The Starter Pack: A Wholesome Kids’ Booklist

Plus your guide to making books a priority in your family’s daily life.

Hey Sweet friends, Amy Keller here, Co-Creator of The Mothership. It’s with absolute pleasure we share with you today the community co-created list of over 50 Wholesome Kids’ Books that you helped us begin!

I’m a huge believer in the power of storytelling. When Gaia was about three a mother gave me the great insight when she shared that in her home, rather than lecturing or teaching her daughter about the ‘ways of the world’ she would choose the books that explored those themes. Allowing her daughter the imaginative space to build out the story between the lines. A superpower which she felt gave her daughter a deeper love for books and her own mind.

I am also mindful of what I allow into the sacred reading space of our home. And it’s also true, a story that uplifts one child, may frighten another. With this in mind, The Starter Pack: A Wholesome Kids’ Booklist, that we’ve begun for our community — with your help — is to act as a jumping off point to get you excited about discovering new genres, stories, styles and authors again. Or maybe for the first time!

First, I wanted to include below: a list of the simple ways we make books a priority in our family’s daily life.

📚 Books Live Everywhere – Instead of keeping them tucked away, we weave books into every room: baskets of board books near the couch, a stack of poetry on the kitchen table, picture books tucked into baskets hung on the wall near the bed, and a rotating selection in the car. Books are meant to be seen, touched, and lived with.

🔄 Rotating Bookshelf: We embrace the rhythm of life by curating a rotating bookshelf that shifts with the holidays, seasons, and themes that resonate with our hearts at any given time. I’m obsessed with this scalloped edged bookcase and this dollhouse baby bookcase. Books that no longer “stick” are gently stored away or given away, making space for new stories that speak to our current journey.

🌿 Books Before Toys – When given the choice between buying a new toy or a new book, we lean toward the book. Books have always been the one thing I won’t say no to. Most recently we purchased the Yoto Mini for Gaia and instantly she re-listened to all the Raold Dahl books and devoured The Cat in the Hat Cast Podcast. Birthdays, holidays, special milestones—books are always part of the celebration.

⏳ Reading is a Ritual, Not an Afterthought – Storytime isn’t just for bedtime. We read in the mornings, in the car, and whenever someone brings a book and says, “Can you read this?” (The answer is almost always yes.)

✨ A Library Mindset – Books don’t have to be owned to be treasured. We visit the library like it’s a second home, borrowing stacks that feel like treasure troves and returning them with gratitude. We recently heard of the Libby App which syncs up to your local library membership allowing you to download audio versions of books for free!

🌎 A Home Filled with Many Voices – Our home has always prioritized books in multiple languages (for our home that’s English and Hebrew) and across genres.

💡 Modeling the Love of Reading – Our children see us reading—not just to them, but for ourselves. Whether it’s a novel, a cookbook, or a spiritual text, we show that reading isn’t just a “kid thing.” It’s a life thing.

If you want to work with your own version of the reading list, go to File → Make a Copy (once you’ve logged into Google). This way, you get your own personal copy to edit and add to!

We want to keep this list growing ! We want to hear from you! Which books did we miss? What would you add? Leave us a message in the chat!

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