Books are perhaps some of my most favorite gifts to give kids. They’re great as an add-on gift or a stocking stuffer, too! Though not all kids will put books high on their gift list, you really can’t go wrong with a great book or three!
Baby Love: A Board Book Gift Set
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Tag: books
Full of Bounty: Cheerios and the 100,000 book giveaway
As I’m finalizing my holiday gift guides much later than I hoped, I just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude. With Thanksgiving just a few days away and all, I have so much to be thankful for—our health and happiness at the top of my list.
We make it a habit to start AND end our days with books. Like many of you, books will always play a huge role in our family life, but unfortunately, that’s not the case for everyone.
Did you know that over 80 percent of childcare centers serving low-income children lack age-appropriate books? And a recent study shows that the ratio of books per child in middle income neighborhoods is 13 to 1, while in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children.
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Where the Wild Things Are Opens Today
Well, it’s here! It’s opening day for Where the Wild Things Are! The classic children’s book by Maurice Sendak, which was adapted for film by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers features Max whose imagination leads him to wild places. Reviews so far have been positive, and I can’t wait to see for myself. I highly doubt my little guy will sit through the entirety of this movie, even though some reviews are saying it’s for “all ages.” Either way, I’m crossing my fingers that we get to check it out soon! Does anyone else plan on seeing this?
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Listen up: Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack
Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic, “Where the Wild Things” continues to create buzz. This time, there’s been some rumblings of the highly anticipated movie’s soundtrack. 
Specifically, what caught MY attention is the fact that the Karen O, the frontlady of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, is just one of the many rockstars that will be featured on the soundtrack. According to Rolling Stone, the soundtrack will also feature:
Karen O’s YYYs bandmates Brian Chase and Nick Zinner along with Tristan Bechet (Services), Bradford Cox (Deerhunter), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs), Aaron Hemphill (Liars), Greg Kurstin (The Bird and the Bee), Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes), Oscar Michel (Gris Gris), Imaad Wasif (New Folk Implosion, Alaska). An untrained children’s choir contributes to the songs and soundscapes.
The soundtrack will be released on September 29th and first single “All Is Love” will come out August 25th digitally.
Where the Wild Things is gearing up to not only be a movie to be seen, but also to be heard! In case you haven’t seen the trailer, be sure to check it out!
I just love that one of my favorite books ever is being made into a movie by one of my favorite directors and writers! I seriously can’t wait for this one!
Say yes to Yes Day!
Ok, so, I’ll admit it: I’ve become quite the Amy Krouse Rosenthal fangirl. The thing is, when we find fun books by great authors and illustrators, we’ll likely anticipate more good reads. Yes Day! by Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld is another example of just that!
Yes Day is a day where ” yes” is the answer to life’s little pleasures, such as pizza for breakfast, staying up late and even having a food fight. When every single toy in our home blankets our living room floor and when the wipes container is inexplicably showered all over the couch and when my mischievious toddler starts scaling furniture, undoubtedly, every day feels like “No Day.” I love the silliness and positivity that echoes throughout this fun read–if only things could be as simple as having a Yes Day every day!
Proper mess means a proper pig
I’ve been enjoying the tweets I’ve been receiving about BookExpo America that’s taking place right now in NYC. I wanted to attend one of the children’s book and authors events, but since I couldn’t attend, instead, I thought I’d share one of the many books that we enjoy– Little Oink by By Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace.
Little Oink is a cute story about a pig who loves to clean. His parents, however, insist that “in order to be a proper pig, he has to learn to how make a proper mess.” As a creative type who often had a ‘pigstye’ of my own to clean, I appreciate this role reversal and and all around lovable book.
Check out the trailer for the book, too! Read More
B&N kicks off annual summer reading program
No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ funny looks! Ok, so maybe two out of three still applies.
Summer vacation. It’s a great time to catch up with friends, enjoy the outdoors from sun up until sun down, and of course, catch up on reading! Just a few weeks shy of summer vacation, Barnes & Noble has announced their 13th annual summer reading program with the series “Percy Jackson & The Olympians.” Author Rick Riordan takes readers on the adventures of Percy Jackson, a young half-god, half-human son of the gods of Olympus.
The reading program, which encourages kids to read throughout the summer, asks kids to read any eight books of their choice, then to write about the book in a summer reading journal and once the journal is complete, kids can get a coupon for a free book.
Children’s Book Week
Children’s Book Week is well underway this week, which got me thinking about all of our current favorite books, as well as my own classic favorites. The Elmo books, the Sandra Boynton books and the Barefoot books, they’re all great. But as a book lover, who’s now a mom, I hope my love for books rubs off. I try to foster good reading habits with frequent visits to the library, reading as often as I can and reading WITH him daily. I love being surrounded by newspapers, magazines and books–lots of books. Judging by the way the kid scales the couch to get to our bookcase to “read” my books, I think we’re on to something.
One of my all time favorite children’s books is, hands down, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I love that book and can’t WAIT to relive the story with the kid. Max’s adventures illuminated my imagination as a kid, and it’s sure to illuminate many more kids’ lives with the movie version’s October release. I love how the book is described as, one of those truly rare books that can be enjoyed equally by a child and a grown-up. As exciting as it is that Where the Wild Things was made into a movie, (by one of my favorite directors no less –Spike Jonze who’s done everything from Beastie Boys videos to award winning movies like Being John Malkovich) the book version will always be my favorite.
But, check out the trailer! It looks pretty good!
So, favorite children’s books? I want to hear ’em. What excites you? What are yours and what are the kids’ favorites?
Oscar the Pig app from iKids Play
Pigs have been getting a lot of bad publicity lately, but if the shows on cartoon networks are indicative of kids’ unflappable taste in characters, pigs have and will always be a favorite when it comes to books, shows and now, apps!
Oscar the Pig written by Megan Calhoun, the multi-faceted founder of Twittermoms, is a great book that talks about the transition of mom going back to work and the separation anxiety that often goes hand in hand with it. This cute children’s book is now available as an educational app, thanks to iKids iPlay.
Oscar the Pig can be read with five interactive activities. With the Oscar the Pig app, kids can rub the screen to reveal hidden pages; the book becomes a coloring book with the stroke of a little finger, which can later be sent to grandma via email; storytime can enjoyed with automatic page turns and beginning readers can read, record and replay as they grasp their new reading abilities.
The Oscar the Pig app from iKids iPlay can be downloaded from iTunes for $2.99. Be sure to check out the other cool children’s books they have available, too! The book, Oscar the Pig, is available online.
Read this: Into the Trees
At the Go Green Expo, we discovered so many great companies and products, but one company that’s definitely worth mentioning is Greensender.com. This was actually the first booth we visited, but definitely one of the most memorable. Besides all of the great green gift ideas, Greensender.com also has Into the Trees, a wonderful book that’s filled with vibrant graphics about Mini G’s adventures with an Earth-loving message to match.
Into the Trees, written by Mike Aaron and illustrated by Baby Einstein artist Nadeem Zaidi, explores natural beauty and the hidden secrets of the outdoors—messages completely relevant for year-round eco-consciousness and for readers of all ages.
Into the Trees is $12.95 and can be bought online at Greensender.com
While you’re there, be sure to check out the super cute Mini G gift package—what a great green baby shower gift idea!