Give the Gift of Reading ~ Little One Books Review & $25 Gift Certificate Giveaway ~ CLOSED

     I love to read.  And I think it is very important for children to be exposed to books as early as possible.  I actually read to Jayden when he was still in the womb.  I also took books to the hospital to read with him after birth.  It is not a surprise that Jayden loves books so much.  He has a book shelf overflowing with books.  I just can't stop getting all these great books for him.  Jayden can sit and read the same book over and over again.  There is a lot of research out there that says early exposure to books and ongoing exposure to books help children to succeed better in school and life.  Books are great, but I also think that you should think about which books are important to have.  Some books are of course better than other books.  Recently I was contacted by Little One Books to do a review.  After looking at their website I was sold.  They do all the work for you.  They only stock quality books and help to determine at which age the books would be most appropriate.
     We specialize in quality books, music, and video, for children birth through age five, and have personally reviewed and selected each and every item in our store. You'll find detailed information on why we prefer a particular product in our "Why We Chose" section of each product page.
     At Little One Books, we match each product to what we believe is the youngest appropriate age group. However, our carefully selected items can and will be used for many years to come. As children develop they often find pleasure in revisiting illustrations from old favorites, and eventually learning to read them on their own.
     I had a hard time choosing just one book to review, but when I saw The Very Quiet Cricket

by Eric Carle  I knew it was the one.  Jayden loves The Very Lonely Firefly and The Very Hungry Caterpillar books that we already own by Eric Carle.  And Jayden has been really into bugs lately.  We received our book very quickly and packaged nicely.  It is a very nice large size hardcover book with a dust jacket.  Jayden immediately wanted to read it.  I think that first day he wanted to read it like 5 or more times.  He wanted to take it with us to the library for story time.  I had to convince him to leave it at home and we can read it again later.
     A little about the book itself: The simple, repeating story of a young cricket who tries to say hello to the locust, worm, and other animals who greet him. He cannot make a sound until the day he meets a very quiet girl cricket. Classic Carle illustrations on heavy stock make this ideal for younger readers. The chirper that sounds when the last page is opened makes an accurate cricket sound.  Jayden loves to read the story and name all of the bugs in the story.  He likes to leave the last page open for a little longer and listen to the cricket chirp sound.  He tells me, "hear it mama, you hear it."  He has even opened the book and tried reading it himself and to his stuffed monkey.
     In addition to books Little One Books also sells Children CD's and DVD's.  There are so many CD's with children's music that it is hard to determine what is good and worth purchasing and what is not.  I love that Little One Books takes the time to check out each product before they add it to their store and that I know they are quality products.
     Little One Books has a great selection of books, CD's, and DVD's for your little on this Holiday Season.  They are great for gifts and/or stocking stuffer.
     At Little One Books currently you can get free shipping & handling in the US until December 15, 2010.  Any other time the shipping is only $3.95 flat rate no matter how much you order.

Buy it:   The Very Quiet Cricket (Hardcover) $22.99

Win it:  Little One Books has offered 1 Arizona Mama Reader a $25 Gift Certificate to purchase anything they want from their store.  This giveaway ends Midnight December 12.  Open to US only.


Mandatory Entry: For this giveaway you MUST follow my blog publicly and go to Little One Books and tell me what you would buy with your Gift Certificate. Please leave your email address or have it visible in your profile so I can contact you if you win. Winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize or I will choose another winner.

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I was provided a The book above to help me in my review. I was not compensated in any other way. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Thank you to Little One Books for the opportunity to review this great product and the giveaway to my readers. Disclosure policy