January 2012′s Read-to-Me Picture Book Challenge Link-Up

This is the place to come for the month of January 2012 to link-up any and all of your picture book reviews and/or your wrap-up that you’ve posted during the month!

The Details:

• Make sure that before you link-up your reviews and/or your wrap-up that you’ve signed up for the challenge as outlined on the challenge page. (If you have not, I reserve the right to delete your entry.)
• Anyone, even non-bloggers can participate. Open worldwide. (Please read the details on the challenge page.)
• Non-bloggers can link to their reviews posted on Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, or Amazon. (If you need help with this please feel free to email me at the1stdaughter {at} gmail {dot} com.)
• Link as many reviews as you’d like throughout the month. Each link to *review(s)* will enter you into the monthly prize drawing. Wrap-up posts will be given a maximum of twenty entries based on the number of books you read during the month. Reviewers are welcome to write a wrap-up post as well.
• Monthly prize drawing is open to all participants, worldwide, and one winner will be chosen at random and will be posted on the 3rd day of the month following (ie. February 3rd for this month). So please make sure to link any reviews you’d like counted for the month before the last day of the month (January 31, 2011).

What’s up for grabs this month for participants?

I thought it would be fitting that since we’re featuring a favorite publisher of ours, Nosy Crow, this month that I offer up two of our most anticipated reads from their upcoming releases:

Bizzy Bear: Off We Go! and Bizzy Bear: Let’s Get To Work! by Nosy Crow and Benji Davies

It’s a favorite series of ours and perfect for beginning readers. Both are due to be released on the 14th of February and as such the winner will receive a pre-order for both books!

That’s it! Get linking and make sure to take a look around at the other reviews posted for more great ideas on what picture books to pick up next. I know I’m going to be stopping by just to add to our TBR pile!

Please make sure to format your entries as follows so that I can easily connect with each month’s winners: [Book Title] at [Blog Name/Your Name] or [Wrap-up] at [Blog Name]

It’s official! The brand new 2012 Read to Me Picture Book Reading Challenge page is live and ready for everyone to link-up for another fantastic year of reading with the kiddos in our lives!

This year, after many requests, I’ve added a non-review category for those of you who just want to keep track of the books you’re reading on a monthly basis. The objective of the Read to Me Picture Book Challenge is to read with the kiddos in your life and/or enjoy picture books in general. So what better way to see the impact than to track all the wonderful books you’re reading and discover new ones to read by visiting your fellow participants blogs?

Each month there will be a monthly link up to link your reviews and wrap-up posts. Also every review will give you the opportunity to win a brand new picture book each month!

I’m currently looking for sponsors for the monthly giveaways as well, so if any publishers or authors are interested please contact me via my email address (the1stdaughter at gmail dot com).

So, interested in joining? Hop on over to my Read to Me Picture Book Challenge Page to find out more and sign up!

PS…January’s link-up as well as the picture book up for grabs will be posted later this evening.

Last year one of my most viewed posts was a discussion about if you’re ever too old to read picture books. Included in the discussion was a survey and overwhelmingly the response was “Nope! You’re never too old!”. I’d have to say that I agree one hundred percent!

One of the greatest joys I’ve rediscovered since the birth of my two children has been the love of reading picture books. As a child I loved books, but for obvious reasons I slowly moved on and matured into full length novels. What’s now clear to me is that picture books should be a part of daily reading just as much as a full length novel. Size doesn’t matter! Fortunately there are teachers, librarians, publishers and others whom I interact with daily who feel exactly the way I do and are giving tweens, teens and adults the opportunity to rediscover these hidden treasures. From their inspiration I’ve decided to do what I can and spend the entire 2012 year celebrating picture books!

Yes, for the entire year I’ll be sharing a different picture book each day!

Each day I’ll share a cover image, synopsis, publication date info and possibly a little info about the author. These won’t be reviews, though I’ll still be doing those as well. No rhyme or reason to the order and readers can even recommend their favorites to be featured! I’m simply wanting to bring attention to some fantastic books that bring joy and meaning to the lives of those who read them. I hope everyone enjoys! Bring on the recommendations!

Want to join in by posting your own selections on your own blog? Please do! Then stop back by to link up your posts below!

Obviously 2011 has been over now for at least a week, but I didn’t want to go without wrapping up this great challenge from last year. I had no idea that when I opened my site up to fellow picture book enthusiasts that I would have such an overwhelming response. It was wonderful and many of the wrap-ups from participants this last year have left me with tears in my eyes. So thank you everyone! Thank you for a wonderful year of reading to those little ones who need it so much! I know that I personally got so much more out of the experience than I ever imagined and know that my children loved it just as much.

Take a look at a few of the amazing details from the year:

Total Signed-Up Participants – 93

Average Number of Books Read/Reviewed Each Month – 49

Highest Number of Books Read/Reviewed During 2011 – March with 100!

Highest Number of Books Read During 2011 (That I’m aware of) – 944 Books from Happy Birthday Author

List of the Picture Book Winners from January through November -

Lori from Keeping it Simple with her review of Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Sarah, Soren and Annika from A Book A Day
NotNessie from Today’s Adventure
Myra at Gathering Books with her review of David Wiesner’s Free Fall
Janelle from Brimful Curiosities with her review of Good Night, Little Sea Otter by Janet Halfmann
Katie from A Class of her own with her “Letter V Reviews”
Katie from Secrets & Sharing Soda with her reviews of It’s A Book, Spot the Plot, The Boys and Animals Home Alone.
Liblaura5 from Read Aloud Today! with her review of Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj.
Heidi from Geo Librarian with her review of Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan A. Shea and illustrated by Tom Slaughter.
Joanna from Miss Marple’s Musings with her review of The Tree of Life by Peter Sis.
Laurie at Keeping It Simple with her reviews of Grandma’s Chocolate by Mara Price, Who Stole Mona Lisa by Ruthie Knapp, The Great Serum Race, and Art & Max by David Wiesner.
Elizabeth from Elizbeth Anne Writes with her reviews of Molly’s Family by Nancy Garden & Mom and Mum are getting Married! by Ken Setterington.
Heidi Grange from Geo Librarian with her reviews of Up, Up, Up written and sung by Susan Reed & Over in the Meadow sung by Susan Reed.
Heidi Grange with her review of Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka.
Lady In Read from MyRandRSpace with her review of six different picture books!

Now for the Final Winners of 2011!

Beth with her impressive Goodreads Shelf for the month of December!
Happy Birthday Author with his wrap up that includes 944 picture books!
Laurie at Keeping It Simple with her three Christmas picture book reviews.

If each of you could email me (the1stdaughter at gmail dot com) with your selection of one of the three books offered in December’s Link-Up I will get your book right out to you!

The Wonderful Picture Books Given Away During 2011:

Thank you everyone for a wonderful year! Again, it’s been a marvelous experience and I hope that you will all return again for the 2012 Read-to-Me Picture Book Challenge which I will be announcing this week!

The Story of Christmas: Text based on the King James Version and Illustrations by Pamela Dalton
Published by Chronicle Books
Pages: 32
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository
Publishers Summmary:

Pamela Dalton’s exquisite, intricate scissor-cut illustrations wonderfully illuminate The Story of Christmas. Deeply reverent, richly detailed, and teeming with life, Dalton’s images follow the story of the Nativity from the appearance of the Angel, to the shepherds who came from the fields, and to the three wise men who followed the star to pay respect for their new king. Working in a Pennsylvania-German folk-art tradition, rich with lovingly rendered animals and figures, Pamela Dalton has created a book that takes a deserved place among the finest celebrations of Christmas.

Turkeybird and Littlebug Snuggle In: “Christmas is so so neat! We both can’t wait to get all of those neat presents and be super silly all day in our jammies. But mom and dad said that we will also be going to church on Christmas. (Isn’t that kind of funny? We may try and sneak in a couple of toys!)

“This book is all about why we have Christmas and the pictures are so pretty. We really like the pictures of the baby Jesus and all the angels. Mom said that we have Christmas because it’s to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, which seems super super neat to us. This was a very quiet book, but we both really liked seeing what Christmas is all about.”

Mom’s Two Cents: Told through the eyes and hands of the talented illustrator Pamela Dalton, the story of the birth of Jesus Christ comes to life in the pages of this gorgeous picture book.

Pamela Dalton’s illustrated telling of The Story of Christmas is what I would consider a rare find. This is a story that is the crux of most Christian beliefs yet finding a version of the story that is appealing to both children and adults can be a daunting task. Often picture book versions of the story are much more cartoon in nature making them much too young for older readers and more mature versions of the story become quite boring for small children. Pairing the story with Pamela Dalton’s beautiful artwork was a brilliant idea. Not only does the story come to life, but it reaches a far broader audience than most versions have in the past.

Through this version of The Story of Christmas readers follow along with the text from the King James version of the Bible as Pamela Dalton’s gorgeous and intricate art bring the story to life. Our family will be reading this version for many years to come as it has quickly become a family favorite and I’m certain that other families in search of a high quality yet accurate portrayal of this important part of Christianity will love it as well.

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 2 and up. The beauty of the Bible story of Jesus’ birth coupled with gorgeous illustrations that young and old will appreciate. Perfect for the Christmas season.

Find The Story of Christmas: Text based on the King James Version and Illustrations by Pamela Dalton at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Thank you so much to the publisher, Chronicle Books, for providing a copy of this book for review! Connect with them on Twitter and on Facebook! Also, don’t forget to look over our special feature of Chronicle Books we did in November for Book Publishers 101!
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.

December’s Read-to-Me Picture Book Challenge Link-Up

This is the place to come for the month of December to link-up any and all of your picture book reviews you’ve posted during the month!

First of all…Congratulations go to the winners from November!

Both winners will be receiving one copy of Red Sled by Lita Judge!

Our Winners:
Heidi Grange with her wonderful review of Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka (a favorite book of ours I might add) and Lady In Read from MyRandRSpace with her review of six different picture books! Both of these are fantastic blogs and definitely should not be missed. Congratulations to you both!

Congratulations again! Please make sure to email me some time this month so that I can get your books out to you!

The Details:

• Make sure that before you link-up your reviews you’ve signed up for the challenge as outlined on the challenge page. (If you have not, I reserve the right to delete your entry.)
• Anyone, even non-bloggers can participate. Open worldwide.
• Non-bloggers can link to their reviews posted on Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, or Amazon. (If you need help with this please feel free to email me at the1stdaughter {at} gmail {dot} com.)
• Link as many reviews as you’d like throughout the month. Each link to *review(s)* will enter you into the monthly prize drawing. (Only reviews will count toward the drawing, not just listings of what you are reading. Sorry! We want to hear what you thought about the books. <3)
• Monthly prize drawing is open to all participants, worldwide, and one winner will be chosen at random and will be posted on the 2nd day of the month following (ie. January 2nd for this month). So please make sure to link any reviews you’d like counted for the month before the last day of the month (December 31, 2011).

What’s up for grabs this month for participants?

Since this will be the final post for the 2011 Picture Book Read-to-Me Challenge (don’t worry, 2012 sign-ups will be posted soon!) I thought it would be fitting to giveaway our favorite picture book reads this year. There will be three winners with each winner being able to choose one from our top three picture book choices this year. So, without further hesitation, our top three favorite picture books published in 2011…

Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Can I tell you how difficult it was to choose only three? I’ll be revealing our full list of top picture books later this month, but until then I hope you enjoy and good luck to all! Be on the look out for 2012 Picture Book Challenge sign-ups with a new twist (a simply reading level) coming soon!

That’s it! Get linking and make sure to take a look around at the other reviews posted for more great ideas on what picture books to pick up next. I know I’m going to be stopping by just to add to our TBR pile!

**PS…As an added incentive, every 5 comments you make on your fellow participant’s picture book reviews you will get an additional entry into the monthly drawing. Before the last day of the month make sure to stop by leaving a comment about how many comments you have left so that I can add those to the amount you’ve entered in reviews! (And of course, make sure you are signed up to participate in the challenge!)**

Please make sure to format your entries as follows so that I can easily connect with each month’s winners: [Book Title] at [Blog Name/Your Name]