News: Children's Books

We’re officially in December! Thanksgiving is done and Channukah is underway. We have diligently been building our holiday book stash and it’s honestly one of my favorite traditions. I remember watching holiday movies growing up but I don’t think we had a holiday book collection. There’s something so fun about unboxing all of the special books with the rest of the decor. In this year’s books and bibs guide, I paired one of our modern holiday baby bib sets with one of the kids’ favorites from our book collection. 

First up, we have the Lit Baby Bib Set with Stick Man by Julia Donaldson (illustrated by Axel Scheffler). If I’m being honest, this book is a little stressful for me to read as the papa stick man gets separated from his family and attempts to get back home to his family. Spoiler alert: he’s successful and even makes it in time before the holidays! Despite the stress, I included this book because it’s one of my kids’ favorites. 

Next, we paired the Beary Merry Baby Bib Set with Together by Heather Stricter (illustrated by Martha Ratcliff). A sweet book about family and connection during this season. An idea I can definitely get behind especially with all of the distractions and hardships that also accompany this busy time of year. 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss seemed like a classic that must be included. The Grinch is paired with the Tropical Holiday Baby Bib Set. I mentioned in a previous post that this bib set was inspired by my mom’s “grinch-y” attitude to do away with the holidays and just go to Aruba for all of December. Seemed like this was a pair meant to be. 

Our Challah Baby Bib Set is paired with Freddie the Farting Snowman by Jane Bexley. I think kids just really love a good fart joke. While it is not my favorite, the cute little giggles coming from my kids as we read are my favorite. 

The fifth and final bib set, Holi-Baby Bib Set, is paired with Little Penguins by Cynthia Rylant (illustrated by Christian Robinson). I love this book for my youngest. The words and sentences are short- perfect for someone with a short attention span just beginning to experiment with word mimicking.

Just a reminder that all of our Casey Sheila Quilts bibs are handmade and can be back with either organic fleece or organic terry cloth. The holiday bibs come with a bright fleece (as opposed to a cream organic fleece used on the non-holiday bib sets). Hope you enjoy some of these book suggestions and feel free to send me an email with your family’s favorite books to read during this season: casey@caseysheilaquilts.com.

Spooky Season is upon us. To celebrate, we’ve paired some children’s halloween books with our modern baby bib sets. It’s like a book club but for our babies. That works, right? Some of the things I look for in children’s books before I commit to a a recommendation are: how is the plot? Will I mind reading this 50 times before Halloween? (Major bonus for humor). How’s the character development? Can my children relate? What’s the message? What kind of themes or lessons can my children pick up from reading it? 

Using the above criteria, we settled on two children’s books and a third suggestion (more on that below). The first is Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace. A strong female lead trying something new supported by her large family? It’s quirky and cute. And there’s pink on the cover so my four year old was immediately in love. We’ve read this one a number of times and I’m still not sick of it. We paired this lovely read with two Casey Sheila Quilts bib sets: Purple Dino Babies Bib Set and the Wild Things Baby Bib Set. 

Dinosaurs are always appropriate for spooky season. The purples in this set are rich and luxurious and will translate nicely into the winter. 

The black and golds in the Wild Things set are a weakness for me. I’m obsessed. And the crowns bib is a great option if your family is dressing up as royalty or as Max from Where the Wild Things Are for Halloween. My daughter is dressing up as a princess this year and she could not be more excited. We got my son a dragon costume and so far, he is petrified of it. 

The second book, Bonaparte Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler, is a personal favorite. The main skeletal character is scared about surviving school when all of his limbs keep falling off. His friends relentlessly try to come up with solutions to help him. Children solving problems without adult intervention? Check. Friends being supportive and kind? Check, check. We paired this book with the Orange Dino Babies Bib Set and the Turtle Dude Babies Bib Set. 

The oranges in both sets fit in nicely with the spooky season orange color. And the orange solid color in both sets remains relevant for the rest of fall. *The solid orange bib in the Orange Dino Babies Bib Set is a reddish orange while the Turtle Dude Babies Bib Set has a bright orange solid. 

And last but perhaps the most important, is the teal set for this Halloween’s Books and Bibs series. It’s not a children’s book, but it was a book I needed as a new mom to a small child with food allergies. Allergic Girl by Sloane Miller helped give me confidence that we could raise my daughter without food being a stressful trigger for her. Neither my husband nor I had any personal experience with food allergies, and we desperately needed guidance. I also loved Don’t Kiss the Birthday Girl by Sandra Beasley. She walked me through her life managing food allergies and made it easier to process how to keep my daughter safe without creating too much anxiety. 

The Teal Pumpkin Project was created to help raise food allergy awareness. By putting out a teal pumpkin at Halloween, you are letting families know you are giving out candy or toys that are safe from the top 8 allergens. So, we included the Pop Babies Bib Set and the Taco Babies Bib Set for this book suggestion. Unintentionally, they’re both food related sets. They were really chosen for the teal solid color bib in each set. 

If you have any questions or a recommendation for a children’s book about allergies, I’d love to hear them: casey@caseysheilaquilts.com. Wishing you and your families a very fun and safe Halloween. 

Two weeks ago, we shared the basics of creating a custom Casey Sheila Quilt. Last week, we took an in-depth look at customizing the Raindance Quilt. This week is all about the Ombré Quilt.

The Ombré Quilt is a sleek and modern baby quilt. Bright, bold colors in a striking pattern. The bright colors can provide a stimulating visual for baby to behold (in addition to being a soft, safe place for tummy time and snuggles). But, the pattern can also be toned down with a softer color palette. I’d love to make this quilt in a soft, peach color palette (let me know if you’re my person). 

Like each of the other custom quilts, there are two steps to creating the Ombré Quilt and you can decide on them in any order. One, select a color palette. Two, select a fabric for the backing. The inspiration for the colors and fabric backing can come from anywhere. What’s your favorite nursery book? 

I was inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh when I made this Ombré Quilt. How sweet are those honey bears for the back? And a bold color punch with red, orange, yellows, white, and cream for the color palette on the front. 

This Ombré Quilt was customized for a baby girl based on the Party Babies Bib Set. The balloon animals are a fan favorite and clearly one of my personal favorites. We can of course discuss customizing a quilt based on any of our modern baby bib sets. 

Once we discuss the color palette and/or themes, I will send a proposal with a mock-up of the quilt. Once the quilt design is finalized, I can send you the invoice and order fabrics. I can start as soon as the fabrics arrive! The process is about 4-8 weeks, depending on how long the design process takes. 

Send me an email at casey@caseysheilaquilts.com to start designing an Ombré Quilt for the baby in your life.

When Alice was born I questioned whether I should be reading to this really cute, but kind of a sleep, eat, poop/fart machine. I felt kind of silly talking out loud to myself- even sillier when I made up voices for the characters. She didn’t smile or give any indication that enjoyed the activity. But, I embraced the notion that kids are sponges and kept on. I can tell you that both of my kids now love books. At 3.5 years old, Alice will have you read all day to her. At 1.5 years old, Dylan loves to rip the pages out. You gotta start somewhere. 

If you’re embracing the books, then when do you read to your kids? Do you follow the popular “Bs” sleep routine: bath, book, bottle or some version thereof? Do you make-up your own story time circle when you’ve done all the activities and its only 10 am. Do you go to the local library’s story time? Maybe after nap #4 of the day? We’ve dabbled in all of the above.

What I read largely depends on the time of day. Am I desperate for a quick bed time so I can go rest for 15 minutes before cleaning up from the day? If so, then I reach for a quick book- Sandra Boynton is always good to me in that regard. If I’m starting nap time early because we’ve done all the things and the kids are destroying the house, then I’ll go for a longer one to stretch us to nap time. Maybe some Berenstain Bears. If it’s a middle of the day circle story time, then a long one with lots of characters to act out. Love the George and Martha collection.

However you break it down-  books are such a big part of our everyday lives. There are lessons to learn, heroes to love, villains to hate, dance moves to try out… stories to be told. I find them downright inspiring. Hello, Where the Wild Things Are and Pout Pout Fish collections. Even if you’re not purchasing from one of story-inspired collections, there are some really great books that might go with one of our bib sets for a unique and truly thoughtful gift (baby shower gift? new baby’s arrival gift? momma is finally accepting visitors gift? can’t visit but want the parents to know you’re thinking of them gift?):

1. Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug by Jonathan Stutzman

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Dino Babies Bib Sets.

                                         

A small T-Rex wants to give his sad, very best friend a hug, but his arms are so small. He spends most of the book working at it until he figures out how to best give his friend a hug. Doesn’t that just pull at the heart strings? The Orange and Purple Dino Babies are just waiting to give your babe a hug and comfort (I feel like I have to plug how soft our fabric is here and how the both Fleece and Terry Cloth backings are organic cotton). 

2. Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You by Nancy Tillman

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Pink Rainbow Babies Bib Set

 My doula gave me this book the morning Dylan was born. It’s a really sweet read on the unconditional love between a parent and child. The artwork is so good, too. The Pink Rainbow Babies sends a similar message with the sweet pink and gold rainbows. Hope, love, and growth. As Mr. Rogers says, “Everyone longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can is to let people know they are loved and capable of loving.” Oh baby, you are so loved. 

3. Big Dog…Little Dog by P.D. Eastman

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Party Babies Bib Set

Two friends (okay, dogs) who are very different in their physical attributes and have opposite tastes love to go adventuring and spend time together. One night, they’re both in beds that are not quite right (a la Goldie Locks) and a helpful, observant bird swoops in at the end to point out the simple solution (switch beds). The Party Babies Bib Set sends a similar adventure friendship vibe. Lots of balloon animals that are different in color and facing different ways, but they’re all there having a party and enjoying their time with you and babe. 

Let me know if you have a particular book or bib in mind that I didn't mention here. Happy to help pair them up! Just send an email to casey@caseysheilaquilts.com.

Also, I am really excited for when I get to start chapter books with the kids. I’ve been waiting and waiting to introduce Alice in Wonderland to her namesake.