I am kind of a kid’s book-a-holic. I am proudly raising kids who love reading from my seven year old that is rarely found without a book in her hands, to my four year old who is in the beginning phases of reading, down to my one year old whose favorite activity is curling up in a lap with one of many favorite board books.
I used to live by the belief that you could never have enough books, but lately I have been looking at our overflowing bookshelves and thinking we need to purge a bit. And then when I went through the piles I found some, well, lame books. So out with the lame and in with unique, original, awesome books.
Recently a friend of a friend contacted me to review a line of books she represents called Barefoot Books. I hadn’t heard of them before, but after poking around the website I was so thrilled to review her books. And once I actually got my hands on the books I was so excited to tell you about them.
First of all, let me just say that Barefoot Books is more than books. They have all sorts of adorable gifts, puppets, dress up clothes, puzzles and more. But it is the books that hooked me. I reviewed three books that really appeal to every age.
Hidden Hippo: I love this book because its illustrations are adorable and it has an African theme. It has a cute rhyming storyline and, as the title says, there is a hippo hidden on every page. Silas isn’t quite grasping to look for the hippo but a little older child would have fun looking for him. There is actually information on endangered animals and conservation at the end of the book which my older girls found cool.
If You’re Happy and You Know It: Another book with a multi-cultural feel. I absolutely love the illustrations in this book and the fact that my kids can act out the actions along with the book. Best of all, it comes with a CD that accompanies the book with another way to sing along. My kids LOVE the CD, so much fun.
The Story Tree: This book quickly became a favorite of the two older girls. Each story is a ”lesson” from another country. A lot of them are slightly familiar but have a little bit of a twist. And this one too comes with a CD, so Hannah loves to put it in and follow along with the book. As all the books I reviewed, the illustrations are just beautiful.
Barefoot Books is going to be high on my list when it comes time to give gifts to my children or others. The products are just so high quality and I was so impressed with the selection I reviewed. And Pam is a blogger, who often reviews her products and gives a little more insight into what she offers. I am thrilled with the mission of this company to give children high quality literature while promoting diversity and love for the earth. Seriously. Love.
Pam would generously like to offer one of my readers a $25 gift card to spend at Barefoot Books. To enter, head over to her site and leave a comment letting me know what you would spend your money on. you can score an extra entry by participating in Things I Love Thursday, just leave an extra comment letting me know you did. I actually can’t wait to read what treasures you find over there so I can start a little wish list.
What are you loving this week? Perhaps something with snow? We are buried under 15 inches here and it seems like most of the country is the same. Either way, write a post about something you love and paste your URL into Mr. Linky. Make sure to link back to this post/blog in your post/blog and then go hop around to the other posts/blogs. Any questions? Check out all the Things I Love Thursday guidelines. Thanks for participating!
Contest is open to US residents only and will end on 2/9/11 when a winner will be drawn from the comments at random. I was provided with books to facilitate my review, but as always all opinions are mine all mine.
The Fireside Stories books looks awfully cozy right about now!
Amy @ Finer Things´s last [type] ..Heal My Sole Giveaway
I’m linked up this week with a Heal My Sole giveaway.
Amy @ Finer Things´s last [type] ..Heal My Sole Giveaway
Hey there, first timer here. Linked up with the Etsy Edition.
Joules´s last [type] ..Top Ten Tuesday Songs to Get Your Rear in Gear – Old Fogy Style
We have checked out I Dreamt I Was a Dinosaur and Secret Seahorse from the library and LOVED them. There are so many cute books here, but I would choose Elusive Moose or I Wish I Was a Pilot. Love this giveaway!
Joules´s last [type] ..Top Ten Tuesday Songs to Get Your Rear in Gear – Old Fogy Style
Twitter: longwait4bella
says:
Cleo’s Alphabet book looks great for my toddler. Thanks for sharing these books with us.
LaVonne´s last [type] ..Do Your Best
Twitter: longwait4bella
says:
I liked up to TILT this week
LaVonne´s last [type] ..Do Your Best
Twitter: mothershideaway
says:
That alphabet book is so so cute!! Linked up!!
Mothers’ Hideaway´s last [type] ..WHACK!
Thanks for the tips on the books! I’ll check them out! Thanks!
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy´s last [type] ..Balsamic Sauteed Chicken Breasts
I love Pam and Barefoot Books! I hosted a party for her before Christmas, and it was so fun. I had the moms bring their kids in their pjs, and she read them a bedtime story while they had cookies and milk.
I would love the Portside Pirates book and the red dragon puppet!
Pam
Twitter: cherishreality
Reply:
February 4th, 2011 at 9:07 am
Pam´s last [type] ..New Project 52
I had never heard of Barefoot Books but they look awesome! I would order Port Side Pirates for my son as he is so into Pirates right now and then I would order some books in Spanish as our daughter is still living in Guatemala as we try and finish her adoption. I am planning on taking her some Spanish books in March when we go and visit her and these would be great.
We’ve been enjoying Barefoot Books since last summer…our favorite is Driving My Tractor…which there is a you tube version of, FYI. My son has Journey Home From Grandpas on his list – which is full of lots of cool vehicles and our current favorite…diggers! Portside Pirates is also on our list! Great company…I;m hoping to use their books in my language curriculum for my students next year!
I like Kid’s Kitchen…my 3yo would love having recipes she could help with. These look like great books, will have to spend more time browsing around!
So fun to have you back! Missed you last week!
Love hearing about new books- so fun! I am linked up, but am not stateside these days. Bummer.
Thanks again-
Miss Mommy {Emily}
Miss Mommy/Emily´s last [type] ..Things I Love Thursday- My online job
I would get If Your Happy and You Know it from Barefoot Books….There are so many great ones!
Hi there! Emily sent me over today.
I really like The Gigantic Turnip book. I think I’ve read a version of this in a board book and it was really cute. My daughter also loves to listen to books on CD, so this would be great.
Thanks for doing the giveaway!
Kate from Kinda Crunchy Kate blog´s last [type] ..Green and Frugal Decorating Ideas- Paint It!
Twitter: newmom09
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I linked up!
http://theblessedmom.com/2011/02/snow-day/
Twitter: newmom09
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There is so much I could get from Barefoot Books!
Two I saw that I would definitely order are:
I Spy the Sun in the Sky and Cleo’s Colors.
My daughter would love both of them!
Thanks for sharing!
Glad I found the group. I added a recipe for my ultimate splurge (love) dish – Fettucine Carbonara. Easy and dreamy creamy!
Thanks for hosting!
twitter: mdtsobe
Michelle @onandoffmyplate´s last [type] ..A Splurge Fettuccine Carbonara
My daughter would LOVE the Hidden Hippo – she gets such a kick out of “finding” things in her own books, I think that would be right up her alley.
Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie´s last [type] ..Etsy Finds
I think my 6 year old would like Let’s Sail to Galapagos and the Pirate book, and my 2.5 year old could use any of the cleo books and/or Listen Listen. I saw a lot that would be great additions to our book shelves. Thank you for introducing us to this company.
Ooh those look like fun! I would get the African Tales book… or maybe the Indian tales… or maybe the Tales from the Silk Road (all would have significance for our family) and it would be so hard to choose just one!
Kangaroos Have Joeys looks perfect for my cousin who turns 3 next month. He has a world map mural on his bedroom wall and animal toys from all over!
Kelsey´s last [type] ..I’ll Pray for You…No- Just Kidding
I also particpated in TILT as “Online Prayer Organization.”
Twitter: nikksworld
says:
My son loves these books! We check one out every week at the library, but I had no idea they had things like the Kid’s kitchen — which is exactly what I would get with the giftcard. so fun! thanks for the giveaway.
I love the Kid’s Kitchen book. We’ve been doing a baking project every week and this looks really fun!
Pam
Twitter: cherishreality
Reply:
February 6th, 2011 at 8:53 am
Kid’s Kitchen is actually a card deck…each recipe is an oversized card with simple directions, and it also includes cards with basic kitchen safety rules/tips. Great choice!
Pam´s last [type] ..Yoga Pretzels
Port Side Pirates! We already have the train book, and I love ALL of them!
Fireside Stories is my favorite
I have been seeing a lot of these books lately and been wanting to pick up a few for my toddler. They look really awesome. I would love the barefoot gift set but that is way too expensive, so I would be happy with something like “The Animal Boogie”! =)
Twitter: marriedlife
says:
I would pick Up and Down the Andes or one of the other books about other countries/places. I need some more “grown up” books for my almost 4 year old and these look really cool!
I would love to have The Barefoot Book of Faeries!
The Barefoot Book of Princesses would be great for my little girl