One day last week, I was in line for a coffee at the drive thru. When it was my turn to pay, the worker told me not to worry about it. The driver in front of me did it already.
I was totally flabbergasted. Did I know the driver? Who was it? Let me at least leave a tip.
I called J later to tell him about my good fortune and the first thing he asked me was, "So did you pay for the driver behind you?"
Um, no. Apparently I'm all about accepting random acts of kindness but not doling them out.
I'd like to think that that kind gesture would have occurred to me on my own later on and I continue to blame my state of shock for not paying forward the first driver's generosity.
But here's further proof of my greedy ways:
Yesterday when it was announced on Ohdeedoh that I won the February Jump Start Project, I posted a comment thanking Ohdeedoh and Etsy for the opportunity and the $250 gift certificate. And, of course, I thanked the voters too.
Then I asked for everyone's suggestions on how to spend the money. On fabric? Craft books? Art? Darling clothes for my daughters?
One of the other contestants replied that if she had won she was going to buy something to give away to readers of her blog as a thank you.
Why. didn't. I. think. of. that?
I swear I was raised well. My parents are very gracious people. OK, my mom is a bit of a hooligan. But still. I really should have put all of you in the forefront of my mind, especially since so many of you headed over there and voted for me, for Pete's sake.
So ... a day late ... As a way to say THANK YOU to all of you, I'm going to make and give away a hanging book display like the one in the contest.
The package will include the dowels and curtain rod brackets (which come with screws), as well as the fabric part that holds the books, of course. The winner will just need some basic tools--drill, level, stud finder--to hang it up.
To enter, please leave a comment below telling me your favorite book to read to your child or what your favorite book was as a child if you don't have kids. I'll take entries until Wednesday, March 11 at 11:59 p.m., then will print off the entries, cut out each one and have the girls draw a winner.
I'll announce the winner here on Thursday, March 12, and then that person and I can talk about how far apart your studs are and what fabric you want me to use (we have some great fabric stores in Spokane that carry all the good stuff).
So, spread the word and let me know if you have any questions. This'll be fun.
P.S. I have since paid the tab of a driver behind me at the coffee drive thru. There is hope for me yet.
One of my favorite books to read is Where the Wild Things Are. I loved it as a child and I love reading it to my kids. My favorite part is when we all get up and dance when the monsters dance. Thanks for such a lovely giveaway.
Posted by: Leslie | March 04, 2009 at 11:47 PM
One of my favorite books as a child was Ten Apples Up on Top because it was the first book I ever read. I still remember reading it for the first time and being amazed that those letters made sense! When my son was born, I bought it for him and I loved the illustrations even more. I can't wait to teach it to him!
Posted by: Whitney | March 05, 2009 at 12:24 AM
I loved reading The Pink Motel with my mom. She also read that book when she was young. We liked to laugh at the funny characters.
Posted by: Kelsey | March 05, 2009 at 12:27 AM
my three year old currently loves 'Go Dog, Go!' and 'Are You My Mother?' i am thrilled he loves books as i grew up with a mum reading to me - i remember fondly the 'Narnia Chronicles' and 'The Faraway Tree' as childhood favourites.
Posted by: michelle | March 05, 2009 at 03:47 AM
I bought my daughter this huge book containing some 365 fairy tales and she simply loves it. The stories are short enough to make it possible to read more than one each night and she like bargaining about how many I am to read her!
Posted by: Paul Grech | March 05, 2009 at 04:27 AM
I love reading to my kids, we spend a good 45 minutes every night, it's my favorite time of the day. I particularly enjoy reading Ramona the Pest because I have such fond memories of reading that book when I was little.
Posted by: Mom24@4evermom | March 05, 2009 at 07:59 AM
Our current favorite story is A Snowy Day!
Posted by: Rhonda | March 05, 2009 at 08:18 AM
I will bookmark this post as a great ressource for children's books ideas.
My favorite book to read with my kids is Our Animal Friends At Maple Hill Farm by Alice Provensen and Martin Provensen.
And our favorite book+CD is Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids(http://www.amazon.com/Carnival-Animals-Classical-Music-Kids/dp/0805061800/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=ISC4665ELOYFB&colid=26ID0F8YKY4VG)
Posted by: steph | March 05, 2009 at 09:25 AM
My favorite book is Chicka Chick Boom Boom. My kids love and know all the words. It is really fun!
Love the bookshelf, I am so going to make this for my kids!!!
Posted by: Natalie Putnam | March 05, 2009 at 09:45 AM
My daughter LOVES "10 Minutes to Bedtime" At 15 months she was yelling "Bedtime" when we got to that page!
Posted by: Sarah Cosper | March 05, 2009 at 10:40 AM
When I was little, I always loved "The Monster at the End of This Book" starring lovable, furry old Grover, and "The Dot and the Line" by Norman Juster. My little one is too little to have favorite books yet, although she does like to look at the books a lot.
Posted by: Shannon | March 05, 2009 at 11:07 AM
Seriously, coolest giveaway ever!
As a kid I loved the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. My son is currently into all things Peter Pan, and we read the Little Golden Book version of the Disney movie over and over and over....:)
Posted by: Valerie | March 05, 2009 at 12:30 PM
This *is* super cool! My daughter's favorite at the moment is "Twas the Night Before Christmas_... still. (It does mean that she walks around the house muttering "in spite of myself" to herself, which is pretty cute.)
My favorite to read to her at the moment is "Everywhere Babies" -- there's so much to look at on each page, and I love the diversity of family configurations portrayed in its pages.
Posted by: michaela | March 05, 2009 at 12:47 PM
My favorite story to read to my daughter, 2, is one I made up as I went along. We sat on the floor at bedtime after reading a few books and she wanted a new story so I told her a story about how much she loved to sing, but one day a giant purple spider came and store her voice and she had to come find mommy so I could help her to get her voice back (and she had to find a way to tell me, without a voice). As I'm telling her this story, she's leaning on my shoulder and smiling bigger and bigger and when we get to the end of the story she says "Again!"
Posted by: jenjen | March 05, 2009 at 01:29 PM
our favorite book is "big cat, small cat" (it's written in hebrew). my 2.5 year old son loves it and can tell us the story since there are only a few words per page.
i love your idea and we are planning on doing it very soon. Thank you!!!
Posted by: elana | March 05, 2009 at 01:34 PM
I think MK's current fave is the little kid version of the Marley book...it's called "Bad Dog, Marley!" It's not that the book is so wonderful, more that we have our very own bad dog (Sid) so I think she enjoys knowing that other people have to say "Bad Dog!" constantly! :) (Other current faves are the Knuffle Bunny series by Mo Willems and a cute little book called Bittle by Patricia MacLachlan). ps I'm out of the running for this contest, Mimi, I just wanted to share our favorite books!:)
Posted by: nis | March 05, 2009 at 01:54 PM
How cool is it that random things like coffee and crafting can lead you to want to give back. I'm sure I would have done the exact same and reveled in my good luck for a while before deciding to give back but the point is that it stuck with you and you did decide to give back. There's no time limit on generosity.
My favorite book from when I was a little girl is Anne of Green Gables. My mom read it to me and then she read all the squeals. I don't know what my child's favorite will be but I hope the Anne stories will be among them.
Posted by: Klay | March 05, 2009 at 02:30 PM
my daughters favorite book is beetle bop and i'm the biggest thing in the ocean.
seriously awesome giveaway. have been wanting to make one since you posted about it.
Posted by: arah | March 05, 2009 at 04:25 PM
What a wonderful idea! My children, who are now in college, always loved "Are you my mother?". My son would say mudder and it was so precious. If I win, I will be paying it forward to my 2 year old niece. Thanks for offering this contest.
Posted by: Pam | March 05, 2009 at 04:40 PM
This is so great! I love reading all these book suggestions and will have to write a post with Amazon links to all of these books when the contest is over.
Many you all have mentioned are some of our favorites, too. Especially "Everywhere Babies," Michaela, which I love for the same reason you do. And there are lots of new ones here we'll have to check out.
Keep 'em coming!
Posted by: Megan | March 05, 2009 at 04:43 PM
I love (and still read) the Little House series. My favorite books of the series are Little House in the Big Woods and Farmer Boy!
Posted by: Jenna Z | March 05, 2009 at 04:48 PM
Jenna Z--when did you start reading Little House to your kids? I cannot wait for that day, but I assume 3 1/2 is too young to start.
Posted by: Megan | March 05, 2009 at 04:52 PM
I have too many favorites to list just one so I chose two. A recent fave that we found at the library and have checked out many times it YO!YES? by Chris Raschka, A fantastic yet simple story of two boys meeting on the street. I love Dr Seuss, my kids are not quite old enough for it yet but, Oh The Places You'll Go, is brilliant!..... Eco babies wear green and HUG! are also top on our list... Sorry I have so many faves I can't stop at just one!!
Posted by: Mariah Neeson | March 05, 2009 at 07:21 PM
My favorite book to read to my friends' kids, former students, myself, my husband, people I meet on the street, et cetera is "A Bad Case of The Stripes" by David Shannon. It's briliant and the pictures are MAGIC.
Kids of my own are still about a year away, so I take myself out of the contest...I really just wanted to get the "Stripes" name out there to all you reading mommies :)
Posted by: mkpoggie | March 06, 2009 at 12:25 AM
I love Like Butter On Pancakes. It is beautiful and poetic. I savor the language every time I read it and hope my children feel it as much as I do. Thank you!
Posted by: emily | March 06, 2009 at 02:02 PM
What an amazing giveaway! Thank you so much. My favorite book to read my daughter right now is The Little House. I have my aunt's copy of the book from 1969. When I was growing up, I was a huge fan of Harry the Dirty Dog and my husband loved The Caboose Who Got Loose.
Posted by: Candyce | March 06, 2009 at 02:13 PM
eloise was my favorite!!
anyway - random acts of kindness are just that - random - so it doesnt matter if you pay it forward right then or wait until later and surprise someone else.
Posted by: ecky | March 06, 2009 at 03:05 PM
Love reading on the farm with my daughter.
=) melanie
melanieadey at hotmail dot com
Posted by: melanie | March 06, 2009 at 03:14 PM
I have been working in Education for over 12 years and my favorite book for Pre-schoolers has always been "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munsch.
In this book, the princess saves the prince from the dragon and when the prince tells her that she's too dirty and ragged (after saving him!) and to come back when she looks like a real princess, she tells him that even though he may be a fancy prince, he's a bum...and she runs off happily in the sunset in her dirty paper bag by herself.
I think the message that you don't have to have a fancy prince in order to live happily ever after is a great one for all of the "princess obsessed" little girls out there. I now have a 3 year old little princess myself and we both love this book!
Posted by: Claudia Cerrato | March 06, 2009 at 03:36 PM
I can't remember a particular book off the top of my head. I LOVED my nature books on animals. I still have one book that I got in school that has to do with taking in orphaned or injured animals and rehabilitating them. I LOVED that book. I still have that book and the nature books.
Posted by: nfmgirl | March 06, 2009 at 03:53 PM
My favorite book as a child was Tikki Tikki Tembo. I am a curriculum facilitator at an elementary school. There are many favorites, but a recent favorite is Flossie and the Fox. The book hammock is beautiful.
http://www.amazon.com/Tikki-Tembo-Arlene-Mosel/dp/0805006621
http://www.amazon.com/Flossie-Fox-Patricia-McKissack/dp/0803702507/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236377337&sr=1-1
Posted by: Tammy | March 06, 2009 at 05:09 PM
When I was little - I loved "Come Over to My House" I had to have my mom read it to me DAILY! :)
Posted by: Celeste | March 06, 2009 at 06:49 PM
My favorite book as a child was the Dr Suess sleep book but my girls perfer the rainbow goblins (which was also a childhood fave of mine)
Posted by: Noreen | March 07, 2009 at 01:49 AM
My favorite as a child, and one of my favorites to read to my daughter, is the classic Goodnight Moon. Another one I love is Time for Bed by Mem Fox. I could go on all day about this!
I must tell you, I LOVE this book pocket idea! It's great!
Posted by: Serena | March 07, 2009 at 02:24 AM
My favourite book as a child was Cinderella. I loved fairytales with happy endings, especially those with beautiful princesses and handsome princes.
Posted by: Aik | March 07, 2009 at 10:26 AM
We have many favorites here - right now I am loving Oliver Jeffers' books to read to my daughters.
Posted by: Sara | March 07, 2009 at 10:43 AM
I loved to read Raindrop Plop with my daughter. She has outgrown it but I still love to look at the sweet illustrations of the critters by Pam Paparone. We would love to win your cool book display!
Thanks! foxsquirrelrabbit at gmail dot com
Posted by: oona b | March 07, 2009 at 02:15 PM
LOVE LOVE LOVE the book sling!! Our favorite book right now is Fish Kisses and Gorilla Hugs by Marianne Richmond. It's about Ralphie Mix at the age of Six who didn't want to go to bed! It's a silly cuddly book with lots of interaction, and we read it almost every night.
Posted by: Aubrey | March 07, 2009 at 02:23 PM
This would be so awesome! My favorite books to read to my children are Dr. Suess. They are like comfort food to me!
Posted by: Abby | March 07, 2009 at 03:04 PM
My daughter's favorite book of the moment is Flotsam by David Wiesner. It's a beautifully illustrated book without any words so the story is different everytime depending upon what details you notice when reading.
Posted by: lisa g | March 07, 2009 at 04:38 PM
what a great piece
Posted by: jillian | March 08, 2009 at 01:20 AM
i loved anything by dr. seuss, and enjoy reading them to my son.
Posted by: erin | March 08, 2009 at 03:11 AM
Yay! An artistic, practical and affordable solution for a book display! I've considered rain gutter shelves for my son's "Book Nook", but I LOVE the fact that your display has the added element of fun, colorful fabric.
Our favorite book to read is A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry. We live in the city, but are blessed with a beautiful old Maple outside my boy's window. We sit in his story chair and listen to the birdsand blowing leaves as we read about the glories of all types of trees.
Posted by: J Doherty | March 08, 2009 at 04:13 AM
I just found your blog and I think these are very cool
Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of the contest
Posted by: Nancy | March 08, 2009 at 12:13 PM
oops i forgot
it would have to be beatrix potter stories
i just love them
Posted by: Nancy | March 08, 2009 at 12:14 PM
I love this book display because our house is so small it can save on space by having it on the wall. Fingers crossed!! Grace loves reading "The Growing Story" she laughs at the little boys belly button.
Love
Bethany
Posted by: beth | March 08, 2009 at 03:04 PM
Oh, what a great idea. My favorite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The colors of the illustrations and the cutouts for little fingers is just so much fun for my niece to discover.
Thank you!
Posted by: Kate S. | March 08, 2009 at 03:19 PM
We just checked out "Cowboy & Octopus" by Jon Scieszka (Illus. by Lane Smith) from the library a week ago and my 4 & 7 year olds make me read it at least once a day....we all laugh! It's our current fave that just may be destined to be a classic for us. Might be lost on a younger kid, though?! My all-time fave to read to little ones is "the Carrot Seed" by Ruth Krauss (Illus. by Crockett Johnson) because I love the simple strong message and illustrations. Don't give up no matter what everyone says. Kids really do know best sometimes. BRILLIANT book hanging. LOVED it over on Ohdeedoh and had to come and comment. Really nicely designed. Thanks for sharing it!
Posted by: Lisa Wright | March 08, 2009 at 09:49 PM
What a clever hanging tool! My children used to love going through the Where's Waldo books. My two grandchildren love to be read to, but are too young to have a preference yet!
Posted by: Debbie | March 09, 2009 at 04:46 AM
My favorite book to read to my 6 year old is Witches, Ghosts, and Goblins: A Spooky Search for Miranda's Cat by Ruthanna Long. This was a friend of mine's favorite book as a child. It is a fantastic chapter book with wonderful illustration.
Posted by: Nichola | March 09, 2009 at 11:09 AM
My favorite picture book that my dad read to me over and over was Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Every time we read it we laughed at the illustrations like we had never seen them before.
When I got older and could read on my own, I loved the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. I still read through the entire series nearly every year.
Posted by: Carrie | March 09, 2009 at 02:05 PM
I loved seeing this tutorial at Apartment Therapy. I bookmarked it because I want to do this when I turn my youngest son's room from a nursery into a toddler room in the next few months! So, for the favorite book question - my favorite as a child was An Invitation to the Butterfly Ball. My favorites to read to my kids - Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball and I Know a Rhino, both by Charles Fuge.
Posted by: Brandi | March 09, 2009 at 02:23 PM
I love to read "I spy books" to my kids...the 5 year old finds the harder things and the 3 year old gets the easier finds...they both love it...I love laying in bed with them on each side of me...it is a treat...
Posted by: kristine hanson | March 09, 2009 at 03:43 PM
I love reading Goodnight Moon to my 8 month old little girl.
The book displays look amazing!
Posted by: nancy freedman | March 09, 2009 at 03:50 PM
I love reading In the Night Kitchen to my little guy. As a kid I thought it was both creepy and cool. As an adult I love knowing how it was an homage to Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland. Great project!
Posted by: Katherine | March 09, 2009 at 07:09 PM
My daughter loves to listen to Each Peach Pear Plum given to me as a baby shower gift by a Reading Specialist.
Posted by: Heather | March 09, 2009 at 08:36 PM
Hi! When I was a little girl my older sister and I shared a bedroom. My sister would always read before bed and I would beg her to read aloud to me! After she was reading her 'big girl book' she would read a "Fraggle Rock" by Jim Henson book, I loved the cartoon! I am currently carrying my first baby, I am terribly excited, and I plan to read to my baby EVERY night! I am soo excited for motherhood! I LOVE your creation so thank you for giving me this oppurtunity!
Posted by: Janessa | March 10, 2009 at 11:35 PM
The Growing Story!!
Posted by: beth | March 11, 2009 at 08:56 PM
Your cool Megan!
Posted by: Mary Eberle | March 12, 2009 at 03:13 PM
Oh, bummer. I missed the giveaway. But the book slight is such a great idea. Thanks!
Posted by: urban craft | March 16, 2009 at 02:29 PM
an oldie but goodie that i love reading to my daughter is "goodnight moon"...and i just saw "goodnight seattle" the other day in a book store, so that's on my list!
great project & thanks for giving back!
Posted by: michele | March 25, 2009 at 05:08 PM
We love Charlie and Lola by Lauren Child. Lola pretty much always makes us laugh! And Pinkalicious too, this is my daughter's fave though I can say I dont need to read it anymore. (only of course because Ive memorized it!)
Posted by: Leigha | August 21, 2010 at 11:26 PM
My daughter loved "To Market" so much at 9 months that I had to buy her her own copy. Now at 9 years, it's still a family favorite!
Posted by: Kirsten | January 05, 2011 at 12:06 AM
My favorite children's book is 'Purple, Green, and Yellow' by Robert Munsch. I intend to get a few copies of this book for my future children as well (you know how children are...). lol. The book is about a young girl that craves the newest art supply for drawing. Reminds me so much of childhood, begging my mother for the new markers, crayons, and pencils. I still have a fascination with books and art supplies. :)
Posted by: Jen | January 05, 2011 at 06:06 PM
One of my favorite books to read is Goodnight Moon. It is a favorite in our house!
Posted by: M | January 12, 2011 at 04:42 PM
I have boys and they love all kinds of books. Their current favorite is Arthur Goes to Camp and the Wild Toboggan Ride.
Posted by: May | January 21, 2011 at 01:17 AM
"Bear Snores On" is my favorite book of all time. It's easy to do 'voices' for all the fun characters and the pictures are adorable.
Posted by: Christy | February 22, 2011 at 11:42 PM
LOVE THIS BOOK DISPLAY. I ALWAYS READ MY DAUGHTER Guess How Much I Love You BY
Sam McBratney
Posted by: TAMI | March 08, 2011 at 01:35 PM
Love that you Paid it Forward! We're an artsy bunch, I use to read Apples of Gold! It's a book that everybody should have in their library along with Wings of Silver. Passing down the tradition..
Posted by: Sharon Witten | June 01, 2011 at 11:30 AM
One of my favorite books from the time when I was about 6 years old and now when I'm in my...well...we won't go there - is Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein = )
Posted by: Jean Fagan | November 01, 2011 at 11:48 PM
My absolute favorite books are the Harry Potter series. They will be my favorite, forever and always, no matter how old I get. I don't have children yet, but when I do, they will grow up with many, many books in their lives. I started reading at an unusually early age and never really stopped. I love books and I think this idea is fabulous.
Posted by: Samantha | December 05, 2011 at 01:01 AM
I would love one of these for my sewing room. My children are all grown but Ithey loved it when I would read them Are you my mother.
Posted by: Judi | December 21, 2011 at 09:38 AM
One of my favorite childhood reads was One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss. As an educator, I believe that reading to your child as much as possible is the best gift you could give them. Did you know a child should have heard 5,000 stories before entering kindergarten to ensure better academic success? Please read to a child!!
Posted by: Melissa Hamm | December 25, 2011 at 06:06 PM
One of my favorite books, which is now my sons favorite book, is "Good Night Moon". My 2 year old spends time every night pointing out every object on the pages and practices his "words". :)
This book shelf is absolutely a perfect idea! Thank you for such a great giveaway!
Posted by: Kelsie Ward | December 27, 2011 at 12:50 PM
One of my favorite series as a kid was the Little House series but I read constantly too. I won the accelerated reader contest at my school 2 years in a row and got to meet two different authors! I hope my son (and future children) will be the same way! Right now he loves the "That's not my...." books but he also loves the Baby Einstein books too.
Posted by: Jamie Taliaferro | January 09, 2012 at 12:21 PM
This is the best idea ever! I have BINS of kids books (and yes more of my books too) I just don't have the heart to give away yet. We love to read in my house. I was reading (although I felt silly it paid off)in-utero to my kids. Now they love books too! My 4th grader was reading at a sixth grade level last year. My favorite to read to them has always been "Giraffes Can't Dance" by Giles Andreae, and illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees. It is a beautiful book. A must to check out. I also love Tasha Tudor books like the "Corgiville Fair" and with this new craft I think we can continue to let our book collection grow a bit.. we will just keep making these to keep them in! ***THANKS SO MUCH***
Posted by: TABBERDABBER | January 11, 2012 at 03:13 AM
One of our favourite books is 'Little Blue Truck'. It is a sweet rhyming story about how if you are kind to others, then others will be kind to you. Similar to your experience of paying it forward :)
Posted by: Jen | January 14, 2012 at 09:01 PM
My boys love "Baby Beluga", "Down by the Bay", and any Thomas book. They're 1 and 3 and all about books! This is so fun- I love the idea of hanging book displays!
Posted by: Lea | January 16, 2012 at 09:53 PM
My children's favorite book is called "I'll love you forever" where I sing I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.
I would love this sling for above my toilet in the bathroom. It would be great for keeping tidy the 'throne reading room' :). Thanks
Michele
Posted by: Michele Bailey | January 20, 2012 at 06:40 PM
Oh gee, just one favorite book ? I always thought "Put Me in The Zoo" to be really cute when I was young.
Posted by: Sheila Vives | January 21, 2012 at 02:47 PM
Our favorite books are the Llama Llama books. We also love Skippy John Jones. There are so many fun kids books and we love love love to read!! What a great idea you've come up with to store books!! Thank you.
Posted by: Diana W. | January 21, 2012 at 07:54 PM
I don't remember being read to as a child so I've tried to reverse that in my own daughter. Savannah loves reading a Bible that her grandmother bought her. She asks to read the story with the "rainbow" every night (Noah's Ark). My little four year old picks a favorite Bible story every few months and wants it read over and over until she has it basically memorized.
Posted by: Kristi | January 22, 2012 at 08:26 PM
This is a great giveaway idea, and a great way to get book suggestions!
My favorite book as a child was Roxaboxen, my daughter loves Daddy, Papa, and Me, and I can't wait to read the Chronicles of Narnia to her and her brother when they're a little older.
Posted by: Andrea | January 23, 2012 at 02:11 PM
One of my favorite books to read to my children are On The Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman. If You haven't read it, READ it!
Posted by: Kelly J | January 23, 2012 at 09:52 PM
I loved Goodnight Moon!!! Such a simple but amazing book.
Posted by: Amy Ballard | January 23, 2012 at 11:07 PM
My favourites are still the Dr Seuss books as I just love the rhyme!!!! I have 4 children and the two youngest are enjoying these now...
Posted by: Carlie Sinclair | January 29, 2012 at 04:29 AM
What a creative way to display books and promote the love of learning! One of my favorite new picture books are Skippyjon Jones. There are quite a few of them; as Skippy is a hyper kitty who thinks he is a chihuahua! It's very cute and kids love them. Thanks for the contest.
Posted by: Melinda | January 29, 2012 at 09:10 PM
My favorite book to read to my daughters is I'll Love You Forever...it makes me boo-hoo every single time I read it!!!
Posted by: Heather Tanner | January 29, 2012 at 09:33 PM
I love reading to my children "ten in the meadow" by John Butler, they love the cuddly animals and the poetic way its written.
Thank you
Posted by: Jessica Bradley-Labra | February 02, 2012 at 12:42 AM
One of my son's favorite books to read is Goodnight Moon. I'm partial to Monkey Puzzle, though it's British and the monkey is looking for his "mum" and we say mom.
Posted by: Maureen | February 07, 2012 at 10:20 AM
My one year old daughter's favorite book to read is Kitten Yarns by Mother Goose. We enjoy making cat noises to go along with the different pictures & mini nursery ryhmes. She especially loves the Kilkenny Cats & gets so excited to make hissing noises!
Posted by: Deirdre | February 12, 2012 at 02:33 PM
One of my favorite books to read to my two children is "Green Eggs and Ham"! It's so fun to read and the kids love it still....even though we have read it a hundred times!
Posted by: Jennifer | February 14, 2012 at 01:51 PM
My daughter and I love Dr. Seuss'The Cat in The Hat..... No matter how many times we read it it never gets old! It is truly a classic that will never tire out! Love it!
Posted by: Marlene | February 16, 2012 at 12:32 PM
I love "Where the wild things are!" My son is 4 months old now and is more interested in pop up colorful books, but I can't wait to read this to him shortly. What a great giveaway.
Posted by: Stephanie | February 20, 2012 at 03:45 PM
I love reading Moo, Baa, LaLaLa to my daughter! We both have it memorized!
Meghan
Posted by: Meghan | February 21, 2012 at 11:53 AM
My favorite book to read to my son is "Mommy's Little Boy" by Ronne Randal/Kristina Khrin. My son is 6 years old and enjoy doing many things together. We are very close and want him to know that no matter how old/big he gets he will always be "mommy's little boy" He really enjoys the story and then always wants a follow up of what I experienced when I was pregnant with him and what happened on the day he was born :)
Posted by: Maria Gutierrez | February 22, 2012 at 12:27 AM
My favorite book growing up was The Sweet Smell of Christmas. It is a scratch and sniff book that is so enchanting to children. My copy was falling apart at the seams so I purchased a new one for my children a year or two ago. My oldest son (5.5 yrs) wants to read it all through the year!
Posted by: Kristen | February 24, 2012 at 09:31 AM
My favorite book to read to my children is Stars by Mary Lyn Ray. There are so many classics that I enjoy to read, but this one has been a family favorite for the past couple months. Simple, yet such a great message. Stars are better than pet rocks, you can do so many great things with them. Sometime people even feel like shiny stars, but there are times people don't feel so shiny. The illustrations are amazing and the message is thoughtful and touching!
Posted by: Stephanie Shouldis | February 25, 2012 at 04:42 PM
My favorite book to read with my two daughters was "I Can Do It" by Eric Carle. My oldest child use to act out the book as I read it to her as young as age 18 months. She read it so many times, it began to fall apart. We had to buy a new one and when her sister was born, she asked me to buy one for her little baby sister too! My children are now only 5 and 8, but I have such wonderful memories of that book...sometimes we read it now and act it out again, just to have fun!
Posted by: April noble | February 25, 2012 at 07:20 PM
One of our favorite bedtime books to read right now is "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". My 3 1/2 year old loves all the unique and funny creatures in it! Growing up I always loved "The Giving Tree"--makes me cry still!
Posted by: Kathy B | February 27, 2012 at 09:45 PM