Hands touch, hold, and hug. Hands feed, give, and share. Hands create, mend, and heal. Hands say love! Every day, our hands show the most important people in our lives how we care about them, from parents helping children learn to walk to families playing and working together to friends waving hello and good-bye. This perfect read-aloud for toddlers celebrates the many hands-on moments we share and reminds us that even the simplest gesture can be a profound expression of love.

Loving hands lift, carry, hold, and give in a tender meditation on the everlasting bond between a parent and a child. Hands wave hello, hands hold, hands heal. Hands say, I am here for you always. In simple, stirring rhymes, author Tony Johnston pens a timeless ode to parenthood. The small moments and quiet scenes that make up childhood — learning to clap, planting a garden, waving good-bye on the first day of school — fill the pages of this gentle tale, capturing the reassurance and love that parents hand their children every day. Warm illustrations by Amy June Bates show a young boy reaching for his mother’s hand as he grows older and more independent . . . until, perhaps, he can be the one to offer love and support with hands that say, I am here for you always. An eloquent look at the passage of time and the power of connection and care, this book is a heartfelt gift for loved ones at any and all milestones in life.

Discover the power, joy, and love of living a present, authentic, and intentional life despite a world full of distractions. If technology is the new addiction, then multitasking is the new marching order. We check our email while cooking dinner, send a text while bathing the kids, and spend more time looking into electronic screens than into the eyes of our loved ones. With our never-ending to-do lists and jam-packed schedules, it's no wonder we're distracted. But this isn't the way it has to be. Special education teacher, New York Times bestselling author, and mother Rachel Macy Stafford says enough is enough. Tired of losing track of what matters most in life, Rachel began practicing simple strategies that enabled her to momentarily let go of largely meaningless distractions and engage in meaningful soul-to-soul connections. Finding balance doesn't mean giving up all technology forever. And it doesn't mean forgoing our jobs and responsibilities. What it does mean is seizing the little moments that life offers us to engage in real and meaningful interaction. In these pages, Rachel guides you through how to: Acknowledge the cost of your distraction Make purposeful connection with your family Give your kids the gift of your undivided attention Silence your inner critic Let go of the guilt from past mistakes And move forward with compassion and gratefulness So join Rachel and go hands-free. Discover what happens when you choose to open your heart--and your hands--to the possibilities of each God-given moment.

This triumphant picture book recasts a charged phrase as part of a black girl's everyday life--hands up for a hug, hands up in class, hands up for a high five--before culminating in a moment of resistance at a protest march. A young black girl lifts her baby hands up to greet the sun, reaches her hands up for a book on a high shelf, and raises her hands up in praise at a church service. She stretches her hands up high like a plane's wings and whizzes down a hill so fast on her bike with her hands way up. As she grows, she lives through everyday moments of joy, love, and sadness. And when she gets a little older, she joins together with her family and her community in a protest march, where they lift their hands up together in resistance and strength.

When you could neither talk nor stand life’s hourglass still filled with sand, I gently held your tiny hand and gave it three soft squeezes. When you awoke within the night And cried from fear and called for light, I held you safe with all my might and gave you three long squeezes. Follow a father and his son from babyhood to baseball games to graduation and beyond in this loving saga about the unbreakable bond between generations. A perfect gift, Three Squeezes is a tender, rhyming picture book that is an ode to the love between parent and child, no matter how old the child (or) parent is.

This heartwarming picture book reassures children that a parent’s love never lets go—based on the poignant lyrics of JJ Heller’s beloved lullaby “Hand to Hold.” “May the living light inside you be the compass as you go / May you always know you have my hand to hold.” With delightful illustrations and an engaging rhyme scheme, this book offers the promise of security and love every child’s heart longs to know. From skipping stones and counting stars to climbing trees and telling stories, every moment is wrapped snugly in the certain warmth of a parent’s presence and God’s blessing. With poignancy and joy, this bedtime read captures the unconditional love parents want their children to know but so often fail to express amid the chaos of daily life.

NYT Book Review 2019 25 Best Children's Books In Hold Hands, beloved graphic novelist and children's book author Sara Varon offers a sweet rhyming story for toddlers about friendship and connection. Hold hands each time you cross the street. Hold hands on the bus if you don’t have a seat. Hold hands when you say goodbye. And also when you’re jumping high. Everybody holds hands. You can hold hands with your little brother or your best friend. You can hold hands with your classmate or even your favorite doll! Gather up your little ones, hold their hands, and share this heartwarming book.