Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Gift card raffle!

BIG NEWS: The kids' beloved Grammy and her husband have relocated from too-far-away and too-hot-anyway Georgia to a quiet home about an hour away from us.  What luck!  We are super thrilled, for more reasons than the fact that we now have a place to drop our kids and run for the hills.  (Just kidding, GrandBill.  Sort of.)

But I need your help!

Our housewarming gift to them is to provide a good children's library for their house.  I've already pulled about 50 books from our own library to give them, but I know there are others that I need to buy.  Including our three kids, they will have nine pint-sized grandkids, all local, spending a lot of quality time there, so there had better be books lying around for the times when GrandBill needs a bit of peace and quiet.

What books MUST their shelves hold?  Which book in your childhood, or in your parenthood, has stood out SO MUCH that you just can't imagine a grandparent not having it available to their grandchild?  (By the way, right now all kids are between 1 and 5, so all picture books are good but beginner or easier chapter books like Roald Dahl are also totally legit.)

Post your answer below--anyone can do it (yes, even you)--but you've got to provide a way for me to contact you should you be the winner.  So don't forget that contact information--preferably an email address--if I don't know you.  I'll put all the names in a hat and have Kiefer choose the winner.  Lorelei and Ben have figured out how to cheat, so...I just can't trust them anymore...  Anyway, the winner will receive a $100 gift card to Barnes & Noble.

My answer: Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day?  And no, though I shamelessly voted for myself in student government I will not include my own name in the drawing.

Can't wait to hear what suggestions you have!  Let 'em rip...

(UPDATE: SEE THE SUGGESTIONS HERE.)

18 comments:

  1. I absolutely LOVE everything about this! I love that your mom will be so close, I love that you are giving them a library, and I love that you are so into books. I have enjoyed reading your posts! And here are my choices because one is just perfect for your parent's new home location and the other is special to us here in the Weiss home. 1. "How Do Bears Sleep?" by E.J. Bird. Really cute twist that the end and a great rhyme! Given to us by my sister-in-law and brother-in-law when we started our library. 2. And "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton. This comes with a CD which is cool. It takes grandparents back to a classic song. The illustrations are awesome, especially b/c they tell more of a story than the words. When Jackie grows up he has a daughter who also learns about Puff. ANd if it makes the cut, I will share with you the two extra verses that my awesome husband made up while rocking Elaina to sleep every night. Maybe they can replace the grandkids names into it...you live far enough away...I am sure it will be okay :) And you're Family:) Just give Jeff the credit :) HA! I hope you will publish the final list so I can make sure we have read them all! :)

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  2. BIRDS by Kevin Henkes. It's so beautiful the pages could double as artwork. And it's a totally sweet story. I bought it for my son - and as gifts for all my Mama friends.

    (mreid14 at hotmail dot com)

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  3. 2 Absolute MUST HAVES, are: Love You Forever, and The Giving Tree. I have given these two books to my daughters and to my mother. Additionally, my favorite book as a child that I buy for every 3 or 4 year-old I know is; Richard Scarry's Best Story Book Ever! (It's thick, yellow and has a lion on the cover). And any Little Critter book. There are titles like "Just me and Grandma" and "Just me and Grandpa" that would work perfectly.

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  5. Kate -
    What a wonderful gift idea!
    I have three suggestions for various ages.
    1. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
    This is a family favorite given to us by my dad. I love reading it as much as Arlo loves hearing it and marveling at the beautiful illustrations. Pretty much our #1 go to favorite around here.
    2. The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood
    Great illustrations, simple text with wonderful depth, a broad range of emotions explored and subtle humor sprinkled throughout.
    3. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
    This was one of the first chapter books read to me over the course of many bedtimes as a child. While I have not reread it since childhood I remember it as a magical shared experience.
    *Bonus suggestion is Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev and get the accompanying music (it's fantastic!) Stephanie's suggestion jogged this one out my memory archives. I love that it's illustrated as play with stage and orchestra pit. I remember spending hours with this one as a little girl. Need to get Arlo a copy pronto!
    I know you only asked for one recommendation, but when it comes to books... how could I possibly choose just one?!
    Felicity

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  6. Little Rabbit Lost (from Billie S)

    The Kissing Hand (from his sis, Sophie S)

    Added by email...comment section was too tricky for mom... ;)

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  7. We love, love, love Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel :)

    Kelli Jordan

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  8. Hello Kate!
    I recently read "Mommy's best kisses" by Margaret Anastas, and the first baby that I thought of was little Kiefer, I think that he will really enjoy it.
    My second suggestion probably for Ben and Lorelei will be: "You'll read to me, I'll read to you" by Maria Ann Hoberman, it's a very easy book to read, and the kids will have fun reading it over and over again. it's a dialogue and at the end of each short story both readers say "You'll read to me, I'll read to you"/ Whenever I read this book to my son he feels very special.
    And for Lorelei (if she hasn't read them yet)I will recommend "Enormous Crocodile" and "The magic finger" both of them by Roald Dahl. Those were my son's first long books (Thank you for letting me know about this author). these two books kept my son so interested with funny and rhymming words. I must say that in the "Enormous Crocodile" the Crocodile wants to eat juicy little children and in "The Magic Finger" there are duck hunters, in case you want to keep her away from those things by now.
    Thank you!
    Lorena

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  9. I'd add some solid read-aloud chapter books which are loved by young and old and that people enjoy re-reading, like "Tales of 4th Grade Nothing" and "Ramona Quimby, Age 8"; I'd also include some nonfiction for a variety of purposes - granted the topics may change based on the gender & preferences of the grandkids, but titles on our shelf this week include: "Easy Oregami" (Meinking) and Make Your Own Art: "Oregami" (Henry & Cook) - both have color illustrations & simple captions - which appear to engage my daughter longer; "Super Simple Paper Airplanes" (Robinson) (can you imagine the kind of quality time that either older/younger cousins or grandparent/grandchild could spend making a pile of paper airplanes?); a drawing book, like "Ed Emberly's Big Green Drawing book" (although red, orange & purple are all good, as is thumbprint art and how to draw faces); a grown-up geared,but kid-friendly art book - any by Maryann Kohl would be perfect - 3 I pulled from my shelf are "Good Earth Art", "Scribble Art" and "Preschool Art"; DK's One Million Things: A Visual Encyclopedia is phenomenal; "The Story of Flight" (Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum) -is one my 4 year old adores - I know, odd because it's geared to a much older child, but he loves to be read to from this book - each 2 paqe spread has a different topic about the history of flight. If the kids are younger, there's a great illustrated book with fingerplays (perhaps you've seen some of them in Animal Baby magazine?) "Too Many Rabbits and Other Fingerplays" by Kay Cooper is a great selection for younger children (or early elementary children to read and put on plays for younger ones. Magazines are great - even ones that are from previous months or years. I saw your blog link from Kathy at wee play - perhaps you could shop with grammy at a local consignment sale (or store) and she could have some insight into the library selections which excite her as a reader? Local consignment sale season begins in Sept/Oct, so it's a great time to add to the selections you choose & I be she would pick ones you've never considered - or even better ones you grew up with (like the the little golden book editions of Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland...)

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    1. I'm quacklin2 at yahoo :)

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    2. Just wanted to thank you for these wonderful suggestions and YES I love consignment sales! I'll look for them as advertised by Kathy.

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  10. And I agree with Ryn Cricket, "Love you forever" is a keeper !!
    Lorena (again)

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  11. Found your blog via my sister Felicity. I would say....Blueberries for Sal. Make Way for Ducklings. Good Night Gorilla. A Cricket in Times Square. The Seven Silly Eaters. All Oliva books. All Eloise books. The Diary of A Wombat.

    Cheers from Rika in Darwin Australia

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  12. Edwina the Dinosaur by MonWillems and Click, Clack, Moo!

    I have to figure out a way to get to Keifer before the drawing to do some training.

    Bmoredell@gmail.com

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  13. From Nasreen:


    Hugless Douglass by: David Melling
    Goodnight Moon by: Margaret Wise Brown
    Cupcake by: Charise Mericle Harper
    And of course the Elephant and Piggie series by: Mo Willems

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  14. From Brigid Tayebi:

    We love "Noodle" by Munro Leaf. It's a once-a weeker in our house!

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  15. And the winner is...

    Sophia Stoltz! Thanks for all your suggestions... I will compile them and post them today or tomorrow.

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  16. The Seven Silly Eaters is a big favorite at my house. And Chris and Alexis love it when I sing "I'll love you forever" to him from the book with the same name.

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