Giveaway Reminder

Today is the LAST day to enter to win a $30 Barnes & Noble Online Gift Certificate here on my blog! NO comments posted after midnight will be accepted as an entry. I will draw the winner (and 2 substitutes just in case) using random.org tomorrow when I wake up and announce the results on the blog.

On the bright side, there is still time to enter my 50-follower giveaway. I still need 9 more entries, then that contest will be closed as well.

Also on the bright side, I have an Oceanography exam to take this evening, so after that, the rest of this week should be clear for blogging!

Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

I hope you all don't find this boring, but I would simply like to use this week's Daily Dose to share my recent "revelation" if you will. The quote in the first picture, I think, goes quite well with my favorite quote from the next book I'll be reviewing, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Don't forget there are only two days left to enter my giveaway for a $30 Barnes & Noble Online Gift Certificate. I also still need 10 more entries in my 50-follower giveaway before I can draw a winner.

Now, bring on the rain!

Interview with Kristen at Bookworming in the 21st Century

I think signals have been mixed between Kristen of Bookworming in the 21st Century and myself. My interview was up too early, then it was rescheduled, then I went to go look to see if it had been posted yet and it turns out it was posted like two weeks ago? Either way there is still time to check out my "interview" on her awesome blog!

Remember, I'm also interested in starting a weekly spotlight. If you'd like a chance to be featured, feel free to e-mail me, comment - whatever works for you. I'll keep a list of those interested and start up when I've gotten enough sign-ups.

Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

So I have seriously considered buying "Ooh Child" as a ringtone for my cell phone (see my newfound obsession with that song in last week's Daily Dose), but they don't have the version by The Five Stairsteps for my phone. If you have any suggestions of similar songs, comment and I'll see if I can find those. I've had my ups and downs this past week - actually it's probably more like downs and that even line you see on monitors when hearts stop - thankfully most of the time I've spent "even". I would like to thank my wonderful friends for this, who have kept me busy almost every night so I don't have time to sit around by myself brooding. I've also applied to go on a mission trip to Colombia this July. Please cross your fingers, wish me luck, pray...whatever it is you think will help me get accepted to go on this trip. I promise I will try to get back into regular blogging by next week! I just have to check on some school things first...

This contains a portion of Psalm 30:5 "sorrow may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning". I believe it also says "only if you believe with all your heart that morning will follow your mourning".

Interview with Becky at Page Turners

I'd like to use this post as an opportunity to let you know I'm being featured today at Becky's blog Page Turners! If you've stumbled across my blog from the interview, welcome! If you're just reading this post because you're one of my own LOVELY followers, maybe you should go check out her blog!

I'd also like to take this opportunity to apologize for my brief hiatus from blogging. I've been trying to keep myself together this past week by going out with friends almost every night. I ask all of you wonderful people to please bear with me and keep me in your prayers. I have been keeping 1 Peter 5:10 in my mind this week: And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

I'm not giving up my blog, in fact I find it a good stress reliever. I do have quite a few posts I need to write about program ideas, but I have quite a few things to do at work (I seem to have been left in charge of weeding an entire bookshelf's worth of books) and a couple things still due this weekend for school, AND I'm trying to apply to go on a missions trip to Colombia this summer. Hopefully I'll be back to regular blogging next week.

While you're here, don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $30 Barnes & Noble Online Gift Certificate, and I still need 13 more entries in my 50-follower giveaway before I can draw a winner! Come on everyone, who couldn't use a new book and/or Barnes & Noble Gift Certificate?!

Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

This weekend hasn't been easy. Then again, I guess heartbreak never is, or else it wouldn't be called heartbreak. I don't see it being easy to get back into school after having a [difficult] week off, either. Although I was quite proud of myself that I wound up getting half of the remaining homework done for an entire class! Do you have any words or inspirational images to share? Please feel free to comment with them!

Oh

my gosh

I love

this picture:

just because of the words spray painted onto the bench.

Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School by Herman Parish

"Amelia Bedelia is sure she will love everything about the first day of school.

• New friends
• A new teacher
• Her own desk
• Music, books, gym, art
• Recess and lunch

Amelia Bedelia can't wait. What could be better? School! School! Horay for school!" (inside cover)

 

I had high hopes for Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School. I haven't found the newer Amelia Bedelia books I've come across to be up to par with Parish's original works.

I really like that Herman Parish changed Amelia Bedelia to a child. I feel children these days don't need any more of a reason to think adults are stupid. I also really liked the bright new illustrations.

The humor starts on the title page where Amelia's mother is telling her to "hop on the bus", so, of course, she bunny hops onto the bus. I was pleasantly surprised to find the classic Amelia Bedelia humor continue over the next few pages, when the bus driver tells the children "it's time to jump off" and Amelia gets a running start, leaps off of the bus, and lands on her teacher, who tries to explain that she teaches gym, but, alas, Amelia's name is not Jim. Going through the rest of the book, though, Parish seemed to be trying too hard to be "punny". In fact, by the last couple pages I no longer understood the puns.

The story might be good for kids to learn what not to do on their first day of school and help get rid of the first day jitters, and the illustrations never disappoint, but if you're looking for classic Amelia Bedelia humor, you'll have to stick with the original books.

*I'm still looking forward to reading Herman's other new book, Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine

Amazon recommends this book for ages 4 - 8. This makes sense given the subject (first day of school), but, like I said, some of the humor was enough to confuse an adult.

My Rating:

Writing About Reading Day 3 - Just the Facts: The Nonfiction Book Hook

Welcome to day three of Writing About Reading! The theme for today at Share a Story - Shape a Future's It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader is Just the Facts: The Nonfiction Book Hook.

Here are Terry's writing prompts/questions for the day:


    1.    Do you have an image (photo, chart, illustration) from a nonfiction book that has stayed with you, even though you don't remember many of the details about what you read?

Surprisingly, I remember more information I've read than pictures from when I was younger. This is the oldest non-fiction picture/cover I can remember from when I was younger. I owned most, if not all, of Jean Fritz's American History books.



    2.    What kind of reading material has inspired your dormant reader to become an avid reader and book seeker?

I guess my main inspiration has always been children's books. I was a reading fanatic when I was younger, and now that I have a job in the Children's department of a library, I have grown to love reading anything from picture books to young adult books again (as opposed to hating it as a result of reading too much for school and not enough for pleasure). I also enjoy reading even adult books, if they've been made into movies, so that is also a motivator.


    3.    Where is your favorite place to read? Do you share your secret spot with your child?

Like I've said before, I don't have children of my own yet. Part of me wants to say that I share my favorite place to read with my "kids" who come to storytime, because I do so enjoy presenting storytimes; however, for those of you who are old fashioned enough to think libraries are quiet enough to hear a pin drop, you obviously haven't been in a library lately - at least not the childrens section. I prefer places that are really quiet. Right now I guess my favorite place to read is the bathtub, and I don't plan on bringing my storytime "kids" there.

Writing About Reading Day 2 - Literacy My Way, Literacy Your Way

It's day two of Writing About Reading! The theme for today at Share a Story - Shape a Future's It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader is Literacy My Way, Literacy Your Way.

Here are Terry's writing prompts/questions for the day:

    1.    Does your child enjoy writing? How can we link reading and writing in ways that will motivate kids?


I don't have kids of my own, but I am hoping this summer I can start a successful writing club with my "kids" at work. I like the idea of using writing prompts. What better way to connect reading and writing than having a writing class in the library?! When I was younger, I connected reading and writing myself by reading a book, and then writing my own version of a sequel to it. (I "wrote" the 5th book in the Harry Potter series before J.K. Rowling had released hers, and had Dumbledore die and McGonagall take over the school - sound familiar?)

    2.    What is your favourite book to screen adaptation?

I don't know if I really have a favorite. I don't know whether to say P.S. I Love You because for once I enjoyed the movie more than the book, or A Walk to Remember because my love for the book and movie are about equal (although the book and movie are quite different), or Pride & Prejudice because the movie saved me from having to read the book, or I also really liked The Fellowship of the Ring (it's the only LOTR book I've made it all the way through), just because of the amazing visuals the movie gave to the book...Regardless of what my favorite is, I will confess (and hope this can be true for the current and coming generations) that a book being made into a movie gives me more of a desire to read the book.

     3.    Do you or your child have a story that you like to "act out"? What is the story? and who are the role players?

Again, I don't have kids of my own. Coincidentally, as with question 1, I was hoping to have a weekly improv program during the summer. As you probably know, improv is a story you have to make up almost completely on your own, except for maybe a few starter ideas/props/etc. All children who attend are going to be encouraged to join our comedy games!

Resource (Book) - Something Funny Happened at the Library by Rob Reid

Because this is a longer Professional book/resource, I did not read the entire book - I only skimmed over the [entire] book and fully read the parts that had the information I was looking for.

I recommend getting your hands on a copy of Something Funny Happened at the Library if you're short on storytime ideas or are looking for themed activities to do with your children or while babysitting. Have a Something Funny Happened at Home day with the resources from your library or book store. I think it's great that the storytime ideas in the book are so extensive; this is perfect for me because I can tailor the ideas to the [shorter] length of my storytime, but I still have plenty of suggestions to choose from.

*Depending on how politically correct your library's administration is, you may have to go through the storytime ideas with a fine-toothed comb. I'm sure the intentions behind the suggestions are completely innocent, but in today's day and age, some of the suggestions might just sound a little off. You can click here to read a sample storytime suggestion I didn't have any problems with. In the book, each poem, song, and book are completely broken down, but I didn't want to include all of this in my post for fear of breaking some copyright.

Approximately half of the book is storytime or other program suggestions from preschool to high school. The other half contains a bibliography of "The Funniest Books in Your Library".

You can find this book at Amazon here.

Storytime Suggestion - Pigs

Generally when I post Storytime Suggestions, they will be storytimes I have put together and tried myself. In this case, however, I came across the resource Something Funny Happened at the Library by Rob Reid (click here to read my brief review on that book) and wanted to keep track of a pre-made storytime suggestion I'd like to try some time. (I will probably modify the storytime, though, as it would be a little too long for my taste.

*As mentioned in my next post, all of the books, songs, etc. are explained in the book, I just didn't want to put everything in here for fear of breaking some copyright. I guess you'll just have to check out the book [if you're interested]!

• Craft - Pig Noses (wearable)
• Picture Book - Piggie Pie! by Margie Palatini
• Music - Old MacDonald Had a Pig adapted by Rob Reid
• Picture Book - Olivia by Ian Falconer
• Music - P-O-R-K-Y by Rob Reid
• Picture Book - If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff
• Poem - There Was a Small Pig Who Wept Tears by Arnold Lobel
• Fingerplay - This Little Piggy
• Picture Book - Five Little Piggies by David Martin
• Poem - Little Pig's Treat by Shel Silverstein
• Music - I'm a Little Piggy
• Picture Book - Z-Z-Zoink! by Bernard Most
• Music - The Higgy-Piggy
• Music - Hippo Hop Hokey Pokey

Writing About Reading Day 1 - The Many Faces of Reading

Welcome to day one of Writing About Reading. The theme for today at Share a Story - Shape a Future's It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader is The Many Faces of Reading.

Here are Terry's writing prompts/questions for the day:

1.    What is the book from your childhood you can't wait to share with a child and why?

As much as I read when I was a child, I think most of the books I can't wait to share with children have come from my experiences as an adult working in a library. (This probably has something to do with my horrible memory.) Books that I can remember loving as a child include the American Girl series and Harry Potter. Having presented storytimes as an adult, my favorite experiences of sharing with the children have come from books by Mo Willems and Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester. If you can relax enough to not care about looking silly, Mo Willems's books can be very entertaining, and Tacky the Penguin can be a subtle vocabulay builder and a great exercise opportunity if you try to "show" children how Tacky likes to march.

    2.    Who is the person who influenced you most as a reader?

I moved to Florida when I was three and my mom started taking me to the library for storytimes. From age three to thirteen-ish, I would go to storytimes (early years) and other programs (8-13ish) by "Miss Melissa" (coincidentally my supervisor now is also a "Miss Melissa"). I would have so much fun at storytimes, I would take home the 10 books my mom allowed me to check out at a time, sit on a stool, and present my own storytime to either a group of stuffed animals or imaginary friends. I would say, therefore, that Miss Melissa had a great influence on me as a reader, but if it hadn't been for my mom I never would have got to the library in the first place.

    3.    Do you have any special reading-time rituals for reading aloud with kids?

I'm a little confused as to what is meant by "rituals", but as far as warming up or anything, I do not have any rituals. I am, however, very OCD when planning my storytimes. I would love to be able to use books, songs, flannel stories, a game, and a movie, but if they don't all somehow fit our weekly theme, I won't use them. This is probably best for my sanity anyway, because trying to get large groups of kids through all of those activities in an hour or less before our next group comes in, would probably be pretty difficult.

Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

I could use a whole lot of inspiration this week (see my previous post). If you have favorite inspirational images or quotes to share, PLEASE comment with them!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $30 B&N Online Gift Certificate and my 50-follower giveaway for 5 books and a $10 B&N Online Gift Certificate!

I feel like I've already displayed this picture. My apologies if this is a repeat.

(it says "and have sure knowledge that victory comes with patience, relief comes with tribulation, and that with difficulty comes ease.")

It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader (Literacy Blog Tour)

I found a Spring Break reading challenge that sounded fabulous, but then I found out it didn't start until the end of my Spring Break. So, I'm happy to say that I have found something blog-worthy that is going on during my Spring Break - Share a Story's annual Literacy Blog Tour "It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader".



(button created by Elizabeth Dulemba)

Unfortunately, I didn't find out about this event until almost my entire Spring Break was over. We're just going to pretend I was on top of things from the beginning and I'm going to date these posts in the order they should have been done, so as not to overwhelm you with six posts in one day.

Share a Story - Shape a Future 2010: It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader aims to (you guessed it) promote reading. Every day from March 8th - 12th has a different theme. To help get bloggers' gears turning, Terry provides some [daily], thought provoking questions about each theme under the heading "Writing About Reading". 

What are you waiting for? Join us, and be on the lookout for my "Writing About Reading" posts.

Interview with Danielle at There's a Book

Somehow I completely forgot to let you all know that three days ago I was featured at There's a Book! You can click here to read the interview. I recommend checking out the rest of the blog while you're there.

While I'm at it, I'd like to point out that because I have surpassed 100 followers, a $10 Barnes & Noble Online Gift Certificate has been added to my 50 follower giveaway. This is different from the $30 Barnes & Noble Online Gift Certificate giveaway. Please feel free to enter both giveaways.

~*GIVEAWAY*~ 50 Follower Giveaway

Thank you for visiting my blog. This post will serve as the OFFICIAL start of my 50-follower giveaway (though I reached the 50 follower mark on Monday - you can read about that here)! As mentioned in the link I just referred, this will be a "from my shelf to yours"-type giveaway, and five lucky followers will each win a book! Should I reach 100 followers, I will be adding another $10 B&N Online Gift Certificate. Because I have reached 100 followers, I am adding a $10 Barnes & Noble Online Gift Certificate! Rules and prizes are listed below.

Books up for grabs -

• No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
• Wolf Tower by Tanith Lee
• Walk Two Moons (Newbery) by Sharon Creech
• Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
• Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

About the books (summaries from Amazon) -

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
Nobody understands Wallace Wallace. This reluctant school football hero has been suspended from the team for writing an unfavorable book report of Old Shep, My Pal. But Wallace won't tell a lie-he hated every minute of the book! Why does the dog in every classic novel have to croak at the end? After refusing to do a rewrite, his English teacher, who happens to be directing the school play Old Shep, My Pal, forces him go to the rehearsals as punishment. Although Wallace doesn't change his mind, he does end up changing the play into a rock-and-roll rendition, complete with Rollerblades and a moped! (Ages 9-12)

Wolf Tower by Tanith Lee
All her life, Claidi has endured hardship in the House, where she must obey a spoiled princess. Then a golden stranger arrives, living proof of a world beyond the House walls. Claidi risks all to free the charming prisoner and accompanies him across the Waste toward his faraway home. It is a difficult yet marvelous journey, and all the while Claidi is at the side of a man she could come to love. That is, until they reach his home . . . and the Wolf Tower. (Ages 9-12 - it is in the YA section of my library)

Walk Two Moons ('95 Newbery) by Sharon Creech
Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle's mother has disappeared. While tracing her steps on a car trip from Ohio to Idaho with her grandparents, Salamanca tells a story to pass the time about a friend named Phoebe Winterbottom whose mother vanished and who received secret messages after her disappearance. One of them read, "Don't judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins." Despite her father's warning that she is "fishing in the air," Salamanca hopes to bring her home. By drawing strength from her Native American ancestry, she is able to face the truth about her mother. (Young Adult)

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
Sorely wounded and fatally disillusioned in the fighting at Petersburg, a Confederate soldier named Inman decides to walk back to his home in the Blue Ridge mountains to Ada, the woman he loves. His trek across the disintegrating South brings him into intimate and sometimes lethal converse with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, both helpful and malign. At the same time, the intrepid Ada is trying to revive her father’s derelict farm and learning to survive in a world where the old certainties have been swept away. As it interweaves their stories, Cold Mountain asserts itself as an authentic odyssey, hugely powerful, majestically lovely, and keenly moving. (Adult Fiction)

Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
Nathaniel Philbrick became an internationally renowned author with his National Book Award– winning In the Heart of the Sea, hailed as "spellbinding" by Time magazine. In Mayflower, Philbrick casts his spell once again, giving us a fresh and extraordinarily vivid account of our most sacred national myth: the voyage of the Mayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony. From the Mayflower’s arduous Atlantic crossing to the eruption of King Philip’s War between colonists and natives decades later, Philbrick reveals in this electrifying history of the Pilgrims a fifty-five-year epic, at once tragic and heroic, that still resonates with us today. (Adult Non-Fiction)

Rules -
I'm sorry to be "mean" again, but unfortunately this is your fair warning that failure to comply by any of the following rules throughout the remainder of this post will result in a removal of your post and you will not be entered.

• You MUST be 16 or older to enter.
• You MUST be a follower of this blog (new or old). After all, it is a celebration of thanks to my followers.
• Your post MUST contain your name AND your e-mail address. You're getting free books, here, guys. I shouldn't have to stalk your profile to find your name or e-mail address.
• Open to US only.

Extra entries -

• +2 for adding my button to your blog/site
• +5 for making me a new button
• +1 for posting about my giveaway on your blog

To enter -
Be(come) a follower and comment on this post with the following information:

• Your name and e-mail address.
• Your 1st - 5th choices of the books, should your name be chosen. Ideally, I would like to get all of the winners their first choice.
• You MUST let me know if you have earned any extra entries (above) - I'm not a mind reader!
• *I actually find it easier if you just add up all your extra entries in ONE post. Please do not comment multiple times for each entry you have earned. Fresh out of college math, I should be able to divide the entries myself.*

This giveaway will end on March 13th or whenever I reach 20 entries - whichever comes last. Winners will be chosen through http://www.random.org/ and notified via e-mail. If winners do not respond within 72 hours, they forfeit their prize and I will be contacting a replacement winner.

A Random, Brief Anthology of Fingerplays

(*This picture really freaks me out, but I think I like it better than having no picture, as that makes me feel like my post is naked.)


I came across a small collection of fingerplays compiled by my predacessors, in a drawer that had long gone untouched. I picked a few of them to share with you as a resource for you to use with your children, and because I wanted a handy place to store them so I would remember to use them during my storytimes.



The Bear and the Bees
The honey drip-dripped from a honeybee tree     (slowly wave fingers)
Along came a bear, as hungry as can be                (stomp feet)
He sniffed that honey and it smelled so sweet!     (sniff)
He thoruhg he'd found a treat to eat                    (pat stomach & smile)
But the bees buzz-buzzed                                   (fold fists under arms as wings)
"Bear go away! Don't you steal our honey today!"  (shake finger)

A Bird in a Nest
A bird in a nest              (cup hand)
Laid an egg with care    (put fist in "nest")
When the egg hatched   (open fist)
a baby was there
He ate and he ate
He grew and he grew     (spread hand)
Then one day                 (interlock thumbs)
away he flew!               (make flying motion with hands)


Elephant
My little elephant swings his trunk
picking up peanuts to eat for lunch
He swings it up!
He swings it down!
Left side, right side, round and round


I Went to School (to the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)
I went to school and walked like this, walked like this, walked like this
I went to school and walked like this so early in the morning
repeat with:
I saw a bird and he flew like this
I saw a frog and he hopped like this
I saw a bus and it rolled like this
I heard the bell and ran like this


Quack, Quack
Now I'm up
Now I'm down
See me waddle all around
Put my hands behind my back
Like a duck I say "quack, quack"


Raindrops Are Falling
Raindrops are falling from the cloudy sky
I'll button up my raincoat, it will keep me dry
I'll wear my new galoshes and put my rain hat on
Then I'll splash in all the puddles on my front lawn

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground
Teddy bear, teddy bear, reach up high
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the sky
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your shoe
Teddy bear, teddy bear, I love you.

Ten Red Apples
Ten red apples growing on a tree
five for you and five for me
Help me shake the tree just so
Ten red apples fall down below
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


Houses
This is a nest for a bluebird   (cup hand to form nest)
This is a hive for a bee         (close fist for hive)
This is a hole for a bunny      (form circle with both hands)
and this is a house for me!    (fingers form roof over head)


Clap Your Hands
Clap your hands, clap your hands, clap them just like me
Touch your shoulders, touch your shoulders, touch them just like me
Tap your knees, tap your knees, tap them just like me
Shake your head, shake your head, shake it just like me
Clap your hands, clap your hands, now fold them quietly.


Hands on Shoulders
Hands on Shoulders, hands on knees
Hands behind you, if you please
Touch your shouldsers, now your nose,
now your hair and now your toes
Put your hands up in the air, give one great big clap!
Put your hands back down again and fold them in your lap


I Wiggle
I wiggle, wiggle, wiggle my fingers
I wiggle, wiggle, wiggle my toes
I wiggle, wiggle, wiggle my shoulders
I wiggle, wiggle, wiggle my nose
Now no more wiggles are left in me,
so I will sit as still as I can be


My Hands
My hands upon my head, I place
On my shoulders, on my face
I place them on my hips just so
and I bend and touch my toes
Now I clap them 1-2-3
and I fold them silently


Riding the Bumps
Let's ride the bumps as we drive in the car
Let's stand up and touch a star
Let's all be jumping jacks
Let's all stand still and sit down again


Ten Little Fingers
I have ten little fingers, and they all belong to me
I can make them do things, would you like to see?
I can close them tight
I can open them wide
I can put them together
I can make them hide
I can make them jump high
I can make them jump low
I can fold them together and rest them just so


We Can Jump
We can jump, jump, jump
We can hop, hop, hop
We can clap, clap, clap
We can stomp, stomp, stomp
We can nod our heads "yes"
We can shake our heads "no"
We can bend our knees a little bit and sit down slow


As you can probably tell, I really like fingerplays that ultimately have the children sit down ready for story time. If you have suggestions of other fingerplays like these, or would just like to share your favorite, please feel free to post them!

50 Follower Giveaway Announcement

I am extremely pleased to announce that in only two months I have been able to meet one of my goals I set for the year (though this announcement isn't going to make it any easier to reach non-blog related resolution #2 - haha).

I had planned on doing a classic 50 follower giveaway when I hit 50 followers (which I did sometime between the hours of 11 PM and 11 AM). Coincidentally, this is going to coincide with my $30 B&N Gift Certificate giveaway.

I will be giving away one of five books away to five different followers. It will be one of those "from my shelf to yours" giveaways, so plan on having a rather random selection of books, newer and older, to choose from. I will be adding five more books and five more winners if you all can help me get to 100 followers before the giveaway ends. I have to run to work now, and I haven't yet been able to decide what the starting five books will be, but I just wanted to give you all a heads up of what's coming.

This contest will be open only to followers (old or new), so go ahead and start following and be on the lookout for an official post that will start the giveaway!

Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

I don't have much to say this week except make sure you enter my giveaway for a Barnes & Noble Gift Certificate, and pray I make it through this week of school to spring break!