“Little Big Girl” by Claire Keane and “We are Brothers, We are Friends” by Alexandra Penfold & Eda Kaban
These are two new release picture books that focus purely, and beautifully, on sibling relationships. In “Little Big Girl” the focus is on a little girl starting a new relationship with a baby brother and in “We are Brothers, We are Friends” the focus is on a little boy who is excited about his new relationship with his baby brother. In “Little Big Girl” the color palate is limited and simple and in “We are Brothers, We are friends” the illustrations are vibrant and fun. Each is wonderful in it’s own way.
These are the types of books that exemplify great behavior and relationships for your children as well as books that would make a wonderful gift to small children who are expecting new little siblings soon or are already trying to adjust to them. They are both absolutely darling and full to the brim with positivity and love. I just can’t get enough of them!
Click here to purchase “Little Big Girl” and “We Are Brothers, We Are Friends” *affiliate links
Beyond the Book Craft/Toy Pairing
I love how these books focus on positive sibling relationships, which is something that I want so dearly for my two children. I have dreams and hopes of them being best friends and staying close throughout their lives.
There are many different things that I can do to help them foster this sort of relationship, and role playing/imaginative play is something that can definitely help. That is why I thought a pairing of these books with a DIY wooden peg doll family would be an ideal fit. Because they are DIY you can customize them to represent your family which would make playtime so much more fun.
The tool I chose to create my peg doll family with is from the DIY Family Kit from Goose Grease Shop. I reached out to them for this project because I have been a fan of their peg dolls for a while now and they seem to me to be experts on the subject. I was thrilled when they agreed to work with me and couldn’t be happier with their products. The quality of the peg dolls was amazing and I absolutely loved the brushes and will use them for months to come. They were perfect for all those little details.
This kit included a little instruction sheet, five wooden peg dolls of various sizes, two paint brushes, sandpaper, colored paint and a finishing coat paint. It really includes just about everything that you need. (**I added some additional paint colors to the set I show in this post because I wanted to customize it a bit more.) I am a peg doll painting newbie so I even looked up their you tube video that they referred to on their inserts for some extra guidance and found their tips super helpful.
I could not be happier with the way that they turned out and my toddlers get the biggest kick out of them. Especially my oldest. He thinks it is pure magic that there is now a toy in our home that represents the people that he loves the most. Plus, I had so much fun making them that this is most definitely not my last experience with painting peg people.
Click here to purchase the DIY Family Kit from Goose Grease Shop
There are actually five people that come in this set and only four people in our family. To see what I did with the last peg doll click here. (Hint: I let my little guy try his hand at painting and it’s paired with a book that is also from Goose Grease Shop.)
If you give this Beyond the Book activity a try I’d love to hear how it goes! Share it on Instagram using hashtag #beyondthebook (I’m on Instagram as @book.nerd.mommy) or even just comment here with your thoughts. It would make my day! Or to simply save for later pin the image below.
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