Think About It Thursday - Fall Reads for Kids

It's still pretty warm here! But Fall is one of my favorite seasons...crisp but sunny days, sweaters and boots, football games, beautiful colors, pumpkin anything!! So, I'm willing Fall into existence today with some apple cider candles and a Pumpkin Spiced Latte. I also started getting out our Fall decorations and children's books and thought I'd share a few of our favorite reads for this time of year. Hopefully you'll find a new book or two to add to your story time reading this season! -Erin

 Awesome Autumn by Bruce Goldstone // Full of bright pictures introducing the events that happen each fall - harvest, changing leaves and migrations.

Bear Has A Story to Tell by Philip C. Snead // Fun story about woodland animals prepping for winter as Bear is getting sleepy.

Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka // Kids will get a kick figuring out all the mismatched pairs in this fun and funny book! "Bears gather nuts. Geese hibernate. Squirrels fly south."

Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur // An engaging introduction to poetry, beautiful pictures and a run through the alphabet and Fall season all in one!

Sydney Paige: Miss School, Miss Out // Kids learn the valuable lesson of school attendance in this feel good book.

By the Light of the Harvest Moon by Harriett Ziefert // rich illustrations tell the story of bobbing for apples, stacking pumpkins and dancing leaves perfect for snuggle time before bed!

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell // one of my all time favorites! Three baby owls snuggle together and stay calm when Mom goes out at night. I love the illustrations and the comforting message that Moms always come back.

What are some of your favorite Fall books?

Do you have a special story time ritual in your home?

LA Times Festival of Books

Last Saturday and Sunday, we had a fantastic weekend interacting with consumers and fellow GIVE BACK souls at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books! Not only was there great love for our products, but also affirmation and great support for what our company is doing. There were a lot of smiles and laughs and even a few moments of tears.

My favorite moment was when a young girl (9) came up to our statement tags and excitedly picked up the purple “RESPECT” tag. She felt it, turned it over and over in her hands, looked at it from each and every angle. Her mother came up to her and asked if she wanted to buy it. She said she really did, but was concerned because they had just gotten to the festival and buying this ($5) would mean she only had $5 left for the rest of the day. You could see she was struggling with this. Her incredible mother bent down and said, “Sweetie, you can buy this with your money, or I can buy this for you because I love what this company is doing.” Her mom went on to explain that in buying this tag, she is also giving a tag to a child in need. The little girl’s face LIT UP and she quickly reached into her little purse and pulled out $5 and said, “No, mommy, I want to buy this myself.” My tears were already welling up and about to spill over as she handed me the money . . . then she went back into her purse, pulled out her last $5, thinking she had to buy one for the other child as well. The sweet, sincere look in her eyes and her act of complete selflessness and generosity had us all whimpering and completely humbled.

It’s moments like these that I know we’re doing the right thing. Building a business is not easy, but this little girl has helped give me the strength and determination to keep going. Little did she know that she impacted multiple lives that day. -Courtney

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Follow Friday - Bookopolis

Hooray!  My kid loves to READ!!!

Paige has finally fallen in love with the written word and went from fighting her required 20 minutes of reading homework to begging for her next book!!! The Brockmeyer household is elated! As a tribute to this fantastic news, this week's Sydney Paige Follow Friday is the awesome new company, Bookopolis.

This is a fantastic website for kids, parents and teachers alike.  If you are familiar with Goodreads - it's very similar but oriented towards elementary school children with the mission of nurturing a love of reading that will stay with them as they grow.

Kids create their own login (fun choice of avatar included) and enter into a fun and safe online community where they can explore new books, create a bookshelf (for books they’ve read or want to read), show off their knowledge by answering book report questions, share with friends, can even write their own reviews, and my favorite . . . earn points and badges for all of their activity in Bookopolis as positive reinforcement for their excellent work!

Bookopolis accounts are easily accessible from mobile devices, so when you are at a bookstore or library you will always have your children's book ideas at your fingertips! And the more books your children read and rate, the better Bookopolis is able to personalize recommendations for future reads. Bookopolis is also a great begining tool to teach children how to use the interent safely fostering wise "digital citizenship skills." 

Both Paige and Sydney have joined the Bookopolis network and are having such fun starting their adventures with this awesome website.  Have fun signing up your child today at www.bookopolis.com!

~ Courtney