Books That Help Children Feel Good About Themselves (Book Giveaway!)

I love how so many books today help children to feel loved and valuable. So often, we focus on the things that our kids do wrong and forget to say the things that we appreciate about them. Following are three children’s books I’ve read lately that you and your children will love:

Archibald’s Swiss Cheese Mountain (Giveaway!)
By Sylvia Lieberman
Illustrated by Jeremy Wendell



Archibald Mouse is ready for his first trip beyond his home behind the wall to seek his own food. He sneaks into a grocery store, but after the owner closes up for the night, it’s kind of dark and scary in there. And after eating a bunch of food, he gets stuck in the mouse hole when he tries to return home! But then he has the clever idea to oil up his tummy with his greasy paws, which are covered with butter and cheese. That does the trick! On his next trip to the grocery store, Archibald climbs inside a glass case holding a huge piece of cheese. But, of course, he gets stuck again! Will he be able to escape this time? I won’t give away the rest of the story, but it’s safe to say that Archibald learns a valuable lesson about self-sufficiency and ingenuity!

BONUS: Read to the end of this post to find out how you can win an autographed copy of Archibald’s Swiss Cheese Mountain!

Along Came You
By Karona Drummond
Illustrated by Estelle Corke



Along Came You is a beautiful book in which a mother tells her daughter how her life has changed since she became a mother. For instance, she tells her, “Before you, my house was decorated in style. After you, my home is decorated in love.” The picture shows the mother taping her daughter’s artwork to the refrigerator as her daughter paints in the kitchen. The book continues in that vein, with the mother comparing her life before and after her daughter arrived. It sends a wonderful message to children about the joys and wonders they bring to their parents’ lives. And I love the colorful and sweet illustrations in this book.

Dudley’s Solo
By Tiffany Alexander
Illustrated by Jeremiah Carstarphen



Dudley is a little boy who cannot hear or speak, but he wants to be in the children’s choir at his church. All of the children are excited for an upcoming concert, except for Dudley. He wants to do a solo, but can’t figure out how that’s possible. Then the other kids come up with a plan. When the night of the concert arrives, the other children do their solos. But then it’s Dudley’s turn. How will he do it? You’ll have to read the book to find out! This wonderful story teaches children about people with disabilities and how they have their own gifts to offer the world. Visit www.ChildrensBand.com to learn about more books planned for this series.

GIVEAWAY!

And now it’s giveaway time! If you’d like to win a copy of Archibald’s Swiss Cheese Mountain, visit www.archibaldmousebooks.com and leave a comment on this post telling me the name of one of the other characters in the book (besides Archibald). You must do this to enter. For optional additional entries, you may:

- Put a button for Susan Heim on Parenting on your blog. (The code is in the upper right-hand column of this site.) Post a comment with your blog’s URL.

- Follow me on Twitter (@ParentingAuthor) and tweet this giveaway. Leave a comment with the URL to your tweet.

- Post this giveaway on your blog with a link to this page. Leave a comment with a link to the post.

- Subscribe to Susan Heim on Parenting via email, RSS or as a Follower on Blogger. Leave a comment with your subscription method.

- Sign the guestbook at Archibald’s Clubhouse at http://www.archibaldmousebooks.com/clubhouse.html. Leave a comment that you did this.

One winner will be randomly selected from the qualified entries received by midnight on Wednesday, July 15, 2009. Be sure to leave an email address if you don’t have it posted on your Blogger page. The winner will be emailed and must respond within 72 hours or a new winner will be selected.

CONTEST CLOSED. Congratulations to Andria!