Barefoot Books: The Prince's Bedtime

I was delighted to see a customer, a beautiful mom with her very pretty daughter, stopping by my Barefoot Books table to browse and read a story aloud. Which story, you might ask? Well, the Prince's Bedtime seemed to intrigue the little girl so much so that I had to grab my camera and record this wonderful moment. For me, it's not just about selling children's books but sseeing children eager to read for themselves and also those special times of reading together!

Well-written and very colorful, this bedtime story has great illustrations! The Prince can't fall asleep and the King and Queen call on the entire kingdom to help. When the doctor, cooks, maids, musicians, dancers, and others all fail, a little old woman tries a simple solution. The sure cure for the Prince's insomnia: a bedtime story. A great way to send your little one off to sleep! I love this book and I continually stock up for more inventory because it is so popular at the Farmer's Market.
* One of Barefoot Books Best Sellers: The Prince's Bedtime
Meet a young prince who refuses to go to sleep! The entire kingdom comes out to lend a hand in this rhyming bedtime adventure. There is a hullabaloo of activity—jugglers juggling, magicians hypnotizing, dancers dancing—but it is the wonder of a good story that finally does the trick. Book with CD editions include story read by actor Jim Broadbent.
Ages 3 to 7 years
Written By: Joanne Oppenheim
Illustrated By: Miriam Latimer
Narrated By: Jim Broadbent

* Joanne Oppenheim
Author of more than fifty books, many of which have received awards and critical acclaim, Joanne is well known for her work in child development, education and children's literature. She is currently the president of Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Inc., an organization that reviews children's products.

* Miriam Latimer
Illustrator who studied illustration at the University of the West of England and received an honors degree in 2003. Her first picture book, Wheelie Girl, was first published in 2006. As well as The Prince's Bedtime, Miriam has also written and illustrated Shrinking Sam (2007) for Barefoot Books.
You can order the book and look for more great reads at:

http://www.barefootbooks.com/marketplace/4135

Friday Farmer's Market

Yesterday at the Fallbrook Farmer's Market I had a delightful time meeting more beautiful Mom's and wonderful children. It seemed the children were drawn to the many puppets I had made the night before. You know how cute those lions, tigers and bears can be! And I would say my most popular children's books were bought by former school teachers, parents and a bee keeper. Here's a few of yesterday's popular books:
* The Beeman



Told from the viewpoint of a child whose Grandpa is a beekeeper, this rhyming text offers an accessible and engaging introduction to the behavior of bees, including: where they live, how honey is made, and what a beekeeper does. Children will love learning about the vital role of bees in the ecosystem, and will be delighted to find a delicious muffin recipe on the final page!

http://barefootbooks-ladyd.blogspot.com/2008/08/beeman.html
* Classic Poems

Introduced by Carol Ann Duffy, these 74 poems create an exquisite collection that traces our journey through life from birth to old age. Along the way, the works of some of the finest poets in the English language celebrate all kinds of human experience: the wide-eyed wonder and adventure of childhood, the magnificence of the natural world and the animal kingdom, the mystery of love and the tragedy of war.


http://barefootbooks-ladyd.blogspot.com/2009/02/classic-poems.html
* Mama Panya's Pancakes

Come with Mama Panya and Adika for a market day in Kenya - and a pancake party in the evening!
On market day, Mama Panya's son Adika invites everyone he sees to a pancake dinner. How will Mama Panya ever feed them all? This clever and heartwarming story about Kenyan village life teaches the importance of sharing, even when you have little to give.

http://barefootbooks-ladyd.blogspot.com/2009/01/mama-panyas-pancakes.html
* Un alce, viente ratones

One Moose, Twenty Mice
Count the animals from one to twenty while searching for the cat in this lively hide-and-seek selection that introduces animals like frogs, whales, monkeys, ducks, hens and elephants. (Spanish language edition)

The Journey Home from Grandpa's by Jemima Lumley: Book Review

Image by emms76 via Flickr

Last Saturday YaYa and Papou, that's Greek for Grandma and Grandpa, had the opportunity to watch our Grandson while the kids went to see the new Harry Potter movie. Within 6 magical hours we entertained our Grandson with a walk through the apple orchard, a look at the fish in the pond and a bit of dancing to Grandpa's guitar playing! What a fun-filled day!


Right before my Grandson's two hour nap, I read the Journey Home from Grandpa's by Jemima Lumley... an easy, fun book to read. The book starts with: "The yellow car drives down the bouncy, bumpy road, the bouncy, bumpy road, The yellow car drives down the bouncy, bumpy road, on the journey home from Grandpa's."

Sophie Fatus, the illustrator, adds bright colorful pictures prepared in acrylics of a white helicopter, a purple train, a pink tractor, green digger, blue barge, orange truck, and a red fire engine.
This fantastic book is designed to help children learn about both colors and modes of transportation. A two year old will love singing along and pointing out all the vehicles on the fantastic map of the journey at the back of the book. The writing is perfect for a new reader as well.
Summary: while looking through the car window on the way home from Grandpa's house, a child describes in rhyming verse, a variety of colorful vehicles, from a red fire engine to a silver bicycle.
The Journey Home From Grandpa's
Hop in the yellow car and look out for all the other forms of transportation on the way home from Grandpa's. A beautiful, double-page spread at the end features all of the colors and modes of transportation from the story. Book with CD editions include song sung by acclaimed children's performer Fred Penner.
Ages 3 to 7 years
Written By: Jemima Lumley
Illustrated By: Sophie Fatus
Sung By: Fred Penner
You can order the book at:

http://ladyd.barefootbooks.com

Summer Reading List for Ages 4-8 (Reading Together)

Today was a good day for me at the Farmer's Market... once again I sold all of my organic haas avocados! I also met some wonderful folks who love children's books. Several customers asked me about particular books for the age group of 4-8. I thought I would share a list of Barefoot Books with you covering that age group.

I also met a very nice school librarian from Olivenhein and a wonderful Grandma off for a vacation in Florida who was picking up some Pirate Books for her Grandson. A special treat for me is to be next to the nicest vendor, Rita who sells beautiful bird houses. Thanks so much for the beautiful hydrangeas Rita! I hope you will stop by and visit her beautiful blog:

http://www.mammabellarte.blogspot.com
Here's the list I promised:
* Ages 4-8 (Reading Together)

African Animals ABC
Barefoot Book of Animal Tales
Ballet Stories
Barefoot Book of Faeries w/Story CD
Barefoot Book of Knights w/Story CD
Barefoot Book of Monsters
Barefoot Book of Pirates w/Story CD
Boy Who Grew Flowers
Emily's Tiger
Goddesses:A World of Myth and Magic
herb: The Vegetarian Dragon
Jack and the Beanstalk w/Story CD
Little Red Riding Hood
Magic Hoofbeats w/Story CD



Mama Panya's Pancakes
My Daddy is a Pretzel
Off We Go To Mexico



One City, Two Brothers
Princess and the White Bear King
Real Princess
Riddle Me This!
Safari Learning Wheel
Star Seeker
Tales from old Ireland


Three Billy Goats Gruff
We All Went On Safari
Winter King, Summer Queen

To order Books, visit my site:

http://ladyd.barefootbooks.com
Happy Summer Reading!
~ LadyD

Bear About Town by Stella Blackstone - Book Review

Image by paige_eliz via Flickr

Over the summer, I continue to read board books to my 15 month old Grandson. He has discovered that grabbing the sturdy pages of board books is a delightful experience because he can turn pages over and over by himself... what fun!

This Friday I will be returning to the Farmer's Market to sell my organic haas avocados and this sweet, delightful family of bears will be coming along for the ride to the market... which brings to my mind another Barefoot Book that's an easy read called Bear About Town by Stella Blackstone and illustrated by Debbie Harter.

The book starts off with "Bear goes to town every day" and on the very first page Debbie illustrates in bright colors bear leaving his house. To be specific, it's bears honey house with potted tulips, a sunflower and busy bees all around.
"On Monday, he goes to the bakery." Now, it's not just any bakery, but bear chooses Grandma's Bakery with wonderful sights of cupcakes, plates of delicious looking cookies and many loaves of bread and bread sticks... yummy!
Bear About Town
Walk down to town with Bear and discover all the different businesses and settings. The rhyming text teaches days of the week, and is complemented by a full-spread map of the town at the end.

Ages 1 to 4 years

Written By: Stella Blackstone

Illustrated By: Debbie Harter

5+ stars

What I like most is that this colorful and easy-to-follow book teaches preschool-aged children days of the week while simultaneously introducing new buildings and places around town. With only a few words on each page, the book is made up largely of illustrations which keeps kids interested. Plus the map of the town covers two full pages. It's fun to start from Bee Lane, past the Clock Tower Roundabout, through High Street, over to Bear Square, a quick right to Wriggly Road and you've landed yourself at Splash Alley!

Happy summer reading!

http://ladyd.barefootbooks.com

Bear In Sunshine by Stella Blackstone- Book Review

It was a splendid summer morning and it seemed as if nothing could go wrong.
- John Cheever



My Grandson and I spent a lovely day at the local Farmer's Market. There was a contest about whoever finds "Benny the Bear" would win a prize. Well, we found the bear and won a sticker! My Grandson quickly removed the sticker and we headed on back home to play with toys, then for a quick read before nap time. Our choice of book was called Bear In Sunshine by Stella Blackstone.

I love the board book Bear In Sunshine because of the bold, bright colors and then the story! There's a whole series of books and they make great gifts! What I especially like about this book is that preschool-aged kids learn about the different seasons and different activities they can do in each one. It's fun to play in all kinds of weather!
* Bear In Sunshine by Stella Blackstone
Illustrated by Debbie Harter
Ages 1-4
Topics: weather, play, bears
* Bear In Sunshine is one in a series of Bear books for very young children by Stella Blackstone and Debbie Harter. This simple book starts off with Bear having fun in different kinds of weather--playing in the water as the sun shines, singing and doing a Gene Kelly impersonation in the rain, flying his kite in windy weather, and building snows-bears in the snow. The narrative rhymes are playful and fun, and each line has a double-page illustration. The story ends "Whatever the weather, come snow, rain or sun,/Bear always know how to have lots of fun!"
The cheerful, vibrant illustrations are stunning and a combination of "watercolor, pen and ink, and crayon on thick watercolor paper". Harter's playful cartoonish drawings deliver a strong sense of movement and manage to seem simple while providing lots of wonderful details. The bulky bear's fur is lovingly detailed (and his own bear even more so), there's literary and nighttime details on one page including the cow jumping over the moon, a white rabbit/march hare, sheep to be counted in the distance, and the dish and the spoon are there too, copying Bear. The illustrations will strongly convey a sense of delight and fun to very young children and there's plenty of humor to keep older children amused.

* Other recommended books in the Bear series include Bear At Home-- teaching the function of different rooms in Bear's house -- and Bear In a Square, which encourages the reader to find the shapes in the story. I've discovered there's also Bear On A Bike, about travel, that looks great and has gotten good reviews.

* Stella Blackstone has written many wonderful books for young children including the Bear series, the Cleo the Cat series, Island in the Sun and Zoe and her Zebra, A Child's Book of Faeries, Bear at Work PB (Bear Series), and Storytime PB with CD.

http://www.jacketflap.com/peersondetail.asp?person=145181
* Debbie Harter has illustrated many children's book including the Bear series, Herb the Vegetarian Dragon, and many others. If you love the art here, you'll also find you can purchase prints, cards, and wrapping paper with Harter's artwork at:

http://ladyd.barefootbooks.com
* Features:
* Theme: Animals - Bears, Bears, Children's Books, Children's Books/Baby-Preschool, Children: Preschool, Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Nature & the Natural World - General, Nature & the Natural World - Seasons, Stories in rhyme, Weather
* Date Published: February 01, 2004
* Publisher: Barefoot Books
* Author: Stella Blackstone
* Illustrator: Debbie Harter
* Pages: 24
The book cost is $6.99 and you can purchase it here:

http://ladyd.barefootbooks.com