Hooked on Giveaways

Shifting from political discussion to something more fun: let’s have a giveaway.

While at BlogHer Boston Saturday, I picked up some books from Hooked on Phonics, one of the conference sponsors. The Hooked on Phonics company has been around for over 20 years now. They’ve expanded their range beyond phonics, and now offer learning aids in a variety of subject areas.

I’ve got the following set of workbooks to give away:

• Hooked on Math: Addition and Subtraction (1st Grade)
• Hooked on Learning: Handwriting (Kindergarten)
• Hooked on Learning: Colors, Shapes, and More (Pre-K)

My own kindergartener has plunged into these with gusto. The shapes and colors book is review for him, but not a waste. The first-grade math is a little tougher, but he’s working through it with the aid of some counting beans. (His Montessori school teaches multiplication, not subtraction, right after addition, so he hasn’t had as much practice with subtraction. He’s enjoying it, though, so I won’t stop him.) The handwriting book is just perfect, and lets him practice his growing reading skills as well.

Mostly, though, he loves sitting down and working with the books. I think the full-color pages appeal after the black-and-white ones of school. He also likes the sheet of star stickers in the back that he gets to apply to a progress chart and to each page as he finishes. It’s a nice little positive reinforcement.

There’s nothing in these books that should be offputting to LGBT families. One of the characters is called “Pop Fox,” but he’s a grandfatherly type in glasses and bow tie, and could represent any number of older relatives. One page in the Colors and Shapes book asks children to “Look around your kitchen,” and shows a man with a mustache standing in a kitchen with a boy, but does not specify their relation. Mostly, the books are populated with non-gender-specific anthropomorphic animals.

All three books will go to the first person who leaves a comment with the correct answer to the following question. (They vary in grade level, but I think the set works for anyone with kids in the four- to six-year-old age range. Use some for review and put others on the shelf until your child is ready, if needed.) Please note rules and restrictions below. (Disclosure: I got the books free, but was given no other incentive by the company, and was under no obligation to write about them.)

After Connecticut’s ruling last Friday, the remaining same-sex marriage case pending before a state supreme court is in which state?

(OK, politics snuck back in there. ‘Tis the season.)

Rules and restrictions: U.S. and Canada residents only, please. Don’t worry if your comment is moderated; once I approve it, it will appear based on the time you submitted it. I retain the right to cancel the giveaway if there are any nasty debates about who has the correct answer. Previous winners of Mombian contests cannot play again. If you are or have been a paying advertiser on Mombian, you can’t play. If no one gets the right answers by 11:59 p.m. EST, October 20, 2008, I’ll post an alternate question.

Make sure to leave a valid e-mail address with your comment! (Don’t leave a postal address, though. If you win, I’ll contact you by e-mail about shipping.)