has (about seasons or in general!). If you have any suggestions for future themes, please leave a comment, too!xx Caitlyn
Lillian’s gift of Uncle Goose blocks will be a treasure for years to come. Chad seems to think they are a sign we should actively teach Japanese to Lillian and then move back to Japan, but I’m not so sure about all of that 😉 Anyway, Uncle Goose is based in Grand Rapids but sells their blocks in 6 out of 7 continents worldwide. Check out 
I absolutely love the way the pictures of Lillian turned out, though I’m obviously a little biased on the subject! Here’s the thing though: despite it being a summer day, it was really cold and–especially on the beach–windy! But Kara still managed to get smiles out of Lillian (who was grumpy on top of being cold that day!). 
Fortunately for us, now Chad is on vacation, so yesterday (Tuesday) we were able to scurry down toward Sugamo Station to get a ticket from Tsuta. We got there around 10:15, and were able to get tickets to reserve a spot for eating around 3:00. Unfortunately, all that was on offer for the day was Tsuta’s miso ramen, which I was especially bummed about because I tend to go for shoyu (soy based) or shio (salt based) ramen. Of course, that didn’t change our minds about giving the shop a try!
Around 2:15 or so we came back to Tsuta Ramen and joined a line of several other customers. We slowly moved forward in the queue until we were welcomed inside and given our deposits back so we could chose our ramen. We had three choices: normal miso ramen, miso ramen with egg, and miso ramen with extra chicken. We chose the latter two options (which came to exactly 2000 yen total), and then continued to wait in the indoor line for seats to open up. 
We were pretty excited when our ramen was served. We were ready for new flavors–we’d never had chickpeas, sliced onions or chicken in our ramen before. 
A good egg is usually a huge indication of my overall rating when it comes to ramen: it shouldn’t be completely hard boiled, but the yolk should be slightly cooked. My egg was spot-on. I liked the noodles, too, but sometimes the texture was a little grainy for me. I couldn’t tell whether that sensation was from the soba noodles themselves, or from the noodles being coated in miso broth. The ramen didn’t disappoint, but I would personally like to go back and try a bowl of the shoyu ramen. 
Little Snail 