Five Family Favorites with Superhero Journal’s Andrea Scher

By Nicki Richesin, The Children’s Book Review
Published: August 8, 2012

We are delighted to feature Andrea Scher’s Five Family Favorites. Andrea is an artist, photographer and life coach. Through her award-winning blog Superhero Journal and e-courses, Mondo Beyondo and Superhero Photo, she inspires us to find our passions and dream big. A supermom (no capes, just courage) to two adorable boys named Ben and Nico, you can often find her on her kitchen floor trying to get them to do superhero leaps for the camera. Andrea is also the co-author of wonderful book called Expressive Photography: The Shutter Sisters Guide to Shooting from the Heart. Registration is open for the fall session of Mondo Beyondo now!

Little Pea

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

I am big fan of all things Amy Krouse Rosenthal, but this book is one of my favorites of her creations. My son Ben has always been a picky eater, so this tale of a little pea who didn’t want to eat her candy (the equivalent of vegetables in the pea world) made Ben hysterical with laughter. We even filmed one of these giggly episodes to remember it forever. Such a sweet book.

Ages 4-5 | Publisher: Chronicle Books | April 28, 2005

Is Your Mama a Llama?

by Deborah Guarino; illustrated by Steven Kellogg

Every morning, the first thing my toddler says is, “Mama llama? Boop? Mama Llama?” We have read this book so many times that we have all committed it to memory. Even my 5-year-old can “read” it to Nico and he doesn’t know how to read! It is an endearing book about a llama that asks each of his animal friends who their mama is.

Ages 2-8| Publisher: Scholastic | June 1, 2006

Good Night, Gorilla

by Peggy Rathmann

This book is genius in its simplicity. The zookeeper is closing up the zoo and checking on the cages, while a clever gorilla steals his keys and sets the animals free. Then they all parade back to his house to crawl into bed with him. The book has a great sense of humor and I love that the story is told with so few words. Really wonderful book for the littles.

Ages 3-5| Publisher: Penguin Group | May 1, 2000

Stargirl

by Jerry Spinelli

This is a book that I stumbled upon at the library one day and was instantly enchanted. Allow me to mention that this book is for kids, but I am the only one in the house who has read it. I adore this book, and the luminous and creative Stargirl character. Stargirl is eccentric and brilliant and that can make for some hard high school years. She speaks right to my inner pre-teen and I look forward to reading it to my boys when they get a bit older.

Ages 12-17 | Publisher: Random House Children’s Books | May 11, 2004

Not a Box

by Antoinette Portis
Any book that sparks my kid’s imagination makes me happy. This book is wonderful because not only is it about creative thinking, but it also plays on that quintessential kid thing — the endless fascination with the cardboard box. I love how the bunny keeps inventing new ways to see the box and opening our eyes to possibilities.

Ages 4-8 | Publisher: HarperCollins | December 12, 2006

Nicki Richesin is the editor of four anthologies The May Queen, Because I Love Her, What I Would Tell Her, and Crush. She is a regular contributor to Huffington Post, Daily Candy, 7×7, Red Tricycle, and San Francisco Book Review. Nicki has been reading to her daughter every day since she was born. For more information, visit: https://nickirichesin.com/.