Brimful Curiosities

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Full to the Brim - Kid's Book Giveaway List (7/10/09)

Please check out my other "Full to the Brim" posts as well. Many contests are still underway. I publish "Full to the Brim" every Monday and Friday. Thanks for visiting my blog and come back soon!

My book giveaways:
20 Boy Summer (YA Book) Ends 7/6/09
Watchmen The Film Companion from Titan Books Ends 7/6/09
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Prize Pack Book Giveaway Ends 7/13/09
Horrid Henry books Ends 7/13/09

Adult books:
The Unhealthy Truth Book Giveaway (Adult Non-Fiction) Ends 7/20/09
The Castaways Book Giveaway (Adult Fiction) Ends 7/20/09

Other book giveaways:
Maw Books Blog - Book Giveaway Ends 7/23/09
Signed copy of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
A Mom's Balancing Act - Book Giveaway Ends 7/21/09
Thumbuddy You book along with the You Are Thumbuddy children's CD
Life In A House of Blue - Book Giveaway Ends 7/21/09
I Got Two Dogs by John Lithgow
Gobs of Giveaways - Giveaway Ends 7/17/09
Personalized Item of their choice from Frecklebox
A Parent in Silver Spring Reviews - Book Giveaway Ends 7/14/09
Scholastic Summer Challenge Giveaway: a pack of 4 new books especially tailored to your child's age
Childhood Clothing - Book Giveaway Ends 7/22/09
Hot on the Range by R.D. Jentsch
Sweeps4Bloggers - Book Giveaway Ends 7/18/09
Hot on the Range by R.D. Jentsch
Guessing All the Way - Book Giveaway Ends 7/26/09
three of the Dr. Hippo Series books
Mom on the Random - Book Giveaway Ends 8/22/09
A Glove Of Their Own by Debbie Moldovan, Keri Conkling and Lisa Funari-Willevertarget
Artful Parent - Book Giveaway Ends 7/10/09
a beautiful butterfly sketchbook with 60 blank pages and a set of 24 colored pencils in a matching metal butterfly case
Hip Mama's Place - Book Giveaway Ends 7/23/09
One (1) Grand Prize Winner will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book plus a $50 Babies ‘R Us Gift Card; Four (4) First Prize Winners will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book
Cafe Mom - Book Giveaway Ends 7/12/09
Leap Frog Tag Reading System and Up With Adventure book
Cafe Mom - Book Giveaway Ends 7/12/09
Leap Frog Tag Junior Reading System and Curious George Color Fun book
IE Mommy - Book Giveaway Ends 7/17/09
Precious Girls Club Gift Pack
The A-Priori Mommy - Book Giveaway Ends 7/13/09
A Very Purple Pepper: Colors to Know So You Can Grow?

Can't believe I'm mentioning this because I'd really love to win it and don't want competition but here goes: Looking for a great toddler bed or know someone who is? If so, you check out All Children's Furniture. For bedtime stories, enter to win:
Readaholic - Book Shelf Giveaway Ends 7/15/09
KidKraft Sling Book Shelf by All Children's Furniture (CSN)

If you are in need of a table (great place to read books), enter to win:
A Keeper At Home's Money Saving Tips - Kid's Table Giveaway Ends 7/24/09
Toddler Table by All Children's Furniture (CSN)

Other giveaways
aPARENTly Speaking - Cookbook Giveaway Ends 7/12/09
Petit Appetit: Eat Drink & Be Merry

Have a children's book you are giving away on your blog? Let me know! I'll spread the word here!

Stonyfield Farm YoBaby Organic Yogurt - Review and Giveaway

I didn't know Stonyfield Farm products existed until I after my daughter was born. I saw their YoBaby yogurt in the store while searching for some beginner foods for my infant girl and brought some home. We've been hooked on Stonyfield Farm ever since. Their yogurt products are so exceptional I hardly ever buy another brand. Here's why: they produce organic yogurt that tastes delicious. There's no additives, preservatives, growth hormones or any other undesirable ingredients. My one-year-old son loves eating YoBaby yogurt, and I'm happy that I'm able to provide him with this healthy food choice. I buy the 32oz Lowfat container (usually vanilla flavor) for the rest of the family.

This year YoBaby turned 10 years old and the company made a few packaging and formulation changes. The yogurt now contains two additional essential nutrients: Zinc and Vitamin D, to helps develop and support brain function, immunity and growth. And as you can see from the above picture, the packaging is brighter, more eco-friendly and is now bilingual with the addition of some Spanish words. You can see the difference in this YoBaby comparison of old and new looks. My son tried out the new, improved YoBaby. He gobbled it right up so it obviously earns his seal of approval. He really, really likes the blueberry flavor.

The Stonyfield Farm website provides a wealth of information. You can sign up for coupons, learn about the products, read the Baby Babble and Bovine Bugle Blogs, learn about their earth-friendly actions and find great recipes. Just recently I made the Strawberry muffins...excellent! I took a picture for you to see how good they turned out. Facebook users: become a Stonyfield Farm facebook fan. They're giving away some great prizes every day.

Want to try YoBaby products for yourself? Print off a coupon for $1 off YoBaby.

In celebration of the new YoBaby look, Stonyfield Farm has kindly offered to give away a YoBaby Prize Package that includes a YoBaby bowl with lid, an organic YoBaby bib, and a bundle of 5 Free YoBaby coupons to one Brimful Curiosities reader.

To enter, visit Stonyfield Farm and let me know which YoBaby product is your favorite or tell me how you first learned about YoBaby products.

• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.
• Contest is open to US only
• Contest ends on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random

Three ways to gain extra entries (Maximum total entries is 4):
1st extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader
2nd extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.
3rd extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.

Tell Me Thursday - Broken Doll Continued

Yesterday for my Wordless Wednesday I posted a picture of my daughter's broken Cinderella doll. The doll's head came off while my daughter and son were fighting over her. In church. Yes, you read that right. Because we were in church, no screaming, crying, or otherwise frantic actions accompanied the unfortunate incidence. Only very sad faces.

Apparently this isn't the first doll to break, nor will it be the last. Today instead of reading or reviewing or answering emails or doing laundry, I spent some leisure time visiting the Internet Archive. If you've never visited the website, you are missing out. Fair warning -- looking at all the ebooks available on the website is a highly addictive pastime. Anyway, I came across this beautifully illustrated children's book called Child-land : picture-pages for the little ones : containing nearly 200 designs by Oscar Pletch, M. Richter. One of the picture-pages (love that term) contained a picture of and story about a broken doll. The ending, "But perhaps papa will buy her another, if she asks him" made me smile. Yes, Daddy could buy his daughter another Cinderella doll, but I think he will try super glue first.

Visit Tell Me Thursday for more insightful stories behind Wordless Wednesday pictures.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - Cinderella is not singing

This is what happened when the kids fought over one of their toys. A lesson learned the hard way.

Find more of this week's Wordless Wednesday posts at 5 Minutes for Mom and MomDot.

Miss L'eau by T. Katz - Book Review

"Miss Leau's eyes were as blue-green as the sea, and if you could get up the courage to stare right into them, you'd swear you could see angel fish, sea plants, coral beds and even sea anemones!! It was the most wonderful, yet frightening, experience when she would talk to you face-to-face." - Miss L'eau by T. Katz

In April, my daughter's preschool class studied water pollution for Earth Day. The teachers found a large pickle jar, filled it with water and added blue food coloring. They explained that the jar represented clean water where fish and other animals thrived. Next, they added dirt to the same jar making a brown, dirty color. Then they asked the kids to add litter (some candy wrappers and plastic bottle rings) to the "dirty water." Last, they threw in a couple of plastic fish. The fish floated to the top and looked dead. They explained to the class that the murky jar represented water pollution and discussed the effects of pollution on the animals and plants living in the lakes, rivers, streams and oceans. This amazing visual depiction certainly left quite an impression on the kids and also caused even me to think hard about water pollution.

Miss L'eau, a mysterious chapter book that focuses on ocean pollution, leaves a similar lasting impression. The book, written by J. Katz, follows two elementary school-aged boys named James and David who reside in a fictional seaside town called Grant's Harbor. There is something different about Miss L'eau, the boys' teacher. Her eyes are like portholes to the sea and when students stare into them they see sea creatures, clouds and waves. The boys become curious about her background and one stormy evening James witnesses an amazing occurrence when he follows Miss L'eau to a nearby lighthouse. Shaken to the bone, James struggles to make sense of what he saw. In their quest for the truth, the boys end up learning a lot about the ocean and discover why it is necessary to clean up debris and protect the coastline.

This short fantasy is certain to interest all elementary school students, especially those that like myths and legends. The mystery surrounding the aptly named Miss L'eau (the French term for water) pulls readers into the story like a strong ocean current. In a fun, engaging way, the book also encourages awareness of the need for ocean conservation and discusses the importance of philanthropy and giving back to the community. The book itself is an entertaining and educational read and deserves a more professional and trendy cover to lure younger readers. I loved Katz's reference to an ecosphere (a self contained aquarium). I've dreamed of owning one of those! Miss L'eau would be a useful tool for teachers to use in water pollution units and also a good title for marine museums and aquariums to stock in their stores.

Miss L'eau by T. Katz. Windstorm Creative/Orchard House Press (June 2009); 60 pages; ISBN 9781590924044; paperback
Book Source: Review copy provided by Pump Up Your Book Promotion

Image source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Digital Library/Hollingsworth, John and Karen

Related links:
T. Katz, author website
Pump Up Your Book Promotion Miss L'eau Virtual Blog Tour
Miss L'eau Promotional Trailer (YouTube)
Ecosphere Closed Ecosystem, Self Contained Aquarium
Mermaid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Amazon.com Announces “Best Books of the Year…So Far”

Yesterday, July 6th, Amazon.com announced the "Best Books of the Year...So Far" lists. The books are hand-picked by Amazon.com Books editors and represent their favorite titles in five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Young Readers, and Hidden Gems and an overall Top Ten.

I checked out the Young Readers category. Surprise, surprise --- The Curious Garden by Peter Brown is first on the list. Most of the books I review on this blog are pitched to me by publishing companies or authors and illustrators. However, I specifically requested the chance to review The Curious Garden partly because I liked the name of the book (wonder why?) and partly because I thought it looked like a perfect spring read for my children. I had no idea that the book would be so visually stunning and artsy in a vintage sort of way. The message of the book is a wonderful one as well.

A number of my blog readers left the titles of their favorite children's garden books in the comment section of The Curious Garden post on Brimful Curiosities. I've been meaning to compile the list. Now seems like a good time. Thanks for the many good book suggestions, both picture and chapter books.

Children's Books about Gardens
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small
Sunflower House by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
Mrs. Spitzer's Garden by Edith Pattou, illustrated by Tricia Tusa
Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Judy Pedersen
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Crockett Johnson
Linnea in Monet's Garden by Cristina Bjork, Lena Anderson, and Joan Sandin
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
What's This? A Seed Story by Caroline Mockford
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
Seed and More Seeds: An I CAN READ Science Book by Millicent E Selsam, illustrated by Tomi Ungerer
Blue Potatoes, Orange Tomatoes: How to Grow A Rainbow Garden by Rosalind Creasy, illustrated by Ruth Heller
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert

And, the one lone adult gardening read suggestion:
How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back: A New Method of Mulch Gardening by Ruth Stout

Thanks to Consumer Marketing Practice, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide for keeping me up-to-date with the latest Amazon.com news. View my disclosure policy.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Full to the Brim - Kid's Book Giveaway List (7/6/09)

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand - Review and Book Giveaway

"The Castaways ... They had all washed up on the shores of Nantucket, and they had stayed and made it their home. They had found each other. Everyone agreed it was the right name." - The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

Four Nantucket couples. Their lives unusually intertwined. One tragic accident. Mourning and sadness all around. Guilt and mystery. Friendship. That pretty much sums up The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand. The cover may look all happy and serene but inside the pages you'll find a tangled web of affairs, deceit, marital discontent, depression, death and despair. It's a summer read full of cloudy, tumultuous skies.

Who are the "Castaways?" They are four couples: the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes and Wheelers. Over the years, they become really good friends. You know, almost a love rectangle times two (plus one, a student named April) with the classic "grass is always greener on the other side" scenarios. The rectangle gets completely thrown out of kilter when one couple, Greg and Tess MacAvoy, sails out to the Vineyard for their anniversary, hoping to patch their marriage back together, trying to leave behind the rumors that Greg had an affair with one of his students, April Peck. Instead, their boat capsizes and they drown. Their friends are left in a state of shock after the deaths and they all struggle to deal with unanswered questions and their own grief.

Elin Hilderbrand is known for her riveting Nantucket summer reads, many of them bestsellers. The Castaways releases on July 7th. This is the first book by Hilderbrand that I've read. To be perfectly honest, usually I'm not really drawn toward books mired in affairs and the related complexities involved in such situations. I must say that I had a hard time believing that four couple's lives could become quite so intermixed. However, I found Hilderbrand's depictions of how each character handled stressful events intriguing. Her characterizations seem very real--the group dynamics even more so as each person plays a specific role within the "rectangle." I was also pleasantly surprised by the suspense in the book. I never lost interest while reading it.

Hilderbrand tells her story in an interesting way, through her characters. The chapters alternate between the six bereaved friends, each one recounting details from his or her own point of view, each one reminiscing about past events and expressing present feelings. The mystery surrounding the drowning and the relationships between the characters drive the plot. If you are looking for an emotion filled book packed with plenty of drama, scandal and some soul-searching, you'll want to read this one.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand. Little, Brown and Company (July 2009); 368 pages; ISBN 9780316043892

Related Links:
Elin Hilderbrand - Author Website
Book Excerpt
Original "The Castaways" cocktail recipe
Facebook: What Summer Cocktail Are You? (I'm a Gin and Tonic!)
Hachette Early Birds Blog Tours List of all the participating bloggers in The Castaways July Blog Tour

Win a copy! This review is part of Hachette Early Birds Blog Tours, and Hachette Book Group has kindly offered to giveaway (3) copies of The Castaways to 3 Brimful Curiosities readers. Perfect for summer reading. 3 COPIES!

To enter, please answer the following question: In your opinion, what location would make the perfect setting for a summer/beach novel? Or, leave any comment relevant to this post. Thanks!

• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.
• Contest is open to US only
• Contest ends on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy Independence Day!

Photo credit: Ladyheart from morguefile.com

Happy Birthday America! Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July - Embrace freedom!

Friday, July 3, 2009

The Unhealthy Truth by Robyn O'Brien - Review and Book Giveaway

I've suffered from allergy related issues nearly my entire life. In kindergarten, I ate a black-walnut cookie and almost immediately felt ill (that story here). Additionally, I end up with hives when I ingest certain antibiotics. Given my apparent sensitivities, I count myself lucky that I've never suffered an extreme reaction to an allergen. I'm especially watchful of signs of allergies in my children. This spring I applied some sunblock lotion to my one-year-old son and his face swelled up and turned red. His reaction scared the daylights out of me.

Robyn O'Brien knows exactly how it feels when your child has an allergic reaction. Out of the blue one day her youngest daughter had a severe reaction to scrambled eggs. Frightened about the possibility of more reactions and desperately wanting to find answers to her questions, O'Brien set out to learn as much as possible about food allergies. What she found shocked her:

"As I learned more about food allergies, I came to see our allergic kids as "canaries in the coal mine," warning us of problems that could affect the health of us all, whether we suffer from a specific allergy or not." - The Unhealthy Truth by Robyn O'Brien

Just recently I received a review copy of O'Brien's book titled, The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick - And What We Can Do About It. Robyn is passionate crusader in the food allergy world and founded AllergyKids to help raise awareness of food allergies in children. Her book details her research into food allergies and discusses the possible links to food engineering and the introduction of food additives and dyes into the food supply as a cause for an increase in childhood food allergies. Taking care to note several sources, she takes on the corporate world and chides the U.S. government for not doing enough to protect our children from toxins, citing that European countries have much stricter food regulations. And she offers helpful solutions for parents who want to make a change to a healthier, chemical free, more organic diet. The book is written in such a way that the average person can understand the basics of allergies and the science behind genetically altered food.

Like many moms, I do worry about what I feed my children. And like most time-strapped moms, I know how difficult it can be to put a healthy meal on the table. It seems far easier to use the pre-packaged, processed foods so readily available. However, some of the revelations in O'Brien's book certainly make me think twice about what I feed my family. I was very interested to learn about genetically modified foods (particularly soy). The corporate/government/medical world inter-relations also alarmed me. I like her 80/20 rule, where parents should aim for 80% of the diet to be healthy and realize that sometimes junk food (the 20%) is inevitable. I myself believe in variety and moderation. Yes, O'Brien is just a mom, not a medical scientist. But, her main goal is certainly a worthy one: to offer information, to empower consumers, and ultimately she hopes American parents make the shift toward a healthier, more organic diet. This is a worthwhile read for all parents and concerned consumers.

The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick - And What We Can Do About It by Robyn O'Brien and Rachel Kranz. Broadway Books (May 2009); 288 pages; ISBN 9780767930710
Source: Review copy provided by Broadway Books

Win a copy! Thanks to Broadway Books (3) Brimful Curiosities readers will receive their own copy of The Unhealthy Truth.

To enter, leave a comment relevant to this post.

• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.
• Contest is open to US only
• Contest ends on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winners will be chosen at random and notified by email

Full to the Brim - Kid's Book Giveaway List (7/3/09)

Please check out my other "Full to the Brim" posts as well. Many contests are still underway. I publish "Full to the Brim" every Monday and Friday. Thanks for visiting my blog and come back soon!

My book giveaways:
20 Boy Summer (YA Book) Ends 7/6/09
Watchmen The Film Companion from Titan Books Ends 7/6/09
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Prize Pack Book Giveaway Ends 7/13/09
Horrid Henry books Ends 7/13/09

Other book giveaways:
Book Giveaways - Book Giveaway Ends 7/6/09
Cheese Louise by David Michael Slater
24/7 MOMS - Book Giveaway Ends 7/10/09
Miles of Smiles by Carousel Press
24/7 MOMS - Book Giveaway Ends 7/10/09
Duo Press Set of 4 Infant/Toddler books
Momtrends - Giveaway Ends 7/31/09
Gifted Grasshopper Baby Book Registry and bag
Sweeps4Bloggers - Book Giveaway Ends 7/11/09
IBW $60 prize packages
Sweeps4Bloggers - Book Giveaway Ends 7/9/09
Willow by Julia Hoban (YA)
3 Kids and Us - Book Giveaway Ends 7/31/09
One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive the following: Baby Signs Pop-Up Book and $50 Babies R Us Gift Card. Four (4) Runner Up Winners will receive a copy of the Baby Signs Pop-Up Book
Susan Heim on Parenting - Book Giveaway Ends 7/15/09
Archibald’s Swiss Cheese Mountain by By Sylvia Lieberman
The Post It Place - Book Giveaway Ends 7/12/09
IBW Books Prize Pack
What's that Smell - Book Giveaway Ends 7/29/09
One (1) Grand Prize Winner will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book plus a $50 Babies ‘R Us Gift Card; Four (4) First Prize Winners will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book
The Dirty Shirt - Book Giveaway Ends 7/16/09
I Got Two Dogs by John Lithgow
Firefly-shop.org - Book Giveaway Ends 7/8/09
Precious Girls Club book Operation Kindness and plush
She Scribes - Book Giveaway Ends 7/12/09
4 Scholastic books to celebrate Scholastic Summer Challenge
Shooting Stars Mag - Book Giveaway Ends 7/20/09
SIGNED copy of Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (YA)
Posted Contests! - Gift Card Giveaway Ends 7/9/09
$10 gift card to Barnes and Noble, Walmart or Starbucks
Jamie's Precious Peas - Book Giveaway Ends 7/31/09
Flattenme Gift Pack
A Parent in Silver Springs - Book Giveaway Ends 7/8/09
4 Scholastic books to celebrate Scholastic Summer Challenge
Mommy-Files - Book Giveaway Ends 7/7/09
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Confuzzled Books - Book Giveaway Ends 7/13/09
The Sock Fairy by Bobbie Hinman
Phat Mommy - Book Giveaway Ends 7/5/09
Summer Bridge workbook
Latin Baby Book Club - Book Giveaway Ends 7/8/09
Signed copy of Cheech and the Spooky Ghost Bus illustrated by Orlando Ramirez
Jolly Mom - Book Giveaway Ends 7/22/09
One (1) Grand Prize Winner will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book plus a $50 Babies ‘R Us Gift Card; Four (4) First Prize Winners will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book
Mom's Favorite Stuff - Book Giveaway Ends 7/22/09
One (1) Grand Prize Winner will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book plus a $50 Babies ‘R Us Gift Card; Four (4) First Prize Winners will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book
Baby Loving Mama - Book Giveaway Ends 7/23/09
One (1) Grand Prize Winner will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book plus a $50 Babies ‘R Us Gift Card; Four (4) First Prize Winners will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book
Suburban Turmoil Reviews - Book Giveaway Ends 7/8/09
One (1) Grand Prize Winner will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book plus a $50 Babies ‘R Us Gift Card; Four (4) First Prize Winners will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book
MomFuse - Book Giveaway Ends ??
One (1) Grand Prize Winner will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book plus a $50 Babies ‘R Us Gift Card; Four (4) First Prize Winners will get: A Baby Signs Pop-Up book

Other giveaways
Moms Inspire Learning - Game Giveaway Ends 7/9/09
Er-u-di-tion (sight word game)
SpanglishBaby - Game Giveaway Ends 7/3/09
Our Silly Farm Adventure and Our Hawaiian Hula Adventure CDs
Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls - Giveaway Ends 7/10/09
Printed Felt Story & 11X14 Felt Board from Glitterful Felt
One Bored Mommy - Game Giveaway Ends 7/14/09
Lightning Bug SIGHT READING BINGO Game

Have a children's book you are giving away on your blog? Let me know! I'll spread the word here!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Who's the winner now? Find out.

Sometimes luck is on your side. Here are the past couple weeks of winners at Brimful Curiosities. Click on the random.org images to see them full size. As always, the recipients were chosen using random.org and have been contacted by email. They have 72 hours to get back to me before another winner is chosen. (By the way, I was a winner this week, too, at Little People Wealth. It is fun to win!)