Family Reading Challenge, Week 7

There is officially only one more week of summer left, and this is officially the last full week of the Family Reading Challenge. Next week, I'll post some important lessons I've learned and hold the final giveaway.

This week, I thought I would do something a bit different and give the winner a choice of five books from a list of ten. What the winner doesn't pick will be available to next week's winner.

So, Karen, from Mommy's Favorite Children's Books, you get to choose five of the following books! (Click on the link for more details!)

Hot Mess: Summer in the City by Julie Kraut and Shallon Lester (Young Adult Fiction)

Flight Explorer, Volume One edited by Kazu Kibuishi (a compilation of comics by various artists

The Discovery And Mystery of a Dinosaur Named Jane by Judith Williams (middle grade nonfiction)

Chess Rumble by G. Neri (middle grade fiction)

Pompeii (Unearthing Ancient Worlds) by Liz Sonneborn (middle grade nonfiction)

A Song in Bethlehem by Marni McGee (fiction picture book w/ Christmas theme)

The Scrambled States of America Talent Show by Laurie Keller (fiction picture book)

Cat by Mike Dumbleton (fiction picture book)

Tera's Dawn by Susan K. Schank (autographed copy/ fiction picture book)

We by Alice Schertle (fiction picture book)


Karen, please email your address to thewellreadchild AT gmail DOT com, and I'll send your choices out to you!

Family Reading Challenge, Week 6

So, how are YOU doing with reading to your children as summer comes to a close? This week was a bit of a challenge for us. My little one is transitioning to the toddler room in day care, and all of the new activities and bigger kids wore her out. A few days, she was NOT tolerating being read to and only wanted to sleep. So, I guess the one thing I've learned is that "forcing" reading on a child is not ever going to work. It should definitely be a pleasant experience for everyone, and there are just some days when you're too tired or your kids are too tired to read.

That said, if you make reading part of your regular routine, even if not daily, I really do think that kids will develop an appreciation and love for reading. While my daughter didn't want to read over the week, this weekend she was constantly bringing me books, sitting in my lap, and saying, "Bu, Bu." (Book) She's at the stage where she can name objects, and it's so fun to see how much she's starting to pick up. Last night, we were reading a book that had pictures of animals. When we got to the page with the monkeys, she scratched the top of her head and said, "Ah Ah." Her daddy likes to pretend to be a monkey, and apparently his impersonation is pretty realistic. :)

These are the moments for me that make reading special: laughing, learning, and spending time together. When they're filled with frustration (grumpy toddlers, grumpy mommies), it's really not worth it, so I'm slowly learning to choose moments when we're ALL into reading. Hey...maybe I'm getting the hang of this parenting thing! :)

This Week's Winner

So, this week I decided to do another "grab bag" of books. This time, my daughter chose five books from the shelf.

Here's what ignoramoose from Snapshots and Pieces won:

• Generation Dead by Daniel Waters (Young Adult Fiction)
  
• The Rookie Mom's Handbook by Heather Gibbs Flett and Whitney Moss (Parenting)
• Little Skink's Tail by Janet Halfmann, ill. Laurie Allen Klein (Fiction Picture Book)
• In a Nutshell by Joseph Anthony, ill. Cris Arbo (Fiction Picture Book)
• Pelican's Catch by Janet Halfmann, ill. Bob Dacey & Debra Bandelin (Fiction Picture Book)
  

Congratulations! Ignoramoose, please email your mailing address to thewellreadchild AT gmail DOT com, and I'll get the books out to you ASAP.

Next Week's Giveaway

Because the fall is going to be extremely busy, I'm wrapping up the family reading challenge for the summer. Our last giveaway will be held on August 31, but I'll hold random giveaways throughout the fall. There are still two weeks left, and next week, I'm going to do the grab-bag thing again, only this time, I will give the winner a list of 10 books, and he/she can choose five from that list.


HAPPY READING!

Family Reading Challenge: Week Five

We've had some amazing weather here that has kept us outside more than usual, and I must confess that our reading time as a whole has definitely diminished. We have, however, managed to read to our daughter a little bit every day. More often than not these days, she wants to choose the book and turn the pages herself, which is really cool.

My personal reading has slowed down a bit this week. I went on a reading rampage over the last two weeks, so I could finish The Twilight Saga, so I took a week off from reading books and stuck to magazines. We're also really into the Olympics, so I predict that reading overall will slow down quite a bit until the closing ceremonies.

How have you been doing?

Giveaway Winner


This week, I decided to give a surprise grab-bag of five books. So, I randomly chose five books from mine and my daughter's shelf. Here's what Lauren from Domestic Goddess in Training wins:

• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
• The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
• Jump into Literacy by Rae Pica
• Rabbit Cooks Up a Cunning Plan! by Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by Bruno Robert
• A signed copy of Unicorn Races by Stephen J. Brooks, illustrated by Linda Crockett
  

Congrats Lauren! Please email me at thewellreadchild AT gmail DOT com w/ your mailing address, and I'll get the books out to you this week!

Next Week's Giveway
This was fun, so up for grabs next week is another Surprise Grab Bag of five books (children, young adult, and adult) for the winner. I will announce the winner and the book titles next Sunday.


Entry Rules

The contest is open to all participants who've signed up for the challenge. It's not too late to sign up as this challenge is ongoing indefinitely. If you haven't signed up and want to join, please leave a comment here, and I'll add you to the list. Next week, I'll choose a winner using Random.org, so be sure to check back then to see if you've won.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Family Reading Challenge: This Week's Winner/ Next Week's Giveaway

My apologies for posting a day late. My family spent the day at Shenandoah National Park yesterday, and we didn't get home until late.

This week went well with reading. I find it very interesting that my daughter seems to pick a favorite book or set of books each week to focus on. Even though she has a lot of books to choose from, this week she kept coming back to a set of "Baby Gym" books published by "Child's Play." Look for my review later this week.

As for my own personal reading, I finished the first two books in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga. I truly loved the first book, but I did not really like the second book at all. I'll be writing a lengthier review of that one today.

What about you? How was your week?

This Week's Winner

The winner of The Crossroads and The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is Channah who blogs at Get A Grip, Mom!

Congratulations! Channah, please email me with your mailing address, and I'll get the books out to you this week.



Next Week's Giveaway
To celebrate the fourth week of the Family Reading Challenge, I'm giving away a $25 dollar Amazon.com gift certificate!


Entry Rules

The contest is open to all participants who've signed up for the challenge. If you haven't signed up and want to join, please leave a comment here, and I'll add you to the list. Read this post for more information about that challenge. Next week, I'll choose a winner using Random.org, so be sure to check back then to see if you've won.

Good luck, and have a great week reading!

Family Reading Challenge: This Week's Winner and Next Week's Giveaway

So, how is the Family Reading Challenge going for you?

There was only one night this week that I didn't read to my daughter because she was already in bed by the time I got home from work. "Splish Splash Tuesdays" at daycare wear her out. For the rest of the week, she's been asking me to read her book after book during our reading time. Last night, I read six board books to her, which I think is a record. I really enjoy reading with her at night. It's our special time together, and now that she's getting older and comprehending more, it's so wonderful to see things start clicking and watching her enjoy books.

As for me, I finished one book this week: Anita Amirrezvani's The Blood of Flowers. I had a late night insomniac night and finished it in one night. I think it was a very powerful and gut wrenching book but would only recommend it to adults because of its mature subject matter. I also finally got around to staring Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga. I'm about a third of the way through Twilight and am enjoying it immensely.


This Week's Winner
Now for the winner of the 10 Smithsonian's Backyard books: Jeanette from A Comfy Chair and a Good Book! Congratulations Jeanette! Please send your mailing address to thewellreadchild AT gmail DOT com, and I'll get the books out to you this week!

Next Week's Loot
For next week's participants, I'm offering up two middle grade novels:

First up is Chris Grabenstein's novel, The Crossroads. (read my review here) This is a nice choice for both boys and girls who are into a little horror, mystery, and suspense. If you win the book, you may want to read it first to see whether or not your child can handle it. It's got lots of spooky parts, and a violent ghost tries to kill the story's main character. You know your child best, and lots of kids are into this kind of stuff.

Second is Jeanne Birdsall's The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. It's the follow up to her award-winning The Penderwicks. I've been holding onto this book, waiting to read the first one before I started it, but I realize it's low on my priority list. The book has received a lot of rave reviews, and it deserves to be in the hands of someone who can really savor it. From what I've read, it's a fun, wholesome book that appeals to girls.

Entry Rules

The contest is open to all participants who've signed up for the challenge. If you haven't signed up and want to join, please leave a comment here, and I'll add you to the list. Read this post for more information about that challenge. Next week, I'll choose a winner using Random.org, so be sure to check back then to see if you've won.

Good luck, and have a great week reading!

Family Reading Challenge: My Week, This Week's Winner, and New Giveaway!

Wow! Eighteen of you signed up for the Family Reading Challenge and made a commitment to read more during the busy days of summer! Thanks to all of you!

It's funny how you always seem to find time to do things once you tell yourself you're going to do it, and my husband and I made sure we would find time to read to our daughter every day this week. On most nights, we used reading to wind her down after bath time. Other nights we read to her after dinner. She was being extremely independent this week and wanted to not only pick the books, but hold them, AND flip the pages. She seemed to gravitate toward Grace Lin's Bringing in the New Year this week and spent a good amount of time just looking at and touching the colorful end papers.

When we finally got her to bed, I spent some time reading, but I didn't have a lot of luck with finding good books to read this week. I abandoned three before I finally found a winner on Wednesday: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel by Lisa See. I finished it last night, and hooboy, this story will stay with me for a while: the torture of foot binding, the bond of a friendship over a lifetime, the plight of women in 19th century China, war, survival, forgiveness...this book has it all.

All in all, it was a great week, and I'm lining up books to read this week. Maybe I'll have some time this afternoon when my little one takes a nap.

Now for this week's winner...Using Random.org, Sweetsue is the winner of four books! Woot Woot! Sweetsue committed to reading an extra book with her granddaughter each time she visits with her. Congratulations! Sweetsue, please send your mailing address to thewellreadchild AT gmail DOT com, and I'll get the books out to you this week.

If you didn't win this week, no worries! Because this week, you have a chance to win 10 paperback books from the Smithsonian Backyard Series. (read my review here) Here's what's up for grabs:

• Firefly at Stony Brook Farm by Wendy Pfeffer, illustrated by Larry Mikec
• River Otter at Autumn Lane by Laura Gates Galvin, illustrated by Christopher Leeper
• Alligator at Saw Grass Road by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Lori Anzalone
• Raccoon at Clear Creek Road by Carolyn B. Otto, illustrated by Cathy Trachok
• Groundhog at Evergreen Road by Susan Korman, illustrated by Higgins Bond
• Bumblebee at Apple Tree Lane by Laura Gates Galvin, illustrated by Kristin Kest
• Red Fox at Hickory Lane by Kathleen M. Hollenbeck, illustrated by Wendy Smith
• Canada Goose at Cattail Lane by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Daniel J. Stegos
• Ladybug at Orchard Avenue by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, illustrated by Thomas Buchs
• Monarch Butterfly of Aster Way by Elizabeth Ring, illustrated by Katie Lee

Here's how to enter:

• If you joined the challenge last week, leave a comment telling me how it's going so far, OR if you have a blog and posted about it there, leave me your link
• If you're new to the challenge and want to sign up, read more about the challenge here, and come back to this post to sign up in the comments field
  

Easy peasy, right?

Okay, so I'm looking forward to hearing how your week went!

Family Reading Challenge and Giveaway

Now that it's summer and we've had lots of nice outdoor weather, I've found that not only my own personal reading, but reading to my daughter has been slipping a bit. While it's absolutely wonderful and beneficial to spend time outside, I don't want to get into the habit of not reading to my daughter and reading on my own every day.

Last night as I was lying in bed lamenting that we had gone yet another night with no reading, I decided to challenge my family to read a little every day even if it's just for a few minutes. Here's how it's going to work for us:

• After dinner, either my husband or I will read to our daughter. She's fifteen months old, so one picture book has been pretty much all we can get through. If we get through two or three books, it's a major feat.
• After bath time, we'll also let her browse through her books on her own and will read to her if she asks us to. She's done more and more of this lately, which is pretty cool.
  
• Because it's nearly impossible to read with a toddler around, after my daughter goes to bed, my husband and I will spend time reading on our own.
  

So our challenge is for all of us to read a little every day. I'm not setting a time goal or page goal or anything like that because for some reason, that tends to stress me out instead of making me enjoy the book and just savor the act of reading.


What about you? Would you like to spend more time reading and challenge yourself and your family to read a bit every day? If so, I'd love it if you joined me! The only rule is that you try to fit in time every day. You know what will work best for your family, so you decide the logistics. Maybe you want to spend some time every day reading aloud to your children. Or if you have older kids, perhaps you want set aside a specific time of day where everyone in the family is reading on their own--no computers, no TV, just good old books. Maybe you don't even have kids but want to challenge yourself to read everyday. That's fine, too!

On Saturday mornings, I will post a summary of how our week went, and if you have a blog, invite you to do the same and link to your post. If you don't have a blog, I'd still love to know how your week went and invite you to post a summary in the comments section.

To help get you started and keep you motivated, I'll be holding a giveaway each week, and in honor of the challenge kickoff, I'll start by giving away four books, three of which I've featured on The Well-Read Child this week:

• Sergio Makes A Splash by Edel Rodriguez (my review)
  
• A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg (my review)
  
• The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (my review)
• For adults, I'm also giving away my personal copy of Ami McKay's The Birth House
  

To enter, you must sign up for the challenge by leaving your comments in this post. For an extra entry, help spread the word about the challenge on your blog if you have one, and leave your link in this post. If you don't have a blog, you can earn an extra entry by emailing five of your friends who may be interested in joining the challenge and cc'ing me in the email. (thewellreadchild AT gmail DOT com)

You have until Midnight EST, Friday, July 11, 2008. I'll do a random drawing on Saturday, July 12, 2008 and announce the winners and the next giveaway in my weekly challenge summary.


At this time, the contest is only open to US residents, but anyone in any country can sign up for the challenge. Good luck, and happy reading!