May Newsletter

Hello Summer!
from Great Books for Children
Summer is upon us again.  While the kids look forward to it all year long, it seems as soon as it arrives they begin claiming "Mom, I'm bored!"  Well, we can fix that!

Keep your children's brains engaged this summer, and keep them from vegging out in front of the TV by giving them plenty to read.  There are quite a few new offerings by Barefoot Books, as well as many favorites that you haven't discovered yet.


New Catalogs!
Finally the new 2010 catalogs have been released.  The full catalog is online here! There are tons of new offerings, as well as release dates on some of the fun things coming up.  Drop me an email at greatbooks4children@gmail.com if you need a paper copy.  

On Sale Now!
Kid's Kitchen - 40 healthy recipe cards.  Great for summer activities!  $18.99 - Buy Now
Shopping with Dad - A humorous story that is finally back in stock - right in time for Father's Day. $15.99 - Buy Now
Fabrics of a Fairy Tale - Collection of seven fabulous folk tales.  $7.99 - Buy Now

Brand New and Flying Off the Shelves!
Bear at Work :  Fun Activity Book - Great activities to keep kids busy during summer travels. $5.99 - Buy Now
If You Are Happy and You Know it - Now in PAPERBACK with CD! $9.99 - Buy Now

If you are local, you always have the option of free delivery.  Drop me an email before you order online and we'll talk!  greatbooks4children@gmail.com

Till next time, Amy

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  What exactly is this holiday?  It is a celebration, primarily celebrated in the United States, that celebrates a specific military victory.  It isn't celebrated in Mexico.  It has come to signify a celebration of Mexican heritage.

Check out this great book, Off We Go to Mexico!  It's a great way to introduce your child to Mexico history, holidays and simple Spanish vocabulary.  You'll both love the beautiful pictures, and they'll appreciate the rhyming text.  It's great for kids ages 3 - 9!

Click here to see more!

May - Giveaway! $20 Gift Certificate

Great Books for Children is giving away a $20 gift certificate this month for Barefoot Books!  How do you enter?  Well, there are 3 ways:

1) Be a newsletter subscriber.  Just sign up in the box on the right of this page.  You'll get a monthly (or sometimes twice monthly) newsletter full of discounts and interesting information about books.
2) Be a facebook fan of GB4C.  The fan page is found at www.facebook.com/greatbooks
3) Tell your friends about this giveaway and GB4C.  Put a comment on this post and tell me how you did that.  Did you twitter it?  Did you email the information?  Did you tell your mom's group?  Let me know!

Good luck!  Giveaway winner will be chosen May 28th at 8pm central.

Toddler Gift - Great for Airplane Lovers

This board book is full of vivid illustrations and has a definite transportation theme.  It is a little different than the usual book that enforces that kids can be anything they want to be.  Instead, this book runs through myriad transportation methods and how the reader wants to be the operator of each .  For instance, they want to be a pilot, a train engineer and a race car driver.  Lots of fun on each page!

Why a Job Selling Children's Books is Hard

In a complete departure from what is normally on this blog, I'd like to talk about the difficulty in selling children's books.  When I began selling children's books, I thought that passion and good business sense would take me a long way.  It's far harder than I ever expected, to be honest. This post is an attempt to examine why.

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  It is a Media Driven World

   There are so many different types of media clamoring for a child's attention.  There are movies, TV, computer games, console game systems, the internet and now iPod's and iPads... oh and books.  Books don't talk loudly, or force a child to interact with it.  They don't come with a 6 month commercial lead-up.  And reading takes more effort than enjoying the other sources listed.

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  Some Parents are Lazy and/or Busy

  Reading to your child also takes more effort than sitting them in front of a TV screen.  Parents who work long hours and have other stuff that need their attention.  Yes, they love their children.  But they may be too tired, or stretched too thin to take that extra step.

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  Parents Don't Know How to Judge a Book

  Books have changed over the past few decades.  The most popular books at traditional school book fairs tend to be TV or movie character driven, instead of the more classical stories you grew up with.  How do you know what to buy?  A lot of times, the answer comes down to the cost of the book instead of the quality of the books.

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  Quantity Does Not Equal Quality

  Because some parents aren't judging the quality of the books they buy, their children end up with a bookshelf full of books with no substance.  How many times does a child want to read a SpongeBob book with a predictable storyline?  So, the parent might surmise that their child won't read an additional books they buy because they aren't reading the ones already purchased.

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  Parents Buy from Amazon.com 

  Parents that do buy books would rather purchase from Amazon.  Free shipping, the ability to read reviews, and an almost infinite catalog of titles is hard to argue with.

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  The X Factor

  I'm sure there are other factors I haven't even considered.

What do you think?  Why is it hard for independent booksellers to sell in this economy?

Author Introduction - Zarle Williams

I had the pleasure of meeting a fantastic author over the weekend while I was exhibiting at the North Texas Book Festival.  This author, Zarle Williams, has written a large number of books.  But what surprised me is how her books cross many different age levels.

Her award winning books span from the pre-reader to young adult, and I found all of them quite engaging.  I really enjoyed her young adult historical fiction.  Take a look at her publishing house and her books.  You won't regret it!

Zarle Williams is published by Petite Plume Press.

April Newsletter

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Greatbooks4children@gmail.com

(817) 576-1117

Introducing Book Packages—Just in Time for Summer!


The days are getting longer and the children are restless. Both are sure signs that summer is upon us. Don’t let your kids waste their summer away by vegging out in front of the television. I’ve handpicked books and other products to inspire your child’s imagination this summer. All of our summer packages are grouped by age, and some ages are broken out by gender. Is there a road trip in your future? Check out the “Elementary Travel Package”. These are exclusive to Great Books for Children and are only available here

Blog Post : The Benefits of Reading to Children

Whether as a parent or teacher, you are the key to a child's success in learning to read. When you read, talk or play with a child, you are stimulating the growth of the brain and constructing the connections that will become the building blocks for reading. Brain development research shows that reading aloud to your child every day increases his brain's capacity for language and literacy skills and is the most important thing you can do to prepare him for learning to read.

Read More

Barefoot Books Podcasts
Barefoot Books, one of our favorite publishers, has been releasing podcasts of full length books.  What a great way to spend a few minutes with your kids!You can listen to them here 

Great Titles on Sale from Barefoot Books are Available Here