What does my new iPod stereo have to do with this book giveaway? Because when I moved things around to make room for the new stereo on my office shelves, I found a stack of books that I’ve been meaning to give away to readers since… well, whenever.

Less parenting books than books for parents, the books document the life adventure of raising kids with humor, wit, inspiration, love, heartache, and sometimes schmaltz — all the stuff, I guess, that rolls into parenting itself.

If you’d like to receive one of these, leave a comment below with the title you are interested in. I’ll pick winners randomly. (Please be sure to include a viable email address so I can contact you if you are a winner!)

Because I Said So by Dawn Meehan

Meehan, the author of a blog by the same name, has penned this read inspired by life with her husband and six children. From Amazon: “One of the most popular mommy-bloggers thanks to a humorous eBay listing about her child’s baseball which was circulated rapidly until she became a household name, Dawn Meehan offers readers a hilarious journey along with her six kids on madcap adventures, underscoring the notion that a sense of humor is an essential parenting skill. Because I Said So affirms that parents are not alone in the daily chaos, struggles and joys of child-rearing. With a huge dose of laugh-out-loud, real-life examples, Dawn shares hard-won wisdom gleaned from life with six children.”

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Like Mother, Like Daughter by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hanson, with Amy Newmark

Motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen have published more than 100 collections of these short, inspirational stories and essays since their original “Chicken Soup” title debuted in 1993. From Amazon: “This new collection from Chicken Soup represents the best 101 stories from Chicken Soup’s library on the special bond between mothers and daughters, and the magical, mysterious similarities between them. Mothers and daughters of all ages will laugh, cry, and find inspiration in these stories that remind them how much they appreciate each other.”

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Moms and Sons by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hanson, with Amy Newmark

More soup, this time with Moms and sons. From Amazon: “There is a special bond between mothers and their sons and it never goes away. These heartfelt and loving stories written by mothers, grandmothers, and sons, about each other, span generations and show how the mother-son bond transcends time.”

Interested in any of these three? Give a shout below…!

Have you been so bad as to read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” or “To Kill a Mockingbird“? Harbor a secret copy of Judy Blume’s “Forever” in your closet? Let your impressionable children read a Harry Potter book? Or, heaven forbid, read a picture book about two male penguins who adopt an egg to your poor preschooler?!

You, my friend, are in serious trouble. You have been the unwitting participant or enabler of reading a book that has been banned.

And this week you are encouraged to celebrate it!

Yes, this is Banned Books Week - a national celebration of the freedom to read.

According to BannedBooksWeek.org, “It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. Click here to see a map of book bans and challenges in the US from 2007 to 2009.”

That penguin book for preschoolers? “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell is once again one of the 10 most-challenged titles over the past year. Why? Reasons cited are: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group.

The 2009 celebration of Banned Books Week is being held from September 26 through October 3, but you can be a rebel all year round - now go read something someone doesn’t want you to read!

(And if you really want to cause trouble, check out these other ideas for marking the week.)

Last year I read “Bridge to Terabithia” and loved it. Haven’t decided what to read this year yet, but open to suggestions…

Related articles by Zemanta

• Banned Books Week (huffingtonpost.com)
• Read, Speak, Know: Banned Books Week 2009 (califmom.com)
• Mapping Banned Books in the U.S. (mediabistro.com)
• Celebrate Banned Books! (bilerico.com)

Two coming attractions at the movie theater are based on books that both my girl and I have enjoyed reading - “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.”

“Where the Wild Things Are” was a book that I read in my own childhood and a fellow bibliophile I used to work with (thanks Leslie) made sure my child got the chance to read it, too, by including it in a baby shower gift. The “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” book came a little late for me, but my librarian mother introduced it to my girl and she and I both enjoyed it.

Now, bringing a book to the movie screen has always been fraught with danger. Everyone who has read a book has their own ideas about how the characters look, so casting can get a lot of fan input or backlash (Tom Cruise as Lestat anyone?). Storylines often get changed to meet a perceived desire of audiences to always have happy endings (think “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “The Scarlet Letter“). Sometimes entire characters are dropped or added, which frustrated me in “Angels and Demons,” despite the fact that I can understand things need to be edited sometimes to squeeze an entire book into a couple of hours of screen time.

That difficulty of making the in-depth short is probably the most common cause of changes that frustrate book lovers who see the movies based on them. But what of short childrens’ books that need to be expanded to make them long enough for a movie? Does that make it any easier for adaptation? I’m thinking not based strictly on my own mixed feelings about these two new movies.

It appears that they have expanded Cloudy primarily by adding a story in front of the story - giving the audience a tale of how the food first came to fall from the sky in the town of Chewandswallow - and I think this will work nicely.

But, from what I can tell from the fantastic Wild Things trailers, the 10 sentences of the original story are getting a lot of filler in between them - thus potentially changing the story a bit more. The live-action attempt at The Grinch Who Stole Christmas tried doing both and I don’t think the results were very spectacular there.

Obviously aware that I’m not the only one a bit leery of this, the studio has made a point to include original Wild Things author Maurice Sendak in many publicity events and he has been reporting saying the “Wild Things Movie Will Be Okay” as well as promising the “Wild Things Movie Will Be Dark and Controversial.”

Hmm…

Either way, I will probably see both movies. Not needing an excuse to watch kids’ movies, after all, is one of the perks of this mommy gig, right? And, while I will definitely enter the Wild Things theater with trepidation and concern that the book will never read the same for me again, I bet this trailer makes you want to see more, too.

(The Arcade Fire song on this Wild Things trailer really helps inspire a sense of wonder and the desire to see it - too bad word is it won’t be in the actual movie.)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Childhood Memories Coming to a Theater Near You (firstbook.org)
• Watch This: Maurice Sendak Talks ‘Wild Things’ (cinematical.com)
• Dave Eggers’ 300-Page Storybook Adaptation (mediabistro.com)
• Jonze And Sendak Meeting Like Something From A Spike Jonze Movie (cinemablend.com)

Last week, I thought that someone had written books for adults based on the hilarious Numeroff/Bond children’s series that includes If you give a mouse a cookie & If you give a pig a pancake - but I was wrong. No one had done it, so I wrote one myself called, If you give a mom a martini…and now…I can’t seem to stop. Again, feel free to illustrate this story in your own mind or send me the name of your best friend, the illustrator or publisher.

If you give a 40 year old man a Ferrari…

He’s going to want a pair of leather pants to go with it.

When he starts remembering how good he looked in these pants, he’ll realize that he also needs a 20 year old blonde so he can show off his leather-clad derrière.

While you’re calling the blonde, he’ll fish his leather pants out of the basement.

He’ll have a terrible time pulling them up over his hairy legs and gut, so he’ll search frantically for the BowFlex he got for his birthday last year.

When he finds it, he’ll hop on and start pumping away, doing as many exercises as he possibly can.

This will make him very sweaty and he’ll tell you he needs to take a shower. But on his way to the bathroom, the doorbell will ring.

“It’s the blonde,” he’ll shout. And, then, he’ll ask you to answer the door.

Just as you start to open it, he’ll come tumbling down the stairs, because he can’t walk with his leather pants down around his ankles and because he, quite possibly, tripped over his own excitement (if you know what I mean).

He’ll land on the ground in front of the door.

When he sees the blonde standing there, looming over him, he’ll ask her what she stuffed her bra with and how she made her breasts stand up so high.

She’ll smack him hard with her Fendi bag and declare, ‘These are real!’

And then he’ll look at your boobs - sagging and low from feeding the fruits of his loins - and he’ll remember what real is.

So, he’ll kindly explain to the blonde that he made a mistake and that she should leave.

As you politely slam the door behind her, he’ll grab you and start kissing you with all he’s got. Which will make him feel like a virile young man.

He’ll get so excited that he’ll try to pull on his leather pants again…

And chances are, if he gets those pants on…he’s going to want a Ferrari to go with them.

Image Credit: fiskfisk

When I recently saw this list of worst mothers in literature, it got me wondering who are the good mothers I’ve read about? And the first thing I realized as I let that roll around in my head a bit was that I really needed to get back to reading more “grown-up” books!

Seriously, almost all of the moms that popped into my mind were from childrens literature. Nice mothers like one of my favorites from “I Love You Stinky Face” (and the traveling mommy’s friend “I Miss You Stinky Face“) by Lisa Mccourt.

Then I thought of the heroic Mrs. Frisby from “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.” But, that was a bit of a cheat since I haven’t actually read the book - just took my daughter to the local cinema that was doing a free showing of the movie “Secrets of NIMH” last month.

Then, in more young adult literature, I thought of Sally Jackson the self-sacrificing and loving mother of the title character in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. They’re a little advanced for my girl, but as a big Greek/Roman mythology fan, I found them a great read - in preparation for when she’s older, you know, so I’ll know if they’re ok for her to read. <wink>

The closest I could come to a good mother in a book that’s probably not in an elementary school library was August Boatwright from The Secret Life of Bees. She’s not a biological mother, but certainly filled that role for young Lily Owens in a way no one could top. I haven’t actually seen how Queen Latifah did playing her in the movie because I didn’t want to compare it to the book.

But after that, I started drawing a blank! A quick Google search for “mothers” and “literature” seemed to turn up more lists of bad mothers than good, so maybe I’m not the only one wracking my brain.  Do you guys have some favorite “good mothers” in the books you’ve read?

A couple years ago, my grandparents gave my daughter a copy of the book “We Help Mommy.” You know, the one from 1959 starring darling little Martha and Bobby as mommy’s biggest helpers?

I was thrilled! I loved “We Help Mommy” as a little girl, and as a newish mom I was so excited to share it with her. I was giddy with excitement about the bonding in store for the two of us.

And then we read it.

How had I managed to forget what this book was about? Martha and Bobby “help” mommy all day as she makes the beds, cleans the house, does the laundry, buys the groceries and prepares the food. Roll, pat. Roll, pat. Making a treat for daddy.

No kidding, my husband was laughing out loud watching my wheels turn as I turned each page. Was this really one of my favorite books as a child? Me, who married daddy because he gets right in there and makes the beds, cleans the house, does the laundry, buys the groceries and prepares the food next to me? How did this happen?

My daughter loved it – “Again!” she said, over and over.

And you know what? I loved it too. Ok, so it’s not quite the way things run around here, but I figure I can start to teach her to be an independent thinker by letting her choose her own books. I love that this thoughtful gift came from her great grandparents, I love that it’s 50 years old, and most of all I love having her crawl in my lap to read a book that I used to read with my mom.

The next time we visited my parents, she pulled open the drawer full of books and out spilled my copy – old, worn and frayed on the corners. Just like the rest of my favorite books.

Diane Cordell is the mother of two adult, married children. In her position as a K-12 teacher/librarian, she interacts with students of all ages on a daily basis - good practice for future grandchildren! You can read more about Diane here. Diane also blogs at Journeys and can be found on Twitter as dmcordell. Click here to read more of Diane’s posts.

Read on to win a copy of this book - Baby Read-Aloud Basics!

Authors Caroline J. Blakemore and Barbara Weston Ramirez have written an engaging guide aimed at helping parents raise a lifelong reader.

Baby Read-Aloud Basics starts by explaining the benefits of reading to your child even before they are born to stimulate language development and help pave the way for success in school and in life.

In addition to tips on how to gain and hold a child’s attention, Blakemore & Ramirez include information on the stages of early childhood development and extensive, annotated lists of recommended books.

Chapter 10, “Fun Activities and Tips to Manage TV and Make a Language-Rich Home,” offers reasonable, practical advice about how to provide a balance between media and literature. There are ideas like creating a “reader’s nest” or designating a “read-aloud chair” and suggestions about how to set up a “language play area” for safe, creative playtime.

A copy of Baby Read-Aloud Basics, tucked into a basket of books, would make a wonderful shower gift. Include some childhood favorites of the prospective parents, and you’ll guarantee hours of interactive family fun for years to come.

Win a copy!

We have 5 copies of this book to give away - entering the contest is very simple!

Just leave a comment on this post telling the title of one of your favorite children’s books. Past winners eligible to enter and the contest ends on Monday, July 28th. U.S. entrants only (sorry!). The winners will be selected at random from the entrants.

Don’t forget to check out all of our other contests!

Disclosure: Diane received a free copy of the book to review.

I can see Braxton’s toddler imagination working overtime. He’s developing stories and creating narratives about cars and trains, dogs and clouds. I pick up a word here or there, but for the most part, it’s all about him.

As I see this part of his personality developing, I wonder how I can foster his imagination and keep his creativity flowing. I remember playing for hours with my siblings, cousins and neighbors in our own fantasy world and that’s carried over into adulthood as curiosity, optimism and problem solving.

ParentCenter had a great article about this topic last week and I thought I’d share some of the tips with you here.

Read books together: We all know this is important for vocabulary and language development. Think about why you read for pleasure, though - for me it’s an escape - to visit far off lands and imagine unknown people and situations. For your kiddo, it’s the same. We have a book called Jungle Drums and it’s one of our favorites. The storyline is a little over Braxton’s head, but he loves the drumming part. The illustrations are big and colorful and there are lots of animals sounds to make.

Share stories together: Making up stories is just as good as reading a book together. Your toddler will help develop a sense of possibility and encourage the basics of creating a plot and characters. Tall Tales Audio has some great tips for getting started, like keep it simple (just four or five sentences for the littlest ones and try copying the format of nursery rhymes for ideas); use familiar people and places; put your child at the center and have fun and be silly!.

Celebrate his artwork: Ask your child to interpret - whether than “is that an X?” (you’ll be wrong) ask him to tell you about what he drew. Braxton loves to color. It doesn’t matter if it’s chalk, crayons, washable markers or just a pen from mom’s bag, he’s always drawing. Of course, he’s 2, so he never draws anything recognizable, but it’s still fun for him to imagine what he’s drawing and tell me about it. If you’re really interested, you can check out this home video of his artistic endeavors.

Make music: Even if it’s too early for formal lessons, you can still be musical together. Sing, dance and listen to music together.

For more tips from ParentCenter, visit the article. What do you do to help encourage imagination? Or what fun imagination fueled play have you and your kids had together?

Photo from my living room (yes, I was in the middle of laundry!). Braxton, age 2.