Book Reviews & Giveaway (closed): Love the Beastie and The Splendid Spotted Snake

The cold, snowy, gloomy weather has settled in here in the Northeast; the perfect time to hunker down on the couch in our nice, warm living room and curl up to a new book or two!

The Splendid Spotted Snake
By Betty Schwartz and Alexander Wilensky
Workman Publishing; $13.95

Evelyn (3) and I first read The Splendid Spotted Snake by Betty Ann Schwartz and Alexander Wilensky, the authors of the popular children’s book What Makes a Rainbow.  A magic ribbon book, the little spotted snake made from sturdy, polka-dotted cloth ribbon grows bigger and bigger with every turn of the page.  Not only that, but his spots change color, too!  The simple rhyming pattern and bold, bright colors helped us chase away the winter blahs as Evelyn and I read it over and over again, watching the snake grow and change.  It’s also a great tool to help teach and reinforce colors to younger ones as they identify the newest hues that the little snake takes on.  Look for a sweet surprise ending, too—this book is just too cute!  Geared for ages 3-6 and retailing for $13.95 from Workman Publishing, The Splendid Spotted Snake will be one of those books that your child returns to again and again. This book is available on www.workman.com.

Love the Beastie
by Henrik Drescher
Workman Publishing; $12.95

Next, we read the perfect little book with offbeat humor for Valentine’s Day.  Love the Beastie by Henrik Drescher is the sequel to Pat the Beastie, where Beastie’s young owners Paul and Judy are naughty to poor Beastie; so he swallows them up in one gulp and keeps them in his belly just long enough to teach them a lesson.

In Love the Beastie, though, we see Paul and Judy treat Beastie with love and kindness as they take him to the playground, play hide and seek, groom him and tickle him.  What makes this book so adorably wonderful is that it’s interactive!  You get to spin Beastie, Paul and Judy on the carousel, feel his rough tongue as Beastie gives Paul a kiss, tickle his dragon-like foot as it pops up from the page, lift the shower curtain to play peek-a-boo, pull at his rubbery worm boogers (eww!), squeak his belly as they jump and play on him, flip through a little picture book that Paul and Judy read to him, and finally see Judy disappear into his pop-up jaws when she and Paul start to act up again!  This book is a delight to the eyes, too, from Beastie’s googly eyes on the cover to his colorful little animal sidekicks who make comments on the book’s events as they unfold. Also from Workman Publishing and retailing for $12.95, Love the Beastie is scheduled to hit the shelves in February.  It would make  a perfect gift of love for the beastie in your own life!


GIVEAWAY CLOSED:  One (1) That’s IT Mommy reader will receive a copy of The Splendid Spotted Snake and Love the Beastie! This giveaway is open to US residents only  (18+). Ends Feb 7, 2012 (CLOSED)

REQUIRED MAIN ENTRY:  To enter, visit Workman Publishing at http://www.workman.com/ and tell us which books of theirs look interesting to you!  Leave your comment in the reply box below this post. That’s IT!

Remember if this REQUIRED ENTRY is not followed, then no other entries will count.

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• Leave a comment on any non giveaway post and let us know you did (2 extra – 2 separate comments #1, #2)
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*This giveaway will run through midnight on Feb. 7, 2012 (PST). Winner will be chosen using Random.org from all valid entries and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to contact us before another winner is chosen. Giveaway is open to U.S. (18+) residents only.

* We did not receive monetary compensation for this review. That’s IT Mommy received these books from Workman Publishing free of charge to facilitate this review. Giveaway item will be provided by sponsor. Sponsor has the right to refuse filling prize for duplicate winners from other blogs. This will in no way sway our opinion of the product or service.
 The review is in our own words and is our opinion. Your results and opinions may differ.