Support Your Local Bookstore - Give the Gift of Reading

Still shopping? Why not Support Your Local Bookstore? One of the best gifts you can give for any occasion is the Gift of Reading. Here are my Top Five Reasons to give books for holidays, birthdays, or pretty much any occasion:

FIVE REASONS TO GIVE BOOKS AS GIFTS

1. Books are small and inexpensive compared to many other gifts, but high in value. You get more bang for your buck. If folks are flying home or otherwise don't have space for bulky gifts, books are compact and easy to pack.

2. Choosing a book specifically for one individual shows that you have carefully considered their likes and dislikes. You may get it wrong. You often will, but books are also easy to regift. See below.

3. Books are easy to regift, sell to a second-hand bookstore, or resell on the internet. When in doubt, don't sign a book you are giving as a gift or include a personal message that would make it difficult to regift, resell, or deposit in a neighborhood Little Free Library. Include a card with a message. Don't write inside the book unless you are sure it's a keeper. Want to start your own Little Free Library? Visit  https://littlefreelibrary.org/.

4. When you give someone a book, the lull after an exciting morning of opening gifts and binge-eating sweets can be filled with retreating to a quiet corner to read. 

5. Giving books to kids shows them that we value literacy and reading.

BOOK BUYING OPTIONS

People tend to feel very strongly about where they purchase their books. Many people like the fast delivery and free shipping that comes with Amazon. Others avoid Amazon at all costs and seek out the booksellers at their favorite local book shops where local authors are celebrated and the staff know your name, your reading habits, and exactly what to recommend. Many people are grieving over the closing of their favorite local bookshop. Bookstores were hit especially hard during and after Covid. 

There are practical ways you can support your local bookstore. Did you know that you can order almost any book from a local bookstore? This is true even if they don't typically carry the book or don't currently have it in stock.  Those little neighborhood bookstores may not be able to fit many books on their shelves, but they are windows into a much larger world of books as long as they can order them from a book distribution company like Ingram.

One way that you can support your local bookstore from the comfort of your own home is to order books through Bookshop.org. If you order a book through this online merchant, 30% of the proceeds go to the local independent bookstore of your choice. Another option is to go to the website of your favorite bookstore and type the title you are looking for into the search bar. 

FYI - Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight is available on Bookshop.org.

COLORADO BOOKSTORES CARRYING HANK THE TANK

The following Colorado Bookstores have let me know that they are either ordering Hank the Tank for their bookstore or making it available on their websites. Thanks for your support: 

West Side Books in Evergreen, Colorado - Hank the Tank Store Website Listing 

The Boulder Bookstore in 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO - Store Website

Second Star to the Right -  1455 S. Pearl St., Denver, C) - See the Carolee Dean Page on their Store Website to find Hank and other books. 

Off the Beaten Path - 68 9th St. Steamboat Springs - Store Website.

Tattered Cover - Various Locations - Store Website

The Bookies - Denver, CO - Store Website - The store is moving and will be opening in its new location in early February, but you can still order books. See the Bookies/SCBWI Event from June.

Mountain Shire Books - 63 Cooper Creek Way, Suite 231, Winter Park, CO 80482 - Store Website.

If these stores don't have Hank in stock, remember, you can always order copies from the website. If you have a local favorite bookstore that isn't listed, you can order Hank through Bookshop.org and mention that bookstore in the checkout process.

Happy Holidays!!

A Long Winter's Nap - Illustration Caption Contest

I'm getting ready for 2024 and next year's new blog theme of AWE - Authentic Writing Experiences with a writing contest based on a poem I recently created called "A Long Winter's Nap." It was inspired by two real bears. One of them is the subject of my decodable chapter book, Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight. Hank was blamed for the antics of another bear named Henrietta. Read my recent blog post Update on the Real Hank the Tank... Or Is It Henrietta? 

From the image above you can probably guess what the poem is about. Here's an excerpt:

'Twas a night in December, when all through the house

not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Not the cat, not the dog who slept under the stairs,

not the white-footed ferret, not even the bears.

The poem "A Long Winter's Nap" is a parody of "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore. The story is humourous, but it depicts a very real and dangerous situation that occurs when bears seek out warm places to hibernate for the winter and people are not vigilant about protecting their crawl spaces and decks. To get the full poem along with background information and an entry form for my student illustration contest for grades K-12, you may download the FREE PDF HERE. I also have a QR code if you would like to share this resource with others.

Students may illustrate any scene from the poem and write a caption describing their illustration. Teachers may want to use this activity as a fun end-of-year project or revisit it in January when everyone is slogging back to school with visions of winter break still in their heads. The theme is "Winter," NOT "Christmas," so it still applies in January. The contest ends on January 30th. The winner will be notified by February 10 and will receive a free copy of Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight. Contests provide a fun and authentic incentive for students to showcase their writing, even if it is as simple as creating a caption for an illustration. 

If you order Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight from Bookshop.org, proceeds can go to your local independent bookstore. Hank may also be purchased at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Read about Henrietta's new home at The Wild Animal Refuge, a beautiful 230-acre wooded location near Springfield, Colorado.  It is one of the properties belonging to The Wild Animal Sanctuary. Read about their animal rescue efforts at www.WildAnimalSanctuary.org 

The Bear League, a Wildlife Rescue Service in Homewood, California, serves Lake Taho and the surrounding area. They receive many calls in the winter months from numerous homeowners asking for help to evict their unwanted guests, and this is a problem in other places as well. Learn about the work of The Bear League HERE.

Finally, sign up for my newsletter HERE and receive a free copy of my first decodable book, No Gift for Man. That way you won't miss any of the fun-filled activities I'm creating for A Year of AWE: Authentic Writing Experiences.