by kmessner

Celebrating the Season (to read!): A #GiveBooks Giveaway

If you’re anything like me, you don’t need much of a nudge to choose books as holiday gifts. I’ll admit it…I am officially “the book aunt.” My nieces and nephews never have trouble guessing their presents, even when I’ve disguised the books by wrapping them in a lumpy package with candy or a nice fleece blanket.

All through the holiday season, I’ll be making book recommendations for like-minded friends, but I get to start of f the season with a bang this year, thanks to Chronicle Books. Chronicle, which publishes my picture books OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW, SEA MONSTER’S FIRST DAY, and SEA MONSTER AND THE BOSSY FISH, just launched its 2013 #GiveBooks campaign, encouraging all of us to become book aunts and uncles, as well as book spouses, book friends, book sisters, and…well..you get the idea. Give books!

The great logo for this project is by Gemma Correll. Click on it, and you can sign Chronicle’s #GiveBooks pledge. For every #GiveBooks tweet, pin, or online signature, Chronicle Books will donate a book to children in need through First Book. The goal is 10,000 books!

The Chronicle folks asked me a fun question: Which ten items from their list would I most like to share as holiday gifts? My list is below…and the best news of all is that you can enter a drawing to win the same amazing stack of books.  Read on to find out how – and click on any book cover to read more about it.

For the Dog Lover in Your Life:

With titles like “DOORBELL!” and “I Lose My Mind When You Leave the House,” I COULD CHEW ON THIS AND OTHER POEMS BY DOGS is the perfect stocking stuffer, a charming and funny collection of poems in the voices of our canine friends. And don’t feel left out, cat lovers…there’s I COULD PEE ON THIS for you.

For Your Favorite Chef:

SIMPLY ORGANIC, A COOKBOOK FOR SUSTAINABLE, SEASONAL, AND LOCAL INGREDIENTS is one of those cookbooks that’s almost too beautiful to use in the kitchen. You’d hate to spill olive oil on it, but then again, Chard and Feta Pie is too delicious to be left between the pages.

For the Word-Nerd:

I am so smitten with A COMPENDIUM OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS (from an Armory of Aardvarks to a Zeal of Zebras) that I’m going to be hard pressed to actually wrap this one up and let it go. It’s rich with fascinating etymologies as well as lovely, lively, illustrations depicting everything from a prettying of doves, to a whoop of gorillas, to an opera of canaries. So. Much. Fun.

For the Tech-Geek on your List:

THE STARTUP PLAYBOOK: SECRETS OF THE FASTEST-GROWING STARTUPS FROM THEIR FOUNDING ENTREPRENEURS is a book that just oozes cool, from its sleek yellow-black-white design to the technology gurus profiled inside. This is a great how’d-they-do-that book that looks behind the scenes at some of the biggest start-up success stories through the eyes of their founders. Kind of like going out for drinks with Chris Anderson of TED and Wired, Caterina Fake of Flickr, Charles Best of DonorsChoose, and all their smartest friends.

I fell in love with the title of THE TOASTER PROJECT: OR A HEROIC ATTEMPT TO BUILD A SIMPLE ELECTRIC APPLIANCE FROM SCRATCH because I have some experience in this area. When the power went out years ago, my son built us a rudimentary toaster out of some batteries and nichrome wire from an old hair dryer. (It was neat but left the bread tasting kind of metallic.) This is a more complicated story because author Thomas Thwaites set out to build a real toaster…really, truly from scratch. That involves things like smelting one’s own metal and more. Fascinating, funny, and so eye opening for those of us who don’t always think too much about our toast.

For the Creative Kids in Your Life:

HOW TO BUILD A HOVERCRAFT: AMAZING DIY SCIENCE PROJECTS is an absolute treasure for kids who are always experimenting. You know…the ones who use up all of your kitchen staples making secret potions while you’re in the other room? They’re going to love this collection of awesome, messy experiments. The projects are fascinating and challenging, the directions are clear and detailed, and the science is explained in a way that shows real respect for young readers.

DOODLES: A REALLY GIANT COLORING AND DOODLING BOOK is just what it sounds like, an oversized invitation to imagine. The doodling challenges in this book go beyond the usual “finish this picture” sketch-starters to get young artists thinking about story and action. This spread, for example, says the two elephants have a problem. What is it? That’s up to the young artist to draw!

Pair DOODLES with a nice set of colored pencils, and you’ve got a winner of a gift.

THE STAR WARS COOKBOOK – ICE SABERS: 30 CHILLED TREATS USING THE FORCE OF YOUR FREEZER is entirely too much fun. I’m not that much of a Star Wars fan, but I still can’t resist the idea of sword fighting with a homemade juice pop.

For Kids Who Love Nature:

I’m a big, big fan of both author Lola Schaefer (writer friend and super nice person) and illustrator Christopher Silas Neal (awesome guy who illustrated my picture book OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW) so I was expecting great things from LIFETIME: THE AMAZING NUMBERS IN ANIMAL LIVES, and I wasn’t disappointed. How many pairs of antlers will a caribou grow and shed in a lifetime? How many flowers will a giant swallowtail visit? These are things I need to know, even if I didn’t realize it until I picked up this gorgeous book.

UNUSUAL CREATURES: A MOSTLY ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF SOME OF EARTH’S STRANGEST ANIMALS is a Messner family favorite. From the Fairy Armadillo to the Yeti Crab, the animal profiles in this book are accessible and truly fascinating. My daughter was particularly enchanted with the hagfish, which produces its own slime as a defense mechanism.

Want to win all these books? We’re going to give away this whole huge pile in a random drawing.

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post with your name and email before midnight EST on November 30th. I’ll contact the winner, and Chronicle will send you a box of bookish awesomeness shortly thereafter, in time for holiday giving, should you decide to share the loot.

Whether or not you win the drawing, Chronicle Books is offering 30% off your entire order (excluding personalized products) and free shipping with a special #GiveBooks promo code. The offer is good through December 31st. Just enter the promo code GIVEBOOKS when you check out. And if your order includes one of my Chronicle picture books, I’d be happy to mail you a signed book plate! Just send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Kate Messner at P.O. Box 1857 – Plattsburgh, NY 12901.

 

 

 

 

 

 

54 Replies on “Celebrating the Season (to read!): A #GiveBooks Giveaway”

  2. Hi Kate,
    What a fabulous collection of books. I love your choices for nature lovers and have a group of nature loving 1st and 2nd graders. The book about numbers in nature is especially intriguing as we are always looking for ways to make math come alive on our Tuesday morning (for 3 whole hours) journey into our school forest for ECO (Educating Children Outdoors).

  3. Thanks for these great recommendations! From one “book aunt” & teacher to another!

  8. I am also known as the person who gives books as gifts-this would be a great start to my holiday shopping!

  13. I am the book Mom and Aunt too. My boys have always gotten a new book every Christmas, and they are my traditional gift for holidays for grand-nieces and nephews. What is not to love about a new shiny book?!?!

  18. I just ordered some books as gifts today – these would be great additions to my gift-giving list (and if it saves a trip to the mall, I’m all for it). Thanks!

  19. Books are the perfect gift, and I know a few people who would love some of the ones on your list- myself included!

  20. I don’t know if this is open to Canadians, but I’d definitely going to be looking for some of these books!

    Nicole
    ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca

  23. I am a Book Aunt too! And a Book Mom. remember going Xmas shopping with my dad as a kid, One store: Waldenbooks 🙂 IThank you for this awesome pffer and to Chronicle books thanks for the promotion ! Great campaign! janflocor at Aol . com

  25. Great suggestions. I especially like the doodle book. What a great way to encourage a kid to write his or herown story!

  28. Great post, Kate. These books seem like they’d be inspiring to writers, young and old, which would come in handy now that I’m teaching creative writing. Thanks! dgep [at] hotmail {dot} com.

  33. I generally don’t enter for chances to win stuff, but this one is impossible to pass up! Cross your fingers!!!!! 🙂

  34. Chronicle books are often the subject of my PB blog posts, and giving books as gifts is my favorite choice. Fingers crossed here- you can’t go wrong with these titles!

  35. I can’t wait to #GiveBooks this Christmas. Maybe some of these, if you please! 😉

  36. What a fantastic promotion and giveaway! I’m a book aunt too-I always give everyone I know books-best gifts ever I think! 🙂

  37. What a fun list of titles–thanks for sharing them. The Hover Craft book looks like a lot of fun and I know a kid or two at my house who’d love the Doodle book.

  40. Thanks for the link to a great project! I will sign up–and I plan on getting the book about science projects for experimenting kids for one of my favorite kids! Thanks for the rec!

  44. Thanks for the giveaway! We love books at our house and we love giving them as gifts also : )

  46. Kate-
    Thank you for the gift of books you recommended and for those you have written. I have been the “Book Auntie” for my nieces and nephews and now find myself the “Great Book Auntie” (that might be a book title…hmmm)
    for their children.
    I can’t thank you enough for your vision and enthusiasm for Teachers’ Write. Just another reason to be grateful.
    (I have had difficulty posting, so if you find this is a second post from me, feel free to delete it.)
    Gratefully,
    Mary

  47. Greetings! Thank you for the recommendations! I am finding myself in your debt in so many ways…Teachers’ Write, GRA, amazing book recommendations and wonderful books you have authored. All this and a giveaway, too… Many, many thanks!
    M

  50. What a fantastic collection! My kids would be thrilled to have any of these titles, much less all of them! I am loving this campaign by Chronicle, so we’re buying/donating more books for the project, too! 🙂

  51. Wow! There are some amazing choices here. I definitely want to check out the hovercraft book. I have so many science/crafty kids on my list 🙂

  53. Love love love giving books! Unusual Creatures is an awesome suggestion! And now I must check out Lifetime…looks fabulous!