It's that time of year again! Starting February 1st and ending March 15th, budding authors can submit their entries in the annual Young Writer's Contest! Please read the attached document for guidelines and rules
Today I checked in three picture books that just bowled me over - they are so cute, with great stories and wonderful illustrations! But were they new? Not particularly, but I think they deserve a mention! So here they are:
Not sure what to read this month? Was one of your New Year's resolutions to read more? Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the grown-ups! These books are all fantastic and a wonderful way to kick of 2012!
Fred makes unique products that you won't find anywhere else! Buy them for a loved one or for yourself, kids of all ages (including the grown-up ones!) love them! Buying a Fred item as a gift is a guarantee against duplicate presents :)
We are starting 2012 off right - with tons of great new picture books! Most of these books don't come out 'til the end of the month, but I couldn't wait any longer to share them with you! This way you'll have something to look forward to :)
We're having our Annual After Christmas Sale, in-store and online, through January 2nd! Take:
- 75% off Christmas & Hanukkah books
- 50% off Clearance items
- 20% off Books & Non-Toy Items
- 30% off Toys
Fine Print:
During the sale we do not gift wrap or accept coupons of any kind, nor do we use the Frequent Buyer Accounts. For online purchases, discounts will be taken once we ring the purchases in the store and will be reflected in a new invoice. Clearance items are not available online. Customers can only get 75% off the Christmas & Hanukkah books we have on our shelves now.
Last week when Amazon and Jeff Bezos launched their latest salvos, I was dealing with my seasonal cold. So I really couldn’t pull it together enough to formulate my response. And probably a good thing since I’ve had time to temper the message. I did have time to ponder exactly what it is I love about the Indie Book business – what we bring to the community, what the community delivers to us. And on a broader scale what I love about local businesses in general. Since I have lived in the area I have seen a lot of businesses come and go. Some of them I miss greatly. I do my best to make sure I support the businesses I love, but I do on occasion debate whether it is worth the extra effort to shop in different stores. Like a lot of folks time and money can be really tight for me. Each time I still find myself making my shopping decision for the betterment of my community. In the last 13 years, I have purchased exactly 4 times from Amazon or Zappos. Much of it right when I moved to California, because I did not always know where to find things. And yes, each of those times I did dutifully report the sale and required tax. So to my point, here’s what I love and what I cannot get from my internet experience-
I love seeing a kid talk to an author. Reading is usually a fairly private experience, and to meet the person that provided an amazing personal moment is outstanding. A face to face connection with someone who wrote EXACTLY what was needed at a specific time.
I love finding THE book that turns a kid into a reader. Better than giving them a passport and a ticket, it opens up a bigger world.
I love finding THE book that someone wants to share with a reader, be it a gift, a purchase for a school or library. It is disseminating magic to the bigger world.
I love meeting the folks that CRAFT this magic. Putting an emotion or idea into a concrete form. Opening a bit of themselves for the rest of us to discover.
I love GIVING this magic through donations to the community. I also love providing a venue to fundraise or advertise for local groups and organizations.
As a business person, I can give you hard numbers about how many times this happens. (I bet you would be surprised.) But that is not the point of this post. The point of this post is that I (we) love being here for you. And we love that you’re here for us. I am putting together a little “Love Your Locals” idea for the rest of the holiday season, so stay tuned. I hope each of you has the chance to join us and share the magic. Thanks- Andrea
