Local Love: books, bookstores, and urban habitats

Local Love: books, bookstores, and urban habitats

This past weekend, local author Maria Gianferrari and I launched new children’s books about urban wildlife at Worcester’s wonderful local indie bookseller, Tidepool Bookshop. And because all of us–Maria, myself, and Tidepool co-owners Jo and Huck Truesdell–live and work and play in Worcester county, we decided to make this launch event extra special by supporting an organization that we each believe in personally, the Greater Worcester Land Trust. We’ve created the two prize baskets pictured above and we are raffling them off, with all proceeds going directly to GWLT.

How do you enter? Easy! Visit Tidepool Bookshop (372 Chandler Street, Worcester, MA) and purchase a signed copy of either Honeybee Rescue or Bobcat Prowling; you’ll get a raffle entry. You can purchase additional raffle tickets at a rate of 3 for $5, no purchase necessary.

What do you win? A lot! Here’s the rundown …

Grand Prize Nature Lover’s Basket
*Signed copies of Loree’s books HONEYBEE RESCUE, YOU’RE INVITED TO A MOTH BALL, HANDLE WITH CARE and CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
*Signed copies of Maria’s picture books BOBCAT PROWLING, COYOTE MOON, HAWK RISING and WHOO-KU HAIKU
*Pocket binoculars
*Naturalist’s notebook
*Massachusetts field guide to wildlife, birds, trees & wildflowers
*AND … a virtual classroom/library author visit from Loree & Maria!

Sweet Runner-up Basket
*Signed copy of Loree’s HONEYBEE RESCUE
*Signed copy of Maria’s BOBCAT PROWLING
*Rescue honey from B.B. Apiaries (owner Jon Nelson is the star of Loree’s book!)
*Honey dipper
*Hershey kisses

The raffle is open throughout the month of May, so find a time to get yourself over to Tidepool soon! We’ll contact the winners after the drawing and you can pick up the basket at the store.

Excellent Science Books … and a Surprise Raffle!

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Subaru last week announced the winners of the SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. Not surprisingly, they chose some topnotch books:

Children’s Science Picture Book

LIVING SUNLIGHT: HOW PLANTS BRING THE EARTH TO LIFE
By Molly Bang and Penny Chisolm
Blue Sky Press, 2009

Middle Grade Science Book

THE FROG SCIENTIST
By Pamela S. Turner
Houghton Mifflin, 2009

Young Adult Science Book

INVISIBLE KINGDOM: FROM THE TIPS OF OUR FINGERS TO THE TOPS OF OUR TRASH, INSIDE THE CURIOUS WORLD OF MICROBES
By Idah Ben-Barak
Basic Books, 2009

As it happens, LIVING SUNLIGHT was a favorite of mine this year. So much a favorite, in fact, that I asked Santa to bring me a copy of my own for Christmas. And he did … twice! In honor of its selection as one of the best science books for children published this year, I’m going to give the extra copy away via a raffle here on my blog. Here’s the deal …

If you are over eighteen and live in the continental United States and would like to own a copy of LIVING SUNLIGHT, leave a comment here before Thursday at midnight. On Friday I’ll announce the winner and, with some luck (and a mailing address), I’ll put the book in the mail on Monday.

Got it? Good. Go forth and comment!

No … wait. One more thing. If you spread the word about the raffle (via your blog or Facebook or Twitter) and let me know you’ve done so in your comment, I’ll add your name to the raffle twice.

That’s it. NOW, go forth and comment. Good luck!