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everyday builders

meaningful additions

Children hear more than we think.  Books provide context for new and potentially confusing topics, and give caregivers a way to approach complex topics.

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Amazing, highly curated books organized by topics, including strong female leads, LGBTQ family, Black Lives Matter, grandparents and more.

Balanced Rocks

 Books by Category 

Adoption

Celebrating the incredible love and joy of adoption, as well the meaningful change it brings

Adoption

Art

Art engages baby's senses and emotions at the same time, supporting sophisticated cognitive skills.

Art

Being Yourself

Celebrate your individuality

Being Yourself

Book Buddy

Bring books alive with coordinated toys, activity books, and other delightful items.

Book Buddy

Caldecott Medal

Annual award for the most distinguished English language picture book (nominees included)

Caldecott Medal

Christmas

Share the joy and the spirit of the season

Christmas

Counting

Creative ways to help children connect to

Counting

Diversity

Celebrating differences as a way to make society better and stronger

Diversity

Fairy Tales

Sparking imagination and offering moral lessons

Fairy Tales

Food

Cultivating joy and interest in eating

Food

German

Popular German books and German favorites translated into English

German

Gratitude

Being thankful can help children manage life's ups and downs.

Gratitude

Guatemalan Culture

Rich and distinct culture focused on family, honor and graciousness.

Guatemalan Culture

Indian Culture

Exploring Indian culture, especially for those living outside India

Indian Culture

Lovey Dovey

Kids love hugs, kisses and feeling special

Lovey Dovey

Mexican Culture

Inspired stories celebrating the incredible and myriad facets of Mexican culture.

Mexican Culture

Movement

Setting the stage for an active childhood that stimulates and regulates the brain

Movement

New Sibling

Welcoming and preparing for a new family member

New Sibling

Parenting

A little boost to the intuition we all have

Parenting

Potty Training

Modelling toilet training

Potty Training

Rhythmic

Rhythmic beats to words are soothing to both baby and reader.

Rhythmic

Space

To infinity and beyond

Space

Tackling Consumerism

A nice antidote to materialism, especially useful around holidays

Tackling Consumerism

Valentines

Expressing love through kindness and thoughtful gestures

Valentines

Wordless

Level up literacy by using pictures to infer the story. Different each time!

Wordless

African American Leads

Celebrate Black and Brown joy and mold the narrative from the start.

African American Leads

Asian Culture

Explore and learn aspects of Chinese, Japanese and other Asian cultures

Asian Culture

Best of Dr Seuss

Our editors favorite Seussian treasures

Best of Dr Seuss

Boynton Bests

Sandra Boynton's board books are funny, light, lyrical and clever.

Boynton Bests

Canadiana

Oh Canada, our home and literary land

Canadiana

Classics

Oldies that parents will remember from their youth

Classics

Days of the Week

Learning the days of a week

Days of the Week

Emotions

Observing faces, feelings and experiences builds emotional literacy

Emotions

Fathers

Breaking old stereotypes and showcasing active fatherhood

Fathers

French

Bilingualism is known to foster problem solving and social skills

French

Going to School

Transitioning to daycare, pre-school or kindergarden

Going to School

Greek

Celebrating Greek culture. Opa!

Greek

Hanukkah

Festival of lights explained and enjoyed

Hanukkah

Italian

Italian language and culture

Italian

Manners

Manners, sharing, and socialization

Manners

Modern Favs

Modern gems en route to becoming classics

Modern Favs

Music

A total workout for baby's brain: vocabulary, math, patterns, emotions, social, and more!

Music

Newborn Touch

Textured surfaces to encourage tactile exploration

Newborn Touch

Persistence

Determination and persistence in spite of difficulty or opposition

Persistence

Pre-Med

Exploring the human body and medical topics

Pre-Med

Rip Proof

Encourage independent exploration with chewable, touchable, bendable (and washable!) books

Rip Proof

Spanish

Bilingualism is known to foster problem solving and social skills.

Spanish

Thinking Big

Understanding the sophisticated cycle of ideas, trying, failing and trying again

Thinking Big

Vehicles

Planes, trains and automobiles, and a little dose of physics.

Vehicles

World Holidays

Celebrating diversity by learning about world holidays

World Holidays

Alphabet

Foundational support for letter recognition and phonetic awareness, strong predictors of future reading skills.

Alphabet

Baby Faces

Babies love looking at other babies! Studies show this fosters early socialization skills.

Baby Faces

Black History

Celebrating African-American superheros, past and future

Black History

Bravery

Being brave and confronting challenges is hard, and books can help pave the path.

Bravery

Celebrity Authors

Great gift ideas, ranging from inspirational to silly

Celebrity Authors

Colors

Colors send the strong signals to a baby's brain to help stimulate brain growth and aid in visual development.

Colors

Disney Favorites

Disney classics sure to connect to the kid inside the reader

Disney Favorites

Engineering

Tinkering, building, failing, and using what you have

Engineering

Finger Puppet

Encouraging interactive play between baby and caregiver

Finger Puppet

Friendship

Social stories to encourage kindness and reciprocity

Friendship

Graduation

Inspiring and meaningful gifts for adults (or almost adults)

Graduation

Grief

When your own words aren't enough

Grief

High Contrast

Ideal for the still-developing eyes of a newborn (0-6 months)

High Contrast

Jewish Culture

Celebrating joyful and lively cultures!

Jewish Culture

Marvel

Heroic adventures for the Marvel loving family

Marvel

Modernized Classics

Bringing lovable stories into this century with diversity and equality

Modernized Classics

NY Times Best Sellers

Popular and trendy books as identified by the NY Times team.

NY Times Best Sellers

Nostalgia

The books we all remember as kids

Nostalgia

Pets

Lovable family members

Pets

Puerto Rican Culture

Colorful tapestry of rich traditions, old and new.

Puerto Rican Culture

Sharing

Learning the art of sharing

Sharing

Sports

For the sports loving parents!

Sports

Travel

Cultivating an appreciation of travel early builds acceptance and open-mindedness.

Travel

Vocabulary

Reinforce picture-word association to foster language

Vocabulary

World Religions

Exposure to different religions will help raise a globally-competent child

World Religions

Animals

Cultivate a love of Earth's biodiversity and counterbalance modern life's reduced exposure to animals.

Animals

Bedtime

Perfect winding down books for night time (or anytime)

Bedtime

Body Boundries

Body safety and awareness in age-appropriate, supportive context

Body Boundries

Brooklyn

Little Brooklynites

Brooklyn

Christian

Introducing baby to Christian teachings

Christian

Compassion

Kindness, empathy and compassion can be the bedrock of a meaningful life

Compassion

Diverse Leads

Diversifying the faces on your bookshelf

Diverse Leads

Environment

Respecting the earth and learning how to protect it

Environment

Folktales

Time weathered stories passed down for generations

Folktales

Gardening

Learning where our food comes from and how plants grow

Gardening

Grandparents

Favorite gifts both to and from grandparents.

Grandparents

Grown-ups

Self help and inspirational books for grownups

Grown-ups

History

His-stories and Her-stories a plenty

History

LGBTQ

Family positivity

LGBTQ

Math

Patterns and mathematics for the budding engineer

Math

Mothers

Celebrating the strength and security mothers provide

Mothers

Nature Lovers

Nature or nurture ... get both with camping or hiking!

Nature Lovers

Nursery Rhymes

Classics we know by heart

Nursery Rhymes

Poetry

Poems can inspire, reassure and challenge children's beautiful minds.

Poetry

Real Photos

Build pre-language connections for vocabulary and feelings

Real Photos

Sounds

Unusual sounds that create a world of surprise and phonological awareness

Sounds

Strong Female Leads

Strong female role models for both boys and girls

Strong Female Leads

Unique Superpowers

Embrace unique and special superpowers like autism, ADHD, deafness, and more.

Unique Superpowers

Voicing Opinions

Politely standing up for yourself

Voicing Opinions

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