{Barefoot Books} Review & GIVEAWAY! *CLOSED*

Barefoot Books is a company that began with a Mom who worked from home ~ a goal so many of us mothers have today. The company's books really focus on being culturally diverse and expressive and have very vivid pictures & colors along with so much to stimulate your child's imagination! They really are a children's book company that's a notch above the rest, if you ask me.

Their books fall into 1 of 3 categories, "Fun First Steps," "Tell Me A Story," and "One World, One Planet." "Fun First Steps" is for the smaller children and features early learning themes through books, singalong CDs, games & puzzles. "Tell Me A Story" books help feel your child's creativity. These stories aim to balance art and language - with imaginative illustrations and a good message behind the pictures. The "One World, One Planet" books are about making your child not only culturally aware, but also, musically, environmentally and theatrically!

But beyond shopping by those three categories, you can also shop for Barefoot Books specifically by age or topic, along with searching their best sellers and award winners. Not only that, but when you click to look at a book on their site, it also displays other items that are related and recommended to go along with it, which is fantastic for gift-giving! What makes their website an even better tool is that you can "step in" to the books to see actual pages from the books, along with listening to audio clips of the music on their CDs. Additionally, there are community reviews of books so you can see what other people think of a particular book, as well.

I also love that Barefoot Books offers not just books {both paperback and hard cover}, but many other learning tools for your children. They have everything from stuffed puppets {that go along with particular books} and both traditional and block puzzles to CDs and sticker activities. There really is something for every child, no matter how yours learns best!

a peek inside the "Dotty Spotty Doodles" activity/coloring book

Barefoot Books is a company that actually cares, too. And about more than themselves. Barefoot Books offers "Books That Give Back." By purchasing one of these, you are giving money to certain causes like global conservation, for example. Now that's smart. Not to mention a great way to teach your children about giving and not just receiving.

So we received 3 different books, belonging to each of their 3 categories. The first we checked out was "Bear in a Square," which is a cleverly rhyming book that helps your children identify shapes {and colors} in the fun, spirited manner of "Hide and Seek." As each page progresses from finding one blue square on the first, 2 red hearts on the second, etc., it is also a fabulous tool for learning to count! This would be a fantastic book for a 2nd birthday party, I think!


The second book, "Bear on a Bike," tells the journey of a bear who travels via many different methods {boat, bike, raft, etc.} to many different destinations. It is a great tool for discovering different modes of transportation, and to learn just all the wonderful {creative & imaginative} places one can go {both practically and imaginatively speaking}. The lyrics rhyme and are repetitive, which will inevitably lead to your child reciting the book back to you, I'm sure! And the illustrations are vibrantly rich with so many images, your child will not bore and will keep discovering new things on each page with each new reading of the book, I'm certain!


The third book, "I Took the Moon For a Walk," was already a favorite of our son's before we received it, so we were so delighted when it arrived in the mail! It tells the story of a boy's journey at night, all the while reciting its title phrase {"...when I took the moon for a walk"}. Nocturnal animals are presented, helping your children learn just who's awake at night, and all the illustrations are done in a folk-art way. The premise behind the story really relates to children, I believe, as my own son tells me things like, "Hey, the moon followed us" {too cute!}. And with further benefit, at the end of the book, the phases of the moon are shown, along with some noctural creatures and certain traits they have {such as cats being able to see well in the dark}.

And last, but certainly not least, we received the absolutely adorable "Baby's First Journal." It is, in essence, a baby memory book, but so much more! It includes your typical baby book's statistics to fill in regarding when they were born and first visitors, but it also includes a page to be filled out about your child's first bedroom and what a typical day for your son/daughter is like. I love that there is a whole page {actually 2} for each topic, too {see below}. A huge difference between this baby journal and other ones is that the illustrations are so plentiful, colorful and vivid that this book will truly hold their interest and become a treasure for your little one to cherish forever {that is, if you can let it go and give to them to keep for themselves!}.

inside excerpt from "Baby's First Journal"

BUY IT: Barefoot Books is really a gem, and one you should certainly check out! Visit their site today to make a purchase!

WIN IT: Barefoot Books has generously offered one very lucky Haute Tot and Baby Couture reader one book of their choice! To enter, you must be {or become!} a HTBC PUBLIC Google Friend follower. Once that requirement is met, please visit Barefoot Books and come back and comment on what book you would most like to win {1 entry}. Be sure to leave your email addres in the entry so that I have a way to contact the winner! If there is NO EMAIL left, another winner will be drawn! Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to claim prize or another winner will be chosen. Entrants can enter through March 11th. Winner to be chosen March 12th, 2010. {Contest open to US and Canada only}.

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Please note, I was not paid to do this review.
Opinions are strictly my own, and no one or nothing else has influenced me in my review.

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