Sylvan Dell Publishing - Review and #Giveaway

I've reviewed a few books before for Sylvan Dell Publishing.  This stellar company is also joining in Terra's Two Year Blog Bash. Sylvan Dell is a young company on a serious mission to create picture books that excite children’s imaginations, are artistically spectacular, and have educational value.

All of their books start with fun, warm stories, generally fiction with math, science, or nature themes and are brought to life by art. They then add a 3-6 page “For Creative Minds” section that includes fun facts, crafts, vocabulary and games to reinforce the educational value and to support National Science and Math Standards. Finally, each book is carefully vetted by experts in the field including scientists and educators from NASA, NOAA, SeaWorld, Houston Zoo and various nature centers and aviaries.

One book I reviewd recently was My Even Day.  In this delightful, rhythmic sequel to One Odd Day, the young boy awakens to find that it is another strange day.  Now everything is even, and his mother has two heads! This time, a school field trip to the zoo is dealt with in an odd, but even-handed manner. And, like its predecessor, children will spend hours looking for all the hidden objects in the incredible art. Square it all off with more "number fun" in the "For Creative Minds" section.

This light-hearted book done in rhyme form tells of a kid who wakes up and has an eventful day at a field trip.  Each time a number is told in a book, it is recognizable in bold letters.  My Even Day is a fun way for children to learn about even numbers, or just numbers in general.  In the "Creative Minds" section in the back of the book are math riddles and a couple other worksheets to help with numbers.

Another book I reviewed with my children was Baby Owl's Rescue.  Join young Maddie and Max in Baby Owl's Rescue by Jennifer Keats Curtis. The brother and sister pair just wanted to play baseball one day. They never expected to come face-to-face with a wild animal! Lush illustrations by Laura Jacques accompany this story and demonstrate the proper treatment of wildlife. This story reminds all of us that we live in a world surrounded by wild animals, and those wild animals deserve our caution and our respect.

First of all, I have to say this storybook has amazing illustrations.  Baby Owl's Rescue tells of how two children find a baby owl by a tree and how their mother educates them on how to handle the situation.  In the "Creative Minds" section of the book there are fun owl facts, a matching activity, a sequencing activity, and advice on what to do if you find an injured bird.  Younger children may need this book read to them but I can see kids of all ages being engaged with the storyline.

Win It!

One person will win Baby Owl's Rescue and My Even Day books.

Mandatory Entry:

Leave a comment with the name of a book you'd be interested in reading at Sylvan Dell Publishing.

Extra Entries:

Leave a comment with another book you'd be interested in reading from Sylvan Dell.

Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect.

Subscribe to my blog via email.

Have my button on your blog.

Follow me on Twitter, partymix25.

Follow Sylvan Dell on Twitter, SylvanDell.

Tweet about this giveaway, leave a link to the tweet (can be done once daily).

Blog about this giveaway or enter it in a giveaway linky, +3 entries.

"Like" Sylvan Dell Publishing on Facebook.

Have Terra's Two Year Blog Bash button on your blog, +1 entry.  If you added the button early and left a comment at the announcement post, +5 entries.

One extra entry per relevant comment for commenting on any NON-GIVEAWAY post. Comments must be made during the duration of this giveaway. Come back here and tell me where you commented.

Leave a separate comment for each entry and include your email address in the comments.  Giveaway is open to residents of the USA.  Giveaway ends 4/29/11 at 8 pm CST.  Winner will be randomly drawn and will have 48 hrs. to respond to email notification or a new winner will be drawn.

I received books for review from Sylvan Dell Publishing.  The opinions within this post are of my own and I was not influenced in any way.  Please do your own research before purchasing products.  Your opinions and results may differ.