Ready or not, mamas, the holiday season is on us. Here's a good way to get a jump on Christmas morning : an adorably customized book with your kid as a main character--and a major part of the plotline. 'Twas the Mouse who Saved Christmas…
I love children's books with messages that support our values, but a lot of those books seem to put the messages ahead of the storytelling. In other words, I'd like to own more books that are as engaging as Eloise but maybe aren't how-to…
Search our archives and past gift guides for the publisher Chronicle Books , and it's pretty obvious we've been big fans of many of their printed products, from the helpful Chore Board chore chart, to the sweetest tooth fairy keepsake bo…
Chances are, if there is a new LEGO anything , my kiddos have heard about it. But buying a new LEGO set every time they want one (read: always ) can get expensive. So how do you inspire your kids to keep building with the pieces that the…
If you don't know Elizabeth Mitchell's music, you're missing something special. She invokes a vibe of simple joy that's been part of our daily soundtrack as a family for the past few years. Daniel, Elizabeth's husband, and Storey, her be…
My daughter was a bit nervous before her first trip to the eye doctor, especially since she knew there was a good chance she'd need reading glasses. Fortunately it wasn't a scary visit, and she loves her cool new fuchsia frames, but I wi…
My tween is finally beyond the check-under-the-bed-for-monsters stage, and is now onto reading scary stories "for fun." So once she hangs up her Halloween trick-or-treat bag for the night, I know she'll enjoy digging into this smart and …
Do you have a recommendation for a good "Books I've Read" journal or notebook for kids? -Suzanne, via Facebook Book logs or journals are a great way to give kids tangible pride in all the reading they've done, as well as a place to look …
Jennifer Adams and Allison Oliver hooked us with their beautiful BabyLit counting and color board books based on classic literature like Alice in Wonderland and Jane Eyre. They've done it again--this time, with a counting Count Dracula. …
Of all the scary things my kids might face on Halloween night, one thing looms most terrifying in their minds: the prospect of trick-or-treating at homes with no candy left to give. (Yes, First World Problems, I know.) Which is why this …
I developed asthma as an adult. So I can only imagine how scary it is for a young child to have to deal with the coughing, wheezing, and breathlessness that comes with the disease. Not to mention the fear of being "different" from all yo…
October 11 is an exciting day at Cool Mom Picks, because what's more amazing than girls? Initiated by the United Nations, today is the very first International Day of the Girl Child, a day highlighting the challenges and injustices that …
Though my kids are mildly amused by the stories of my youth ( what do you mean, there was no internet? ), they are much more fascinated by stories about kids from faraway lands. So I'm excited to find a new series of globe-trotting books…
These days, there's so much intolerance in the world, it's dismaying. As a mom, I try to counteract the negative messages out there by teaching my kids to celebrate diversity , and by taking time as a family to learn about cultures and r…
When my kids were really young, they loved to tell me long, adorably nonsensical stories about just about anything that crossed their minds. Now that they're a bit older, I miss their elaborate tales. These days, it's easy for tech-savvy…
While we're big supporters of all the cool kids' music out there, there's so much great adult music that kids love too. And no, not just the Beatles. So I'm really happy to see one of my kids' favorite "grown-up" songs has been turned in…
I am a big fan of family traditions. And one of the best parts of having a family of my own is that we can create our own traditions. Whether schlepping to Aunt Stacy's every Thanksgiving for her perfect roasted turkey or watching the NY…
I still remember how much hard work it was for my kids to learn to read, with all the painfully slow sounding-out of words one-by-one. It sometimes seems that kids are so busy trying to figure out what the letters say that they can't eve…
It makes perfect sense that Caspar Babypants, the kindie music favorite whose song titles include My Flea Has Dogs and Stompy the Bear , would create an alphabet book with prose way beyond A is for Apple . But what really makes this pict…
With school starting soon--or for some it's already started--books are being bought and soon, books will be lost. There's nothing like a "this book belongs to..." label to make sure that the rightful owner remains the rightful owner. Esp…
One of my very favorite things about the just-finished London Olympics was seeing all the gorgeous footage of the city itself. It's made me even more determined to get my kids over to see Big Ben, London Bridge and their picturesque city…
Sally Ride was the first woman in space, and saying that the space she's left behind is hard to fill is an understatement. But we've found a beautiful kids' book to help your little girl dream big, just like Sally. My Name Is Not Isabell…
Last year for the first time, I discovered the genius that is Circus Smirkus, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that my kids have been counting the days for an entire year until we could return. Well, we did. And you can too, now that …
This past month, New York celebrated the 30th annual Mermaid Parade. For those of you not familiar, hoo boy...where to start. Well, maybe this gorgeous children's book that will charm all mermaid wannabes , regardless of age. Or gender. …