THIRD BLOGIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEK: DAY THREE! PROFESSOR BINGO PRESENTS - KIDS' DAY GIVEAWAY

 THIRD BLOGIVERSARY

 

For this year's THIRD YEAR BLOGIVERSARY CELEBRATION I decided to highlight different kinds of books/prizes each day of this week, and today I am highlighting CHILDREN'S BOOKS. So here is my choice for...

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THREE SPECIAL CHILDREN'S BOOKS!

I HAD GREAT FUN WRITING ABOUT THESE AND ALTHOUGH A LONG POST, I HOPE YOU FIND TIME TO READ ABOUT THEM, AS WELL AS MY SILLY PERSONAL NOTES!

 SWORDBIRD
First Edition, Autographed Copy
BY NANCY YI FAN

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The blue jays and cardinals of Stone-Run Forest have turned against each other. According to legend, only Swordbird, son of the Great Spirit, has the power to conquer evil and restore peace to the land.

Teenage author Nancy Yi Fan weaves a captivating tale about the heroism, courage, and resourcefulness in the birds of Stone-Run's quest for peace.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Yi Fan is the New York Times bestselling author of Swordbird. Her Chinese translation of Swordbird was published in a bilingual edition. Nancy spent the first part of her childhood in China, where she was born in 1993. Birds, a lifelong passion of the author's, provided the inspiration for her novels. When she isn't talking and writing to readers worldwide, Nancy gets straight A's in school, practices martial arts, and takes very good care of her pet lovebirds, Ever-sky, Pandora, and Dippler. She lives in Florida with her parents.

Nancy Yi Fan, the New York Times bestselling author of Swordbird and Sword Quest, was featured on Oprah Show on May 12, 2008.BINGO'S NOTE: 

I met Nancy Yi Fan at a local appearance a few years ago and was amazed at her work and the way she presented herself to the group assembled to hear her speak. She was a sweet, funny, and mature young lady. I spoke with her briefly and she signed several copies of her books for me which I in turn shared with students in my middle school reading classes at the time. Nancy was an inspiration and her books are lovely. SWORDBIRD is recommended for ages 8 and up. I know my 6th graders enjoyed the book a lot and am sure you will as well as the child you share it with. This copy is a new, unread, first edition that Nancy signed for me personally.

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POLAR BEAR, POLAR BEAR, 
WHAT DO YOU HEAR? 
Book and CD Set, Read by Gwyneth Paltrow
BY BILL MARTIN, JR.
ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC CARLE

ABOUT THE BOOK:

What will you hear when you read this book to a preschool child?

Lots of noise!

Children will chant the rhythmic words. They'll make the sounds the animals make. And they'll pretend to be the zoo animals featured in the book-- look at the last page!

Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle are two of the most respected names in children's education and children's illustrations. This collaboration, their first since the classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (published more than thirty years ago and still a best-seller) shows two masters at their best.

The rollicking companion to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

PRAISE FOR POLAR BEAR, POLAR BEAR, WHAT DO YOU HEAR?

"Teachers will smile with delight when they see this wonderful book, and students are sure to utter the familiar request, 'Have you got another one like this one?'"--School Library Journal, starred review

"A splendid successor to Brown Bear."--Publishers Weekly

Awards: IRA-CBC Children's Choices; NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts; Catholic Library Association, Regina Medal; NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies; School Library Journal Best Books of the Year; Colorado Children's Book Award 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) was an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet. His more than 300 books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?; Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children. Martin held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. 

Born in Kansas, he worked as an elementary-school principal in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he worked in publishing developing innovative reading programs for schools. After several years, he devoted himself full-time to writing his children’s books. He lived in New York until 1993, when he moved to Texas. He lived in the east Texas woods, near the town of Commerce, until he passed away in 2004.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR:

Eric Carle is one of America's leading children's book illustrators. Born in the United States, he spent some time in Germany where he studied at the Academy of Applied Art in Stuttgart. His work has won many awards and has been published in more than a dozen countries around the world.

BINGO'S NOTE:

I rediscovered Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle when my grandson was born. BROWN BEAR was his favorite first book. The rhythm and special illustrations fascinated him and still do. We branched out to all these books and he is now, at 20 months, already a lover of books because we started with these. With POLAR BEAR, POLAR BEAR, WHAT DO YOU HEAR? he not only gets to hear the rhythmic verse and see some of his favorite animals, all of which he now can name, but gets to sharpen his listening skills with the audio books for each of these wonderful Martin/Carle masterpieces.  SPECIAL THANKS to Esther and my great friends at Macmillan Audio for this Macmillan Young Listeners copy.

 

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I SPY ULTIMATE CHALLENGER BY JEAN MARZOLLO 

ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER WICK

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Think you know every I Spy book out there? Think you've found every last bauble, bow, striped cat, and cloudy ship? Think again! Jean Marzollo has written her most challenging riddles yet to accompany Walter Wick's fabulous photographs culled from the original I Spy books.You've never seen I Spy like this! 

Challenge your mind and eyes with a collection of the very best I SPY! With bright, vibrant photographs and simple, crisp rhymes, the entire family can take part in solving the riddles. Bring everyone together with a book that's perfect for cooperative sharing or solo reading.

Fun Factor:

Finding objects in the bright, festive photographs will challenge anyone's visual discrimination.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jean Marzollo has written over 100 books, including the award-winning I SPY series for children, written completely in rhythm and rhyme. She says, "Rhythm and rhyme are like music without the tune; they lure and excite the ear. Children love rhythm and rhyme, and so do I. Do you know that I SPY actually has the same rhythm as Old Mother Hubbard Went to the Cupboard - and also rap?"

Jean Marzollo was born and raised in Manchester, CT. She loved reading books and sewing her own clothes as she grew up. She is a graduate of Manchester High School (1960), the University of Connecticut (1964), and the Harvard Graduate School of Education (1965).

Jean Marzollo is married to Claudio Marzollo, a retired sculptor who has co-authored the ebooks, as well as some of her children's science fiction and fantasy books. Their two grown sons, Dan Marzollo and Dave Marzollo, ghostwrite many of the I SPY books. They have also co-authored some of her sports books for kids. She resides in Upstate New York.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR:

When I was young I was a reluctant reader. It was hard for me to sit still and read a book. I preferred activities that got me moving, like neighborhood ball games, bike riding, skiing, sledding, skating, climbing trees, and exploring the woods in Connecticut where I grew up.

I taught also myself to draw. I became fascinated with shapes, shading, and trying to make the objects in my drawings appear to pop out in 3-D. Later I became interested in photography.

Much later I became the photographer of the I SPY books, in collaboration with writer Jean Marzollo. I did more than take the pictures. I thought of ideas, sketched ideas, collected props, made props, built sets, arranged objects, hid objects, adjusted lights, and took a picture. Then I rearranged objects and took another picture -- sometimes over and over again.

I write as well as illustrate my own books now. With the CAN YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? series, I continue the picture-puzzle tradition, taking readers on ever more amazing adventures of the imagination in their quest for hidden objects.

BINGO'S NOTE:

I SPY books were favorites in my classroom for as long as I can remember. In every grade I taught especially 3rd through 6th grades. Children were always drawn to them to find, and find again, the cleverly placed objects. Now, again with my grandson, I get to "play" with the I SPY books once again. Yes, even at his age, he likes them. For Christmas, I gave him Walter Wick's CAN YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS and while he is too little to play along finding all the objects, I would ask him to find certain things and he would, or he would point them out to me. Just the other night on a video chat, he brought the book to the phone to show me his favorite page where he points to the plate of Christmas cookies and delights in saying, "Cookies, Yiayia" (that's me). He also can point out the nutcracker although I am not sure he knows what it is, he surely knows the word and can find them on many pages. I hope you can enjoy this I SPY book with a special youngster!

I spy a banjo, a bird on the wing,
An old bottle cap, a crown for a king;
A button, a B, a fish from the sea,
Three thimbles, a lock, and a DO RE MI.

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GIVEAWAY

I LOVE ALL THREE OF THESE BOOKS AND

AS A FORMER READING TEACHER, AND NOW

A GRANDMOTHER, I CAN TELL YOU THAT

KIDS REALLY LOVE THEM. SADLY, I HAVE

ONLY ONE SET TO GIVE AWAY THIS
TIME TO ONE LUCKY WINNER!

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHO YOU WANT TO WIN THESE BOOKS FOR, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT ONE, OR MORE, OF YOUR FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOKS YOU CAN REMEMBER READING AND ENJOYING AS A CHILD 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OF MY CURRENT GIVEAWAYS YOU HAVE ENTERED. IF YOU HAVE ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT ON THEM ALL AS LONG AS EACH COMMENT IS ENTERED SEPARATELY

  GIVEAWAY ENDS AT 
6 PM, EST, JANUARY 21

GOOD LUCK!