If you are new to The Oenomel, you might not know how much I love being an Auntie.

Hint: It’s a lot.

I’m completely gone on the Tiny Human. Last year, Auntie’s Day (incidentally also Uncle’s Day) was eclipsed by some pretty special family celebrations. This year though… I’m super excited to celebrate. Reading is one of the things we do together, in honor of that, I’m dedicating today’s Fiction Friday to Five Books for Auntie’s Day!

Swashby and the Sea

by Beth Ferry
ills. Juana Martinez Neal

I will be the first to admit that beautiful illustrations draw me in. In Swashby and the Sea, story and illustration come together so harmoniously.

Swashby is a grumpy old seaman whose only friend is the sea. When a young girl and her granny move into the only cottage near his, bringing laughter, and fun into his quiet world Swashby is rather put out. However, his long friend the sea thinks the girl and her granny are just what he needs.

What’s not to love about one friend looking out for another? The Tiny Human and I swish and swoosh, as the sea leaves her messages.

ish

written & ills. by Peter H. Reynolds

Ish is a truly lovely book my grandmother gave to me when I moved away for university.

When a book can bring as much meaning to a young woman moving away from home, as it does to tiny humans, it’s a truly special book.

Embracing your wild creativity, being unashamed of your creativity, rejecting the idea that creativity is only acceptable when it’s perfect, when it’s valued by others, is a hard thing to achieve.

Ish is the story of a little boy learning to live in the joy of doing what he loves, even if his pictures only resemble-ish what he meant them too.

It’s good for Tiny Humans to learn to live in joy, and it’s good for Aunties to get a reminder too.

Strictly No Elephants

by Lisa Mantchev
ills. Taeeun Yoo

Strictly No Elephants isn’t only about how to stand up to bullies, but how friends stick by each other no matter what. The Tiny Human is a little young to be around other kids, and with the pandemic it may be a while yet.

It is never to early to begin to understand that true friendship isn’t just laughs or trips to the jungle gym. True friendship is about braving the things that scare you for your friend. True friendship is being a gentle shoulder to support an upset friend.

That’s what the little boy and his elephant friend do. Face the cracks in the side walk, and the rain, and other kids who are mean, because true friends brave the scary things for each other.

It’s a truly sweet book that I think the Tiny Human will grow into, right now we love to look at all the animal friends.

I Got the Rhythm

by Connie Schofield – Morrison
ills. Frank Morrison

The Tiny Human and I Love everything we do together, but the thing we do together more than read, or go on nature walks, is dance. We started our mornings every day of quarantine with a dance party. We broke up the day with dance parties too. Sometimes we even take the tune on our walks, sharing our jams with the birds in the trees, and the tadpoles in the pond.

I Got the Rhythm celebrates the joy of dancing! As a little girl and her mother walk through the city, she begins thinking of rhythm, and moves through her senses until she’s dancing, stomping, and tip taping with everyone she passes.

The Tiny Human and I clap our hands, snap our finger, and tap our toes along with her.

In A Jar

written & ills. Deborah Marcero

In A Jar is a book I went looking for. Or, a book like it.

Restrictions have started to lift and I’m transitioning to working a few days in the office, which means I’m away from the Tiny Human a few nights now and then.

I wanted a story to read to her about friends that have to move away.

In A Jar is about Llewellyn who collects things in jars so he can remember the day. One day he meets Evelyn, and he teaches her how to collect things. They spend a year together having adventures, collecting all sorts of magical things, until Evelyn had to move to a new town.

For a while Llewellyn feels like one of his empty jars, until he finds something beautiful to collect and send to Evelyn. They send each other all the special moments, because they are still friends, even though they are far apart.

This is a great book to read, especially now, with kids needing to be away from each other. It can also serve as an inspiration to start finding magic in a feather, or the old leaves twisting in a wind storm, and thinking of ways to send those magic moments to their friends, cousins, or grandparents.

The Tiny Human and I will have tea on Auntie’s day, we’ll turn on our favorite songs, we’ll break out our dance moves, and dig into some new books. Maybe one of these five books for Auntie’s Day will be a part of your celebration, you can also check out some of the Tiny Humans’ and my favorite nature stories.

Happy Aunties (and Uncles) Day!!!

And if you have some recommendations let us now!