One of the best ways to stay connected with your children in this hectic world is to read together.

When you need a quiet, calming story, I would highly recommend “The Very Quiet Cricket” by Eric Carle. The title character is a newly-born cricket who tries to communicate with other creatures, but when “he rubbed his wings together, nothing happened, not a sound.” The story has a happy ending with a twist: an attentive listener hears cricket chirps as the last page is turned.

For rowdier times, my new favorite picture book is Karen Beaumont’s “I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! .” The pictures are hilarious, as the child narrator proceeds to decorate his body from head to “What?!” and the story can be read or sung (to the tune of “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More”). Children love to fill in the missing rhymes; when I used the book in my school library, I had an entire class of second graders singing and shouting along with me.

Grab one of these stories, or anything that you think will catch your child’s fancy, snuggle together in a chair or hammock, and enjoy a special kind of togetherness.