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.

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!

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]

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

This is the place to come for the month of November 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 October!

Both winners will be receiving one copy of Over the River and Through the Wood: The New England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day by Lydia Maria Francis Child and Illustrated by Matt Tavares.

Our First Winner:
Elizabeth from Elizbeth Anne Writes with her reviews of Molly’s Family by Nancy Garden & Mom and Mum are getting Married! by Ken Setterington. Elizabeth has been a stalwart challenge member and posts numerous reviews each month. If you haven’t read any yet, you need to very soon!

Our Second Winner:
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.
Again, another fantastic KidLit book blog you need to be visiting! You will love her reviews, I’m positive!

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. December 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 (November 30, 2011).

What’s up for grabs this month for participants?

Red Sled by Lita Judge

I’m in love with this time of year and I can’t help but wish I lived where the snow fell. Fortunately for me and my family there are great picture books like this one that we can live vicariously through. And of course, isn’t that the cutest cover you’ve ever seen? Adorable! Two copies will be up for grabs this month, one to each winner. Good luck all!

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]

Fall Pumpkins by Martha E. H. Rustad and Illustrated by Amanda Enright
Published by Millbrook Press (An imprint of Lerner Publishing Group)
Pages: 24
Ages: 5-8
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository
Publishers Summmary:

It’s time for a trip to the pumpkin patch! Find out how pumpkins grow. See the many things we do with pumpkins. Let’s carve a jack-o’-lantern. Spooky! What happens in fall? Find out in the Fall’s Here! series, part of the Cloverleaf Books™ collection. These nonfiction picture books feature kid-friendly text and illustrations to make learning fun!

Turkeybird Passes to Littlebug: “I’m giving this off to Littlebug because she can’t stop talking…”

Littlebug: “But I love the pumpkins Turkeybird! Big big big big pumpkins!!! We even got our own pumpkins to make faces on this weekend and I am so happy for that! Did you know they grow on the ground? How neat! Turkeybird keeps talking about that, but it making faces sounds like a lot more fun that digging around in the dirt. The book says there’s these things inside that you can cook called seeds and our mom said they are super super yummy. I love cooking with our mom and that will be fun!”

Mom’s Two Cents: “Fall is here with it’s brightly colored leaves, golden and red and brown but one of the best things about Fall are the pumpkins. From the very small to the largest weighing nearly as large as a cow. Pumpkins bring the season to life and make the first holiday of the season one to remember.

“Say what you will, but next to the colors during this spectacular time of year, pumpkins are one of its most defining features. From Halloween to Thanksgiving and then Christmas pumpkins make an appearance in ever way imaginable. So what better than a children’s book all about these plentiful veggies?

“What was a treat for our family was that it wasn’t only appealing to one kiddo, but both because of it’s varied platform. Portions of the book were fictional with characters and a story that Littlebug could get excited over, especially with the brightly colored illustrations. The aspect that appealed most to the Turkeybird were the non-fiction elements about planting pumpkins, watching them grow and then the how-to’s of using the fully ripe pumpkin. As the Turkeybird gets older I see his interests veer toward more non-fiction, but he still enjoys a great picture book and it was nice to have this blend with Fall Pumpkins.

“Overall Fall Pumpkins by Martha E. H. Rustad was an enjoyable read that appeals to both fiction and non-fiction loving kiddos. Filled with adorable illustrations with the bright colors of Fall and diverse characters this will no doubt be a draw to young readers everywhere. Share the wonders of a staple of the Fall season, the pumpkin, with young readers and help them understand not only how pumpkins grow but what to do with them beyond carving faces into their shells. An adorable teaching picture book perfect for the Fall season at home or in school.”

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 2 to 6. A happy medium for families with fiction and non-fiction fans that shares the wonders of a favorite Fall staple.

Find Fall Pumpkins by Martha E. H. Rustad and Illustrated by Amanda Enright at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Like the sound of Fall Pumpkins by Martha E. H. Rustad and Illustrated by Amanda Enright then pick up the others in the series:

Today’s post is part of our month long celebration of Lerner Publishing Group for our monthly feature “Book Publishers 101“. Make sure to stop by the Lerner Publishing Group Site for more information about this title and more. For more information about our Book Publishers 101 feature take a look at this month’s opening post.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Lerner Publishing Group, for coordinating many of this month’s features and reviews! Connect with them on Twitter and on Facebook!
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.