Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Independent International Children’s Publishers That Will Blow You Away (Review and GIVEAWAY!!!)

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If there’s one thing that I’m totally fine over-buying for Darah, it’s books. We try not to go too bananas on toys for her, but books….let’s just say she has as many as her father and I do, combined!

Books are a gateway to lands of adventure and imagination. They are filled with new words, interesting ideas and hilarious scenarios, all waiting to be enjoyed by young ones (and the young at heart!). Reading books with Darah is an absolute joy, and I have every intention of continuing to “spoil” her with reading material. I pray she will continue to enjoy it as much as she does now, and hopefully even more once she is reading on her own.

You may think that I don’t have any criteria for purchasing books and that I’ll buy anything and everything. Not so, my friends! I especially look out for work that is visually stunning, teaches lessons that will inspire conversation, and show people (or gendered animals) in roles outside of traditional stereotypes. Today I’m excited to introduce some international children’s publishing houses that have all of these options and more!

First up, Lemniscaat. This is a Dutch publishing house that is particularly known for its wordless picture books. Yes, I said wordless. A book doesn’t have to writing in it in order to get your imagination going! Our top pick: The Yellow Balloon. In this work, you watch a yellow balloon float all over the world, getting a bird’s (er, balloon’s) eye view of our gorgeous planet and its inhabitants. You will definitely see some interesting things on this adventure. When we read this wordless books, we spend 10-15 minutes with it, easily!

Next, we have Floris Books. This publishing company is from Scotland. They have a wonderful variety of traditional and new-to-you tales that you will love. Our top pick: Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This is Darah’s first copy of this beloved tale, and it is wonderfully told and beautifully illustrated!

We also got to review AMMO Books. This might well be my very favorite American publishing house! I’ve reviewed some of their books before (check out my review here) and I was every bit as impressed with what I saw from them this time around. We checked out this imaginary castle giant floor puzzle, and it was simply stunning. I can’t wait to put this puzzle together again and again with Darah over the next few years! It has 24 pieces, so it is appropriate for ages 2 and up.

Last, but certainly not least, we checked out some reading material all the way from New Zealand. Gecko Press is the publishing house, and it is FABULOUS!!! Their tagline is, “curiously good books,” and I’d say that’s exactly right. These books draw you in from cover to cover with funny, quirky tales that will make you laugh and also make you think. Our top pick: Odd Bird Out. This is about a raven who just doesn’t fit in with the typical flock. He loves to sing and to dress in colorful clothes. He eventually has to leave his home town because he isn’t accepted there. But the bird finds his bliss and his acceptance later in the story. I won’t spoil the end for you, but I will say that this book totally blew my mind with how many thought-provoking topics it uncovered and how many really good conversations it is going to inspire in my house about being different and why it is important to celebrate our differences, rather than try to hide them.  This might actually be my favorite book of all the books we reviewed, and that’s really saying something, because we were sent MANY treasures!

Win it!: I want you to have overflowing bookshelves in your home, so one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win an assortment of books from Gecko Press! AWESOME!!!!



Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

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  1. My 7-yr-old granddaughter is reading chapter books as fast as she can get her hands on them 🙂 My 2-yr-old grandson asks daily for me to read Truckery Rhymes, Good Night Moon, and Ginger The Cat to him. He usually brings me a stack of books – including the three mentioned above – and says “Please read to me, since I can’t read yet.”
    blondie_31971(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  14. my daughters loved the Munsch books (they are older now…this would be a gift for a book drive at my work or for my daughter’s growing library

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  19. My daughter loves to read ! she goes from one extreme to another loves all the fancy nancy books but she just discovered the boxcar children !

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  27. My little ones love just about any books ((they’re 5 yo twins), my oldest (9) is really into Nancy Drew right now.

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  33. I am reading chapter books with my older son, but we are reading classics like Corduroy, Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnite Moon, Pat the Bunny 🙂

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  39. We read several books every night, it’s whatever my toddler grabs and brings to us. He especially likes books that have animals and cars. No particular favorites yet.

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  43. We are all working on reading the Harry Potter series for a second time. As each book is finished it is passed on to the next family member. Our Daughter has been really busy with activities, so we are sharing a book at the moment.

    Thanks for the great giveaway opportunity. ~Pauline (dod@rogers.com)

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  46. “I Was So Mad” is a frequently requested book here. I read it to my youngest son over and over and now I read it to all four grandchildren over and over.

    dbkagrayson2002 at gmail dot com

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  48. We love the Cat in the Hat Comes Back..AND THAT’S THAT!!

    It rhymes, we laugh, that cat is so silly,
    We giggle, we chuckle , the cat makes us crazy
    with smiles…
    … and miles of jumping and running and playing and hopping and being like The Cat!

    Reply

  68. last of the really great whangdoodles
    by Julie andrews edwards yep mary poppins wrote it lol
    vmkids3 at msn dot com

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  72. Since the little one in my life is only 4 months old, there isn’t any requesting yet, and she seems to like everything.

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  73. My 4 year old loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar book! We read it almost every-night, I know there is more books to this series and she’d love them! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  76. The most requested right now is “Dr. Seuss” this includes ‘One Fish, Two Fish,’ ‘The Butter Battle Book,’ ‘Hop on Pop’ and others–they seem to like the rhythm and fun pictures.

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  80. My son loves books! Right now he is a big fan of “10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” and “The Pokey Little Puppy Counting Book”

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  82. We just found a new book at the library “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site” and it is requested just about three times a day!

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  83. Right now it’s Ivy and Bean books (7 year old can’t wait for the next one which was just released a few days ago) and Clementine books. Skippyjon Jones and Mo Willems books are also always requested.

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