Simplify Your Life Week with Kidlit

Simplify your life. Sounds grand, doesn’t it? Back in February I started Operation Downsize, an effort to get rid of one thing every day. Some days it is something big: a broken chair, unused pots for donation, etc. Somedays it is something small: the dry-rotted rubber bands in the junk drawer, plastic containers missing lids, etc.

This week, though, I am going to step up my game and get the 11-year-old involved. She won’t do it for me, but she MIGHT do it for National Simplify Your Life Week. [It is so simplified there is no official website!]

To kick things off, we are sharing a list with some of our favorite children’s books that can start the simplify your life conversation!

Simplify Your Life Week Books for Kids

Fancy Nancy: Too Many Tutus (An I Can Read book)
written by Jane O’Connor; illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser

Fancy Nancy loves her tutus. Her closet is full of them. Too full. When her mother tries to clean out the too-small tutus, Nancy has an idea for re-purposing each one. At school, Ms. Glass measures each student and shows them how they are all growing, She suggests a Swap and Shop so everyone can bring in their too-small fancy clothes to “buy” clothes with tickets they’ve earned. Nancy finds a new tutu, but Grace saw it first! Is there anything else fancy enough left to buy? This is an easy reader story featuring Fancy Nancy.

Read why we loved it in this book review on the Reading Tub® website.

Little Oink
written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; illustrated by Jen Corace

Little Oink likes the things other pigs like – digging in the dirt, stories with Mama and Papa, cafeteria food. But he didn’t like messes. He doesn’t understand, but he does as he is told and when everything is a mess, Mama and Papa jump for joy. But what does Little Oink do? This upside-down look at doing chores will put a smile on everyone’s face.

Read why we loved it in this book review on the Reading Tub® website.

Too Many Toys
written and illustrated by David Shannon

From wood to plastic, from stuffed to noisy. It seems everyone gave Spencer toys…even the dentist! You name the toy, Spencer has it. And now mom and dad have had it. So Spencer and Mom look at each and every toy, negotiating which ones will go in the give-away box. Is there any toy Spencer can freely give away? This is a humorous way of showing kids just how much STUFF they have…and how silly they sound.

Read why we loved it in this book review on the Reading Tub® website.

What’s With This Room
written and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Mom and Dad have declared their son’s bedroom a disaster area. Check out the items that don’t belong  in the corner, under the bed, or on the fan. In defense, their son begins to explain the method to this mess, and why things are just the way they need to be. Will they understand his explanation? This rhyming book is a humorous look at the age-old problem of a kid’s messy room.

Read why we loved it in this book review on the Reading Tub® website.

So what are your go-to books when you want to nudge the kids to clean up, clean out, or otherwise simplify their lives?

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