Ah, a New Year! New calendars! Focused resolutions! Fresh plans! Creamy flawless planners! Such promise!
And a little gift to you from yours truly...Me! :)...with a little note tag telling you no matter how busy you are, no matter how short on time you are, no matter how dirty your house is, no matter how stressed you are...you have time to read, travel, study, talk, dance, paint, write, sing and wonder each day with your child!
Sounds like a tall order right? Sounds impossible? Believe me, it's as simple as planning those other New Year Resolutions.
This just might be the easiest resolution to keep. Matter of fact, throughout 2008, I'd like you all to write me and let me know how you're doing with carrying it out.
All you have to do is stop time. That's right! Stop time.
How you ask?
Several years ago, I read literary genius Jim Trelease’s comment that the single most important factor in raising a lifelong learner could be acquired in fifteen-minutes a day and the idea for A Picture Perfect Childhood was born. I could not help but see the connection between these fifteen-minutes of free education and the time it takes to read an illustrated book. Everyone---from the busy parent to the over-scheduled teenager---can make time for fifteen-minutes a day to enjoy, educate, and explore the mind of the child they love most in the world…and a picture book.
These fifteen-minutes became the foundation of A Picture Perfect Childhood. In fifteen-minute intervals, A Picture Perfect Childhood seeks to excel our perception of children picture books. I hope to dignify the art of picture books and show how rich in history, education, and art illustrated books can prove to be for all families. A Picture Perfect Childhood does for reading what Rachael Ray does for cooking. It makes reading an enjoyable feast for all families.
A Picture Perfect Childhood is a tempting dish of picture books that can be used to enhance children’s imagination, comprehension, and spark their desire for learning. A Picture Perfect Childhood includes booklists that effortlessly introduce children to a handful of history, a slice of science, a mutton of math, a plate of poetry, a measure of music, and a grain of geography to round off the child’s educational exposure.
A Picture Perfect Childhood goes beyond read-alouds. Special features include:
- Petit Fours for Mother: a self-prescribed booklist for mothers that will take them through the years of mothering and the transitions that come with that journey.
- a list of picture books to use in teaching, discussing, and/or reviewing virtues to your children.
- a historical timeline section displaying picture books to be used for famous historical events, holidays, famous birthdates, and special dates we celebrate throughout the year (you can get a peek of the list for January here).
- a recipe section that spreads a year-long table of picture books for little folks who love to bake and cook (again, the list for January can be seen here).
- 38 photo album booklists.
- Lots of inspiration, stories, and experiences to read about.
Reading a picture book, learning some history, cuddling on mother or dad's lap on a frosty night, doing a little cooking or baking with grandma, stopping time for a mere 15-minutes a day... Sounds nice, huh? Believe me...it's doable. So doable.
I hope that A Picture Perfect Childhood does for picture books what Jim Trelease’s The Read Aloud Handbook did for reading and what Gladys Hunt’s Honey for a Child’s Heart did for literature appreciation. But, more than that, I hope it does for your family what a book should do: enfold you with culture, history, language, art, fun, and turn a small part of your day into a picture perfect reality.
Make one more resolution for 2008, but make this one to your child. And, to find out how you can share your New Year's Resolution with some other dear children who could use a fresh scene in their lives, go to the last page presented here.
I am taking pre-orders for A Picture Perfect Childhood here. Books will ship (hopefully) around January 20, 2008.
I hope and pray that you all have a Picture-Perfect Year!
Preorder in! I am so, so excited!
Posted by: Patty | January 01, 2008 at 08:44 PM
Just ordered! Thanks! I can't wait!
Posted by: Courtney | January 02, 2008 at 08:26 AM
Wow, what a new year's treat Cay, it looks delightful!!! Thanks for sharing all the info here!
Posted by: Meredith | January 02, 2008 at 02:13 PM
Oh, you must stop feeding my book addiction. Off to preorder!
Posted by: KC | January 02, 2008 at 04:35 PM
Congratulations, Cay! It looks luscious. Your timing is terrible for me, though. This is the year I can't buy books. ;-(
Posted by: JennGM | January 04, 2008 at 10:47 AM