BlogFest 2010 - 5 Book Giveaway!

Welcome everyone visiting from BlogFest 2010.

All children love birthdays!  The goal of Happy Birthday Author is to reach out to families to encourage them to read a variety of books together.  The format of celebrating authors on their birthdays provides families a chance to learn new information and develop their reading interests.

Below are suggestions on how to use Happy Birthday Author with your family:  (Plus, look for an entry form to enter to win books by authors featured on the blog.)
  
1.  Subscribe to Happy Birthday Author via email, Twitter, Facebook, or other RSS feed.  This will alert you to the newest birthday posts. I try to post a few days before the author's birthday to give you time to prepare.

2. Find out which author is having a birthday this week.  Visit your local library to checkout as many books by the author as you can.  You could even call ahead and have the children's department set aside the books from our birthday author.

3. Begin reading the books as soon as possible.  Talk to your children about the author - How their career started, books they have written, etc.

4. Check out the links provided in the blog post. Often times there are videos to watch about the author or even videos of the some of their books. I try to include links to activity guides that are available too.  The links are always located at the end of the blog post.

5.  On the day of the author's birthday remind your child about the author's birthday.  They will probably remind you first! Talk about the books they have enjoyed reading thus far.

6.  Read and reread as many books as you can on the day of the birthday.  Try some of the activities I talk about in the blog or an activity from an online resource. Maybe try a small craft (even if it is drawing their favorite part from one of the books they read.)

7.  If you really love the author, bake a cake, make a funny party hat or have a special birthday dessert.

8.  Come back to Happy Birthday Author to share your experiences with other families.

Check out Journey of Books for more information about BLOGFEST 2010!

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THE VISITORS FROM BLOGFEST 2010.  The response of overwhelming.  There were over 150 entries for the contest from all over the world.  I received many new followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Google.  Thank you so much.

Congratulations to Linda from CA.  She was chosen as the winner of the 5 book set that including books by Jean Marzollo/Walter Wick, Doreen Cronin, Tomie dePaola, Beverly Cleary, and Eileen Spinelli.