The Twinners Reviews & Giveaways: Barefoot Books Review & Giveaway CLOSED

Aug 16, 2010

Barefoot Books Review & Giveaway CLOSED

8:48 PM | Posted by Elana Kahn | Edit Post

CLOSED

The twins LOVE being read to, and I love reading to them! I know that it's so important for their growth and development, and it's even better when the books I read teach them important concepts like letters, numbers, colors, animals, etc. Barefoot Books began with two mothers who wanted their children to have books that would feed the imagination while instilling a respect for diversity and a love of the planet. Today, they are a world-wide community of writers, artists, storytellers, musicians and others who are committed to providing timeless stories and captivating art that can help children become happy, engaged members of a global society.

Explore. Imagine. Create. Connect. Give Back. That’s what Barefoot Books is all about. It’s exploring other cultures, our planet, ourselves. It’s making time for make-believe and letting imaginations run wild and free. Most of all, it’s about using the power of stories to nourish the creative spark in everyone and strengthen connections with family, the global community, and the earth.

My Take
I was sent four fantastic Barefoot Books: Bear in a Square, Octopus Opposites, You and Me, and Baby's First Journal.

Bear in a Square
This book is all about shapes — triangles on the waves, diamonds on the crown, stars in the sky, etc. Rhyme, repetition and counting establish this book of shapes, and a two-page spread recapping the shapes and colors reinforces the educational building blocks. The book is meant for ages 2-6, but I think the twins will enjoy it in any case...I surely did! The book is educational and fun. It's presented in such a way that will engage a child and encourage them to learn. For example, the first page says "Find the bear in the square" and in the illustration are several squares, so the child must find which square has the bear and point it out to you. Obviously my twins are not at that stage yet, but they will be eventually. All of the pages go in a similar vein..."Find the hearts in the queen's hair", "Find the moons in the cave", "Find the ovals in the park", etc. And the two page recap at the end of the book is great! It has all of the different shapes that were presented in the book right in front of you so you and your child can go over them once again. This is such a fun and easy way to learn. And the illustrations in the book are clear and colorful, further engaging your child and keeping his/her attention, and the rhyming is excellent. I give Bear in a Square a 10/10!

Octopus Opposites
This is a book about opposites and is written for children ages 1-4. Empty, full; push, pull; young, old; hot, cold! The creatures in this vibrant book range from friendly elephants to exotic kookaburras, each with a pair of opposites to share. A companion to Alligator Alphabet and Counting Cockatoos, Octopus Opposites encourages youngsters to find opposites all over the place in their own worlds. The learning continues at the end, where readers find out where each of the animals makes its home. This book makes learning opposites easy. It takes the same animal and shows how it can be an opposite. For example, the first page is "Octopus fat, octopus thin" with a picture of two octopi (one fat and one thin). This way you are comparing something to itself rather than two different animals. It makes a lot more sense to a child than comparing an old man to a young kitten as an opposite. The book also has fantastic color illustrations and rhymes, just like Bear in a Square. And, once again, there are several pages in the back for a recap. Two of them show the different animals that were talked about in the book and where you might find them (octopi in the water, polar bears on ice, etc.) and a final page which shows all of the opposites that were discussed earlier. I give Octopus Opposites a 10/10!

You and Me
The characters in this book play an imaginary game of opposites and contrasts: they explore valleys and hills, light and dark, and hot and cold, but find that, in the end, it's best when "You're you, and I'm me." The book is written for ages 1-4 and allows you to imagine yourself in a variety of situations along with the boy and girl. One thing that I love about this book is that it alternates between the girl saying "I'm this; You're that" and the boy saying "I'm this; You're that". This way it's not focused on one gender or the other. You and Me is another book about opposites, but it is very different from the opposites found in Octopus Opposites. Some of these opposites are more abstract, such as "I'm wild; You're tame", and others are fun, like "You're sunshine; I'm rain". The pictures are well drawn and colorful, and I love the rhyming text. There's no recap at the end, but the girl and boy of the text take a bow on the final page, as if they just finished putting on a play. I give You and Me a 9.5/10!

Baby's First Journal
With this book you can capture the precious memories of your baby's first year in a spiral and cloth bound journal. With special sections for your baby's "firsts" and favorites, photographs, captions and more, all the important moments will be saved for years to come. My favorite part is that the book includes six colorful pockets for holding mementos and keepsakes...something I haven't seen in any other baby book. I also love how the illustrations on the pages are done in such a way that make it look as if the drawings are made of felt stitched onto the page. I'm really excited to have this for the new baby and can't wait to start filling it out. I didn't do so well on the twins' baby books, so hopefully I'll do better on this one. :-) There are so many places to paste photos, and the "fill in the blanks" are so much easier than the ones in the twins' books...one thing that stopped me from filling out their books very well. I give Baby's First Journal a 10/10!

Cost:

Bear in a Square is $6.99 + shipping ($$$)
Octopus Opposites is $16.99 + shipping ($$$$)
You and Me is $14.99 + shipping ($$$$)
Baby's First Journal is $24.99 ($$$$)

Overall: We give Barefoot Books a 10/10!

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We were sent 4 books from Barefoot Books free of charge for the sole purpose of this review; no other compensation was received. All opinions expressed are my own.