Barefoot Books

In an effort to hopefully bring in some extra income for my family, I made the decision to be a Barefoot Books ambassador.  I have been looking for more ways to supplement my husbands income for a while, but being a Mom of 3, one of which is nursing, has SIGNIFICANTLY limited where I could go to work some.  I had looked around at things like this before and couldn't really decide on anything.  I needed one that I truly supported, and that wasn't a huge investment.  Then I stumbled upon Barefoot Books.  These are BEAUTIFULLY illustrated award winning books (isn't that monster just the cutest?), and I love me some Children's books.  So after some thought and talking it over with the hubs, we decided that it is something I could do.  I am excited to get to know these books more, and feel free to go check out their website.  If you are ever interested, you can order books online.  What I really liked is that the prices aren't any different from any other books, there are some in the $6 range and some in the upper teens-oh, and you can get 20% off until June 30th, click on link to the right!  It's great!  But to me, what sets these apart are how alive they are, and how captivating the illustrations are. Along with award winning books, you can also find stickers, puzzles, and hand puppets, and more. Excited to see what the future brings!  And hopefully increase my children's love of books and reading!

(PS, another awesome part of Barefoot books is that you can do fundraisers for your local schools or your favorite church or other organization!)

Skippyjon Jones

Skippyjon Jones

By: Judy Schachner

Addressing Bullying with a simple book

Have you read this book?  Have you seen this book around? Well this book is pretty fantastic.  This book is about the color blue, and his bully red.  Such a phenomenal book.  Seriously.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Pinkalicious

By: Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann

This is currently a favorite book at our house.  It is requested by name (sorta) "cake"-ok, not sorta, but it is about cupcakes.  We are learning about colors and we almost have pink down.  This is such a cute book.  I enjoy reading it because of the animation in the reading.  The illustrastions are fun as well.  It is just an all over fun read, for parents/teachers, and kids!

A Plump and Perky Turkey

A Plump and Perky Turkey

Written by: Teresa Bateman

Illustrated by: Jeff Shelly

This is such a great book.  Perfect for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  It is about a town that can't find any turkeys to eat for their Thanksgiving dinner, so they come up with an idea to lure a Turkey to their town-only to be outsmarted by this fine feathered friend.  What I love most about this is in the end, the town still finds something to be thankful for!  This book is perfect for Thanksgiving! (and it's funny too)

Don't let the Pigeon stay up Late!

By: Mo Willems

I don't know if I could even begin to tell you how much I love these pigeon books.  They are just so funny to me.  I also love the illustrations.  I love funky illustrations that are different but still good.  This is one book (along with all of the other pigeon books belonging to the pigeon "saga") that I would suggest to anyone.  I just think they are so cute and funny.  This particular one is about a pigeon not wanting to go to bed, and wanting to stay up, all while yawning and slowly falling asleep.  This reminded me of pretty much every child out there!  Mine is too young to act this way, but I'd imagine I/we were all a little bit like this at one point in time.

It's so fun having books you can relate to! 

H is for Hair Fairy

An Alphabet of Encouragement and Insight for Kids (and Kids at Heart!) With Cancer

Written by: Kim Martin

Illustrated by: Wend Boomhower

Have I mentioned how much I love Alphabet books?  Well, I love them lots.  This one was written and Illustrated by 2 people I grew up going to church with.  It is an alphabet about Cancer, mostly giving encouragement and insight (best way to explain it, also written on the cover!).  This is such a good book, and a great one to have in your home or in your classroom, especially if you know someone facing this trial.  Visit the website, HairFairy.org for more information, and to order a book for yourself or classroom!

You will also notice on their website, the "Hair Fairy Project".  What this is, is that on the day a child or young adult loses their hair, Mr. and Mrs. Hair fairy leave a gift, note, and this book for that child/young adult.  I think this is a fantastic project, soo much love and caring goes into this.  Cancer has not affected my immediate family as of yet, but I have seen it in other people's lives.  Anything to make those affected smile or bring hope and happiness is such a wonderful thing.   Donations are gladly accepted.

"H is for Hoosier" An Indiana Alphabet

Written by: Author Cynthia Furlong Reynolds

Illustrator: Bruce Langton

Published by Sleeping Bear Press

 

 

Love love LOVE this book!  I got it for Christmas from (I think) my little sister a few years ago.  I am from Indiana, so that makes this book all the more special.  The illustrations are just perfect, and have a way of capturing the feel and beauty of Indiana.  It also is perfect for any "school" aged group.  There is a short easy read on each page, as well as a  more indepth page.  And I know there aren't as many people out there who share the same love for Indiana as I do, which is why I decided on this book to post about because there is a book for EVERY STATE!  Your favorite, least favorite, whatever.  There is also an Alphabet book about Moms, Golf, Basketball, fishing, Halloween, horses....there are just sooo many!  Check them out here!  This is honestly one of my most favorites, if you are a teacher, it is perfect for the classroom!  And if you aren't, it is just as perfect for the home.

A Christmas Book (in Janurary,,,whoops)

Snowmen at Christmas
By: Caralyn Buehner
Illustrated by: Mark Buehner

This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE Christmas book (yes, we are going back in time and are going to bring back the Christmas feeling for a bit). This book (to me) just has the BEST illustrations, the coloring and the feeling it brings just looks like Christmas to me. The last page showing Christmas morning, is the Christmas morning I picture in my mind. At my house, as a child, we always woke up before the sun came up because we wanted to open presents in the dark so we could have the glow of the Christmas tree (once it got light it was fun to see that the shirt you thought was black was actually red or purple :) ). The story is just as cute. There is also another book by the same people called Snowmen at Night (another great book). Check them out! I love them!

An Alphabet Book

Gone Wild

An Endangered Animal Alphabet

By: David McLimans

I LOVE this book.  Not much to it, just an alphabet, and only in black, white, and a little red, but it really introduce kids to endangered animals and sparks some great conversation about the animals around us.  I read this to my little one last night and she was entranced by the pictures-her type of book, being 4 months old she still likes the contrast of the black and white.  I have read this book to a group of preschoolers, and they also liked this book a lot.  I think it can also be used for older kids especially to introduce discussion on endangered animals.

Fitting for a Tuesday

Tuesday

By:  David Wiesner

I have always loved this book.  Now if you don't know this book, there are practically no words.  Fantastic for an imagination boost!   If your child is old enough, make up your own words, or just sit and look and the awesome illustrations and let your mind go!  I think this book should be found in every home.  It is different and fun.  Check it out for yourself.  One of the best ways to get kids excited for reading is to be excited yourself!!!

Early Reading

How sweet is that?  Bryn now gets a story read by her daddy every night.  She loves to just sit and listen.  What a perfect picture.  Even if she doesn't know what is being said, she is still learning how to listen!