By Guest Blogger Ellen Bryant Lloyd 

Win a book of your choice from today’s blog! (Read to the end to find out more!)

I love it when spring fully presents itself. I look forward to the birds’ early morning serenade and the beauty of the blooming trees and flowers. It’s nice to have more daylight and warmer weather to nudge us all outdoors to enjoy time with friends, family and good books. I hope you enjoy my suggestions this month — I had great fun selecting them. Happy Spring!

Preschool — Be Kind, Be Brave, Be You! (Peanuts) by Charles M. Schultz, Elizabeth Dennis Barton and illustrated by Scott Jeralds

This board book features the classic Peanuts gang modeling examples of kindness and bravery. The message of being yourself flows throughout the book and children will easily relate to the experiences of the well-loved characters. Readers will appreciate this charming reminder of the power of kindness.

Pre-K to Early Elementary — Because by Mo Willems and illustrated by Amber Ren

Mo Willems has crafted a powerful story that features the gift of chance and the power of music. A young girl is given the opportunity to attend a symphony concert and realizes that her life is forever changed. The experience inspires her to pursue music to a degree that it becomes her life’s passion and eventually lands her on center stage. This is a magical story that leaves readers with waves of “good chills.”

Older Elementary/Early Middle School — Tangled in Time: The Portal by Kathryn Lasky

This tale features Rose, a happy youth with a pretty perfect life whose world is uprooted after her mother dies in a car accident. She is sent to live with her grandmother and made to attend a school with less-than-welcoming students. Rose ventures into her strange grandmother’s greenhouse and is pulled into a time-traveling portal that lands her in the time of King Henry VIII’s reign. She discovers a locket with two mysterious images and soon realizes there are family secrets and a connection between the two worlds.

Young Adult — Paperweight by Meg Haston

Fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s books will like Paperweight, an honest story that deals with the raw and challenging issue of eating disorders. This book features Stevie, a 17-year-old patient in a treatment program for eating disorders. Her dad committed her to a 60 day program, but she doesn’t plan on staying that long in the intrusive and hard-lined environment. Plagued with emotion and memories of her brother’s death, for which she feels responsible, Stevie struggles to move forward in her life and wonders if she can find healing and forgiveness.

Moms — One Day in December by Josie Silver

Fate, romance, heartbreak, missed opportunities, friendship and many chances fill this warmly written book. Readers will enjoy meeting the characters and be pulled in from the moment Laurie’s eyes connect with a mystery man whom she is sure is her soulmate. Unfortunately, the man is seated on a bus that pulls away moments after Laurie sees him. Laurie searches in vain for the man, but is unsuccessful. Fate steps in and the two are reunited a year later at a Christmas party. Sadly, the reunion is bittersweet as Jack, mystery man, is the new boyfriend of Laurie’s best friend, Sarah. This Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick is a reminder that the road to happiness takes many unexpected twists and turns.

Win a book of your choice from today’s blog! 
Remember to share your thoughts and comments, and you could be selected to win a copy of one of the books, compliments of Barnes & Noble, Friendly Shopping Center, Greensboro. The staff of Triad Moms on Main will choose a random winner one week after the blog runs. (Please be sure to enter your email address when you fill out your comment so they have a way to contact you.)

Ellen Bryant Lloyd is the author of FRECKLES and FRECKLES and The Great Beach Rescue. Please visit www.funwithfreckles.com and www.facebook.com/funwithfreckles to learn more about Freckles. Ellen writes a blog about her perspectives on life and parenting at www.mindfulmom.wordpress.com and tweets at @EllenBLloyd. She lives in Greensboro with her husband and two children.