Children's Books about Growing Up {book set}

Ready to get a little teary-eyed? Anytime I read these children’s books about growing up to Lucy or Theo, I get a bit teary-eyed myself thinking of how quickly time goes by. All three books are centered around a child outgrowing something special to him or her. And they all three share important lessons to any child that listens~ giving up something special can make you even happier. Here’s a little summary of each with commentary in green by Lucy (age 4):

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Little Bear’s Little Boat by Eve Bunting- I always love books by Eve Bunting, and this is one of my favorites. She has such a way of bringing out many emotions with her words. In this book a little bear begins to outgrow a treasured little boat he loves. Although he is sad to no longer be able to fit in his boat, he soon learns that growing out of something can bring about another kind of happiness.

“Little bear has a little boat, and he growed bigger and bigger and bigger. And then he was too big to fit in the boat. And then he found a little bear who could get the boat. The bear reminded the little bear that he would grow bigger and bigger too. The part I love about it is when the big bear gets his big boat because I wanted him to be happy.” ~ Lucy

Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats- Peter begins to feel a bit jealous of all attention his parents are paying to his new baby sister and can’t understand why they are giving his old things to her. As the story ends, Peter comes around and even helps to prepare his special little chair for his new baby sister.

“Peter does not want his chair to get painted pink so he takes his little chair away. But he can not sit in it. So he decides to paint it pink for his baby sister, Susie. It made me think of Little Bear’s Little Boat because they both have to give away things.”~ Lucy

Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion by Mo Willems- This is the conclusion to the adorable Knuffle Bunny series of books. Trixie has finally grown up and maybe even outgrown her beloved Knuffle Bunny.

“Trixie took her Knuffle Bunny in an airplane to see her Grandma. A baby was crying so she gave her Knuffle Bunny away to her. I like the robot bunny at the end. It was colored pink.” ~ Lucy