Congratulations to Cheryl, winner of yesterday’s Monday is One Day giveaway! Here’s the second of three giveaways this week.
If you missed the info yesterday, here’s the scoop: Monday Is One Day, by Arthur Levine, is a gay-inclusive (but not exclusive) poem from a working parent to a child. “The hardest part of going to work is being apart from you,” it begins. “Let’s count the days till we’re both at home with a special thing to do.” Each page then shows a different family and a different activity—splashing in puddles, playing with dinosaurs, enjoying cuddles—as they name the days of the week and count down to and through the weekend.
The families are white and black, with moms and dads, gay dads, single parents, and one older couple who could be the child’s grandparents. They live in cities, suburbs, and on a farm, and all delight in each other.
Levine, a gay dad himself, has been a children’s book editor for 25 years, and has authored seven books of his own, although this is his first in 15 years. He is also a vice-president of Scholastic Inc. and publisher of his own imprint there, Arthur A. Levine Books. You may have heard of a few of its titles—they involve some kid named Harry Potter, for whom Levine is the American editor.
Levine has also penned an open letter to readers, which is indeed worth a read. He describes the experiences with his own son that led him to write the book.
You can buy Monday Is One Day at the Scholastic site, Amazon, or other major online (and offline) bookstores. But first, you can enter for a chance to win a copy here. I’ll be giving away one more book today (Thursday) and one tomorrow.
Just leave a comment on this post with the name of another favorite kids’ book (a favorite of your kids or one from your own childhood), and I’ll enter you in a drawing to receive a free copy of Monday Is One Day. Comments must be left before 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, Thursday, April 14, 2011. (That’s 2:59 a.m. Eastern Time, April 15.)
Further rules and restrictions after the jump.
Additional rules and restrictions: U.S. and Canada residents only, please. One entry per person. Don’t worry if your comment is moderated; once I approve it, it will appear based on the time you submitted it. Spam comments, including off-topic or commercial comments, will not count. If you win any one of the three drawings for this book, you cannot play again. (You can leave a comment to participate in the discussion, but I won’t enter you in the drawing.) If you are or have been a paying advertiser (or an employee of a paying advertiser) on Mombian, you can’t play.
You must also 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. I will then share the winner’s name and postal address with the publicist, for the sole purpose of allowing them to mail you your prize directly.
I am a member of the Amazon Associates program, and get a small referral fee from all purchases made at Amazon.com via links on this site. You are under no obligation to purchase through them.
Hi Dana: Monday is One Day sounds fantastic – thanks for the chance to win! In honor of the upcoming Earth Day, I’ll share one of my faves which embraces eco-friendly living before it was the mainstay: The Pile of Junk by Miriam Schlein. Published in the 1960s it tells the tale of an old lady who puts a pile of junk out for the trashmen. Various characters pass by her house during the day, see the junk, and repurpose it: a little boy turns a discarded tire into a swing…two little girls use glass jars for paint…birds use string for their nest…etc. A sweet story and definitely a favorite from my childhood! -Jamie
So, favorite kids’ book, without a doubt, Good Night, Moon. Yes, I could get more original, but really, is there a better, simpler, yet simultaneously more profound and emotionally meaningful example of what it is to transition from asleep to awake, from together to alone?
But I’ve also been thinking a lot about yesterday’s query about the work-family balance. Reading over a lot of the comments- my own included- I was struck by how many of them landed on the side of “work is hard because it takes me away from my family.” This could not be more true, and I wish we lived in a society that made it easier to balance things more effectively. BUT I also think it’s important to remember all the great things that come from working. I feel like even my very young daughter is proud of her two moms for having multiple roles in the world- that this helps and will continue to help her see herself as part of a democratic society that really needs her to participate in it however she decides to. We’ve (hopefully) all seen the studies that show children of lesbians being more likely to pursue non-traditional career paths for their genders, and I would surmise that seeing moms working in different ways, giving back to the world by parenting AS WELL AS by following other paths and striving to make change, has something to do with that.
It’s hard hard hard and there are so many times when things about the alleged balance can really make one question priorities and values. But I think it’s important to remember how many different ways our work lives can be meaningful to our children.
We love Knuffle Bunny – one of our favorites, for sure!! My older son also loves the Big Nate series.
If I’ve read Alice in Wonderland once, I’ve read it six times… and can’t wait to read it to my daughter when she’s old enough!
Hello! My favorite book to read to my son is Tango Makes Three, I also really like Todd Parr’s books. Growing up I was a big fan of the Anne of Green Gables books.
My son is really into Emma and Mesha my Boy: A Two Mom Story, right now. It’s really sweet and a story he can relate to having two mothers and a cat himself!
The Little Prince is my all time favorite.
I love the illustrations in Monkey With a Toolbelt. They invite kids (and adults) to interact with the pages and think about doing their own drawings. It is a lighthearted story that is pure fun.
We love all the books by Todd Parr, but esp the Feelings Book. All his books have a gay friendly feel to them and talk about being different and that is OK. Also show all different types of families…very inclusive.