One of my favorite things about September is getting back into a solid book reading routine with the littles. Yes we still read over the summer but with so many outings and later than usual bedtimes, it just wasn’t as consistent as it is during the school year. And like so many of you, we LOVE children’s books around here (being a children’s illustrator myself, I’ve had a love affair with them for a long long time!). So we started to share a few favorites from our collection, as well as some great library finds, via Instagram.

We just found this AMAZING story, Billy’s Birthday Lollipop, written by Lina Hellsing and illustrated by Stig Lindberg. It’s been translated and adapted by Krakel spektakel koper en klubba and was published by Burke Books, London in 1976. We were lucky enough to find ours from a thrift store for $3 but apparently it’s going for a pretty penny online! Wowza.

The kids love the playful way the young characters outwit the adult in the story…only to be a bit outwitted themselves in the end. Gorgeous illustrations and fun and clever story.

To see more of what we’ve been reading, follow Mer Mag on instagram . Then share what what you have been reading with the hashtag #todayweread. It’s so wonderful and inspiring to see what others are reading to their littles! We always need good recommendations around here and I know others appreciate it as well.

(Oh and if you are curious about the snugly modern cat quilt, you can see our DIY from a couple of years back here.)