Maisy book giveaway

Posted on December 16, 2011 by FoBaM-Jamie

Here at Fans of Being a Mom, we believe it’s never too early to encourage a love of reading in our kids. That’s one reason we were so charmed by a new title from Candlewick: Maisy’s Snuggle Book. This book is perfect for even the youngest “readers” in the family. It features Maisy and all her friends – Charley the crocodile, Tallulah the chick, Cyril the squirrel, Eddie the elephant, and – of course! – Maisy’s special pal, Panda. The friends are all here, sharing their bedtime routines of getting into their pajamas, brushing their teeth, having some milk, reading a story, and getting a cuddle.

Maisy has always been a favorite at our house. Though my daughter is, in her opinion, too grown up for Maisy now (she is in the second grade, you know), we still read some of our Maisy favorites at bedtime … just for old time’s sake. Maisy and her friends are cheerful without being saccharine. The bright colors and bold lines are especially appealing to the younger set, offering lots of contrast and vibrancy. For kids old enough to follow a storyline, the adventures of Maisy and her friends are entertaining and comforting.

The soft, plush edition of this book makes it a literal snuggle book – the outside cover is a fuzzy, fleece material that’s both printed and embroidered, giving it some great texture for baby’s fingers to explore. The inside pages are a durable material around a soft stuffing, making the whole book soft and squishy and very inviting. The binding on the cover is a smooth, blue satin, like the edging on many favorite baby blankets. The book comes packaged in a gift-worthy striped box with a peek-a-book window that will probably keep your little one entertained for almost as long as the book.

If you think your little one would enjoy a copy of this Maisy’s Snuggle Book, you may be in luck. Our friends at Candlewick Press have offered to give away two copies.

For a chance to win one of the free copies, simply leave a comment below sharing your thoughts about Maisy or bedtime or really young readers. All comments must be in by midnight EST, this Sunday, the 18th and include a valid email address. Please note that the comment must be on the blog, not on our Facebook fan page to be eligible to win. If you’re one of our randomly selected winners, we’ll be in touch by email to get all your shipping details so the nice folks at Candlewick can send out your goodies.

Good luck, happy reading, and be sure to stop by and “Like”Candlewick’s Facebook Page.

Giveaway: Cute board books!

Posted on August 25, 2011 by FoBaM-Jamie

There’s something about board books that we find irresistable. Maybe it’s their chunkiness or their sturdy construction, their easy-to-turn pages, or the way they double as teethers for little ones. Or, maybe we love them so much because they are our children’s first exposure to the joys of books and reading. They help little ones take their first literary steps as they open the doors to a world of exploration and learning.

Whatever our reasons, we are board book junkies and we’re not ashamed to admit it. Even though our own children have outgrown these durable reads, we still fall for them every time. Today, we’ve got two new Candlewick titles to share with you: I like toys and I like vegetables. These are board books with a slight twist. In addition to all the usual goodness, they feature touch-and-feel details that will have tiny fingers roaming the pages while bright eyes are taking in the bright pictures.

In I like vegetables, curious kids learn not only about produce, but about opposites like above and below, inside and outside, and so forth. Not only that, but you can start getting your kids excited about eating carrots, corn, and peas. (It’s never too early to start, right?)

In I like toys, the focus is on shapes. As little fingers touch different textures in the images, mommy can explain about circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles. Each spread features one large image and then two smaller images – all of which are labeled. The square pages feature images of blocks, a jack-in-the-box, and a book.

GIVEAWAY: Would you like your very own copies of these two great, little board books? The nice folks at Candlewick Press are giving us five sets to giveaway to our readers. For a chance to win one of these sets, just enter your comment below and tell us what you like about board books or about your favorite board book. You have until midnight tomorrow (Friday, August 26th) at which time we’ll choose 5 random winners. Good luck and happy reading!

Giveaway – Harper Collins Book Pack

Posted on May 4, 2011 by FoBaM-Jamie

Sorry!  This Giveaway is now closed.

So many books, so little time.

Curling up with a good book is one of the things most moms would love to do if only we could find the time. There’s nothing like losing yourself in a good story to take you away from whatever trials and tribulations have troubled your day.

To inspire you to carve out some time for a date with a book, we’ve teamed up with the nice folks at Harper Collins to bring you a fabulous gift pack of books. This collection includes some great titles that are perfect for you and your kids. If you’re lucky, you can get the little ones engrossed in some reading of their own, and steal away to your own literary adventure.
The titles in this Harper Collins gift pack include:

For you:
HarperTeen’s paperback repackaging of Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility (These are for teens, but we think moms will like them, too – and they make you look so smart!)
Summer in the City: A Carrie Diaries Novel by Candace Bushnell (Fresh off the presses and ready for beach reading!)
The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong (The latest from a #1 NYT bestseller.)

For the kids:
Falling Up by Shel Silverstein (You can’t go wrong with Shel – kids everywhere love him.)
Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton (The first in the NYT bestselling series.)
Splish, Splash, Splat! by Rob Scotton (The latest in the Splat series – coming out mid-May)
Fancy Nancy Poet Extraordinaire (It’s fantabulous!)
Hooray for Amanda and her Alligator by Mo Willems (From the creator of the Pigeon series, a new comic masterpiece.)

Giveaway: If you’d like to claim this bookish treasure for yourself (and your kids), just leave a comment below telling us something you love about books – your favorite kids’ book, grown-up book, reading memory … whatever. You’ve got until midnight tonight to give it a shot. Good luck!

Image Credit (statue at Wilson Hall, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ): Sister72