Books Giveaways

Celebrate World Book Day with a #KidLit Giveaway

From Apple Day (October 21st) to Zipper Day (April 29th), there’s a special day for just about everything! Some of them are a little weird, like National Naked Gardening Day (May 5th in case you want to mark your calendar), and some are just an excuse to have some fun (National Margarita Day is February 22nd).

April 23rd is World Book Day, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to pay tribute to books and encourage everyone, especially young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and appreciate the contributions that books make to our lives

Since it’s World Book Day, I thought it would be the perfect time to share a few of the books the girls are reading right now, and give one of you the chance to win one of these new releases for your own young reader!

Click on any book cover to see it on Amazon.

Polly Diamond and the Magic Book by Alice Kuipers

As the dust jacket says, Polly loves words and writing. And when she discovers a magical notebook that makes everything she writes in it happen for real, she has big plans. Written in Polly’s voice (a la Ramona Quimby), this entertaining tale is filled with lots of Polly’s favourite words, like simile and hyperbole and alliteration. Polly especially delights in discovering synonyms (she wants to name her new baby brother Basil, because it’s a boy’s name and an herb), but when she tries to turn her too-small house into something more to her liking, she learns the hard way that words can be tricky.

This first installment in a new chapter book series from Canadian author Alice Kuipers is perfect for imaginative young readers like my 5-year-old. The short chapters are the ideal length for reading out loud before bed or for Kay to read on her own, and the black and white illustrations and Polly’s handwritten lists add lots of variety. Polly Diamond is incredibly likable, even when she’s turning her sister Anna into a banana or accidentally sending her house back in time. (5-8 years.)

Lions & Liars by Kate Beasley

Frederick Frederickson has a food-chain theory about life. There are lions, like Devin the school bully. And gazelles, like the kids Devin bullies. There are meerkats, and then there are the  fleas that live on the butts of meerkats. That’s Frederick. He’s a flea.

Frederick thinks of himself as a flea – small and insignificant. After an ill-advised dare sets Frederick adrift down the river and marooned at Camp Omigoshee, he decides that pretending to be someone else might just give him a fresh start. As he tries to bluff his way through the weekend, he learns how it feels to be popular for once, but the lie soon catches up to him. When the campers get the news that Hurricane Hernando is on the way, Frederick sets out to warn Ant Bite. Left alone in the woods, the two boys learn to work together and survive the storm.

Frederick’s humourous and self-deprecating internal musings make him an engaging and sympathetic protagonist, and kids will relate to how unimportant Frederick feels most of the time and his desire to reinvent himself. He just wants to belong, and as the weekend unfolds, he realizes that the other boys aren’t that different from him after all. (8-11 years.)

Sometimes You Fly by Katherine Applegate

Sometimes You Fly takes us behind the scenes to witness the unseen moments – all the hard work, the late nights, the trial and error – that lie behind public success. From a frazzled mother’s messy kitchen and the resulting happy cake-smeared baby at his first birthday party, to those long nights spent studying before graduation, Applegate assures us that, “…with every try, sometimes you fail, sometimes you fly. What matters most is what you take from all you learn before the cake.”

Gorgeously illustrated with bright and expressive watercolour paintings, this touching book is a perfect gift for baby showers, birthdays, and graduations. (4-8 years; all ages.)

Win a Children’s Book for World Book Day

One of my readers can win one of these books we reviewed. Enter in the giveaway widget below. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada, 18+. All the winner’s entries will be verified.

Click here to check out my other open giveaways and be sure to follow me on Facebook!

 

Disclosure: I received samples to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ. This post contains affiliate links. This West Coast Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I will receive a small commission if you purchase through my link, at no additional cost to you. This income helps pay for the operating costs of my website – thank you for your support!

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21 Comments

  • We encourage our child to love books and appreciate reading by telling stories and reading to them ! The World in a book is a magical place!

  • From about 4mths old and on, we never missed a night of reading to the kids and in the end I think it made a huge difference in their reading abilities and also their confidence.

  • We started reading to the girls at a very young age and when they were old enough I signed them up at the library for book club, and always have books in the home everything from picture to the encyclopedia

  • We read every day and she has her own books to choose from. The Library is also an important part of our lives.

  • My daughter is older now but trips to the library were and still are no different than a trip to the neighbourhood grocery store, in fact they often go hand in hand. We don’t stop at one place without the other. When she was younger, for her learning/reading style, she needed a way to interact with the book. So even if it isn’t lift the flap or fuzzy, ask questions of your child about things you see on the pages, whether it’s a sound something makes, or how someone might be feeling, they will always have something to add. And you never know, it might just making reading the same book they requested for the 100th time a little more bearable. Haha!

  • I encourage my grandchildren to love reading by reading with them, to them, and gifting them books as well. They also see me reading for enjoyment myself.

  • I always read to my children at bedtime and nap time too. The fact that I’m an avid reader myself probably helped a lot too.

  • I encourage my kiddos by reading with them most nights. I also let my oldest pick a book from the book orders when they come home, so he gets excited for them to show up

  • I read to my granddaughters every Sundays when they come for their weekly visit. I also read to them at bedtime when I babysit them. ( my daughter does that everynight) They love to look at books too.

  • I have read to my grandkids since in utero. I read every time I see them. It’s “our” time. Every time they get a gift, they get a book. They are terrific readers.

  • With Miss R reading is encouraged by letting her pick her books, giving her time when she’s “bored” to read books and even though she is almost 11 my husband still reads to/with her a few nights a week at bedtime.

  • We had a library before she was even born! We read together every night and listen attentively when she “reads” to us or tries to make up a story 🙂

  • I take my son to the library almost everyday to get his book fix. We also like to act out poems at home.

  • Regular reading aloud to children and making that time special helps create positive feelings about books.

  • We started right after each of our children were born to read books to them and it is been a bedtime routine since. Now all four love reading and do it all the time.

  • Reading has become become a special time for my kids and I to sit down calmly and quietly enjoy a story together. I try to make it fun with voices and sound effects sometimes 🙂 thanks