Feb 24 2008
Personalized children’s books from Custom Made For Kids make great gifts
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Custom Made for Kids publishes the personalized hardcover children’s book, The First Adventures of Incredible You,a rhyming story of YOUR child’s everyday experiences - playing in the park, going to a sporting event, and being with their family and friends. Click here to see the virtual book tour.
Custom Made for Kids was founded by two Sarahs, Sarah Riley Headrick and Sarah Foreman Rivera. Their friendship began at a weekly suburban playgroup and turned into a business venture when they realized that the gifts that they most enjoyed giving and receiving were personalized and had special meaning for the recipient’s family. Their first personalized children’s book is The First Adventures of Incredible You. Custom Made for Kids also offers gift certificates and custom bookmarks. It would make a great baby shower, birthday or holiday gift.
When the Sarahs, as I like to call them, approached me about doing a review, I was hesitant. I’ve seen so-called customized books at craft fairs - cheaply bound laser printed books obviously produced at home or the local Kinko’s. But knowing how easy it is to self-publish books these days, I thought I’d give it a try.
- Even though she’s been sleeping in a big girl bed for years, my daughter really enjoyed this book by Tina Burke. If you’re trying to transition your child from crib to bed, this is a wonderful book to read together. A 
- Author Michele Shen wrote this simple parable to help explain “why parents sometimes live apart.” This is a gentle, quiet book, sized to fit little hands, and written to explain divorce in a way the very young will understand. From 
- I really enjoyed reading this book with Lucie, though it took most of the night to do so. So be forewarned! By Lila Prap, this 
- By Anette Bley, this quiet, gentle, heartwarming book is meant to be share. It’s first about love and friendship between a granddaughter and her grandfather. And then it’s about loss and death. A good book for a child whose grandparent may be ill and dying or one who has passed away. Be warned that this very frank book will bring tears to your eyes. It did for me. A 
- From Australian author Margaret Wild comes a story about Bobbie, an energetic red-necked wallaby, who can hop and skip and bounce. But, she can’t do the splits. Bobbie Dazzler celebrates children’s small achievements and the value of friendship. Another wonderful 
- Written by Janet Halfmann and olustrated by Laurie Allen Klein, this story follows Little Skink will she hunts yummy ants for breakfast. Suddenly she’s attacked by a crow, and escapes by snapping off her tail! Little Skink is happy to be alive, but she misses her bright blue tail. She daydreams of having the tails of other animals in the forest and tries on tail after tail. Like all books from Sylvan Dell Publishing, the book comes with a “For Creative Minds” section with information on tail adaptations and communications and a mix-and-match tail activity. Check out the Sylvan Dell website for 
- By Francisco Arcellana, this book is a discussion starter on the subject of death and those who are gone but not far from our hearts. In this tale, Marcelina’s father comes home from a trip to Manila with beautiful hand-made sleeping mats for each member of his large family, including the three daughters who died when they were very young. A 
- Planning a trip to New York this summer? Mother and daughter co-authors, Margery Facklam and Peggy Thomas, explore their home state region by region, offering historical accounts, natural history facts, and sightseeing suggestions. From 
- The Slyvan Dell Publishing followup to Doris Fisher’s 
, we follow a young boy through another strange day, but now everything is even, and his mom has two heads! Your kids will enjoy looking for all the hidden objects in the book’s art. And you’ll learn more “number fun” in the “For Creative Minds” section. Go to the Sylvan Dell website for the downloadable 
By Jutta Bauer, this little book asks: What is happiness? For Selma the sheep, the answer is easy. Happiness is eating grass, playing with her children, exercising, eating a little more grass, chatting with her neighbor, and a good night sleep. But what if Selma had more time? What if she won the lottery? Adults will enjoy this one - and learn a little, too. From the folks at 
Ox, House, Stick: The Story of Our Alphabet
- By Don Robb and illustrated in bold collage style by Anne Smith, the book traces the origins of our alphabet from the proto-Sinaitic peoples, through the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. Also included is sidebar information on punctuation, writing materials, the technology of printing, and more. From 
Books - 
- Compiled by John Lithgow, the wide variety of carefully selected poems in this book provides the perfect introduction to appeal to readers new to poetry, and for poetry lovers to experience beloved verses in a fresh, vivid way. The book comes with a bonus MP3 CD of revelatory poetry readings by John and the familiar voices of such notable performers such as Kathy Bates, Glenn Close, Gary Sinise, and Sam Waterston. You’ll enjoy reciting or listening to these poems with the entire family.
Music - 
is a MP3 music download available on Amazon.com. From Nettwerk Music Group it’s a unique collection of contemporary and original children’s songs performed by everyone from the Barenaked Ladies to Moby. Wow, kids music that won’t drive you crazy! A portion of the proceeds will benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.
One family-friendly movie to rent or buy is 
. Rated G and set in the vast snow kingdom at the top of the world, 
Need some other movie ideas? Check out the following reviews on my blog, 
electric fireplace
