When author Eric Ruhalter contacted me recently about The KidDictionary,

This contest has ended and the winner is being notified!

Last week I told all of you about Shelley Adina’s brand new book Be Strong and Curvaceous (over at Froggy Reviews) – the third book in her All About Us series for young adults.

I’m so excited to announce that I’ve been given the honor of being able to offer you the opportunity to win this entire set of books!

So the holidays are quickly approaching and a week or so before they arrive you may suddenly find yourself in a couple possible scenarios.

Scenario one: Your kids have been home on Christmas break for three whole days and you’re trying to finish up your Christmas preparations, but they are bored … and telling you so every 5 seconds.

Scenario two: You are in desperate need of some creative gift ideas for the children on your list and don’t want to even think about looking at another toy.

What if I were to tell you that I have a great idea?? I know you’d just love me to death right?

The Lollipop Book Club is a gift company specializing in a monthly gift of books for children. On the first of each month, a book is mailed to the child along with a really cute, handcrafted lollipop. The first lollipop matches the occasion with a birthday or holiday theme. Each subsequent lollipop is a unique and whimsical creation that children adore. A personal note from the gift-giver is also included with each book. The note is printed on a sticker that can be placed on the inside book cover.

They offer 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month packages in both hardcover and paperback formats.

We have organized our packages according to age and theme to make the selection process easy for our customers. Single hardcover books are also available to purchase as gifts. In addition, we offer Caldecott and Newberry Medal books, and books to help kids cope with challenges such as moving, death, bullying, adoption, and many others.

Every month we expand upon the books we offer. It is a time-consuming process because of our highly-selective nature in choosing the books. We seek out only those books that have received strong reviews from critics and readers. The research and work involved is worth it because our customers can be assured that every book is a winner. In essence, we have done all of the shopping already and our customers just have to pick the most suitable package for their child.

I received one of their great book packages and boy is it fun! Complete with an award winning book and three lollipops to appease the masses, this was absolutely a hit and the book is FABULOUS! The lollipops aren’t your average sucker either … nope, they are very fun old fashioned style lollipops with super fun animals and bugs on them! Almost too cute to eat!!!! I honestly think it would be an AMAZING gift …. Christmas anyone?

I asked Karen, owner of Lollipop Book Club, what inspired her to start this wonderful business:

I have three children and witnessed how quickly the toys accumulated, many of them sitting on shelves and hardly ever touched. For this reason, I always prefer to give them books, and though they like to read, the books were not the most popular present in the pile. So I started to find ways to make giving books more fun. Sometimes I send them on scavenger hunts to find the book. Or I give the book the night before the celebration so that it stands out in its own right.

This led me to think about how to give books more creatively as birthday presents for other children. Whenever my children were invited to birthday parties, I would mail the book ahead of time with a little treat. I received tremendous feedback from the parents, and this became my inspiration for starting The Lollipop Book Club.

There are several reasons why The Lollipop Book Club makes a great gift:

• Kids love to get packages in the mail.
• The gift is personalized with a note on sticker so that the child always remembers who sent it.
• The gift is delivered over a period of several months, creating an extended gift experience for the child.
• The gift is perfect for hard-to-buy-for children (i.e. nieces, nephews, friends’ kids etc.) when you don’t know what they have or need already. A kid can always use a new book.
• For grandparents who do not live close to their grandchildren, The Lollipop Book Club is an excellent way to stay in touch.
• A single book gift makes a great present for birthday parties when you don’t want to just give another toy.
• If a customer wants to send a gift to two children close in age in the same home, they can order one book package and then just add extra lollipops to their order.

Their best sellers are the Books for Girls and Books for Boys packages as well as the products in the 8 to 12 category.

Karen has offered all of you two discounts to take advantage of … a $3 discount off of any Single Hardcover Book gift order (promo code: sale3off) and $10 discount off of any 12-Month package (promo code: sale10off).

She has also offered one lucky reader the opportunity to choose a single hardcover gift book with lollipop! To enter, go to Lollipop Gift Club and take a look around. Come back here and tell me what you love about this idea and what book you would choose from the page linked to above. This contest ends on November 14th and is open only for shipping to USA addresses.

This contest has ended, thank you all so much for your participation. The winner is Sara Marcy, so look for the email . Remember, there are always lots more great contests here and at www.FroggyReviews.com

Made ‘ya look now didn’t I???

I know that I don’t feature all the wonderful books I read here on this blog, but I think you’ll be seeing at least one per month featured here!

I have a very special invitation for all of you and truly hope you will join me in

Much more than a creative title for a post, this is actually the title of a great new book!

 This contest has ended . . . thank you so much for your participation!  The winner has been announced and there are plenty more contests available and on the way to be sure to visit our contest page!

I recently had the honor of reading Sentinel: City of Destiny by Landel Bilbrey. Stay with me as I introduce you to the wonderful journey of this book and in the end I’ll give you an opportunity to receive this book too!

If you are the parent, grandparent, aunt, cousin or neighbor of a boy age 8 to 12 this book is, in my opinion a MUST HAVE! It’s whole purpose is to help guide and shape true manhood in the minds and hearts of boys. You could say it is a cross between Chronicles of Narnia and Pilgrims Progress, this intriguing story keeps boys actively involved while teaching them practical life information.

Chapters cover so many of the challenges and obstacles a boy will meet in life such as drugs, alcohol, self-centeredness, greed, envy, violence, failure, faith and much much more! You will follow 2 brothers on their quest to become men and find the 4 Keys that will open the gate at Sentinel (Vision, Courage, Integrity and Service). Their journey will be long and arduous with many twists, turns, triumphs and failures along the way.

As a mom I love the excitement and adventure this book offers my sons, but unlike many books of it’s kind it comes with ALL of the tools to completely equip parents for teaching and boys for deciphering and applying the lessons to everyday life. The direct ability to cross the adventures over into an everyday boys’ life is a key ingredient for this unique book!

The beginning of the book contains the map and legend, but it also has a note to parents and the Preface which digs deeper into the allegories throughout the book. The back of the book not only contains a glossary of words, but als an insightful and directional discussion section on key topics throughout the book. Basically, a devotional for families and young boys.

Since three of my boys fall within the specific age range for this book (though many older boys enjoy this book as well), I found it truly inspiring as I read it both from the perspective of my sons and as their mother. I have to say too that there were parts of the book where the message was so on target with what I deeply and truly want to see in my boys that I found myself with tears in my eyes.

Landel Bilbrey has very graciously offered one copy for all of you to enter to win! Entry is really quite simple:

• Leave a comment here but make sure to mention who you’d like this book for and what one thing you’d like him to learn about manhood.
• If you’re a blogger, it would be wonderful if you would link back to this contest letting everyone know about this wonderful book.

That’s it! This contest is open to US addresses only and commenting will close at 9pm on February 12. Oh and you don’t have to be a blogger to enter! Just make sure you let me know why you’re entering and you’re good to go. Oh and if you want this book now, feel free to click on the link at the top right of this contest to purchase it at a great price.