What I Read with My 5-Year-Old This Week

& What We Thought of Each Book

I always love hearing what others are reading, and I haven’t been as active on Substack lately as I’d like to be—so I thought I’d write this up real quick.

Here are some books we’ve shared over the past week:

📖 Ant Party
When my 5-year-old was younger, she was obsessed with picture books about ants. So when I saw this, I thought she’d love it! Only problem? Apparently she has zero memory of that phase. It’s such a strange parenting moment when your kid completely forgets something that feels so recent and meaningful to you—but that’s how memory works, right? Bittersweet.

Anyway, back to the book! It’s about an ant who wants to throw a party. Word spreads and things spiral—a tiny party turns into a massive ant gathering. Then an anteater shows up—yikes! This one is super cute and full of charm.

📖 I Want a Friend!
I grabbed this one for a quarter at a library sale. Any books about SEL/social skills are an automatic yes for me. This one was pretty good! At school, Little Princess wants someone to play with, but the kids she asks all say no. Turns out, other kids are having the same experience. Soon, there's a whole group of kids with no one to play with—just waiting to be noticed. This is a great read for kids who may experience rejection and don’t realize how many others around them feel the same way and are open to connection.

Apparently there are 25 books in the Little Princess series, but somehow this is the first one I’ve read. Another more recent release to check out with a similar theme/lesson is The Only Lonely Fairy.

📖 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus: The Graphic Novel
My daughter has recently fallen in love with Junie B. Jones. At first, I wasn’t sold—but the more we read and listen, the more I get why kids adore her. The graphic novel in particular (the first in a new series!) made me realize just how relatable she is. Junie is sensitive, blunt, and possibly neurodivergent—she even seems to have some strong sensory preferences, maybe even PDA tendencies? We read this front to back in one and a half sittings (quick snack and bathroom break, ha). We also read the first two chapter books in the days leading up to it.

📖 Who’s in Charge?
Not a new read for me, but it’s been a while since I pulled it out. My daughter is fiercely independent, so I thought she’d enjoy this empowering read. It gets a little repetitive for me, but she seemed to really like it. With each “Who’s in charge of my ___?” prompt, she joyfully shouted back, “I am!” I’m such a fan of the illustrations—really cool style!

We are always talking about how we are in charge of our own bodies and how others are in charge of theirs. This is great to reinforce that message.

📖 We’re Going to School
Our household LOVES school (we are a family of two teachers, after all). This book walks kids through a typical school day, with so many fun details tucked into the illustrations—tons of chances for conversation. My daughter especially liked following specific characters across the pages and naming them after her favorite fictional friends. This is a great pick if your child is starting out at a new school this fall!

📖 Too Many Toys
This one was a lucky find in our Little Free Library. To be honest, I’d never seen it! We read it right on the front steps, and my daughter thought it was hilarious. I related hard to the mom trying to reason with her son about decluttering. But I also related to the kid—constantly justifying why something might still be needed. That said, I’m proud to report I parted with seven large bags of toys this week. Some went to our local Toy Library, and a couple bags went to my mom and best friend.

After reading this book, L told me she wants to read all the other David Shannon books included on the back cover. She’s watched a read aloud of A Bad Case of Stripes and liked it (what kid wouldn’t?).

Let me know what you’ve been reading this week! And no shame if it’s nothing—this happened to be a decent reading stretch for us, but it’s not always like that. Also, please share if you, too, enjoy this kind of post. It’s easy and fun for me to write, but maybe not as a substantive or valuable as you’d like.

Talk soon!

Love,
Elizabeth