"Let's Get Ready" Series Review and Giveaway

"Read, read, read and read some more! Make it part of your daily routine." - Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! by Stacey Kannenberg and Linda Desimowich

After my daughter was born, I received a baby care guide from the hospital. Baby milestones were covered, as well as helpful tips. But my baby didn't stay baby size very long. What about my preschooler? What core skills should she possess right now? The Let's Get Ready Series by Stacey Kannenberg and Linda Desimowich provides a great starting point for teaching your children the early childhood skills they need to learn. The award-winning series currently consists of two books: Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! and Let's Get Ready for First Grade! Every parent with a young child should own a set of these extremely helpful books.


Before children start school they undergo a basic skills assessment. Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! covers all of these important skills. The softcover book is engaging, colorful and a lot of fun for both child and parent. It features wipe-off pages for use with dry erase markers. A pretend teacher named Mrs. Good and the culturally diverse Cedar Valley kids lead the learning discussions in the book. The backcover offers parent and caregiver tips as well as an alphabet writing directional chart. A different skill is featured on each page. Examples of the different topics featured are as follows:

The Alphabet and Mixed-up Alphabet • Letter Sounds • Colors • Shapes • Left and Right Hands • Numbers and Mixed-up Numbers • Counting • Money and Coins • Opposites • Seasons • Rhyming • Positional Words • Body Parts • The Five Senses • Time • Calendars • Telephone Numbers • Writing Practice

My daughter managed the first few pages without much difficulty. She was understandably a little unnerved by seeing the alphabet in a mixed up order and wanted to know why it was shown that way. She also at first did not recognize the color "gray" or the shapes "hexagon" and "octagon". The skills in the last part of the book are more advanced (like learning and dialing your phone number). We will need to practice them.

A Spanish/English edition of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! is scheduled to be released this year.

Let's Get Ready for First Grade! continues with more advanced skills such as vowels, consonants, and punctuation. It is laid out in exactly the same format as the kindergarten book, but the teacher this time is named Ms. Best.

Cedar Valley Publishing is a Wisconsin-based company. Stacey Kannenberg, the co-author and publisher, is a mother to two daughters and is also a Principal and Consultant for Mom Central Consulting and the VP of Mother Talk. I am thrilled to report that 10% of all profits from the Let's Get Ready series book sales are donated to literacy foundations and schools.


Win a set! Cedar Valley Publishing has kindly offered to sponsor a giveaway. One (1) Brimful Curiosities reader will receive a set of the books, Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! and Let's Get Ready for First Grade!

To enter, visit Cedar Valley Publishing and leave a comment letting me know what interests you most about the books.

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• Contest is open to US only
• Contest ends on Monday, January 26, 2008 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random

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2nd extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.
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