Books For Africa Partnership

Barefoot Books recently announced their new partnership with the non-profit organization Books For Africa and I couldn't be more excited! Watch the Books For Africa video here.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love books and that our house is filled with them. I grew up in a house with lots of books, and I feel so blessed for having had that opportunity. My family did not watch a lot of television when I was a child. Instead, I always saw my parents reading books and I feel that growing up in such an environment really helped foster the love of reading I have today. I hope to pass this same love of reading on to my children, by reading to them, reading around them and by always having plenty of books for them to choose from (whether they are our own or from the library).

Sadly, there are many children around the world whose families don't have the means to provide their children with an abundance of books. Not because they choose not to, but because the books are simply not available. Books For Africa is seeking to change this by sending books (over 20 million so far!) to youth clubs, libraries and cultural centers throughout Africa.













Barefoot Books has made available a selection of 6 African themed books that can be purchased at a discounted rate (only $5 for a hardcover, or $3 for a board book). This will also cover the cost of shipping the book to Africa. All of the books can be seen here: Barefoot Books For Africa.

Please consider using one of the above links for all of your Barefoot Books purchases, even if you do not plan to buy that particular book. Using any of the links throughout this post means that 20% of your purchase will go to Books For Africa. What a simple way to make a difference!

Storytime

Storytime - Another great book that is part of our Winter Sale. This anthology by Stella Blackstone features many of my childhood favorites, but with stunning new illustrations by Anne Wilson who also illustrated another favorite of ours, The Great Race.


You'll find well-known stories like The Three Little Pigs, The Gingerbread Man and The Ugly Duckling along with a few lesser-know stories (at least to us!) like Stone Soup and The Timid Hare.

We really like Stone Soup where an old wolf shows up at the door of a hen's house on a cold night and asks to be let in. He places the stone he carries in a sack on his back into a large cooking pot so he can make soup. As all the other animals come to check on the hen, each one adds its own special ingredient and they all share an evening of dinner and stories until the wolf has to leave.

This book is available in hardcover or paperback, and you can get the paperback with or without a CD of the stories being read by Jim Broadbent. We have the hardcover, which I like because we read it a lot. I also have a copy of the paperback with CD and it is very nice as well. All of our paperbacks are very durable with bound spines (like our hardcovers; not stapled) and many of them have French folds for added durability.

Tales of Wisdom and Wonder

Tales of Wisdom and Wonder - I wanted to get this reviewed because it is part of the Winter Sale. The hardcover is just $13.99 (reg. $19.99) through February 2. This book is also available with a story CD (although not as part of the sale).

Lissie just got this book for Christmas from her big sister Ariana. I let Ariana choose whatever books she wanted out of my stock, and I really wasn't sure what my 3 year old would think of it, but I am happy to report that she loves it. My 15 year old loves it too. The other night, my husband, who usually reads bedtime stories to Lissie was busy, and Ariana offered to read to her. She chose this book and I kind of thought "oh no, how long will this last?" because they never like the same books, but a few minutes later when my husband went up to check on them, Lissie was sound asleep. It was adorable, and will probably never happen again. If I was a better blogger I'd have taken a picture (and if knew where the cameras were; we were still unpacking from Christmas).

This anthology contains 7 tales retold by Hugh Lupton and illustrated by Niamh Sharkey. Lissie's favorite is Monkey and Papa God which is a Haitian tale of monkey who overhears a woman who has spilled her pot of honey asking Papa God why he sends her so much misery. The monkey eats the honey after she leaves and goes to ask Papa God for more of the delicious "misery". Papa God fulfills the monkey's request, but not in the way the monkey was expecting!