Stories, crafts, and inspiration for families who love to read together.

Hi friends, I’m Katie Marie — thank you for stopping by my Reading Corner! Each week, I love sharing parenting stories, creative crafts, and storytime inspiration to make reading with your kids even more magical.

Quote of the Week

“When we help others, we spread kindness. During the holiday season, our kind actions spread joy, and spreading joy feels better than any gift we could open.”
— The Adventures of Ella Bella and the Magic Holiday Headband

✍️ From My Writing Corner

Happy Halloween, everyone! 🎃

As we all gear up for classroom parties and festivities (while plotting how to limit the kids’ candy intake — and sneak some for ourselves), take a minute to enjoy the chaos. Smile at their little faces in costume. They’ll only be this little once… even if they insist on reusing that Elsa dress or Marshall costume year after year.

This week, I had one of those trying parenting moments — but it turned into a beautiful perspective shift.

It all began with the dress.
Ella wanted to wear her fanciest one — full of lace, sparkles, and tulle. The kind of dress that makes a Tuesday morning feel like a ball. The only problem? It had a zipper.

She tried to pull it over her head without unzipping it. I gently told her, “Sweetheart, you’ll need to unzip it first.”

Her little eyes filled with tears. “But if I unzip it, I can’t zip it by myself because it’s behind me.”

I offered the simple solution — “I’ll zip it for you.”

Wrong move. She is I N D E P E N D E N T (yes, all caps) and wanted to do it herself.

For the next 30 minutes, she grunted, cried, and tried over and over to pull the dress on. I sat on my bed, coffee cooling on the nightstand, waiting for her to ask for help. I reminded her gently through the tears, “It’s okay to ask for help when you need it.”

Finally, red-faced and teary, she walked over and whispered, “Mommy, can you help me?”

As I zipped the dress, I exhaled — partly from relief, partly from reflection. My husband glanced over and said, “Well, that was something.” And he was right. Then it hit me: what I’d just witnessed was perseverance in its purest form.

Ella wasn’t just being stubborn — she was determined. She wanted to figure it out herself, and she didn’t quit until she absolutely had to. That’s the kind of spirit I hope she carries into everything she does. I realized: that determination, that grit, that refusal to give up? That’s exactly what I want her to have in life.

Sometimes the moments that test our patience most deeply are the ones that reveal our children’s strength.

✨ Have you ever had a moment like that? I’d love to hear your story in the comments — let’s encourage each other through the messy, magical parts of motherhood.

From Our Craft Corner

This week’s activity is a fun and festive one!
Download the T-Rex and Tuck Halloween Coloring Sheet and spend some time getting creative with your little artists.

🖍️ Click here to download the Halloween Coloring Sheet!

Tip: Print a few copies, color together, and hang them up to decorate your reading corner for spooky season.

Reading Corner

Here’s what’s on our nightstands this week:

What I’m Reading:
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver — a beautiful reminder to slow down and focus on what truly matters.

What Tuck’s Reading:
He’s working hard on reading independently! This week’s pick: a Marvel Super Heroes reader from his school library. Remember — if it excites them, it’s worth celebrating.

What Ella Bella’s Loving:
Still obsessed with A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein — Make sure you have a few minutes to spare because it is a repetitive, sentence-building, tongue-twister of a story that will leave you looking for your inhaler if you are like me and try to say it super fast to make the kids giggle.

3 Fun Ways to Read Together This Week

Build a bedtime reading fort with flashlights and cozy blankets.
Let your kids illustrate their own book page inspired by their favorite story.
Read aloud using different voices or accents for each character — instant laughter guaranteed!

Upcoming Events

📅 December 13th | 9AM–3PM — BookFest Omaha 2025
Come visit my booth to grab the newest Ella Bella book and matching holiday headbands!

📅 December 20th | 11AM — Storytime at Story Collective, St. Joseph, MO
Join me for the first public reading of The Adventures of Ella Bella and the Magic Holiday Headband!
✨ Bring a canned food donation for a special surprise gift!