Sing with Me

Our favorite Barefoot Books are the ones with sing-a-long CDs - my daughter loves to sing and dance, and every one of these books has an upbeat, infectious tune.  Several of our favorites, as well as a few on our wish list, are currently on sale.

Up, Up, Up!

This airborne adventure takes readers ballooning over lands near and far, all the way to the stars. The charming singalong song on the accompanying CD keeps spirits high, while the rhyming and playful text introduces all sorts of settings and vocabulary-building words. Book with CD edition includes song sung by Susan Reed.

Ages 3 to 7 years

Written By: Susan Reed

Illustrated By: Rachel Oldfield

So colorful, and so much fun! Hardcover with CD, usually $16.99, now on sale for $11.99!

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

Find out how four children from Mali, Europe, India and China go through their morning routines. The catchy text encourages creative movement and imagination, while teaching about different ways of life. Book with CD editions include song sung by acclaimed children's performer Fred Penner.

Ages 3 to 7 years

Illustrated By: Sophie Fatus

Narrated By: Fred Penner

One of the many Barefoot books that celebrate diversity! Hardcover with CD, usually $16.99, now on sale for $13.99.

If You're Happy and You Know It!

In this multicultural version of the traditional song, children from cultures all over the world clap their hands, stomp their feet, pat their heads, and much more. The accompanying singalong CD continues the interactive fun!

Ages 3 to 7 years
Written By: Anna McQuinn
Illustrated By: Sophie Fatus
Sung By: Susan Reed

Go here to see a video version.  We love the illustrations in this book as much as the catchy tune, and there's even a child from Ethiopia represented!  Hardcover with CD, usually $16.99, now on sale for $13.99.

The Animal Boogie

Can you boogie? Down in the Indian jungle, the children and animals are learning about actions like leaping, stomping, shaking and flapping while meeting different jungle creatures. Book with CD editions include song sung by acclaimed children's performer Fred Penner.

Ages 3 to 7 years
Illustrated By: Debbie Harter
Sung By: Fred Penner

This was one of our very first Barefoot Books, and it's still one of our favorites!  Paperback with CD, usually $9.99, now on sale for $7.99.

Driving My Tractor

Chug along with a farmer and his tractor on this multi-season animal adventure! A busy farmer picks up fifteen animals along his route, but when his trailer hits a stone, chaos ensues. This colorful book combines simple counting instruction with humor, repetition and rhythm to encourage learning fun. Book with CD edition includes song sung by acclaimed children’s performer SteveSongs.
Ages 3 to 7 years

Written By: Jan Dobbins
Illustrated By: David Sim
Sung By: SteveSongs 

Hardcover with CD, usually $16.99, now on sale for $13.99.
We don't have this book yet, but my daughter loves the video - take a peek!

Bear

Bear on a Bike - go here to read just how much we enjoy this book - is currently on sale for $5.99.

Since that first review, I've also gotten the rest of the Bear books, and they are all just as good as the first!  And, most of them are on sale too, for $5.49 each.

Bear's Busy Family - Meet the rest of Bear's family and learn about all of their busy activities. Smell, touch, taste and sound are all familiarized in this rhyming text, and there is a full spread family tree at the end.

Bear in Sunshine - Enjoy the seasons with Bear, as he partakes in a different activity for each kind of weather. The rhyme and humor of the text help to introduce the concepts, and a two-page spread of the four seasons offers a recap at the end.

 Bear in a Square -  Discover lots of different shapes with Bear — there are triangles on the waves, diamonds on the crown and stars in the sky. Rhyme, repetition and counting establish this book of shapes, and a two-page spread recapping the shapes and colors reinforces the educational building blocks.

Bear at Work - Head off to work with Bear as he delivers mail and learns about other professions. Rhythm and rhyme drive the clever text, and a full-spread illustration of the professions at the end reinforces the learning and invites readers to go back through the story to spot the different working bears.

If you haven't met Bear yet, what are you waiting for?  The sale ends August 1st!

We're Riding on a Caravan - An Adventure on the Silk Road

"Join the caravan for an exciting yearlong trek along China's ancient Silk Road. Following the rhyming, treasure-filled story are informational endnotes about the history of the Silk Road, the story of silk, important cities of China, and a full-spread map."

Ages 4 to 10 years

Written By: Laurie Krebs

Illustrated By: Helen Cann

We're Riding on a Caravan was part of our nightly bed-time book routine for about two weeks straight after we got it.  My daughter has many friends at pre-school who have immigrated here from China with their families, so she enjoyed learning more about part of their history and culture.  There is also a bi-weekly market day in the largest town of the region she is from in Ethiopia, which draws people from all over the area to buy and sell.  And, I take her with me when I sell my artwork at the local weekly Farmers' Market - so there were a surprising number of connections to her real life in this book about ancient China!

The illustrations in this book are simply gorgeous and so full of details.  We spend lots of time on each page just picking out the different things to see and talking about what they mean.  My daughter is extremely observant, and I had to explain to her that the sheep she saw on one page but not on the next probably got eaten for dinner by the traveling family!

The story is told in rhymes, which really helps to keep a child's interest.  There's also a repeating refrain on each page - "We're riding on a caravan, a bumpy, humpy caravan, We're riding on a caravan to places far away" - which my daughter has learned to say with me.

At the end of the story is a map, which I do look at with my daughter to show her how far the caravan traveled.  There is also information about how silk was discovered, the history of the Silk Road, and a little bit about each place mentioned in the story.  These parts are a little beyond my daughter's comprehension right now, but I will definitely read them to her when she is a little older.

All in all, We're Riding on a Caravan is a book that I'm sure we will come back to again and again as my daughter gets older.  The paperback version is currently on sale for $6.49 - an amazing price when you realize your child could enjoy this book for potentially more than five years!

Here are some other books from the Travel the World section of the Barefoot Books catalog that are on sale until August 1st.  We don't have any of them yet, but based on how much we enjoy We're Riding on a Caravan, I may just be ordering a few of them myself during this sale!

Enjoy!

The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales

"Learn how different cultures around the world set out to live in harmony with the natural world. The seven folk tales are each followed by a hands-on activity that promotes green living and reinforces the eco-messages of the stories."

The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales includes stories from Australia, Nigeria, the American Southwest, Bali, Kazakhstan, India, and Wales.  It is geared for children between the ages of five and eleven, though I read the stories to my three-year-old daughter and she does enjoy them!

We both really like Why the Sky is Far Away, from Nigeria.  The message of the story is to only take as much as you need, and no more than that, which is definitely a message I try to get across to my daughter.  

We also really like She Who is Alone, from the American Southwest, and Amrita's Tree, from India, though I admit that I often have to hold back tears when I read each of these - they both have such young and brave and selfless heroines, which just gets to me every time.  On the other hand, The Grumpy Gecko, from Bali, makes me laugh every time the gecko realizes he's going to have to put up with flashing fireflies if he wants to eat mosquitoes.

Each story includes an introduction to the region of the world it is from and the message it intends to convey.  After each story, there is an activity related to the story, such as a recipe for "anything-goes soup" after Why the Sky is Far Away or instructions for making a corn husk doll after She Who is Alone.  My daughter is still a little too young for the activities, but I'm sure eventually she will love doing them.

The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales is a hardcover book that usually sells for $19.99 but it is available for $15.99 until August 1st during the Summer Sale.  It is part of the Natural Child section of the Barefoot Books catalog - go here to see more Natural Child books and products that are on sale.

Summer Sale!

A quick post to announce that Barefoot Books is having a huge summer sale, now through August 1st 2010! 

There are so many fantastic deals that I can't list them all in one place, so I am going to highlight some of the books that are on sale in several posts over the next several days.  Check back often to see if anything strikes your fancy!  Use the "add to wishlist" button to create a list of items you'd like to purchase as you read about them, and then make your purchase before August 1st. 

I can also give you an additional discount code to use either in conjunction with the summer sale or for a separate purchase made before the end of the year.  Email me (inventingliz at gmail dot com) if you are interested in even more savings!