Tuesday, August 31, 2010

In The Spotlight: Illustrator Clare Beaton

Clare Beaton Illustrator



Clare Beaton was brought up in North London where she to this day still lives and works.  She studied graphics and art in college.  Within a year of her graduation she was picked up by the BBC as an illustrator for childrens programs.

Clare Beaton has a love of folk art and now creates illustrations for chldren's books and we are proud to say we carry these fabulous books of hers.

She is popular with parents and children alike for using felt and a mostly vintage range of buttons, braid and fabrics.  Her pictures are all hand-stitched and she is always looking for more items to recycle and give a new lease on life in her work.  Old aprons are a favorite of hers for sources in wonderful patterns.

Ms. Beaton's illustrations do not stop there but continue on in pen and in craft and activity books, children's jigsaw puzzles and games and was animated for a series of TV ads in North America for Triaminic.  Working with an animation studio has been very interesting for her and she hopes to see more (as we do) of her work animated in the near future.

You can see and purchase Clare's books such as:


Baby's First Book, Baby's First Journal, Action Rhymes NEW, Nursery Rhymes NEW, and Mrs. Moon, Lullabies for Bedtime NEW
    








at:  www.TheCozyBookTree.com today!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

NEW To The Baby Library Tales and Rhymes

Our beloved illustrator Clare Beaton is at it again.  The Cozy Book Tree, Ambassador for Barefoot Books is proud to announce our newest addition to our Baby Library with:

 CLICK HERE To View Book

Featuring seven classic nursery favorites like Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep and Hey Diddle Diddle, this sturdy board book format is ideal for sharing with babies and toddlers.
For babies to 4 years 

 CLICK HERE To View Book

Small children love to act out simple rhymes! This collection features classic favorites like Incy Wincy Spider, Pat-a-Cake and One Potato, Two Potato in a sturdy board book format that is ideal for sharing with babies and toddlers.
For babies to 4 years 


CLICK HERE To View Book

Lullabies for Bedtime

Cozy up for bedtime and hum along to lullabies both old and new. The twenty-two selections in this richly textured book are meant for dreamtime sharing. Book with CD edition includes songs sung by Dana Kletter.
For babies to 3 years

Monday, August 23, 2010

Today's Video Is: The Animal Boogie Ages 3-7

Does your little one love to sway and boogie woogie oogie?  Put your little one on your lap and have a listen and a watch our Award Winning Sing-a-long book and CD called The Animal Boogie.  Down in the Indian jungle, the children and animals are learning about actions like leaping, stomping, shaking and flapping while meeting different jungle creatures.



Have FUN!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

15% Off New Customer Discount

 

The Cozy Book Tree, your Ambassador to Barefoot Books is offering all NEW customers 15% off their first order placed from August 18-September 1, 2010.
To receive this discount enter COUPON CODE: SCSHFT 

To Shop With Us


Offer only valid for first time new customers. Code cannot be reused for same customer after first initial purchase. Offer only valid at www.jamie-volner.barefootbooks.com

Tips For Sending Your Child Of To School



Every year millions of young children start school for the very first time. They carry backpacks, lunchboxes, pencils, sometimes a grin on their face, but more often, a look of trepidation about what school will really be like. They wonder: Will my teacher be nice? Will I have friends? What if I can’t find my way? Who will sit with me? What will I do? What if I don’t like it? What if I miss home? What if it’s too hard?

As parents guiding our children off to start school for the first time, or to begin a new school year, we want to do all we can to ensure that they have a great experience. At the same time, we want to encourage their independence as they set off on a new journey in their development.

Kathryn White, author of Ruby's School Walk, early educator and mom of five children, shared her tips to ease children's start-of-school anxiety and make this an enjoyable milestone:

Click HERE to meet Ruby!


  • Read with your child and talk about the school experience. Share with them stories about your memories of school, both the good and the less so. School is an adventure, and like all adventures, it has its ups and downs.
  • Help spark your child’s imaginations about school to encourage them to talk about their concerns and face their fears. You can do this through stories, books, drawings and other art forms. Ask them questions such as what they think school will be like, what they are excited about and worried about, what they think they will learn, etc. These conversations can also be had with grandparents and other favorite people in your child’s life.
  • Build a community in your neighborhood. It is amazing what a familiar and friendly face can do to help a child overcome their fears about going to school. As your family journeys to school each day you might see this friendly neighbor, or only see them occasionally, but it will help your child feel comfortable and safe on their trip to school.
  • Sit down together and create a fun map to school. Note interesting landmarks and have your child color them in or place numbers at each point. On that first morning to school, your child will be preoccupied with checking off the landmarks on their special map. The school can be drawn with welcome signs, making it a great triumph upon their arrival.
  • Walk with your child to school whenever possible. If you don’t live nearby, take public transport, bike or drive and get out a few blocks away and walk together. The walk will become a meaningful way to spend time together and help get the day off on the right foot.
  • Create traditions. Take pictures of your child in front of your home or on their way to school. Each year you can reflect back on these first day of school photos and see how much your child has grown in every way.
  • Know that if the first day went well or didn’t go well, there are many more days of school throughout the year and peaks and valleys along the way.
We hope your child’s first experience with school is part of their magnificent journey of growing up!



The Cozy Book Tree

Bonding With Your Little One

Reading to your child even right after birth helps your baby to become used to the sound of your voice. Reading in soft tones creates a soothing environment to your child and switching off between mommy and daddy is a great idea.

As your baby develops into toddlerville (no, not a real word but I like it) he or she now starts to look at story time as fun, exciting and reading often becomes a ritual between child and parent with squeals of "Mommy (or Daddy), again, read it again!" In other words, you are bonding with your child.

The focus here is not to start "teaching" them to read at such a young age but to teach them to use their imagination, get wrapped up in the story and have FUN! The learning to read part will come. Fundamentals have a way of unraveling themselves when shown by example. You are their example.

My son and I enjoyed our reading time together. By the time he was 3 if I was not ready at our usual story time boy did I hear about it! It was our time to bond, time to let both our imaginations run wild with giggles and oooo's and ahhhhhh's. Story time sometimes ended up into making a "play" out of the story and acting out parts. He was so proud when he started to learn to read on his own and could then read to me. We would take turns switching off during storytime. I'd read, then he'd read.

There is nothing better than bonding with your child. These are the years to cherish. Ohhhhh how I miss him curling up into my lap, looking up to me with those huge brown eyes with light in them knowing we were about to embark on another fun journey together. One day, when my son becomes a father I hope he remembers this joy, bonds with his children and keeps the imagination train chug chugging along.

Play, Learn, Create

Dragon On The Doorstep-Out of Stock

PAPERBACK W/CD is temporarily out of stock due to its high popularity. We are expecting A Dragon on the Doorstep in paperback with CD back in stock Nov. 13, 2010.

Hardcover IS Available - Click HERE to view.

A Dragon on the Doorstep

Play hide-and-seek with a dragon, a crocodile, a gorilla and all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures. The rhyming text explores familiar rooms of the house, and encourages imaginative play. Book with CD edition includes song sung by acclaimed children's performer Fred Penner.

Ages 3 to 7 years

Written By: Stella Blackstone

Illustrated By: Debbie Harter

Sung By: Fred Penner

Win An Apple iPad 16GB


THIS COULD BE YOURS - JUST FOR STARTING YOUR OWN BOOK BIZ

JOIN Barefoot Books (for free no cost no quotas) between Aug. 1-Sept. 30, 2010 and we'll do a random drawing of new Ambassadors (this could be YOU) to win an Apple iPad 16+GB. This drawing will be held once the challenge has ended and we'll select a winner in North America and Europe. We will also draw 4 random winners, two in Europe and two in North America, to receive a Natural Child Gift Collection.

SO, what are you waiting for? If you want to start your own home business and love kids and expanding their minds, this is the home biz for you!

Want to learn more about the Barefoot Books Opportunity? CLICK HERE to learn more or contact Jamie Volner at cozybooktree@yahoo.com

Go Green - Go Global Meet Eco-Libris

Trees. They are a subject near and dear to my heart. As you get to know me you will find I am what they call a "tree hugger". I adore trees. They make me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Every since I was a little girl my favorite thing to do is, grab a book and blanket, find me a big tree and curl up under it and read for hours or lay and stare up at the sky watching the clouds make shapes as they move slowly across the sky.

The Cozy Book Tree (that's us) as you know by now are Ambassadors for Barefoot Books and both us and our publisher is focused on the environment, we are always looking for new ways to help preserve our planet’s resources. We were delighted to find Eco-Libris – a company who helps publishers and book buyers to be green!

Eco-Libris Vision

Let’s start with the bottom line: we believe in providing people with easy and affordable ways to take responsibility for their actions and go green. We don’t believe in preaching doom and gloom. It’s not our style. We do believe in taking action and in the power of small changes to make a big impact.

Visit Their Website HERE

Eco-Libris is a green business that enables people to do something reasonable, affordable yet with an impact: plant one tree for every book they read. By working with individuals and publishers to plant trees in developing countries, Eco-Libris makes sure that each tree is planted where it provides significant value for both the environment and the local communities.

We worked with Eco-Libris on our book Earth Tales to plant a tree for every copy we sold of Earth Tales this past Spring.

We continue to promote their program through our Ambassador Community and want to spread the word about their great work as much as we can.

Find out how you can make a direct impact on the environment by planting a tree for every book you read by visiting www.ecolibris.net.

Thank you!

Play, Learn, Create


Precious Baby Memories

Being a mom myself I know there is nothing more precious than celebrating the birth of a new baby. I have two children now ages 19 and 27 and I often wonder where the time went. Keeping records and memories of your child not only is for Mom and Dad but something to pass along to your kids as they grow older and start having children of their own.

Kids LOVE hearing about their baby stories and we love telling them.


Click on Book to View

I would like to introduce you to a sweet baby's first book beautifully illustrated by Clare Beaton. Baby's First Book celebrates the treasured moments of your baby's first years with this beautiful book that features first rhymes, everyday scenes and simple items. The colorful pages offer plenty to look at and talk about.

Whatever you do in this life always remember to let your children know how much they mean to you and tell them you love them everyday!