And the winner is...

Vanessa @ Silly Eagle Books

Congrats, Vanessa, for being randomly selected by Random.org to win the $15 gift certificate to Just for Me Sewing. :) A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who participated in my first party! I had such a great time oohing and ahhing over everyone's community (or home!) libraries. Obviously there are great mamas all over the world raising kids who love books. Keep it up, ladies! You're doing a great job.

Giveaway!!! Just for Me Sewing

My beautiful and talented sister-in-law is offering one of my readers a $15 gift certificate to her Etsy Store: Just for Me Sewing. Rebekah is not only generous but amazingly talented. Just take a look at this adorable personalized t-shirt:

Tell me you wouldn't be the cutest mama on the block toting your library books in one of these embroidered bags:

I think this bib would make an absolutely precious baby gift:

And just check out the cuffs on these "birthday" pants!

Told you she was talented!

To enter to win the gift certificate you must first:
- Be/become a google follower. (Just click on the "follow" button on the right.)
- Live in the continental United States. (Sorry, int'l friends!) 

Then you can enter through any of the following ways:
- Visit Just for Me Sewing and leave a comment here letting me know what you'd love from the store.
- Join our Love My Library party tomorrow. (This is good for THREE entries!)
- Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment here letting me know your twitter name.

Giveaway closes Saturday May 15 at 11:50pm EST. I'll pick a winner randomly and announce the winner on Sunday.

And the winner is...

#5 - Marybeth

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway! I had so much fun watching the comments trickle in and reading the books you all enjoy. I'm hoping to do more in the future, so stay tuned. BTW - If anyone is interested, I used random.org to "draw" the winner. They are touted as generating true random numbers, so #1 and #21 have an equal shot at the prize.

I'll be posting Monday's book pick and craft later today, so come back! Thanks again!

Giveaway!!! What's New at the Zoo?

Our zoo hosted a special event this weekend, including a visit from illustrator Joan Waites. Having illustrated more than 40 books, Joan was in town from D.C. signing copies of her latest publication What's New at the Zoo?. She kindly agreed to donate one for my very first giveaway!

What's New at the Zoo: An Animal Adding Adventure moves through a zoo, visiting the different exhibits and counting the animals. At each exhibit a short rhyme asks your child to add the animals and includes the equation. The addition begins simply (2+1=?) but becomes increasingly difficult (12+8=?), providing a challenge for even young math whizzes.

After our morning at the zoo, Little Page and I read the book together. She enjoyed counting the animals and solving the equations (with a little help from me), but we both really enjoyed the illustrations. There are examples on Joan's website, if you'd like to check them out. Full of color and details, but not overly bright or garish - I wish our zoo looked this good! The kangaroos look ready to leap off the page; the elephants seem to be having the time of their lives splashing in the water; she even managed to make sleeping bats look cute. Each picture is framed with a colorful and appropriate border (zebra print, snakeskin, bamboo), and hidden within the illustrations floats a single red balloon. These extra details lend mileage to this book, providing children reasons to flip through it long after they've mastered the simple math.

Giveaway Details

You can win a copy of this book! Here's how:

• Post a comment letting us know your favorite animal-themed children's book.
• For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway and then email me the link to your blog.
• Sorry, I love my international readers, but I can only afford to ship the book within the continental United States.
• Please enter by Sunday, September 20th. The winner will be picked randomly and announced on Monday.