Today, Kate shares a great chapter book series that will inspire a love of mysteries: My 6-year-old daughter has been slow to warm to chapter books, and I can't say that I've rushed her to move away from the lush and thoughtful world of picture books. Recently, though, we received a bag of hand-me-down chapter books, including several volumes in Marjorie Sharmat's wonderful Nate the Great series.

Today, Kate shares a lovely book to inspire kids to use their hands: My kindergarten-age daughter loves yarn. She likes the colors, the fibers, the feel, and she finds a surprising number of ways to incorporate it into her art projects and imaginative games. I find bits of yarn all over the apartment, often sticky with glue or sparkly with glitter or decorating her dolls. In the past few weeks, she has actually made the leap to being able to knit on her own -- haltingly and with lots of dropped stitches -- giving both of us the pleasure of watching her take a step toward independence and the joy of knowing a craft.

Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) recommends a small book with big meaning: My children have many, many books. I read them all, but I have a few special favorites. The Ant and the Elephant is one of these. Bill Peet's lovely story speaks of the importance of kindness to all and also of the immense power that is contained in cooperation and goodwill.

Today, Paige (also of Mudroom Boston) recommends a game that actually lives up to its name: When my oldest son expressed interest in chess after reading the first installment of the Harry Potter series, I was excited, but tentative. While he loves to learn new games, he gets pretty frustrated when he can't master a game quickly. Not being a chess player myself, I had a vague sense that learning chess, let alone mastering it, was not going to be an easy task.

Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) recommends a favorite family board game: My family loves to play board games. I haven't had too much luck finding any beyond the old classics -- Sorry, Connect Four, Monopoly -- that everybody really gets into, but that changed when my daughter was given Spy Alley for her ninth birthday. Spy Alley is "a game of suspense and intrigue" and we have found ourselves playing it over and over again. Each player has a secret spy identity, and the goal is to complete your mission by obtaining code books, disguises, keys, and passwords while also hiding who you are from the other players. To do this you have to purchase the books, disguises, keys, and passwords of other spies, hoping to confuse your competitors as to your real identity.

Today, Paige (also of Mudroom Boston) shares a beloved book: During a recent playground conversation with a fellow mom, we were recounting our childhoods. Although we grew up in different areas, our memories were the same -- hours and hours of unsupervised outside playtime with neighborhood friends, solo bike rides into town to buy candy, and walking to school by ourselves by the time we were in second grade. As we hovered over our four collective children, occasionally interrupting our own chatting with a "Don't run so fast!" or "Watch your head!", I reflected on how much life and "playtime" had changed for my own kids in just one generation.

My Canadian friend Leslie gifted Laurel with a copy of Anne of Green Gables a couple of years ago. Given that Laurel loves chapter books with female central characters, we've been looking forward to reading Anne together but the language is still a little too advanced (Amazon lists the series for ages 9 and up). I subsequently was thrilled to find an adapted version of Anne of Green Gables in a box of hand me downs from my sister-in-law Estelle.

Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) recommends a favorite book: I love Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child for its assertion that magic is all around us, as long as you look closely. My children, six and eight, both love this book as well and often ask me to read it to them. The book opens with Annabelle looking for fairies in the "cement and weeds" near her house despite her father's firm statement that she won't find them. Annabelle's firm belief and tireless searching are rewarded when one Saturday she finds a boy with wings, as big as her finger, shivering in the breeze. As soon as he has introduced himself as "Jethro Byrd, fairy child," Annabelle spies a miniature ice cream truck that has fallen from the sky. Jethro's family -- his father, mother, grandmother, and baby sister -- are trying to tug the truck back to upright and ask for Annabelle's help. She quickly helps and then invites them to her house for tea.