Reddit mentions: The best siblings books for children

This might be a completely crazy idea, but...since he's clearly smart and enjoys learning, maybe teach him some basic neuroscience? Explain that there are parts of his brain that make him feel his feelings (limbic system), and other parts of his brain that help him stay in control (prefrontal cortex). Explain that as kids grow up, their prefontal cortex gets bigger and stronger so they get better at managing big feelings. Explain that he can help his prefrontal cortex get bigger and stronger by practicing calming himself down when he feels big feelings. He's actually growing his brain every time he practices! (This is more or less true, though it's more about neural connections than brain volume, and obviously there are some developmental limits on what a 4-year-old brain is capable of). Anyway, just thinking this might help motivate him to try a bit more self-regulation, and help him feel less out of control if he understands a bit better what's going on in his own brain. There are some great neuroscience books for kids out there (aimed at slightly older kids, but shouldn't be a problem for your kiddo) such as The Adventures of Your Brain and Your Fantastic Elastic Brain. My First Book about the Brain is another good one in coloring book form.

Helping him become more in tune with his body so he can recognize when he's starting to ramp up might also be helpful. Listening to My Body or Visiting Feelings might help with this. He might also really relate to the story Sometimes I'm Bombaloo. Once he's able to recognize when he's getting wound up, help him redirect that energy/emotion into more appropriate outlets. Maybe encourage him to run around outside, or do jumping jacks, or stomp his feet. You might look into sensory-based activities; this book looks like it might be helpful. Ask him what his body feels like it wants to do, and help him find a way to do that safety/appropriately (e.g. if he wants to destroy something, have him knock down block towers or rip up paper). You could also try calming strategies like deep breathing, yoga, or other mindfulness activities - there are some great apps for that such as Stop Breathe & Think Kids and Super Stretch Yoga, or books such as Breathe Like a Bear and My Magic Breath. He might especially relate to The Lemonade Hurricane. The Mindful Kids activity cards are great too.

Hope something in there is helpful - best of luck to you and your son!

Here are some books my kids love:

Picture books:

• Boot and Shoe by Marla Frazee - Sweet story of two dog brothers
  
  
• Look! A Book! by Bob Staake - Fun, funny I Spy type book but with an absurd silliness and fun rhymes
  
  
• And it's not really obscure since it's a NYT Bestseller but I'd be remiss if I didn't plug The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt since he's an old friend of mine. Plus my kids love it.
  
  Chapter books:
  
  Most of the chapter books my kids read are part of a series so they aren’t really obscure but my kids love them so I figured I’d note them in case you hadn’t heard of any of them:
  
  
• The Magic Treehouse series is a good series to start with for chapter books
  
  
• Bunnicula is hilarious
  
  
• Encyclopedia Brown – I loved them and now my son loves them
  
  
• Stink – My son loves that Stink and his friends are a lot like him and his friends. Their adventures are very relatable
  
  
• And my five year old daughter and I love Ivy and Bean and their antics. They’re laugh out loud funny and it’s great to have girl books that are about girls horsing around and getting into trouble. Ivy and Bean are real kids, not just precious little princesses in training.
  

Other great YA titles that deal with issues of faith and doubt where religion is concerned. As an author, I'll try to keep my editorializing to a minimum, but these titles should definitely be included in this discussion.

Godless by Pete Hautman
Winner of the NBA for Young People's Lit in 2004, Hautman's protagonist wrestles with his doubts about his Catholic faith, eventually deciding to found his own religion with some friends over the summer. Great exploration of faith and the struggle to believe past your doubts.

[I'll Be There] (http://www.amazon.com/Ill-There-Holly-Goldberg-Sloan/dp/B009F7M5XY) by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Very positive and often hilarious portrayal of church-going family actually implementing social justice and selfless love without being preachy or heavy-handed.

[What We Lost] (http://www.amazon.com/What-We-Lost-ebook/dp/B00ADVLPNW) by Sara Zarr
Originally published as ONCE WAS LOST, Little, Brown has reissued this book, interestingly with a less blatantly religious title. (The original is a lyric from "Amazing Grace.") It follows a pastor's daughter whose Mom has been sent to rehab. It's an incredibly tender story with a dynamite first-person protagonist. Some of Zarr's best work.

COMING APRIL 2014:
[This Side of Salvation] (http://www.amazon.com/This-Side-of-Salvation-ebook/dp/B00DA98ZUA) by Jeri Smith-Ready
When David's brother dies, his parents find solace in a religious community counting down the days until believers are whisked away (called "The Rush" in this book, not the Rapture, interesting...). A book about how we deal with grief and the search for salvation.

These are the books I've kept from my sizeable home library on the off chance I have grandchildren. They are in no particular order.

• Stranger in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy -- Animals inspect a snowman, eat his nose and mouth, and then kids in hiding who watched it all put more food on the snowman for the animals, having planned for the animals to dine all along.
  
  
• Frosty the Snowman -- Adapted from the song by Annie North Bedford. There are versions that use the artwork from the animated TV special, but I prefer this one with vintage illustrations by Corinne Malvern.
  
  
• The Night before Christmas by Clement Moore. It's in the public domain, so there are many versions. Choose the artwork you like.
  
  
• Santa Cows -- A modern family is hanging out at home eating pizza. They hear the sound of hooves on their roof, and they spend the night with a herd of cows in their home. It ends with the family playing baseball in the snow with the cows. The text is reminiscent of The Night Before Christmas.
  
  
• The Polar Express -- It's a charming, peaceful book. It's nothing like the movie. The film made my kids cry... terror scene, calm scene, terror scene, calm scene, repeat.
  
  
• Countdown to Christmas -- This is a must if you are a Bill Peet fan, a prolific children's picture book author from yesteryear.
  
  
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
  
  
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer -- This is a reprint of the original from 1939 sold in Montgomery Ward stores. The author, Robert L. May, was an advertising copyrighter for Montgomery Ward.
  
  
• There are two Rudolph sequels. From Wikipedia: "May wrote two sequels to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The first is mostly in prose (except that Rudolph speaks in anapestic tetrameter), written in 1947 but only published posthumously as Rudolph's Second Christmas (1992), and subsequently with the title Rudolph to the Rescue (2006). The second sequel is entirely in anapaestic tetrameter like the original: Rudolph Shines Again (1954)."
  
  
• Olive the Other Reindeer -- This is a popular story about a dog who hears the song lyric "all of the other reindeer," decides he must be a reindeer, and heads to the North Pole.
  
  
• Santa has a Busy Night -- This is an unremarkable telling of the nuts and bolts of Santa Claus, but I wanted one book that told the basic myth in plainer detail than The Night Before Christmas. It mentions Santa travels to places where it's summer, and that kids don't get everything they want because he can't carry everything in his pack, but doesn't explain how he enters homes that have pipe chimneys or no chimney at all.
  
  
• Robot Santa -- This is a sequel to Santa's Twin, written by Dean Koontz, a horror fiction writer. I don't own the first book and didn't realize it was a sequel until now. It's for a kid age 5+, not scary, but maybe too developed a story for a young child. A much older child, or maybe just parents, might enjoy the Die Hard and Home Alone picture books.
  
  
• Night Tree -- A family's annual Christmas tradition is to walk into the forest and cut down a tree find the same live tree from last year and decorate it with food for the forest animals to eat. It's by prolific author Eve Bunting. I really enjoyed this story.
  
  
• Auntie Claus -- I can't vouch for this book as I have little memory of it, but my wife is upset to learn while I was compiling this list that I apparently culled it from our collection.
  
  For a Nutcracker book, visit a good bookstore. You'll want to find the right balance between the heft of the words and the style of artwork. Some Nutcracker books have gorgeous illustrations while others are cartoonish.
  
  A lot of my recommendations are only available for sale as used copies because my collection was built from attending garage sales and scouring thrift stores every week for more than a decade. You can use AbeBooks to search for books in used bookstores across America.

Based on what you mentioned, I think that Scott Westerfield's steampunk series might be the right level for him. I'd say it's on par with Harry Potter for reading comprehension level, and if your kiddo likes Star Wars and spies, I'd certainly try him out on steampunk. [Leviathan] (http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Scott-Westerfeld-ebook/dp/B002PMVQ7M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394298609&sr=8-2&keywords=leviathan) is the first one.

Also, how about the [Hardy Boys] (http://www.amazon.com/Hardy-Boys-01-Tower-Treasure-ebook/dp/B001R11C8A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394298577&sr=8-2&keywords=hardy+boys) books? They're definitely above the level of Skippy Jon Jones, but I don't think they're as challenging as Harry Potter. And if he likes them...there are about 1000 of them, I believe.

Back to the sci-fi feel, I strongly suggest [The White Mountains] (http://www.amazon.com/White-Mountains-Tripods-John-Christopher-ebook/dp/B0045UADFS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394298635&sr=8-1&keywords=the+white+mountains) and sequels. These were serialized in the Boy Scout magazine "Boys Life" years and years ago.

And on the fantasy side, you can't go wrong with Lloyd Alexander's version of the Arthurian mythology, the [Prydain Chronicles.] (http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Prydain-Lloyd-Alexander-ebook/dp/B00FIL33QY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394298663&sr=8-2&keywords=the+book+of+three) I've linked here to a set of all 5 for $20; I notice that the books cost $5 individually, so you save a bit on the set.

And I love love love you're encouraging him to read so much! I'm the same way with my daughter; one of my proudest moments was catching her reading by flashlight an hour after bedtime. :) Now she's even proofreading and editing my novels as I write! It seems like there's never enough emphasis on young people reading, with so much electronic competition...

The Phantom Tollbooth! Oh, and /u/BrownEyedGirl79 probably has some great recommendations here, too.

I've read and loved almost all of the recommendations already here (TAMORA PIERCE). But to add some that haven't been mentioned (and trying really hard to not overload you with 20 books at once), I read and reread Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown and its prequel so. many. TIMES. Maybe even more than I reread Tamora Pierce. Patricia McKillip, Maria Snyder, Patricia C. Wrede (Dealing with Dragons quartet), Althea Kontis, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray and Susan Fletcher (Dragon Chronicles) are similar authors to check out for awesome female-driven fantasy, with varying degrees of lightheartedness. Wrede, Fletcher, Snyder and Kontis all wrote books that lean a little less epic/serious, Block writes a lot in prose that's also a very quick (but more intense) read, McKillip tends to be more wordy but beautifully so, and Bray can kind of go either way depending on the series.

For more contemporary fiction, RACHEL COHN (of "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist"). Her Gingerbread series has content a good deal more mature than Angus, Thongs, etc., but her style is similarly irreverent and witty and really fun. Seriously, check her out. Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons is like a much younger version of Cohn, still zingy and sweet. For a quieter modern-day read, Garret Freymann-Weyr writes realistic (more mature) young adult relationships, and introduced me to the idea of bisexuality in a sort of roundabout way.

Julia Alvarez relates stories about the Latina-American experience incredibly well, although I think the first book I read by her takes place solely in the Dominican Republic. According to my reading list, I guess young me got sick of reading about other white people, so I'll add Marjane Satrapi's hilarious graphic novel Persepolis and the more sedate Shabanu series by Suzanne Fisher Staples.

I'd also strongly second comments for Gail Carson Levine, E.L. Konigsberg, and did I mention Tamora Pierce?

(I tried to link a lot of authors to my faves from their work, but I won't be mad if you never look at any of them. Is your reading list long enough now? Also, I know you didn't ask for a ton of fantasy/historical fiction recs, but I think a lot of us defined our teenagerhood by and identified more strongly with one of those series or another.)

tl;dr my top three recs that haven't been mentioned yet are Rachel Cohn, Julia Alvarez, and that one duo by Robin McKinley.

Can you find a source for that which doesn't come from the team or a news article?

The company responsible for the contest made a description of each name to help people understand it.

>According to the team, here are the descriptions behind each name:

>Bullheads: A local inhabitant of the Susquehanna River, a Bullhead is a bullhead catfish. The bullhead displays a tough and resilient character such as the Binghamton community.

>Gobblers: A symbol of the rich hunting culture of the area, the "Binghamton Gobblers" honors the outdoorsman lifestyle and turkeys who call Binghamton home.

>Rocking Horses: The "Binghamton Rocking Horses" celebrates the Triple Cities' rich history as the "Carousel Capital of the World."

>Rumble Ponies: A tribute to the Triple Cities' carousel heritage, the "Binghamton Rumble Ponies" is a herd of fierce horses that no carousel center pole can contain.

>Stud Muffins: While tipping a cap to the players on the field, the "Stud Muffins" celebrates the collection of carousel horses belonging to Binghamtonians.

>Timber Jockeys: Combining the fun of Minor League Baseball with the rich carousel history of the Triple Cities, the "Binghamton Timber Jockeys" pays homage to everyone that rides the carousels.

I've never seen or heard of a Rumble Pony in the Southern Tier before this contest and every search result pulls up the team name. The articles all talk about her having dreams and a book on carousels being her inspiration for the name.

Edit: Here is a better article talking about here "inspiration." Also I'm not trying to be an ass, if anyone has an actual reference to a Rumble Pony I'd love find it.

I work at a kid's bookstore and get this question all the time! Here are some of my favorite recommendations:

The Chrestomanci books by Diana Wynne Jones, and some of her other books too, like Howl's Moving Castle would be fantastic. She writes great fantasy.

The Emerald Atlas series is great for adventure.

Shannon Hale writes wonderful fairy tale type books. Start her off with Princess Academy or Goose Girl.

Jessica Day George is also a favorite at our store. Tuesdays at the Castle or Dragon Slippers would be great starts to new series.

Kate DiCamillo is wonderful. Her newest book Flora & Ulysses was awesome.

I loved Savvy and Scumble by Ingrid Law. If she likes those she could also try A Tangle of Knots and A Snicker of Magic. Not all one series, but similar ideas.

And lastly maybe something by Brandon Mull? He writes really fun fantasy adventure stories.

Is there any way we can make an amazon smile sticky thread so everyone sees it?

For anyone who doesnt know Amazon donates something like 1% of their sales through this site to a charity of your choice. I know it doesnt seem like much but think of how many people order through amazon? much less this sub alone? If we all start ordering through this version of Amazon think of the good we can do! Roughly I order 200$ worth of amazon merchandise a month so I give 2$ a month to the Aquarium of the Pacific AKA The Long Beach Aquarium...because I love them. I got the pet baby hammerhead sharks at that place. My favorite animal of all time. Like seriously. Do any of you remember that Goosebumbs book with the cover being a hammerhead circling a swimmer?

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Goosebumps-2-Deep-Trouble/dp/0545035198 - For sale

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ue83ZyrnhTo/UYq4JzjwLnI/AAAAAAAAEcs/SS042Fdse0U/s1600/DSC00326.JPG - original book image.

I read mine Human Body Theater (Amazon link). It goes over the functions of all the organs in the body. In my experience, knowing that all the organs do something different and unique made it really easy to explain what the uterus, vagina, penis, testicles all do without any issue. It's for older kids, but my kid got basic info out of it at 3 years old, and found it entertaining.

I also got her the book How You Were Born (Amazon link) which has photos of a baby in utero, and shows the various stages of gestation. It glosses over how the baby got in there, but it's a good start.

Lastly, this book The Amazing You! Getting Smart About Your Private Parts (Amazon Link) has diagrams and goes over all the functions of what each set of genitalia does. It's great for your preschool age kids.

>Are these books considered canon?

There are two answers to this. One is that they're canon unless Frozen 2 contradicts them. The second (and more likely answer to me) is probably not because I don't know if the filmmakers have read the books.

>Is there a comprehensive guide or list of all Frozen-related books?

There are plenty of books according to this site, but I don't know if that's everything.

>Have you read any of the books? What did you think of them?

I've picked up a few comics, and while I do like the artwork and some of the stories are fun, nothing too big happens in them. However, I have not read the Dark Horse Comics publications, and those stories seem a little bigger than Hearts Full of Sunshine and Travel Arendelle. I have also read The Art of Frozen, and it's definitely worth a pickup for the concept art at the very least. Also, I like the cover of that book. There's also A Sister More Like Me, and I'd also recommend that for the artwork and the different proses for the sisters. One of the storyboard artists did the artwork for the book, and the book shows other sides of them (particularly their childhoods), but I don't know if the book is canon or not.

All Ages (age ratings sourced from Comixology)

• The Backstagers | James Tynion IV
  
• Fable Comics | Charise Mericle Harper
  
• Fairy Tale Comics | Telgemeier, Thompson, Mazzucchelli, et al.
  
• Guinea Pig: Pet Shop Private Eye | Colleen AF Venable
  
• Hilda and the Troll, Hilda and the Midnight Giant, Hilda and the Black Hound, Hilda and the Bird Parade, Hilda on the Stone Forest | Luke Pearson
  
• Julia's House for Lost Creatures, Little Robot, Nobody Likes a Goblin | Ben Hatke
  
• Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, The Secret World of Arrietty | Yonebayashi & Miyazaki
  
• Lumberjanes | Stevenson, Watters, Ellis
  
• Marvel Age: Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Spider-Man Team-up | McKeever, Dezago, et al.
  
• Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Superheroes, Super Heroes (2010), The Avengers | Sumerak, Tobin, David, Bejamin, et al.
  
• Marvel Universe: Guardians of the Galaxy, Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, Avengers Assemble Season Two | Caramagna
  
• Mighty Jack, Mighty Jack and the Goblin King | Ben Hatke
  
• Nightlights | Lorena Alvarez
  
• Nursery Rhyme Comics | Thompson, Mignola, Telgemeier, et al.
  
• Tamsin and the Deep | Brown & Cameron
  
• Thor: The Mighty Avenger | Roger Langridge
  
• TOON books: The Shark King | R. Kikuo Johnson
  
• Zita the Spacegirl, Legends of Zita the Spacegirl, The Return of Zita the Spacegirl | Ben Hatke
  
  Ages 9+
  
  
• Adventure Time | Ryan North
  
• The Adventures of Tintin | Herge
  
• Amulet | Kazu Kibuishi
  
• Asterix | Goscinny & Uderzo
  
• Atomic Robo | Brian Clevinger
  
• Bone | Jeff Smith
  
• Five Worlds | Siegel & Siegel
  
• Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away | Hayao Miyazaki
  
• Moomin | Tove Jansson
  
• The Nameless City, The Stone Heart | Faith Erin Hicks
  
• Power Pack | Simonson, Brigman, et al.
  
• Roller Girl | Victoria Jamieson
  
• Smile, Drama, Sisters, Ghosts | Raina Telgemeier
  
• Usagi Yojimbo | Stan Sakai
  
• A Wrinkle in Time | Madeleine L'Engle
  
  Ages 12+
  
  
• DC: The New Frontier | Darwyn Cooke
  
• Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling | Tony Cliff
  
• Giant Days | Allison & Cogar
  
• Gotham Academy | Becky Cloonan
  
• The Legend of Wonder Woman | Renae De Liz
  
• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Reeder & Montclare
  
• Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, Mouse Guard: Winter 1152, Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard | David Petersen
  
• Nimona | Noelle Stevenson
  
• Star Wars | Aaron
  
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Eastman & Waltz
  
• Ultimate Spider-Man | Bendis
  
• Most superhero comics at DC and Marvel
  
  Resources:
  
  
• goodokbad
  
• comicbookresources
  
• comicsintheclassroom
  
• ilovelibraries
  
• pastemagazine
  
• /u/urko37’s [Recommendation] “What comics are good for my kids?”

Your family is gorgeous, and those lucky tiny ones will have no memory of going to church! Side note: You might enjoy the picture book The Seven Silly Eaters. It’s about a family with seven kids and is absolutely delightful. We checked it out from the library and my kids loved it SO much we ended up buying it. (That’s only happened a handful of times) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0152024409/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Eyz-AbX21PSHY

The Hilda series by Luke Pearson is really great. I think Hilda and the Troll is the first one, but I don't think they necessarily need to be read in order.

Also, all the Raina Telgemeier. She has Smile, Sisters, Drama, and Ghosts, as well as graphic novel versions of the Babysitter's Club books that are fantastic. And Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson.

My daughter is just going into 2nd too. If yours reading at a 6th grade level, then I would guess that Magic Tree House books are boring for her? My daughter will only read them if reading them to her little brother (he loves them). The first short chapter books that my daughter really loved were The Boxcar Children. She read a ton of them (there are well over 100). Now, she's seemed to have moved on.

This summer, she's been reading Harry Potter, Lots of Roal Dahl books, Little House on the Prarie books, Lion Witch & Wardrobe books, pretty much anything that we pick up, she'll read. Ask your public librarian for recommendations! We've gotten some good tips from them.

We just ordered a few on Amazon this past week as a friend had recommended some. This one was written by the lead singer of the Decemberists... it's ~550pgs, so a little long, but looks interesting (I kinda want to read it):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062024701/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We've also recently picked up the first of the Mysterious Benedict Society books (upon recommendation of many):

http://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Benedict-Society-Trenton-Stewart/dp/0316003956/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377206633&sr=8-1&keywords=mysterious+benedict+society

So far? Probably when my parents left me at college. I had to do every on my own. The freedom was scary and great. I've learned a lot, and a lot about myself, since.

I'd like this mug or this book, please. :)

I_Define_Me!

Everything, everything, everything Frozen.

I second the suggestion for art supplies and books. Put it together and go for a doodle book, a kind of middle grade coloring book.

Some great cheap ideas that you can package all together (the more gifts for a little girl, the better)

• Doodle Diary - $9
  
• Frozen Anna Doll - $13
  
• Both the Anna & Elsa plush dolls - $20
  
• Sisters, it's the companion book to Smile (so either or both). These are graphic novels for girls, I work in publishing and they are INSANELY popular for this age range - $7
  
• American Girl Scrapbook Kit (If it has American Girl on it, fourth graders flock) - $7
  
• It's All About Us - Personal Questions Quiz (like a paperbound Buzzfeed) - $12
  
• Madlibs - $3
  
• Mini American Girl Doll - $21
  
• Matching American Girl Novel - $8
  
  Hope this helps!

$2.06 on book list.

My daughter is as sick and cranky as me. There are random messes and tissues all over my house. Help distract her and me with a golden book.

Edit: that wasn't really a story.

A boat sails the water looking for a safe harbor. Shipmates look longingly out at the open sea for signs of land. Endless nights turn in to endless weeks and their hearts sink at the thought of never finding home.

Oh dang. Right I thought you meant Art of Frozen.

Edit: What about this?

You just have to pay like 300% more no biggie XD

For those curious, John Cena did write a children’s book and yes my wife hates that my daughter loves it.


Elbow Grease https://www.amazon.com/dp/1524773506/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Kt3VDb3DBBPV6

Warm hugs!

Frozen! <3

Great list!

P.s.- Colin from the Decemberists wrote a book and came to talk to my students about it!

LOOK WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN! Jenny Jaffe (Neurotica, Big Hero 6 The Series) teams up with Kelly and Katai to dig into a book all three of them have definitely read and comprehended, Richie Tankersley Cusick's Teacher's Pet, and to discuss extracurricular literature summer camp, when it's appropriate for students to read their teachers' erotic fiction, and the familiar concept of going into town to make money.

...

Next week's book: Goosebumps: Deep Trouble

The Magic Horse of Han Gan -- Painted horse comes to life.

The Midnight Circus -- Mechanical horse comes to life.

Moonhorse -- Just beautiful illustrations of a magical horse visit.

The Carousel -- Merry-go-round horses come to life.

Silver Pony -- All pictures, no words -- a boy's dream world turns real with a magical horse.

The Mud Pony -- American Indian boy's mud pony comes to life.

This is from A Sister More Like Me and is drawn by Brittney Lee.

Link for anyone interested in getting the book:

https://www.amazon.com/Elbow-Grease-John-Cena/dp/1524773506

The Seven Silly Eaters? They make a cake for their mom at the end.

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Silly-Eaters-Mary-Hoberman/dp/0152024409

Reminds me of The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine.

Colin Meloy writes books with his wife (who does all the Decemberists illustrations too)

right hurr

Wildwood has a chapter called that: https://www.amazon.com/Wildwood-Chronicles-Colin-Meloy/dp/0062024701

Could it be this one?

The Two Princesses of Bamarre