Close Menu
www.crackingthecover.com
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • Picture
      • Ages 0-3
      • Ages 2 and up
      • Ages 3 and up
      • Ages 4 and up
      • Ages 5 and up
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 8 and up
      • Author Interviews
      • Bedtime Stories
      • Gift Guide
    • Middle Grade
      • Author Interviews
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 7 and up
      • Ages 8-12
      • Ages 9-12
      • Ages 10 and up
      • Gift Guide
    • YA
      • Author Interviews
      • Reviews
      • Adult Crossover
      • Gift Guide
    • Seasonal
      • Back to School
      • Christmas
      • Earth Day
      • Easter
      • Fall
      • Father’s Day
      • Mother’s Day
      • Gift Guide
      • Halloween
      • Spring
      • Valentine’s Day
      • Winter
    • Diversity
      • AANHPI Heritage
      • Autism Month
      • Black Experience
      • Chinese New Year
      • Hispanic Heritage
      • Pride Month
      • Women’s History
    • Crossover
    • About
      • Review/interview policy
      • About our reviewers
    www.crackingthecover.com

    Moving, books and separation anxiety

    1
    By Jessica on September 9, 2014 news, picture books
    Baby 6 months
    Our little girl at 6 months.

    This year has been an eventful one so far. In February, my husband and I welcomed a little girl into our family. And in July, we put an offer on what will eventually become our dream home. Since closing on the house in mid-August, we’ve been running nonstop, trying to get the house to a livable state (the previous owners smoked in it for 30 years) so we can list our other house and move.

    What does all this have to do with books? Well, a lot. First, it’s made it harder for me to find time to write reviews. Second, it means packing up all of the books in my house (more than 1,000 at last count). Third, it means cherry-picking a select few for my daughter to keep out until we can get her settled in.

    House
    Our new house.

    Truth be told, I’m having a bit of separation anxiety from my books, most of which will remain boxed until next year when we move on to the renovation of our new basement, and I get a dedicated office once again.

    What does that mean for Cracking the Cover? Well, to-be-reviewed books get priority status. They won’t be boxed away — except for the part where we actually move. I’m still reading and new reviews are on the way. Once we get settled in, I hope to return to a normal schedule. In the meantime, thanks for your patience.

    As a side note, you might be wondering what books I’ve kept out for our little one. It’s a surprising mishmash that are recommended for varying ages, but our almost-7-month-old loves books. They’re even what motivated her to crawl! Here’s what we’ve been rotating through:

    • wheredoeslove“Where Does Love Come From?” by Accord and Milena Kirkova, Accord a division of Andrews McMeel Publishing LLC, $5.99 (Aug. 15, 2012) We love the bright colors and simple text. It also features heavier paper, which is a bonus with a little one.
    • “Clifford Visits the Zoo,” by Norman Bridwell, Scholastic, Hardcover, $12.99 (Aug. 26, 2014) Baby Girl loves the cover, which features a puffy version of Clifford. Mix dogs and red, one of our favorite colors, together and you can’t miss.
    • “Sweet Child of Mine,” by Caroline Jayne Church, Scholastic, $8.99 (Aug 26, 2014) and “I Love You Through and Through: Board Book and Plush,” by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak and Caroline Jayne Church, Scholastic, $14.99 (Aug 26, 2014) Sweet illustrations and simple text lend to these books’ likeability. As an added bonus, the accompanying plush bear is machine washable. My daughter loves to hold the bear while we read the book.
    • Farmyard Beat“Farmyard Beat,” by Lindsey Craig and Marc Brown, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $15.99 (June 14, 2011) We have the hardcover version of this, although it looks like there’s a board book version, too. We’ve loved this book since 3 months of age. The rhyming and animal sounds are hard to beat, and the bright, simple animals are a visual treat.
    • “Goodnight Moon,” by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd, HarperFestival $8.99 (Board book — Jan. 23, 2007) It’s a classic for a reason. Great for pre-bedtime or naptime rituals.
    • “My Little Carry Book: Farm (My Little Carry Books),” by DK Publishing, $4.99 (Jan. 16, 2012) and “My Little Carry Book: Puppies and Kittens (My Little Carry Books),” by DK Publishing, $4.99 (Jan. 16, 2012) These came in a book fair four-pack. Photographs and simple text make things recognizable and interesting. These are the books Baby Girl first crawled to.
    • Room_on_the_Broom“Room on the Broom,” by Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler, Dial, $16.99 (Aug. 27, 2001) We have the board book version of this, although it looks like it might be out of print (hardcover and soft are still available). I thought this book might involve too much text for my baby’s attention span, but when read quickly with voice inflections, she loves it.
    • “Follow Me,” by Tricia Tusa, Harcourt Children’s Books, $16.99 (Apr 18, 2011) Beautiful illustrations and lyrical text make this a favorite.
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Jessica
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • X (Twitter)

    Jessica Harrison is the reviewer behind Cracking the Cover. She loves books and worked as the in-house book critic at a daily newspaper, writing reviews and interviewing authors for two years. When the company cut back, she lost her position covering books, but that doesn't mean she stopped reading. If anything, the whole experience made her more passionate about reading and giving people the tools to make informed decisions in their own book choices. She has been featured on NetGalley's Blogger Spotlight and is on Kindleprenuer's Ultimate List of the Best Book Review Blogs. Contact her at jessica(at)crackingthecover(dot)com and follow Cracking the Cover on Bluesky, Instagram,  Facebook and Twitter (X) @crackingthecovr. You can also read scaled down reviews on Jessica's Goodreads review page. Jessica is also a reviewer on Amazon.

    Related Posts

    It’s Busy Down in the Woods Today is delightful search and find

    Explore sea habitats in There’s an Ocean in This Book

    The Wild Robot on the Island is beautiful picture book

    1 Comment

    1. Sheilagh Lee on September 10, 2014 10:23 am

      I’ve been through that the hardest part is deciding if you can really part with books as well as all the other packing. It seems to always fall to us.

      Reply
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • bluesky
    • twitter
    • instagram
    • facebook
    • goodreads
    • amazon
    • bloglovin
    • mail
    Subscribe by email
    Follow
    Recent Posts
    July 1, 2025

    The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks is MG gold

    July 1, 2025

    E.L Starling’s Bound by Stars is fast-moving sci-fi romance

    June 30, 2025

    Return to Neverland with Wendy’s Ever After, by Julie Wright

    June 29, 2025

    Sports Superstars from Black History tells stories of 10 athletes

    June 29, 2025

    Learn about paleontologist Mary Anning in Jurassic Girl

    Archives
    Categories
    On Writing

    “The dance with words and the way the hair on the back of my neck raises when it works right is what I live for.”

    —Gary Paulsen

    “I write because I exist. Because I read. Because I breathe.”

    —Lindsay Eager

    “Books are kind of like the sense of smell: inhale one page and memories come rushing back.”

    —Keir Graff

    Cracking the Cover is a website dedicated to picture, middle-grade and young adult books. It features reviews, author interviews and other book news. PLEASE NOTE: We are not currently accepting self published books for review.

    Copyright © 2010-2022 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.

    Reviews Published Professional Reader 2016 NetGalley Challenge 100 Book Reviews

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.