Children’s Book Week 2014: Kid Lit Giveaway Hop

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Brittany

Are you a children’s book or teen literature blogger, an author, a publisher, or a publicist

looking to share copies of a fabulous book? Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews are joining forces to provide you with the opportunity to take part in a Blog Hop featuring links to giveaways for fabulous children/teen’s books, gift cards, cash, or other prizes. What better way to celebrate Children’s Book Week?

How Does it Work?

Dates: May 12 to 18, 2014

Posts must go live at 12:01AM (EST) on May 12, 2014
Giveaway must end on May 18, 2014 @ 11:59PM (EST)

(If using Rafflecopter, set your widget to end on MAY 19th at 12:00am)

Cost: FREE!

Prize: Children/Teen’s Book and/or a Gift Card

If your prize consists of a book, it must be one appropriate for children/youth under the age of 18. You can also offer an Amazon gift card, a credit at the Book Depository, or PayPal cash as a prize (minimum $10) in conjunction with a book OR in lieu of a book, but your post MUST discuss children’s books or literature. Links to posts just offering a gift card or cash with no mention of children/teen’s books or literature will be removed from the linky list. If unsure, email me!

Posting Requirements:

Posts must be published no later than May 12, 12:01 am, 2014 ~ Posting early is ok.

Posting late is not ok.

Your post must contain the following information (clearly visible):

Event Button
Giveaway Details
Links to the Hostesses (Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews)
Giveaway Linky List

The event button, links to hostesses, and linky code will be emailed to you on Monday, May 5, 2014.

Please send me your direct URL once your post goes live, or if possible you can send me your permalink ahead of time. Failure to send me your link within 24 hours of the start of the Giveaway Hop will result in the removal of your link from the linky. If you send me the direct link after the 24 hours deadline, it will be added to the bottom of the list.

Adding a Link to the Linky:

To enter the Giveaway Hop, you simply have to enter the homepage of your website followed by the country restrictions (i.e., Who can enter? US; US/CAN;WW; other). Once your post is ready you can send me the permalink as described above.

Deadline for Sign-Ups: May 9, 11:59 pm (EST), 2014

The linky will close and no additional links will be accepted.

Promoting the Kid Lit Giveaway Hop

We need YOUR help in spreading the word about the Kid Lit Giveaway Hop. You are certainly not required to do anything other than sign up if you wish to participate, but we would sure appreciate your help by either posting about the sign-ups, tweeting about it, or sharing the information within your circles or even popping the event button up in your sidebar. We are also happy to provide you with the full post HTML code if you would be willing to post about this sign-up. Just email Renee @ Mother Daughter Book Reviews. The more sign-ups the better for all of us!

Questions?

Please feel free to contact either Renee [renee (at)motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com] or Katie [YouthLitReviews (at) live (dot) com]. We are here to answer any questions you may have.

Sign-Up Below

You will be asked to enter the title you want displayed in the linky list (please add country restrictions in brackets), a link to your home page (or direct URL if you have it), and your name and email address.

* Like our fancy event banner? We used designbox1 from Fiverr to create it. Ask me about it!*

Easter Basket Books & Trinkets

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Brittany

Easter is nearly here this year (although, the weather hasn’t quite caught up yet!), and many parents are preparing for the visit from the Easter bunny. While Easter is certainly a religious holiday, first and foremost, my family always gave us Easter baskets before church, so that is a tradition I plan to carry on with my children. However, our children’s baskets will be simple without fuss or (too much) candy.

Here are a few book options for Easter baskets along with several fun trinkets my son will be receiving! I love the idea of introducing the Tales of Peter Rabbit at Easter or Duck & Goose is always a sweet board book tale. What is Easter? is a wonderful book about the true meaning of Easter in simple language for toddlers.

Marshmallow

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes (Sandpiper Books)

What Is Easter?

Duck & Goose, Here Comes the Easter Bunny!

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Here are a few fun toys and trinkets we’re including in our son’s Easter basket:

Weebles Lamb and Chick // Melissa & Doug Farm Chunky Puzzle // Zubels Bunny Boy Collin

My First Easter Basket – Baby Gund

Maisy and the Missing Mice: Book Blast & Giveaway

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Brittany

About the Book

Summary: Maisy Sawyer is not your average fourth grade student. She is a detective with a special skill for solving mysteries. She loves black and white mystery movies, cherry lollipops, and her dog, Reesie. When a thief known as The Black Boot steals the school’s mascots and her lollipops, Maisy sets out to solve the case. Can she help return the mice to their home in the science lab? Will she ever see her beloved lollipops again? Find out in the first book in The Maisy Files series.

REVIEW:

When I was a child, Inspector Gadget, Clue, and Nancy Drew were all a part of my reading and viewing excitement. Mystery books for intermediate readers are always fun and a great way to engage even less motivated readers. Maisy gets fees for her detective services in lollipops, cherry only. This detail tickled me as a reader but also because my childhood requests would be cherry Jolly Ranchers, only. Furthermore, the plot is fun and great for child readers as they guess the clues. I would certainly encourage many readers to pick up this delightful mystery!

Book Trailer

Purchase

Amazon | Createspace

* NOTE: Available for only 99 cents through Amazon. OR, you can receive 15% off the regular price of the print version of Maisy and the Missing Mice by visiting https://www.createspace.com/4368649 in the month of March and entering the code RXJN6DUZ upon checking out.

The Buzz

“Woodrum certainly knows her target audience and does a very nice job with the character development of Maisy. This is an incredibly kid-friendly story that makes a great introduction to the genre of mystery for newly independent readers. It’s a quick page turning read that encourages kids to think outside of the box.” ~ The Children’s Book Review

“My name is Kat. I am 9 years old. I would rate this a five because I like everything about it, the mystery the most. It was fun to read. My favorite part was the mystery and the end. I love this book so much. I think other kids would love it too because it has mystery and most kids would like mystery books. Most mystery books have a good mystery. I would love to read the whole series.” ~ 5 Star Review, Heather A., Amazon

“I knew I would love this book simply because I knew it would remind me of the mystery books I read in my childhood. I really love how much trust the teachers and community as a whole put in Maisy. She is well deserving of their admiration as the way she finds clues and finds the mascot for the school is well thought out. This is a story any child would love to read. I hope Maisy continues to solve mysteries…” ~ 5 Star Review, Josh, Amazon

About the Author: Elizabeth Woodrum

Elizabeth Woodrum

Elizabeth Woodrum is an elementary teacher in Ohio. She came to love writing when she was in elementary school, but more recently began writing material for use in her classroom. From that writing, grew the desire to write books for the general population of children and adults alike. The Maisy Files, a children’s series, is the first series that she has published. The series currently has one book, Maisy and the Missing Mice. Elizabeth plans to add more books to the series, and would also like to publish books for adults in the future.

As a reader, Elizabeth prefers the fantasy genre, but she enjoys realistic fiction as well. Some of her favorite authors include JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Rick Riordan, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, and Nicholas Sparks. Originally from Indiana, Elizabeth currently resides near Dayton, Ohio with her two pets: a cat named Butterscotch and a dog named Reese Cup.

Book Website | Author Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

* $25 Book Blast Giveaway *

Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice)

Contest ends: April 18, 11:59 pm, 2014

Open: Internationally

How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Elizabeth Woodrum and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Books that Blossom Young Readers

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Brittany

Recently, my writing students worked on a Literacy Narrative project (more assignment details coming – they were fascinating!). In the project, we discussed books that these young college freshman remembered from his or her childhood. Out of 100 students, many of the same titles came up over and over as favorites. As a childhood literature fan, I was fascinated to hear the titles of books that actually stay with children through adulthood.

Dr. Seuss & Green Eggs & Ham

[A clear majority of my students grew up with Dr. Seuss, either in their home or classroom. The rhymes and wacky cartoons must've made quite an impact as it was easily many students early listening experience.]

Love You Forever

[Munsch's picture book was another favorite of many of my students. For many, this early literacy experience brought back memories of parents, bedtime, and reading with a parent. The repetition of this sweet story seems to have as much of an impact on children and adults.]

An extraordinarily different story by Robert Munsch is a gentle affirmation of the love a parent feels for their child–forever. Sheila McGraw’s soft and colorful pastels perfectly complement the sentiment of the book–one that will be read repeatedly for years.

Junie B. Jones

[This series, according to my students, taught a generation how to read and how to love to read. Despite my lack of familiarity with Junie B., I was astounded as to what an impact this series made on my own students' literacy experience. Perhaps, the analogy I've been thinking of is how many readers of my generation loved Ramona by Beverly Cleary. After this project, I'd recommend this series for any beginning reader.]

Meet the World’s Funniest Kindergartner—Junie B. Jones!

Remember when it was scary to go to school? With over 50 million books in print, Barbara Park’s New York Times bestselling chapter book series, Junie B. Jones, is a classroom favorite and has been keeping kids laughing—and reading—for over 20 years! In the 1st Junie B. Jones book, it’s Junie B.’s first day and she doesn’t know anything. She’s so scared of the school bus and the meanies on it that when it’s time to go home, she doesn’t.

The Magic Tree House

[Similiar to the Junie B. series, The Magic Tree House series has been helping young readers improve their reading skills along with being excited to read more adventures. This series grew along with the young readers as they read longer chapter books, and the readers loved the adventure of this series. Again, I would recommend this series to reluctant, struggling, or disinterested readers - along with those readers looking for an exciting series!]

Jack and Annie are ready for their next fantasy adventure in the bestselling middle-grade series—the Magic Tree House! Where did the tree house come from? Before Jack and Annie can find out, the mysterious tree house whisks them to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark . . . or will they become a dinosaur’s dinner?

Harry Potter

[It's quite easy for us book lovers to take for granted what an huge impact this series had on young children who may or may not have had an interest in picking up a piece of fiction. J.K. Rowling did truly inspire a generation of readers, and for that, I was reminded during this project. I imagine we'll be studying, discussing, reading, and enjoying Harry Potter for decades to come.]

Tell us what books or series helped you or your children become readers?

Excerpts and Covers via Goodreads

Heidi: An Alpine Classic

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Brittany

After an unintended long hiatus from Tales of a Bookworm, I’m back to share some great books I’ve been reading!

Heidi is a book that’s been published in over 60 languages, that is a beloved classic, and that was written in 1880. In my childhood, I very much enjoyed the outdoor Alpine lifestyle Heidi was able to live. Rereading it as an adult has been just as, or even more so, enjoyable.

As an orphan, Heidi is given to her grandfather, who is known in their small Alpine town in Switzerland as the curmudgeonly goat herder. Heidi looks through life with a rosy hued lens; and thus, she won over her grumpy grandfather. Together, they lived a simple lifestyle of steep, green mountains herding goats. Peter, who is not quite taken with Heidi, is a local young goat herder, with whom Heidi loves to follow. Peter, Heidi, and her grandfather enjoy their somewhat isolated life with goats, fresh milk, and fresh air.

Then, through a series of events, Heidi is sent to the city of Frankfurt as a companion to a wealthy, sick girl named Clara. While Clara and Heidi become the closest of friends, Heidi’s spirit seems to wither away without the fresh mountain air. Much of the book leaves the reader wondering if she will ever get back to her beloved mountains and grandfather.

Spyri’s descriptions of the Swiss mountains will make any reader want to hike up a steep hill and yodel for joy. The author also describes the fresh milk, bread, and cheese in such a way that makes the reader hungry for Swiss food. Furthermore, her characters and their interactions work to keep the reader interested in the plot.

While the book may seem sappy or overly sweet to a modern reader, it’s important to suspend that sense of disbelief to fall into Heidi’s world. It’s a classic book for it’s true escapism to another place, another time, and a happy ending.