Celebrating Barefoot

Free Shipping

2009-03-28T10:22:00.004-04:00

From March 28-31 Barefoot Books is offering free shipping on all orders! If you've been planning to place an order, but putting it off, now is a great time to do it.

Books For Africa Partnership

2009-01-11T23:11:00.010-05:00

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

2009-01-05T20:07:00.009-05:00

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

2009-01-01T11:29:00.006-05:00

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!

Winter Sale!

2008-12-29T09:21:00.008-05:00

Check out our Winter Sale from December 29 - February 2! You can save up to 80% on many great titles, including some of our personal favorites: Hidden Hippo, The Barefoot Book of Monsters and My Daddy is a Pretzel.

For the best savings, click here to see our discontinued titles - some are priced as low as $1.99!

The Barefoot Book of Pirates

2008-12-18T23:26:00.018-05:00

The Barefoot Book of Pirates - This book is a lot of fun! I wasn't sure if my daughter would like this or not, as most of the stories in The Barefoot Book of Princesses didn't hold her attention very well. I thought it might have been because she was too young, so I didn't even think of reading to her from this book until she saw it one day and requested it. We have read most of the stories, and she definitely seems to like this one better than the Princesses book.

Her favorite story is Music Charms the Pirates, which is a Japanese tale that tells how Mochimitsu used his music to win in a fight against the pirates who wanted to take his
ship. Another favorite is Pirate Grace, although I think she found the part where Grace took the little boy a bit scary the first time we read it. This book was written by Richard Walker and Illustrated by Olwyn Whelan who also illustrated The Barefoot Book of Princesses.

Now that I know how much Lissie likes pirates, I am looking forward to getting the Folkmanis Pirate Puppet for her. We are giving one to my nephew for Christmas, and it is lovely. There is also a beautiful 100-piece Pirates Puzzle by Mudpuppy Press that is based on the cover illustration from the book.

Free Shipping Offer Extended

2008-12-16T18:24:00.008-05:00

The free shipping offer has been extended through Friday December 19th, so there is still time to take advantage of this last promotion before Christmas!

The free copy of The Prince's Bedtime promotion will still end tonight at midnight though.

The Princess and the White Bear King

2008-12-15T12:41:00.009-05:00

The Princess and the White Bear King - I probably say this far too often, but this really might be my favorite Barefoot Book. The book itself is a gorgeous cloth-bound hardcover. The illustrations by Nicoletta Ceccoli are ethereal and whimsical and perfectly depict the magical land where this story takes place, and the story CD read by Miranda Richardson is enthralling. I am not generally a huge fan of story CDs, except in the car, but the first time I played this my 3 year old and I were snuggled together on the couch and we listened from beginning to end without a word (and if you knew my 3 year old, you would know that never happens!).

In the afterword, author Tanya Robyn Batt talks about her influences for this story. She says it "...combines the themes of three classic wonder tales East of the Sun, West of the Moon, The Black Bull of Norway and The White Bear King" and she has done a wonderful job of combining them into something that is fresh and original, but still has the comforting familiar feel of a classic fairy tale.

FREE Shipping and a FREE copy of The Prince's Bedtime

2008-12-12T22:51:00.009-05:00

Now through December 16, Barefoot Books is offering FREE shipping on all orders and a FREE hardcover copy of The Prince's Bedtime with orders over $50.

We just got our copy of this book and it's really cute. The prince is having trouble sleeping. His parents try all sorts of things to get him to sleep, but nothing helps. Until one night an old woman shows up with something in her bag that puts him right to sleep.

Motherbridge of Love

2008-12-04T23:29:00.002-05:00

Motherbridge of Love - This was our first Barefoot Book, from the library, back before I even knew what a Barefoot Book was. My daughter chose this one pretty randomly (perhaps she was attracted to the gorgeous cover illustration), and we read it a lot of times before we renewed it, then we read it a lot more times and returned it, and now we have our own copy.

The text for this book comes from a poem that was sent anonymously to the charity Mother Bridge of Love that says it's goals are to set up the bridges between "China and the West", "adoptive and birth culture" and "the rich and the poor". Text royalties from this book are donated to Mother Bridge of Love, and if you are interested in downloading a copy of the original poem, it is available here. To see the illustrations from this book and hear the text read aloud by Amy Tan click here to see the e-card.

This is a beautiful book, regardless of whether you have an adopted child.

Upcoming

2008-12-02T02:00:00.009-05:00

We just got a new shipment of books! We've been busy reading them all so I can come tell you about them. Lissie finally got her long awaited copy of A Dragon on the Doorstep, and can't get enough of The Prince's Bedtime. Ariana is enjoying Arthur of Albion and The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems--especially since she can read them for school. I love that Barefoot offers books for older children that are as beautifully illustrated as their books for younger children.

Jack and the Beanstalk

2008-12-01T17:02:00.001-05:00

Jack and the Beanstalk - This retelling of the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk is adorably illustrated by Niamh Sharkey. This version is well written (of course) and very similar to the one I was read as a child. I enjoyed reading this to my daughter who did not enjoy it as much as I did because, as she informed me, she likes "Jack, his mom, the old woman, the hen and the harp, but NOT the giant! " When we were finished, she looked at the pictures, gave the book back to me and said "here mommy, you can have this for one of your samples". I suppose she can't love them all!

I wanted to update this post, because a short while after I wrote it, my daughter rediscovered this book, and we have been reading it non-stop ever since. It has become one of her favorites.

If you enjoy the illustrations of Niamh Sharkey as much as I do, be sure to check out our 12x16 Jack and the Beanstalk print.

Port Side Pirates

2008-11-30T10:51:00.000-05:00

Port Side Pirates - This book tells the story of a young child who hops on board a pirate ship and spends the day at sea. The rhyming text is fun to read, but even more fun to listen to sung on the accompanying CD. The back of the book is full of information on pirate ships (including a numbered guide to the different parts of a galleon) and famous pirates.

The Real Princess: A Mathematical Tale

2008-11-28T17:59:00.002-05:00

The Real Princess: A Mathematical Tale - This charming book tells the story of The Princess and the Pea, but with a twist. There are 3 princesses in this version, along with 9 peas. And when you are all done reading, be sure to turn to the last page to test your counting skills!

The Great Race

2008-11-25T18:20:00.011-05:00

The Great Race - This book tells the story of how the animals who represent the Chinese zodiac were chosen and why they are in the order they are in. This version differs from the one I was familiar with, so reading it for the first time was almost like reading a whole new story (except I had a pretty good idea of the ending).

It probably won't surprise you to learn that I buy a lot of Barefoot Books, some specifically for my children, but many of them are purchased just to have on hand--I call them my "samples" so my youngest daughter does not think they are all for her. We do read most of them, so I can get her reaction and familiarize myself with the books. Well, I read this to my 3 year old, and she went wild over it. She begged me to let her keep it, something she has never done before. She even tried to give me back my older daughter's copy of Odysseus so I could have enough samples. Of course I let her have it! We have since read it many times. She loves all of the animals (the rat is her favorite) and likes to look at the astrological information in the back and have me tell her who we know who was born in each year.

This is fun book with great illustrations. To really bring the book to life or for an awesome gift, consider pairing it with our:

Folkmanis Red Dragon Puppet - This is a beautiful puppet--seriously. My daughter saw it and wanted one so badly she bought it with her own money. And this is my 15 year old I am talking about!

FREE shipping and FREE activity book!

2008-11-20T18:51:00.004-05:00

From November 19-24, Barefoot Books is offering FREE shipping! Also,if you spend $50 or more, you get a FREE activity book ($6.99 value) with your order!

Click here to to get your free activity book and free shipping:

Mama Panya's Pancakes

2008-11-19T12:51:00.001-05:00

Mama Panya's Pancakes - Is a huge favorite of my 3-year old, and one everybody enjoys reading to her. I hadn't planned on giving her this book when I ordered it, but she asked me to read it to her so many times I finally told her she could keep it. In this story, Adika goes to the market with his mama and invites all of their friends to join them for pancakes that night. Mama Panya is worried that she won't have enough food to feed everyone, but there is plenty of food, because everyone who comes brings something to share!

Last Day to Buy 3 Books and Get a 4th Free!

2008-11-18T09:00:00.002-05:00

Today is the last day to buy 3 books and get a 4th book for free! Simply click here and add 4 books to your basket. The price of the lowest book with be automatically deducted when you check out.

Updated Links

2008-11-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

I wanted to let everyone know I fixed all of the links in my blog so now when you click on something, it should take you directly to the correct page on the Barefoot Books site instead of to my homepage.

The Story of Divaali

2008-11-17T22:55:00.015-05:00

The Story of Divaali - This book tells the tale of The Ramayana and is recommended for 4-10 year olds. Ramayana is the story of the adventures of Prince Rama during his 14 year exile, and how he defeats the Demon King Ravana and saves Princess Sita. When Prince Rama returns home with his bride to take the throne, all of the townspeople have lit lanterns in their windows to celebrate, and that is how the festival of Divaali was born.

Divaali is a Hindu festival celebrated in modern India, and the book contains more information on the festival and the traditions surrounding it. As a homeschooling parent, this is exactly the sort of book I look for. It teaches something, but in an enjoyable an inspiring way. It is a book I would read to my children even if it wasn't educational, just because it is fun to read.

The House that Jack Built

2008-11-16T18:47:00.001-05:00

The House that Jack Built - A beautifully illustrated re-telling of a familiar classic. This book comes with a CD, which my daughter likes to listen to over and over (and over and over). The fun repetitive text is perfect for beginning readers.

Buy 3 Books & Get a 4th Free!

2008-11-15T00:48:00.002-05:00

Now through November 18th, you can get 4 Barefoot Books, but only pay for 3! Click here to take advantage of this great offer:

New Gift Collections!

2008-11-14T19:07:00.005-05:00

Just in time for the holidays, I am so excited to announce the new Barefoot Gift Collections! We are currently offering eight different collections, which range in price from $100-$150. Each collection comes in a beautiful and practical canvas Barefoot tote bag with a gift tag.

Choose from:
Adventure Stories from Far and Wide which comes with six of our best-selling hardcover books: Arthur of Albion, The Adventures of Odysseus, The Barefoot Book of Pirates (with CD), The Genius of Leonardo, The Barefoot Book of Giants, Ghosts and Goblins (with CDs) and our 100 piece Pirates Puzzle. This collection sells for $140 and would make a wonderful gift for adventurous boys and girls ages 6 and up.

Barefoot Baby which contains seven of our best hard cover and board books for little ones: Baby's First Book, Mother Goose Remembers (with CD), Mrs. Moon: Lullabies for Bedtime (with CD), Listen, Listen, Alligator Alphabet, and Who are You, Baby Kangaroo? along with a Putumayo Dreamland CD and Bo Peep Woolly Sheep puppet. This collection sells for $125 would be a wonderful gift to welcome a new baby into the world!

Barefoot Singalong which contains six super fun hardcover book and CD sets: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, Port Side Pirates!, The Animal Boogie, Knick Knack Paddy Whack, We All Go Travelling By and Whole World. This collection sells for $100 and I think any young child would be thrilled to receive it.

Barefoot Storytime which contains five fun read-aloud paperback and hardcover books: Storytime: First Tales for Sharing (PB with CD), The Story Tree: Tales to Read Aloud (PB with CD), The Gigantic Turnip, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Prince's Bedtime, along with a Prince puppet. This collection sells for $100 and is sure to bring hours of enjoyment to a special child in your life.

Best of Barefoot which contains seven of our bestselling hardcover books: Mother Goose Remembers (with CD), I Took the Moon for a Walk, The Story Tree: Tales to Read Aloud, The Faerie's Gift (gift edition with CD), The Boy Who Grew Flowers, The Gigantic Turnip, The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems and The Barefoot Book of Fairy Tales. This collection sells for $150 and would be great if you are new to Barefoot, but not sure what to buy first! There are books for all ages here, so this is the perfect collection to grow with your child.

Enchanted Tales which contains six stunning hardcover books: The Barefoot Book of Princesses (with CD), Magic Hoofbeats: Fantastic Horse Tales, The Faerie's Gift (gift edition with CD), The Princess and the White Bear King (gift edition with CD), The Barefoot Book of Fairy Tales and The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories along with My Magic Diary and our 100 piece Princesses puzzle. This magical collection sells for $140 and is sure to inspire the imaginations of children ages 6 and up.

One World, One Planet which contains five inspiring books: Whole World (with CD), Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon, The Sun in Me: Poems about the Planet, and A Forest of Stories: Magical Tree Tales from Around the World along with Yoga Planet: 50 Activities for a Greener World (card deck), 100 piece Around the World puzzle and a Putumayo World Playground CD. This collection sells for $100 and is perfect for the young environmentalist in your life!

Travel the World which contains seven exotic hardcover books: We All Went on Safari: A Counting Journey through Tanzania, We’re Riding on a Caravan: An Adventure on the Silk Road, My Granny Went to Market: A Round the World Counting Rhyme, Off We Go to Mexico!: An Adventure in the Sun, We’re Sailing Down the Nile: A Journey through Egypt, along with our interactive 64 piece Landmarks of the World puzzle. This collection sells for $100 and will take your child on a trip around the world--without ever leaving the house!

Book a Party in November or December & Get 3 Free Books w/CD!

2008-10-31T22:01:00.001-04:00

Special offer for November and December only, if you have a home party with me, you will receive 3 free books with CDs (up to $30 value). Please click here for more details.

Secret Seahorse

2008-10-28T13:07:00.000-04:00

Secret Seahorse - This is a sweet book featuring Clare Beaton's signature illustrations. The story follows a seahorse as he swims through many beautiful underwater scenes, until he swims into a cave at the end and you find a whole seahorse family! This is available in board book and paperback formats. We bought the board book for one of my nephews but my 3 year old got a hold of it and refused to give it up until I promised to buy a copy for her too. For a great gift, pair this book with our:

Two-in-One Animal Puzzle - This reversible 9-piece puzzle features a picture from Secret Seahorse on one side and a picture from Zoe's Zebra on the other. It would make a great gift paired with either book, or with a copy of both books for the ultimate gift!

Winter King, Summer Queen

2008-10-20T23:12:00.003-04:00

Winter King, Summer Queen - This tale of the seasons is for ages 4-8 (6-10 if read alone). I'm not sure if it is based on any particular legend, but I think it is a cute introduction for young children. The Winter King and the Summer Queen each rule over their respective lands, until the cold music the Winter King and his followers (including my three year old's favorite, Phillipa Freezo) play starts to freeze everybody. The Summer Queen and her followers send a rainbow to thaw things out, and eventually they agree to share the earth by taking turns. This book also comes with a CD, but it's such a fun book to read aloud that I don't think we have ever listened to it.

The Barefoot Book of Goddesses

2008-10-03T22:20:00.001-04:00

Goddesses A World of Myth and Magic - This book was not what I expected. When I ordered it, I thought it was a collection of Goddess stories, but it is actually more like an encyclopedia of Goddesses. However, I was not disappointed. The illustrations in this book are nothing short of spectacular, and it contains descriptions of over one hundred different Goddesses from many different cultures. This beautiful and inspiring book is for ages 8-adult and I think every young girl should have a copy on her bookshelves.

Barefoot Books does offer a collection of Goddess stories in a book called The Lady of Ten Thousand Names which was written by the same author, goddess expert Burleigh Muten. I don't have a copy of that one yet, but I am looking forward to getting it!

Bear on a Bike Book and First Puzzles

2008-09-25T15:46:00.007-04:00

Bear on a Bike - Another book from the Bear series, this one is available in board book, paperback and even Spanish. This is a fun book where a little boy follows Bear, first on a bike to the market, then a raft to the jungle, and through several other modes of transportation to increasingly further away locales until the final page where Bear flies into space on a rocket. As with all of the other Bear books, the illustrations in this book are bright, cheerful and adorable. If you like the illustrations as well as I do, be sure to check out:

Bear on the Go First Puzzles - This adorable puzzle set for ages 2+ by Mudpuppy Press includes four puzzles featuring the artwork from the book Bear on a Bike. Each puzzle consists of four pieces. You can separate the pieces of each puzzle for younger children, and then mix them all together and let the child sort them before doing the puzzles when they are ready for more of a challenge. My daughter has a couple of other sets of these and sometimes likes to mix all of the pieces from all three sets together before doing the puzzles. The box the puzzles come in is cute and sturdy enough to use for storing the puzzles, and paired with the Bear on a Bike book would make a great gift for a toddler!

The Boy Who Grew Flowers

2008-09-21T23:44:00.002-04:00

The Boy Who Grew Flowers - At risk of making this review sound like complete hyperbole, I have to say, this is the most beautiful story I have ever read. The Barefoot Books site says "...this touching story shows us that what makes us different makes us beautiful" and I think that sums it up so perfectly that I'm not even going to try. This is a magical tale with a happy ending, and young Rink Bowagon could teach us all something about acceptance and being true to ourselves.

We All Went on Safari

2008-09-21T23:32:00.007-04:00

We All Went on Safari - This book teaches you how to count from 1-10 in Swahili! How fun is that? It's aimed at ages 4-8, but the text is simple enough that I think younger children will enjoy it too (in fact, it's a favorite of my 3 year old). The story follows a group of children through the grasslands of Tanzania where they en-count-er many different animals. The last few pages of the book contain all kinds of information, including a map and some notes on the animals featured in the book (including how to say the animals' names in Swahili). It also tells about Tanzania and the Maasai people, including the meanings of the names of the children in the book. And, if all of that isn't enough for you, when you buy this great book, a donation is made to the African Wildlife Foundation.

I was excited to discover that Ella Jenkins has a track called Counting in Swahili on her album Multicultural Children's Songs. This CD is not sold by Barefoot Books, but I wanted to mention it here because my daughter really enjoys listening to it (actually, the entire CD is wonderful) . Ella says each number and then a group of children repeats it. They go from 1-10, then do it again quickly and then once more slowly. Although many of her albums are available on E-music, this one is not. I got it from the library, but I think we will be buying our own copy.

The Starter Pack: What You Get

2008-09-20T16:04:00.011-04:00

If you sign up to sell Barefoot Books, you should almost certainly get the Starter Pack. It's optional, and although it's free to sign up as a stallholder if you don't get it, I think it's well worth the money. It costs $99 plus shipping and is loaded with goodies. Currently you get 10 fantastic books, a Folkmanis puppet and a set of puzzles in addition to all the things you need to get started: a stallholder handbook, catalogs, bags, order forms, post cards, invitations and a press kit folder. It even comes with a nice big bin to store everything in.

The books you get are:

I Took the Moon for a Walk - A charming story of a little boy who takes a walk with the moon. It is recommended for ages 0-4 which I think is right on. My three year old really enjoys this book, though the sweet simple text will definitely appeal to younger kids as well. Your little one is sure to ask for this book over and over, but don't worry--this beautiful book is such a joy to read that you won't quickly tire of it!

Hidden Hippo - Another one for the 0-4 set, and like I Took the Moon for a Walk, the simple rhyming text of this book will easily hold the attention of younger children. This book is beautifully illustrated by Clare Beaton and my daughter loves finding the hippo hidden on each page. In the back of the book, there is a section which gives a bit of information about each of the animals in the book (although my 3 year old refuses to let me read those pages, and insists they are instructions on how to make the animals out of fabric like in the pictures).

Animal Boogie - This book is so much fun! It comes with a CD which plays through the music twice, once with lyrics and once without. The music is upbeat and lively and my 3 year old loves to dance and sing along while yelling out the names of the animals. It also has the power to defuse a tantrum by the second verse. This is one of Barefoot's best sellers, and I can see why. Like the previous two books, this one is recommended for ages 0-4 and I have yet to hear of a child who did not love it.

Bear at Work - This is a board book, recommended for ages 0-4. It is part of a series (many are also available in paperback), and this particular one has Bear demonstrating different professions. The illustrations are vivid and the text is more substantial than that of a lot of board books. My daughter likes this although she prefers Bear on a Bike. I really wish I had known about these when she was younger and we read more board books.

The Barefoot Book of Princesses - This is a collection of princess stories from different countries. It is recommended for ages 4-7 and it comes with a CD of the stories which is great for listening along in the car or at home. There are well known tales like The Princess and the Pea and Sleeping Beauty along with lesser known tales such as The Horned Snake's Wife and The Beggar Princess and in the back of the book there is information on each one. My 3 year old loves The Princess and the Pea (except for the first time we read it, when she thought it was The Princess and the Pee), although my 15 year old would much rather read her The Birdcage Princess.

The Gigantic Turnip - Another Barefoot bestseller, this one is based on a classic Russian tale. The illustrations by Niamh Sharkey are whimsical and adorable. Like Hidden Hippo and I Took the Moon for a Walk, this book is recommended for ages 0-4, but I feel the story has more substance than either of those and it could be a bit long for the younger end of that range.

The Adventures of Odysseus - Finally one for the older kids. This book is recommended for ages 8-adult (6, if you're reading it together). I'm kind of torn on the issue of rewriting the classics for a younger audience, but this is such an incredible book that I can't help but love it. It is beautifully illustrated and written and I think it will serve as a wonderful introduction to Homer's work for younger readers while hopefully inspiring them to read the original one day.

Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing - This is the story of a boy growing up in China in the 1960's, during the Cultural Revolution. It is recommended for ages 8-14 and is Barefoot's foray into young fiction. I have not yet read it, as it was not a part of the Starter Pack when I joined, and I have only recently received my copy. I will update once I have read the book, which I intend to do soon.

Off We Go to Mexico - This book is a part of Barefoot's An Adventure in the Sun series and is recommended for children 4-8 years old, although I think younger children could enjoy it as well. It chronicles a family's visit to Mexico and teaches over 40 Spanish words and phrases. The back of the book has a map of Mexico along with a brief history and some facts about Mexico today. My 3 year old does not often request this one, a fact which secretly relieves me, as I'm sure I butcher the pronunciation of over 39 of the Spanish words and phrases featured in this book.

Whole World - Mini Edition - Of all of the Barefoot Books we own, this might be my favorite. It's a slightly updated version of the classic song. The book is beautifully illustrated, and the CD is a joy to listen to. This book and CD are beautiful and inspiring, and to me, the epitome of what Barefoot Books is all about. Click here to listen to part of the song play, along with a charming video featuring artwork from the book!

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Introduction

2008-09-15T15:51:00.004-04:00

My name is Natasha, I am a homeschooling mother of two daughters, 15 and 3 (also known as my product testers!) and we live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I'm very new to selling Barefoot Books so I thought a blog would be a great way for me to let everyone know about sales and promotions, and of course, the books themselves. Be sure to check back often for updates!