Thank You Coronavirus

 Dear Coronavirus,

Comments for a Cause: United Through Reading

Happy May Day!  It's the first of May and time to talk Comments for a Cause.  But before I talk about this month's recipient, let's review last month's cause, my local school's Kindergarten Class's Book Drive for the Latimer Little Free Library.  During the month of April I had 57 comments, equaling a donation of $28.50.  I'm excited to present this to the Kindergarten class at the end of the month when I get to meet them on their field trip to the Latimer Little Free Library, as they help me give the library a fresh coat of paint and fill up the library with new books!  I'll be sure to keep you posted on their field trip at the end of the school year!

Now for the month of May, in honor of National Military Appreciation Month I am donating $0.50 for every comment made on my blog to United Through Reading.

Comments for a Cause - First Book

Happy March 1st and Happy New Comments for a Cause Day!  Before I share March's new cause, let me share about February's numbers.  In February I had 40 comments, creating a $20 donation to Love Your Melon.  Thank you to everyone that commented!  Hopefully some of you were able to grab a new hat for this winter while there were some in stock from their merchandise shop to support the cause!  (I did notice they are doing some pre-orders on hats right now if you're interested.)

In the month of March, I am excited to be donating $0.50 for every comment made on my blog to First Book.

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know that I'm a childhood literacy proponent, so when I learned about First Book on Twitter I had to help their mission.  First Book provides new books to children in need throughout the United States and Canada.  Kyle Zimmer, co-founder of First Book, saw the need for the cause over 20 years ago while volunteering at her local food pantry as a tutor.  She realized the children had no books - the kids who needed the most help, had the fewest resources.  Through Kyle's efforts, and her many supporters, First Book has now distributed more than 135 million books to programs and schools serving children from low-income families.  First Book's goal is to see that all children, regardless of their economic level, have access to an ongoing supply of new books and education materials, so they can achieve more in school and in life.

Shelfie with one of my kids' favorite bedtime storybooks,
Farm Kisses #MagicOfStorytelling

One of First Book's biggest donors is Disney.  For over 15 years, these two organizations have teamed up to provide children in need with books.  2016 marks a milestone of Disney donating 50 million books through the First Book program.  To celebrate this milestone, Disney is inviting people to participate in their Magic of Storytelling campaign through March 31.  You can get involved by taking a shelfie, a photo of you with your favorite book or bookshelf, and share it on social media with the hashtag #MagicOfStorytelling on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.  For each shelfie posted, First Book will direct a book donated by Disney to a child in need, up to 500,000 books.  This is also a great chance to create awareness of the program and the need of youth in America and Canada.

So get involved!  Post a Shelfie!  And make sure to comment on any of my blog posts all month long to support First Book.  Tomorrow would be a great day to get involved as it marks Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America Day!  What is your favorite children's book?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Spreading the Love of Reading

I have talked several times about my love of reading, not only for my children, but for myself.  I have to admit, a few years ago I would describe myself as a light and maybe even a non-reader.  The only "reading" I got in was listening to books on CD while traveling with my job.  After LP was born I started reading to him right away because I knew how important it was.  However, I still wasn't reading that much for myself.  I loved reading but I just wasn't finding time for it.  I knew I couldn't expect my kids to find time and enjoy reading if I wasn't.  So, that is when I decided to start making time for reading and now reading and advocating for reading and literacy has become one of my passions.

I shared that passion for reading last night by passing out 20 free copies of "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed as part of World Book Night.  World Book Night is a program where 25,000 volunteers across the country pass out a half a million books to "spread the love of reading, person to person."  This initiative started three years ago with the goal of getting books into the hands of people, like myself a few years ago, who are light and non-readers, and encourage them to read a book.  World Book Night happens on April 23 every year, in observation of William Shakespeare's birthday.  The team at World Book Night works with countless publishers, authors and agents to get specially printed World Book Night editions of many books.  This year there were 36 books passed out.

Getting ready to go pass out "Wild"

Originally I had planned on passing out my books at the sight of the future Latimer Little Free Library to create awareness of the library, but with temperatures in the 40s and rain in the forecast, I decided to not stand outside and instead stop in at the Latimer grocery store, restaurant, auction house and truck stop to pass out my books.  And just like that, in 1 hour I had passed out 20 books and got to talk to familiar and new faces.  I am so proud to be apart of this program and love the reaction for the people who receive the books.  The first reaction is "free, this is really free!".  The second reaction is "this is so cool".  And the third reaction a lot of time is "I should start reading this tonight.  Thanks!".

For me, "Wild" was an easy sell since the book is being turned into a movie to be released this fall staring Reese Witherspoon.  "Wild" is memoir of the author's 1,100 mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail crossing the Mojave Desert, California, Oregon and Washington after her Mom passed away and while she is in a failing marriage.  Strayed was in her mid-20s when she took this journey and she compiled journal entries to create this book.  The book is a biography/drama with a little bit of humor mixed in.

If you would like to learn more about World Book Night and get notified when they start taking applications for "givers" for 2015, sign up for the World Book Night newsletter.  Here are a couple posts that I have wrote about past World Book Night experiences:

World Book Night 2012

World Book Night Wrap-Up

The first year I passed out copies of "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger to and through my high school youth group and the second year I passed out copies of "Bossypants" by Tina Fey at the local truck stop to travelers from the interstate.

Have you heard of World Book Night?  Have you been a giver or a receiver of a World Book Night book?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Little Free Library Coming to Latimer

Look what arrived at my door the other day:

Little Free Library

My Little Free Library!  For those that follow my blog's Facebook page, you know I have been working since the beginning of the year to bring a Little Free Library to my local community of Latimer, Iowa.  I've had to do some work to make this possible and after receiving the Little Free Library, it made it all more a reality!

My love for my community and passion for childhood literacy is what drove me to set up a Little Free Library in the community of Latimer.  Reading is really important to me and raising my kids.  My kids and I read every day and always have books around.  The town of Latimer doesn't have a library and I know there are many kids in town that don't have an opportunity to go to a library, especially in the summer.  So I thought bringing a Little Free Library to Latimer would be great for all the youth of the community, and for the adults who love to read too.

So how does it work?  After working with the Latimer City Council, I will now be installing the Little Free Library in Downtown Latimer sometime in the next month or so.  I got approval from the Council to use city property for the Little Free Library at their February meeting.  The Little Free Library will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.  It will be filled with a collection of books for both children and adults.  The Little Free Library works by the "take a book, leave a book" philosophy.  When someone goes to the Library and picks out a book, they are asked to replace it with another book.

The Little Free Library movement began in Wisconsin five years ago and now has nearly 12,000 locations world-wide, over 100 of which are in Iowa.  I first read about Little Free Libraries through the "Parade" insert in our newspaper a few years ago and in the last couple of years I have started seeing them in the communities of a couple of my family members.  After finding out about an opportunity with Post Alpha-Bits cereal where I could apply to receive a Little Free Library and a starter book collection through them, I then put my love and passion together with this opportunity and decided that I should bring a Little Free Library to my local community.

How can you help?  I am still looking for some adult books to help fill the Little Free Library.  If you have any good, gently used books you are willing to share with the Library let me know!  I'd love to add them to our collection.  Also, I am planning on putting together a "ground breaking" party for the Little Free Library after it is installed.  I hope the Little Free Library is a resource for all the Latimer community and that it helps them connect with a neighbor they maybe wouldn't have met otherwise.

I would like to thank Post Alpha-Bits cereal for the Little Free Library and a starter collection of youth books for my Library.  I think what they are doing with the Little Free Library program, the Super Why! television show and other literacy programs is really great.  You can encourage literacy skills in your home too by eating Post Alpha-Bits cereal.  Here is a fun breakfast treat that I make at my home, which isn't only good to eat, but also helps LP recognize his letters:

Breakfast Banana Split

1 banana
1/2 cup yogurt (vanilla, strawberry, strawberry-banana are all great flavors)
1/4 cup halved grapes
1/4 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup Post Alpha-Bits cereal


Peel and split banana lengthwise.  Place in sundae dish or cereal bowl.  Top with yogurt.  Sprinkle with fruit and cereal.  Makes 1 serving.

And enjoy!

Do you have a Little Free Library in your community?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Summer Reading Reviews

This summer LP and I participated in our local library's summer reading program and since it is now September, I decided it'd be a good time to share our favorite books of the summer!

LP's Favorite Read - Bed Hogs by Kelly DiPucchio

This cute book is a story about a little pig from Sooey, South Dakota who is just trying get some sleep but the rest of his family (snoring Papa, dancing Mama, smelly feet sister "Miss USDA" Rose, drooling sister Flo, and giggling big brother blue-ribbon Ed) are being bed hogs.  As Little Runt says himself, "I'm squished!  I'm squashed!  I'm buried in this heap!  You're hoggin' up my space in bed.  I'll never get to sleep!"  Besides the cute story, there are beautiful illustrations to go with.  This is a fun bed time read for kids age toddler through early elementary school.

Bed Hogs has found a spot on LP's book shelf

My Favorite Read - Sacred Acre by Mark Tabb with the Ed Thomas family

This is a book about the life and legacy of Ed Thomas, a football coach and teacher from Parkersburg, Iowa.  Ed Thomas is known by many as a great football coach, but after reading this book, you'll think of him as a great husband, father, christian, mentor and leader.  This book gives you a closer look at Ed's courage after an F-5 tornado struck the town he lived, taught and coached in, as well as the power of faith, love and forgiveness after Ed was murdered by a former football player just a little over a year after the tornado.  It also lets you see how he lived and passed on his motto of "Faith. Family. Football."  I recommend this book for anyone who likes biographies, likes football, likes small-town life or who likes inspirational books.

Sacred Acre made it to the top of the stack on my bedside table this summer

If you've never heard of Ed Thomas, here is a video that ESPN made when Ed Thomas's family received the 2010 ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.  I highly recommend you watch it:

What is your favorite book you've read recently?  Or do you have any books that you think are "must reads" that you'd like to share?  Be sure to comment below and pass along your book list!

World Book Night Wrap-Up

On Monday night, I attended an "After Party" for those that participated in World Book Night in North Iowa.  It was great to share and hear everyone's stories about giving away books during World Book Night.

As I mentioned before, I gave away copies of Friday Night Lights and other assorted book titles to my church youth group.  One book was for them to read and one was for them to give to a friend.  I also had a few left over books that I gave out at the area Hardee's restaurant that night.  Those that I gave the books to couldn't believe I was giving away free books!  After hearing from other book givers, this seemed to be a common response.

There were many neat stories shared on Monday night.  I'd like to share a couple of them.

One giver gave a book to a friend that had been through a rough patch lately.  The friend felt so touched to receive the book and she got started reading the book right away!  The friend hadn't remember the last time they'd read a book and really enjoyed reading again.

Another giver gave their books out at an area nursing home.  Everyone at the nursing home was very greatful to receive the books.  There was even one lady that cried; she was unable to go to the library as much as she'd like and it was a great joy for her to have a new book.

There were over 100 books passed out at the local movie theater in honor of World Book Night.  Many businesses and groups partnered together to show the Hunger Games that night, along with passing out copies of the book.  Those that helped out at the movie theater said the neatest thing about the event was that before the movie started, all you could hear were pages of books being flipped and all you could see was bent heads of people reading books!

I really enjoyed being apart of the effort this year and plan on doing it again next year!  I hope you are inspired to participate next year.  If you are interested in receiving updates about World Book Night - April 23, 2013 click here.

World Book Night - April 23rd

I am participating in a neat event next week, World Book Night.  World Book Night is a world-wide event that started in the United Kingdom last year.  This year the United States and Ireland have joined forces with the UK to make this an annual celebration designed to spread a love for books and reading with teens and adults.  There will be a half a million books given away by 25,000 people in all fifty United States.  The goal of the event is to get books to those that don't read very much, to those that don't have resources to books.  There are 30 books total that are apart of the program.

I have to admit, not until LP was born, I hadn't taken time to enjoy a book and just relax and read in a long time.  Maybe a book on CD as I traveled with my past job, but not very often sit down and read an entire book!  After LP was born I immediately feel in love with children's books and knew that I wanted reading to be an important part of his life.  LP reads books daily and we go to our local library every week.  I too have started to read for fun again.  After all, how could I expect him to enjoy reading if he didn't see me enjoying reading.

I became aware of World Book Night after I heard about it from the owner and an employee of the area kid's book, games and toys store, Cornerstone Cottage Kids.  Cornerstone Cottage Kids is not only the North Iowa area coordinator, but they're also the state-wide coordinators.  Pretty neat deal for a small-town kid's book, games and toys shop.

LP reading a copy of "Friday Night Lights" from my Giver Box
Photo taken by Deb Brown

Last night we had our area "pre-party" where everyone distributing books picked up their box of twenty books.  This was also a time to share with other givers about their plans of where they are handing out their books, as well as the chance to trade some books to create more of a "variety box."  I am giving away Friday Night Lights to my church youth group and then each member of my church youth group is giving an additional copy to one of their friends.  I know when I was in high school I didn't do too much "free-time" reading, so hopefully this opportunity of receiving a brand new book will spark an interest in all of them to read.

On April 30th we are having a "post-party" so I'll be sure to share about everyone's experiences then.  My favorite distribution locations:  an area track meet and an interstate rest stop!  Can't wait to share more about the experiences and feedback.