My best friend Mandy set up an Usborne e-store for me that’s running through December 1st. Any books bought through this e-store earn points for me towards free books… and we all want Superfast Baby to be well-read, right?
There are internet specials, sale items, and a raffle, plus information on how you can host your own Usborne e-show.
Mandy has a master’s in children’s literature, teaching credentials, and is the mother of 2 of the best kids in the world. And I’m not prejudiced just because her son Thad is my godson. He’s five and his sister is 7. At my shower, she gave me a comprehensive list of recommended books for babies, toddlers, and young readers, and on the sheet she said that she would basically buy any Usborne book sight unseen. Here’s her testimonial:
The books are of high quality – the lift-the-flap books can actually survive a toddler.
The “First Stories” series (which Farmyard Tales is part of) is really nice because it has two levels of text. At the top of the page is a short, easy to read sentence that gives an idea of what is happening on the page. Reading only these will give a short version of the story – perfect for the short attention spans of little ones and easy for beginning readers to tackle. The sentences at the bottom of the page expand on the story a little for when attention spans or reading abilities improve.
Their history books have been approved by another mom friend of mine who is working on her PhD in history! I like them because they’re interesting and I can find the information I want. The internet links are managed through the Usborne website so they are kept up to date.
The “That’s Not My…” series are some of the cutest and best quality touch and feel books I’ve ever seen
We love Farmyard Tales – I highly suggest The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales which has 20 stories and a CD of them being read.
Although my kids have technically outgrown a lot of the books we got them when they were little, most of the Usborne books are the ones they now choose to read on their own and are probably the ones we’ll keep to share with those theoretical grandkids 20 years from now.
So as you’re putting your holiday shopping lists together, please check out my e-show and see if there’s anything that catches your eye! And thanks in advance.
We used Usborne books a LOT in the earlier stages of our homeschooling (probably a few levels up from these ones). Fantastic books. I heartily concur.
They obviously worked–check out Alissa’s blog for great book reviews & links to articles she’s written.
My daughters loved the “That’s Not My…” series too – they are now 3 and while they have moved beyond the series, they still pick the books up fairly often and want to read them. I think we went out and bought 6 of them at one point!
they look really cute!
Usborne are superb and as the baby gets older do look as well at those produced by Dorking Kindersley who have the same sort of publication values.
I’m not in the market for children’s books at the moment, but I second the recommendation of Usborne books. One of my all-time favourite books as a child was something called The World of the Microscope. It’s a fantastic non-fiction introduction to microscopes and science in general. I still have it, although I re-read it so many times when I was young that it’s falling apart a little.
A little old for Superfast Baby, though!