Barefoot Books Winter Sale! Up to 80% Off!

The Barefoot Books Winter Sale is on, with discounts up to 80% on selected bestsellers and limited quantity collectibles! Among the sale items you will find our new activity books, yoga decks, audio books, and great stories for all ages. This is a great time to build your home or school library, pick up books for donations and book drives, stock up on gifts, and introduce your friends to Barefoot Books. The Winter Sale runs through February 2nd, 2009.

Book a Home Party during the Winter Sale period and earn free shipping for all your guests, as well as a 20% in free books as a hostess gift! Call to schedule: 847-863-6512

Still Time to Shop Barefoot Books from Home!

The weather outside this weekend is frightful, but you still have holiday shopping to do! Fortunately, you don't have to brave the cold, dangerous snowy roads and head out to the mall. There is still time to shop with Barefoot Books and be confident that your gifts will arrive on time for Christmas and Hannukah... without paying an arm and a leg!

Orders placed by 11:30am EST on Monday, December 22nd will be upgraded to 2nd day or overnight shipping free of additional charges! To receive the upgrade, consumers should continue to select “standard shipping” at checkout and will only be required to pay for the price of ground shipping.

Gift wrap is available and we also have a new line of Gift Collections and Gift Sets. In addition to wonderful children's literature, Barefoot also offers puzzles, puppets, and music. I hope you will share the meaningful and beautiful gift of a Barefoot Book this season.

Barefoot Books Free Shipping for the Holidays!

Free Shipping on all Barefoot Books Web Orders!
Now through Friday, December 19th, 2008.
Simply click on the image below and the offer will be applied automatically.

Barefoot Books Free Shipping Extended!

Now through December 16th, Barefoot Books is offering FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS and a FREE BOOK with orders over $50! It is a great time to complete your holiday shopping and pick up some TEACHER GIFTS! Simply click on the image below for the online catalog and free shipping will automatically be applied to your order.

If your order is $50 or more, you will receive a free hardcover copy of The Prince’s Bedtime (a $16.99 value)! The modern fairytale follows the struggles of a prince that can’t fall asleep and the King and Queen call on the entire kingdom to help. When the doctor, cooks, maids, musicians, dancers, and others all fail, a little old woman tries a simple solution. Imaginative illustrations and flowing fonts help encourage a child learning to read, while the rhyming verse makes it a fun read for parents too.

I hope you will have the opportunity to share this fun title with the children in your life.

Another Great Offer from Barefoot Books!

This week, Barefoot Books is offering FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS and a Free Book with orders over $60! It is a great time to complete your holiday shopping and pick up TEACHER GIFTS! Simply click on this image for the online catalog and free shipping will automatically be applied to your order.

If your order is $60 or more, you will receive a copy of Storytime with a story CD for free (a $16 value)! With bright and whimsical illustrations by Anne Wilson, Storytime is the perfect collection of classic preschool tales such as The Ugly Duckling, The Gingerbread Man, Goldilocks, and Stone Soup. The included storytelling CD is professionally narrated by Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent!

This has been an especially popular book in my family recently. The stories are familiar enough to help my first grader along as he reads at a relatively high reading level while his little brothers, ages 2 and 4, sit and listen (well, the 4 yr old sits). As a parent, I love to share the familiar stories of my childhood with my kids. I'm sure your family will enjoy this book too.

Have a lovely season and Happy Reading!

A Greener Way of Giving, A Great Value, and A Free Book Offer from Barefoot Books!

This weekend, the special offer from Barefoot Books is designed to highlight our wonderful new Gift Collections. There are several carefully thought out themes to choose from that will suit any interest. Best of all, the bags require no extra gift wrap; they are all are presented in a colorful canvas tote bag and include a free gift card. That is a greener way of giving, saves you time and money, and gives your recipient an attractive and useful tote! For a smaller budget, we also have many Gift Sets. The sets also include a free gift card and are presented in a reusable shopping bag; sturdy and perfect to reuse anytime you want to take a few books on the go.

The special offer applies for all web orders placed through Monday, December 8th. When you spend $60 or more, you will receive a free copy of Fireside Stories, a gorgeous anthology of Winter tales from around the world (valued at $20).

20% Off on all Barefoot Books Web Orders

This week, in our series of special offers leading up to the holidays, Barefoot Books is offering 20% off on all orders. The offer will be available through December 4th, simply click on the banner below:

The offer highlights and celebrates our new partnership with PBS. PBS has chosen a selection of books, "The PBS Parent's Collection", that they will be offering an affiliate. While I hope that my customers will continue to shop with me, it is a great endorsement for Barefoot Books and a great channel for more families to find Barefoot. You can read more about the partnership on the Barefoot Blog.

Living Barefoot on Thanksgiving... and a Free Book!

The Thanksgiving holiday reminds us that Living Barefoot is about appreciating what we have and reaching out to those who have less.

This week, Barefoot Books has announced an exciting partnership with Books for Africa, the largest supplier of donated books to the African continent. Since 1988, they have sent over 20 million books to 44 African countries and into the hands of rural schoolchildren. Many of these children are taught in primitive schoolrooms without running water, electricity or the basic materials and tools needed to learn. By collecting, sorting and shipping books to these communities, Books For Africa provides these children with the fundamental tools they need to learn, grow and improve their individual lives and the world around them. It is an organization that speaks to the core of what Barefoot Books and Living Barefoot is all about - bringing the enduring gift of literacy, education and hope to children throughout the world, and extending a helping hand to communities less fortunate than our own.


Barefoot is implementing a number of ways to contribute to the work of Books For Africa. Barefoot has already donated a collection of our books that are now en route to Liberia and, going forward, customers on our website will be able to donate a selection of African-themed books to Books For Africa by "purchasing" them well below retail value. These donated books, available for either $5 or $3, will be set aside at our warehouse in Wisconsin and picked up in bulk by Books For Africa for shipment to the African continent. Barefoot will also be offering beautiful We all Went on Safari-themed bookmarks for sale through Stallholders for $1.00 each. The proceeds from the sale of these bookmarks will be donated to Books for Africa to offset the cost of shipping books to the continent. As this is a long term partnership, look for our 2009 release, The Barefoot Book of African Tales. This book will feature a page with information about Books for Africa and 10% of the proceeds will be donated to the organization.

Please consider adding a charitable element to your holiday giving with Barefoot Books.

Barefoot Books celebrates its new partnership with Books For Africa
with a Free Book Offer!

simply click on this image:

All orders of $50 or more will receive
a copy of We All Went on Safari,
now through November 30th, 2008.

Barefoot Books Free Shipping and Free Product!

Activity Books are a new product from Barefoot Books, and I think a wonderful addition to the line. The Activity Books bring an interactive element to our Art and Story. They allow children to exercise their imagination, express their individualism, and elaborate on the stories that they read. Sit with your child as they explore the pages and ask them to talk about it. It is amazing to see a young mind at work.

This week, Barefoot Books is offering Free Shipping on ALL ORDERS through Tuesday, November 25th. As an added bonus, orders over $50 will receive a Free Activity Book! This is a great opportunity to get to know Barefoot Books and share meaningful literature with the children in your life. Just in time for all of your holiday needs! Please contact me if you have any questions or would like a recommendation. Happy Reading!

A bit about what I do with Barefoot Books... and a Special Offer

Here is the latest in a series of promotions that I am bringing to you from Barefoot Books, leading up to the holidays. This week, when you purchase 3 books, you can choose a 4th book for free!

This promotion also highlights the Stallholder/Affiliate Program. As Stallholders, Living Barefoot is a Whole Life thing. It's not that our work consumes us; quite the opposite. It's that our work blends into our life in a very organic way. We love literature and we love reading to children. We value the community and we value the planet. Selling Barefoot Books comes pretty naturally because they are the books that we carry in our tote bags and keep in the car. Our children/grandchildren tell their teachers that Port Side Pirates is their favorite song and they bring a Folkmanis puppet in for show and tell. We each have our own definition of Living Barefoot and Barefoot Books give us the flexibility to share the books in a way that fits into our lives. For some of us, that means simply passing the catalog around at work or the playgroup. For others that means online marketing, home parties, open air markets, school fundraisers/book fairs, or larger expos.

I hope that you will enjoy this special offer and share it with your friends. If you have any questions about the Affiliate Program, please feel free to contact me anytime.



This offer is valid through November 18th, 2008.
Happy Reading!

Free Yoga Planet Activity Deck from Barefoot Books

For a limited time, Barefoot Books is offering a free Yoga Planet Activity Deck (a $14.99 value) with all web orders over $50! Simply follow the link below!

Offer valid through November 11th, 2008.

As you click on the link, look closely! Barefoot has used my quote for the promotion! (see earlier post... I thought I "lost"). I feel especially honored that my words are associated with this campaign because it highlights Barefoot's partnership with the Kasiisi Project, an organization that brings literature to schools in Uganda.

Diary of a Historic Night in Chicago

Grant Park, Chicago, November 4, 2008. The scene was set by perhaps the most glorious weather Chicago could imagine, mid 60's at 8:30pm; phenomenal considering it easily could have been 30 degrees colder and snowing. The lights of Chicago, always welcoming, reflected the occasion with red, white and blue on the building tops and "USA" and "Vote 2008" spelled out in the windows of high rises. The crowd was a true reflection of America. All races, young and old, gathered in good will and peace. An energy and sense of hope and anticipation hung in the air.



Together, on our iPhones and on the JumboTron, we witnessed the results unfold and tearfully celebrated as America elected Barack Obama to be our next President. It is remarkable. Unbelievable, the number of improbabilities that Barack Obama has overcome over the course of his life to get to this moment in time and this incredible victory. We all felt it, deeply. We joyously greeted the new First Family as they came to the stage for Obama's moving speech.



By the end of the night, we had made friends with the people around us, took photos, hugged and shared a lot of high-fives. We left the park in a surreal post-election setting as the midnight streets of downtown Chicago filled with people making their way home to the sound of continuing cheers and jubilant drum beats. One Nation United with Hope. We marched into a new era of American and World history.

Living Barefoot Is...

Last week, Barefoot Books asked its Stallholder Community to submit a photo and a quote as a contest to create a new e-campaign. Our guidelines seemed simple enough: a photo of a barefoot child in an autumnal setting and a quote to describe what Living Barefoot means to us. AH! That should be easy for me; I have so many thoughts on Living Barefoot! It’s the title of my blog. I could spout off forever. But here’s the catch: our quotes had to be 40 words or less – so I could not spout off forever after all. 40 words is actually quite short. I'm a better formal writer and not much of a journalist. I was sure I would just throw in the towel and write a nice long gratuitous blog post instead. But I stuck with it and kinda like my slender 40 words. In the end, I did not win the contest, but here is my quote; along with my wonderful photo of Ryker “Living Barefoot”.

Living Barefoot is a global consciousness. Just as feeling the earth beneath our feet connects us to the importance of maintaining a healthy planet; reading Barefoot Books connects children to world cultures, creating a future global community with greater understanding.

BTW, don't forget Barefoot is offering 30% off on all web orders through Monday, November 3rd. Use special offer code SCLB30 at checkout!

Save 30% on Barefoot Books!

Barefoot Books is offering 30% off all web orders October 29th - November 3rd!
Click on the following image to redeem the offer.

Barefoot Books in Madison, WI WEAC October 30th and 31st

Attention Wisconsin and Teacher Friends!

I will be bringing Barefoot Books to Madison next Thursday and Friday, October 30th and 31st for the WEAC (Wisconsin Education Association Council) Conference at the Alliant Energy Center!

Barefoot is virtually unknown in Wisconsin, and I am hoping to introduce the teacher community to these award-winning children's books. Barefoot is committed to nurturing a love of reading in a way that encourages children to explore their creativity and discover the diversity of the world's many cultures and traditions. Shouldn't Wisconsin be taking advantage of this incredible literature?

I hope that you will help and support me by letting Wisconsin teachers know about me and my participation in the conference. Barefoot will be at Booth #325.

Additionally, I am happy to meet anyone who is interested in learning about the company, picking up a few books (and saving the postage fees), or talking about becoming a Stallholder in an area with wide open opportunity! I'll be staying at the Sheridan and able to meet anyone there between the hours of 6pm to 9pm on Thursday, October 30th. Please give me a call at 847-863-6512 to schedule.

Pass it on!

A Perfect Fall Day... Listen, Listen

Each October, my family uses Columbus Day weekend as an excuse to squeeze in one last little taste of Summer. My in-laws in Northern California and the kids' beloved Lee cousins have the same days off from school, so we have formed a tradition of meeting them in Southern California when prices and crowds are low. While I savored those moments this weekend in the sun by the pool, it was also nice to return home to the seasons of the Midwest.

It was a perfect Fall day today. Sunny and crisp, but still warm enough to be comfortable without a jacket. After school, I dressed my boys in matching shirts (hoping for that holiday card picture, of course) and took them to the preschool pumpkin patch to pick out our future Jack-o-Lanterns and snap a few photos. We returned home to the leaves I had raked into a pile earlier in the day. Kids seem to know instinctively what to do with this... Ryker, still under two years, was the first to jump in. While I don't think that I got the "perfect" photo, we had a blast and certainly succeeded in digitally capturing some moments that I will treasure. It is far too seldom that I remember to tote the camera along with me and the boys.

The drastic contrast of seasons in the last two days, the idealistic autumn afternoon, and the thought of holiday cards, prompted me to take out a special Barefoot Book for bedtime this evening: Listen, Listen. The rhythmic verse by Phillis Gershator reminds us to appreciate the delicate sounds of nature that surround us each season. The art by Alison Jay, created with oil paint and a crackle varnish, evokes an especially nostalgic feel, invites the reader to explore the details, and perfectly complements the movement of the words.

"Listen, listen... summer's gone. Good-bye insects, autumn's come. Plop, plop, acorns drop. hurry, scurry, squirrels hop."

We always spend a lot of time when we sit down with this book. It wouldn't be right to rush through when the theme is just the opposite. There are all sorts of tiny things to spot in the illustrations. There are even smells, if your imagination is tuned in. It's the kind of book that reminds us to breathe and remember what is important in life. It is even a book about ecology. I promise to help my boys recall these lessons, linger a bit, and appreciate the treasures around us as we step outside each day.

Listen, Listen is available in hardcover and the newly released lap book version. The lap book is a larger format board book, ideal for the classroom setting or younger children. See Barefoot Books for more details.

Barefoot Books opens at FAO Schwarz: New York City Event for Kids on October 4th, 2008

If you are in New York City this weekend, don't miss a stop into FAO Schwarz on October 4th to celebrate the official opening of the Barefoot Books store! This grand opening weekend is marked with special celebrity guests and events such as stories, yoga, and sing-a-longs, running from 11am - 4pm.

In this exciting partnership, Barefoot will now provide it's beautiful products in a stunning boutique within FAO's flagship Manhattan store. If you can't make it this weekend, stop in anytime. Talented toy soliders will share Barefoot Books at 11.00am, 1.00pm and 3pm daily from the Storyteller Throne.

Additional events are also planned: on October 18th, there will be a special visit from Arthur of Albion author John Matthews for storytelling and book signing. Please continue to check the Barefoot Website for an updated schedule!

Barefoot Books Offers Free Shipping September 27th - 30th

I am pleased to announce that Barefoot Books is offering Free Shipping on all orders from Saturday, September 27th through Tuesday, September 30th.

I hope you will explore the wonderful new Fall products. This is a great opportunity to stock up on birthday gifts or even do some early holiday shopping!

Simply click here and enter Special Offer Code SCSHS8 at checkout... And please share with your friends!

Back to School Announcement

I hope your school year has gotten off to a great start!

As we put the beach gear away and turn our attention back to academics, I have made an exciting business decision.

Effective immediately, I will be able to offer my customers Usborne Books. While the beautiful art and story of Barefoot Books will remain the primary focus of my business, Usborne will supplement my offerings with non-fiction and reference books.

For many years, Usborne Books have had their own place in our home library; filling my boys' needs for science books, foreign language picture dictionaries, activity books, and atlases. I have also had customers ask for math, flashcards, textured board books, more princesses, and crafts. Therefore it seems quite natural to be able to offer these items myself. I am proud to now be providing a broader range of materials to help you meet your children's educational needs. And while I am a lover of literature and the printed word, I feel that the Internet Link aspect of many of the Usborne books adds an important dimension to the learning experience of a young researcher. The two companies really complement each other very well.

My e-commerce site for Usborne is as follows:

www.ubah.com/X2507

I hope you will spend some time browsing the online catalog and PLEASE share with your friends.

To place an order, please join into my web launch eShow by clicking on www.ubah.com/HOS124320. My Business Launch eShow will run through midnight on December 5th - perfect for your holiday needs. (this eShow will help me track my sales and gauge the success of an Usborne side to things)

Tips to Maximize your dollar:

With the holidays right around the corner, you may also consider signing on as a consultant. The sign up offer for September is wonderful: for $35 and free shipping, you get $99 worth of books, a 6 month e-commerce site, and an entry into the lottery for a trip to Rome! It doesn't need to be a "business". You can purchase for your holiday gift giving needs, share the discount with family, and get a discount/commission as well!

Keep in mind that Barefoot offers an affiliate program too... it's FREE and no starter pack purchase is required. You can immediately start buying the books you want for a discount and put a free banner ad on any website to earn commission on web sales!

Alternatively, you can also just earn free books, from either company, by hosting an event. Feel free to call or email me with any questions.

More on Barefoot in an upcoming newsletter! In the meantime, please consider Usborne for your non-fiction needs!

Thank you again for your continued support,
Leonore

Seven Years Later...

As most Americans today, I am devoting much of my thoughts to remembering the horrifying events of September 11th, 2001.

While I don't pretend to have anything to compare with the thousands of lives that were shattered, my own story that day shaped my parenting. My husband and I were sitting in a Gold Coast McDonalds, early for a 39 week ultrasound during my first pregnancy. The TV was on CNN and as we sat down with our orange juice (hoping to get the baby wiggling with a sugar high - it all seemed so exciting, in an ordinary sort of way), the news suddenly cut to live images of the burning North Tower. We watched flight 175 hit the South Tower: any remaining mystery about the event was dissolved and we walked silently disturbed onto the doctor's appointment. Baby was fine, ready for delivery in a week (which became 11 days), but the worry had started to creep in... what was happening to our world that day? My husband and I decided to skip work and just head home. The South Tower fell as we drove and we watched the North Tower go down when we arrived home to more TV coverage. What sort of world was I bringing this baby into? Could I somehow keep him inside until we were sure? My heart was broken thinking of the victims and their families. I ached deeply for all the mothers. (of course, that only begins to describe my feelings that day, but I'll just leave it there - my words could never honor our victims and heroes sufficiently.)

Seven years later, my heart still aches for those directly effected and I still worry. We are still unsure and nothing is significantly safer. We are still at war... a war that hasn't advanced the purpose of making us safer. And there really isn't anything that the average American can do about it. Is there?

In 2001, we stocked bottled water and prepared emergency kits. We bought duct tape (why did we buy duct tape?). In 2003, we believed our president when he had Colin Powell present us with faulty intelligence about Iraq. In 2004, to make a long story short, we botched our election. 2008, perhaps our only course of action as average Americans is to vote for a new administration that we can only hope might make a change.

But this is not a political blog. My purpose and thoughts lay with our children and the kind of world we are shaping for their future. The things we can do on a grass-roots level.

We can teach them about our world and other cultures, teach them not to hate. Instill in them a sense of honor and pride in our country and a respect for other nations as well. We need to remember that political views, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, color and gender do not make someone more or less worthy of our respect and consideration. Teach them how lucky we are to be Americans and to have the freedom of expression that so many others don't have; yet so many of us take for granted.

Today, and everyday, I will teach my children about Tolerance. Be kind to each other. It probably won't effect our national security, but I am hoping that common, everyday Good Deeds will make a difference somewhere.

Barefoot Books Free Shipping July 25-27

Just a quick notice that Barefoot Books is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders this weekend, July 25th - July 27th!

Little Leap Forward is now available and we have a new set of Monthly Special Web Offers.

I also want to share with you all the video of Guo Yue, author of
Little Leap Forward. In this deeply moving clip, Guo Yue shares his story, plays his music, and reads excerpts from his book.

My Barefoot Boys at Gilson Beach - Wilmette, IL

OK, we've got the cheesy and predictable Boys of Summer look going, but I hope you will agree that it is a nice sequence of semi-candids.

It was a perfect sunny 80 degree day so I decided to take the boys down to Gilson Park. We avoided the big crowds at the swimming beach and hit the area to the South where they could run through the tall grasses and play that they were "On Safari", with Maxwell as their guide.

After escaping the "lions" of the "savannah", they discovered the "ocean" and took off for the waters edge to "go surfing". Maxwell is bold and so grown up now, he could splash forever in the waves. Beckham's confidence was boosted by watching his big brother and Ryker is fearlessly game for anything that his brothers are doing.

45 minutes later, they were soaked, covered in sand, and happy as can be. We dried and brushed off the sand by the car and went home naked (except for me).

Introducing Barefoot Book's Young Fiction! Little Leap Forward

from Barefoot Books:

“Wouldn’t you rather be free, just for a day,
than spend a lifetime in a cage?”

It’s the summer of 1966 and Mao Zedong’s communist regime is about to move to a new level. Little Leap Forward lives in Beijing, with his mother, brother, and four older sisters. When he is not running errands or attending school, he loves to play the flute and to fly kites. One day, Little Leap Forward and his best friend capture a small yellow bird. Little Leap Forward wants her to accompany him on his flute – but behind the bars of her bamboo cage, she is not happy. What will he do – persist with his experiment or set her free?

In a year when China is banning the sale of wild songbirds, ending a 2,000 year history of selling and trading caged thrushes, this story of a young boy learning about freedom of spirit is all the more timely. Little Leap Forward’s touching story is based on author Guo Yue’s boyhood experiences of the Cultural Revolution in China. Sensitive, authoritative and deceptively simple, it offers young readers many intimate and powerful insights into one child’s life and dreams as the Cultural Revolution tightens its grip. As China modernizes and prepares to host the 2008 Olympic Games, interest in this superpower and in the rapidly changing lives of its people is escalating. The games in Beijing this August will bring half a million international and 2.5 million domestic spectators to a newly sanitized city.

THE STORY:

• Video-based e-campaign; national media campaign; author tour timed to coincide with the Beijing Summer Olympics 2008.
• Launch title for Barefoot Books’ new Young Fiction list, perfect for young readers ages 9 -12.
• Looks at close friendship and at the conflict between political change and personal freedom.
• Afterword offers simple historical notes on the Cultural Revolution and talks about what it meant for the author, his family and the Chinese people.
• Gorgeous full color illustrations throughout.

THE CREATORS:

GUO YUE is well known in the music world for the soaring beauty of his bamboo flute playing and compositions. He has performed and recorded worldwide, creating sounds which, in the words of one film director, ‘haunt the soul’. Yue and his wife, Clare Farrow, are also the authors of an adult memoir, Music, Food and Love.

CLARE FARROW is a writer and journalist specializing in modern contemporary art. She and Yue have two young children and live in Richmond, London.

HELEN CANN enjoys using patterns in her artwork and she has a large collection of reference material from around the world, taken from textiles, ceramics, furniture, jewelry— even body paint.

Little Leap Forward is scheduled to release in mid-July!
ShopBarefootBooks.com

Beating the Gas Crisis

My Husband had the answer last summer. He started putting all the kids on the bike. Yup, all three; two in the Burley and one on the Co-Pilot. Everyone congratulated his strength and courage. It looked way too hard for lil' ol' me. But I shouldn't underestimate myself.

Summer Camp started last week and after 2 days of idling my car in the pick-up line for 20 min at about $4.20/gallon, I'd had enough. Frustrating, expensive, and bad for the environment. So, with a little bit of coaching and practice close to home, I was soon comfortable enough with the weight and stability issues of pulling about 135/140 extra pounds (kids+seat+trailer) on George's mountain bike.

I feel like a rickshaw driver, but perhaps this is an important concept to keep in mind... Cycle rickshaws are used throughout the world; from developing countries that have used human powered vehicles for hundreds of years, to major European cities with an eye on global conservation. Most Americans have come to think that we "need" our SUV's and minivans; but in this new economic era with poor environmental health, it is critical that we re-think this habit.

The other added benefit of biking the kids around, is that it has become my new fitness program. We get out the door early and head up the shaded Green Bay Trail to North Shore Country Day School Camp. I work pretty hard those first 20 minutes and my boys support the effort by chanting "Go Mommy, Go!" when I climb the steep overpass over the railroad tracks. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, after Max is dropped off, we head out around the back of the school and through the roads that circle the Indian Hills Golf Course until we arrive another 15 minutes later at Harper School for Beckham's Tiny Tots program with the Wilmette Park District. Then I head back home (a 10 min cool down period) with Ryker. A pretty decent workout, efficiently packaged with kid-schlepping duties.

On Tuesday and Thursday, when Beck doesn't have camp, I take the two little guys a few blocks past Max's camp to play at Lisa and Bonnie's wonderful Free-to-Be-Kids babysitting center at the Winnetka Community House, so that I can get into the gym and supplement the bike workout a little bit.

But my biking hasn't stopped there. Since I can't bear sitting in that camp line, I load everyone up again for Max's 3:30 pick-up. I have also been using the bike for all the usual errands and excursions (grocery store, post office, bank, pool, beach...) There is little reason to go too far these "lazy" summer days, I prefer shopping local, and with construction on the Edens Expressway and Sheridan Road, traffic is simply a nightmare best avoided.

To be honest, I'm not sure how this will go when things really heat up in July and August. But my hope is that the inertia of my fitness routine and my commitment to greener living practices will override the fear of a little discomfort in the heat. I cringe to think of the way I used to run my car for a solid 5 min to get the A/C going before I would drive anywhere last summer. It seems an unthinkable strain on the environment now. I'd much prefer to avoid that issue altogether. With proper hydration and plenty of sunscreen, we should all be fine.

Summer is the Time for Reading!

I feel it is so important to engage our kids with great literature while school is out. Try an outdoor storytime in your yard or at the beach, enjoy books with story CD's in the car on your road trip, break from the hours of fun in the sun with a quiet few minutes indoors or in the shade. My boys, who never run short on energy, love the sing-a-long books/CD's when we get stuck inside on a rainy day. We can dance, act and use the art as inspiration for our own creations! Happy Summer!

Below are some great tips for successful reading with a child, provided by Barefoot Books...

TEN TIPS FOR READING WITH A CHILD

Learning to read is the cornerstone of every child’s education. By reading aloud and teaching your child in a way that is a pleasure for both of you, you will be sharing one of life’s most valuable gifts and open all kinds of doors for the future. Here are some tips on making the most of reading with your child:

1. Choose a time and a place where you can be quiet and give your child lots of attention. Make the occasion a special one.

2. Turn off any distractions such as televisions, radios, and computers.

3. When you are reading aloud, show that you are enjoying yourself.

4. Involve your child. Let yourself be interrupted with questions; talk about what you think of the story and the pictures.

5. When your child has started learning to read, follow the text and help your child point to the words as you go along.

6. Establish a routine. Try to devote some time every day to reading.

7. Take your child to your local library and involve him or her in choosing books.

8. Notice what kinds of stories your child enjoys and look out for ones with similar themes.

9. When you are reading aloud, praise your child for listening well and sitting still.
When your child is learning to read for you, give praise and encouragement too, but be sure gently to correct your child when he or she makes mistakes.

10. Help build your child’s vocabulary and memory skills by supplementing reading sessions with audio books on car journeys and after meals or at bedtime. Audio books are especially helpful in building memory skills and supporting the learning of dyslexic and autistic children.

Sharing your child’s journey into reading can be one of the most rewarding experiences of parenthood. You owe it to your child, and to yourself, to make it a priority in your daily life.

Y-Me Race to Empower

I recently added more running to my fitness program. Not only has it improved my physical well-being, but it has also provided mental wellness. My daily run is as opportunity for reflection, relieving stress and stimulating my creativity. In contemplating overall health, I think it is a natural desire to be a part of something bigger...

On Mother's Day, I will be participating in Y-ME's Race to Empower. My goal is to raise at least $100 to help Y-ME continue providing its indispensable programs and services to anyone touched by breast cancer. This a very modest goal that I hope you will help me exceed in the few short hours before Mother's Day. Every little bit will make a difference.

By providing emotional support and information, Y-ME is here today for those who can't wait for tomorrow's cure. Through the support of financial contributions from donors like you and me, Y-ME can continue offering its services free-of charge programs and services to breast cancer patients, caregivers and loved ones.

I am committed, like Y-ME, to ensuring that no one faces breast cancer alone. In fact, I have created a personal Web site where you can make a donation in support of my Race to Empower participation. Support me online using the "Click here to visit my personal page" link below and help me reach my goal. Of course, I always welcome company and would love for you to join me as well.

Your help truly makes a difference in the lives of those touched by breast cancer, and I am grateful for your support.

Sincerely,
Leonore Lee
Click here to visit my personal page.

Click here to view the team page for Women's Group of Northwestern

Click here to view the company page for Women's Group of Northwestern

A Whole World Celebration!

Please enjoy this e-card for Earth Day. The kids will love it and you can click around the links to find all kinds of great eco-tips! The art and music are from Whole World, the book featured in the post below.

Free Book for Earth Day - Whole World mini ed.

In celebration of Earth Day, Barefoot Books is offering a free book with purchase!

Whole World provides a global conservation theme for the 1950's vintage folk song "He's got the whole world in his hands" by making the lyrics more gender inclusive and tying it all together with environmental end notes and eco-tips for living green. The vibrant and playful illustrations depict faces and scenes from around the globe. This book was featured on Oprah's O-List in February 2008!



(you must follow the image link for the offer)

Earth Day at the Gym

Welcome to my first product review. Well, I have placed reviews on some web sites. Comments on commerce sites that I felt were important to share with other would-be consumers on Snow Shack and Amazon, travel reviews on Yelp and Trip Advisor, and a few book reviews on eBay and Shelfari, but nothing on my blog yet. I’m new to all this stuff.

Then I got my REI dividend and used it to purchase the Multi Towel Lite XL and Medium.



This is a fantastic towel. I bought it because it struck me what an impact gym towels must be taking on our planet. Each gym member, using 2-3 towels only once before they go in the laundry... All that water, all that bleach and detergent... Not Good. So this was to be my little part. The towel has exceeded my expectations and is a joy to use. It is really soft, packs small and light, and washes well. It holds such a tremendous amount of water that any dampness in the towel is hardly noticeable after a shower, it can be packed in the carry bag without getting stinky, and dries quickly when you hang it. The microfiber is also gentler on your hair and skin! If you need one more reason, I’ll add that it is quite attractive to wear; the thinner fabric is much more flattering than thick clumsy terry cloth. The moss green (actually called “glade”) should look nice with just about any skin tone. The XL (49.5 x 39.x inches) is more than large enough to wrap around an average body. It’s a little weird to use at first, almost grabbing the water off your body; but these towels have come a long way from the Speedo Chamois I used in the 80’s. The reaction in the locker room has been the Raised-Eyebrow-Followed-By-Slow-Nod look – so I’m hoping this will catch on.

So what about the slimy gym equipment? The medium towel (27.5 x 15.5 inches) is about the size of a standard hand towel. I understand you may not want to re-use a towel that has been on the floor or between your body and the weight bench. I alternate its use with a day of free weights and, if need be, a day with a gym towel.

Gym, camping, home, travel... ask the hotel to remove their towels from your room, you won't need anything else, and you'll be that much closer to Living Barefoot!

3 more things you can do at your gym to improve the environment:
1. bring a re-usable water bottle
2. shorten your shower
3. unplug the hairdryer

Starting a Business...

Running my own business has allowed me to rebuild my business skills and has provided our family with a "candy jar" to afford a few extras. This month's promotions makes getting started with a nice set of products even easier! If you want to find out more, please contact me.

(please note that our reps do not make a commission off new sign ups or sales of starter packs)

TV Tune Out Week

Well, here we are in the midst of TV Tune Out Week (March 2 -8), as prescribed by the Winnetka Alliance for Early Childhood. When my preschooler brought home the button and booklet, I have to admit that I didn't think much about it. We watch a fair amount of TV in our house, but not a level that I am uncomfortable with. A little TV means that I can get a chore done more efficiently, take a phone call quietly, or cook dinner safely.

But when last Sunday morning rolled around, on a whim, I thought "Why not?" and announced to my family that we were going to give this a try. The response from my 6 year old, keeper of the remote, was immediate and violent. "NO!" he yelled, stomping his feet. "What will you miss that's so important?" I asked. "I'll be BORED." he complained. His reaction told me that we needed to do this and the first few hours were rough. The boys were killing each other and the noise was deafening. I regretted my decision almost immediately, but we pressed on and survived until our babysitter arrived and my husband and I headed out to dinner, happy that we had planned a little break.

The tide turned completely the next morning. Our early risers were found in the living room WITH THE TV OFF! They didn't ask for TV all day and I didn't hear a constant mantra of "I'm Bored". Instead, the kids colored, played Legos, had imaginary adventures, played games, constructed puzzles, and took naps! Not only did we read books, but Max sat down to practice reading and writing; my husband thought I started a home school program. I'm not sure what little good-fairy loaded them onto the bandwagon, but I am forever grateful.

The following days have been just as successful and I am optimistic for the rest of the week. The boys have been much more creative in their play and, in spite of the first afternoon of noise and fighting, our house has been an overall more peaceful place. I thought the TV was keeping them quiet, but I have learned that they are actually capable of entertaining themselves quietly without electronic assistance. Who knew?

I would highly recommend TV Tune Out Week for all families. I'm not sure when I will reintroduce TV back into our house, but I think we'll hold off a few days beyond next Sunday.


New Spring Titles from Barefoot Books are keeping us occupied!

Poetry with Kids

I read poetry with my boys last night. We undertook some pretty heavy prose; The Tyger by William Blake. Max (6 yrs) crinkled his forehead, thinking. As I finished the poem he smiled a crooked smile. Pleased, as any boy might be, with the fierce imagery. But a little confused too; clearly, he understood on some level that this poem has considerable depth. He made a comment that it rhymed and sounded scary. “That’s a wonderful observation”, I said. “I did you like it?” He nodded.

Beck (3 yrs) roared like a tiger, enjoying it in his own, age appropriate way.

Without bogging the six year old down in Blake’s beliefs of creation and religion, we discussed the poem on more simple terms. We spoke of the simultaneous beauty and danger of nature. How words have power to create vivid images and the meaning/use of metaphors.

We sat down with poetry before (light and fun "children's" poetry too) and each time I am reminded how important it is to develop this side of their literary appreciation. The creative license that is given to poets to work untethered by the regular laws of grammar and to use our language artfully, delights young minds and challenges us all to think outside the box. This morning, home sick from school, Max has been working on sounding out words and writing them down. I don’t think it will be too long before he writes the first poem of his own.

Going to France!

I started distributing books for Barefoot Books mainly so I could fill our home library with unique and meaningful children's literature by this environmentally conscious and globally minded independent publisher. I had hoped that by starting my own business I would also find an outlet for my creative energies, have some "Me Time", and rebuild my career skills (after being out of the sales/marketing and sales training workforce for 6 yrs). One year later, my Barefoot Journey has fulfilled all those goals and taken me further than I dreamed... all the way to France! As the 2007 "Best US Newcomer", I will be attending the Barefoot 2008 International Summit, an intimate meeting at the Toulouse home of our company Founder and CEO, to discuss the direction of Barefoot's future and review the new products in the pipeline! Barefoot is a relatively small company and I look forward to all the opportunity in store. In our digital world of computer tots and Wii kids, it's extremely rewarding to be able to bring families inspiring art and story in a high quality book that children can hold in their hands and treasure throughout their lives. Thank you to all my current and future customers who have made this possible.

Literature: Choose Children's Books Carefully

How do we choose the best books for our kids? Avoid commercialism and poor quality. Seek out meaningful content. This quest should be of the highest priority to anyone purchasing books for the children in their life. In the paragraphs below, I will try to provide more insight and guidance into the process.

I got involved in the publishing industry about a year ago because I believe so deeply that children need more quality literature and I wanted my own children to have the best. I won't say that all your books should come from my company; there are certainly other great books out there too. But there are some important things to keep in mind as you hit the book stores and internet. Fact is, there is a lot of junk produced to keep the big retailers operating. Sift through your choices wisely.

I think a brief introduction to the history of children's publishing is important in understanding the driving forces behind the bulk of products for children in our modern day. (my thanks to Richele Baburina for some of this info in this paragraph) It wasn't until the mid 1800's when books written for children moved beyond primers and textbooks, and authors started creating literature for children, but at that day and age, there was no mass-marketing. Libraries and public schools were the main market for children's books and leading, value-oriented librarians served as the gate-keepers to ensure the quality of publication. The non-institutional market for children's books opened up in 1942 with the introduction of Little Golden Books and the Baby Boom fueled that movement. Fast-forward to the 1980's, when we saw two major developments in the industry: big publishing houses and large chain retailers. The new gate-keepers in children's publishing became the central buyers for those stores and decisions became profit-driven; giving rank to blockbuster titles, star authors, and media tie-ins. Publishers, in many cases, actually purchase advantageous book placement and display from the stores. In this model, we are left wondering where the content figures in. Our children are taught to be consumers at an early age. No longer do our families treasure heirloom quality literature; rather, we purchase flimsy and poorly written books based on TV cartoons because they match the collection of happy meal toys. Do I even need to mention the video games and the disproportionate level of emphasis that has been placed upon them in our society?

About the time I came to that extreme but true realization, I also found Barefoot Books, an independent publisher founded 15 yrs ago by two women just like me. Their incredible vision and determination has led to an unusual and successful business model that includes the best interest of our children's development at the core of the company. The company's focus is on an effort to stir the creative power of children with imaginative art and meaningful story, create a sense of global community by presenting stories from around the world, and maintain the highest level of product quality.

So how do you build the best home or school library for your children? Seek out the books that you remember from your childhood, the folktales that your Grandmother told you, and new books that strike on important values that you'd like to promote within your family. Avoid products that just bring us back to the television set or otherwise reinforce consumer madness. Give your children books that they will be proud to own, rather than disposable booklets compiled by staff writers in a marketing department. Remember that children don't learn best via flashcards and that the best road to literacy and love of literature is simply by reading to your child. Engage their senses with sing-a-longs and stunning artwork. As the custodians of our future, they truly deserve no less. Happy Reading!