Hello all!
All of us at Books in Bloom are excited to announce the one-year anniversary of our blog! We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our reviews and have found some great new books to read and share with others. To celebrate this milestone in our blog’s history, we’ll be giving away a fantastic prize every Friday in March, starting March 9th. Then on March 30th we’ll have our regular Friday winner and a Grand Prize winner! That’s right folks, there are five chances to win some great stuff. Prizes will differ each week and may include fabulous new books (some autographed!), posters, ARCs, and more!
What do you have to do to be eligible to win one of these amazing prizes? It’s simple. Just comment below about what you’ve liked so far about the blog or what you would like to see improved or done differently (don’t worry, you can still win a prize if you have a criticism). We’ve had so much fun doing this blog, and we want to make next year even better. So we need to hear from our readers about how we can make that happen.
And since we’re librarians and love to put the right books in people’s hands, we’re even tailoring the prizes to your needs and interests. We just can’t help ourselves! All you have to do is indicate what grade level you’d prefer by putting ES, MS, or HS at the end of your comment, and we’ll give you materials at that level. Don’t care what level you get? Then leave it off and we’ll put a little something from each level in your package!
Lori C.
Mackin Books In Bloom
Mackin Guest Blogger
Mindy R
Ryan H.
Tracey L
Tuan N
Connie Sylvanus said,
March 1, 2012 @ 7:31 am
I find your blog extremely helpful as a selection guide tool. My only idea about improving the blog would be to include grade level suggestions in the review.
Terri Pope said,
March 1, 2012 @ 8:09 am
I love that you feature newer books, show the covers, and divide the blog into categories by grade span. I have ordered several books this year based upon the reviews in your blogs for K – 2 and 3 – 5. Thank you!
Brenda Watson said,
March 1, 2012 @ 8:10 am
Your reviews are right on, no matter the genre or age group. In the comng year, I’d like to see more reviews of LGBTIQ books for High School and Middle School YA readers. These are the years when youth are experimenting sexually, as well as exploring their sexual orientation. I’d also like to see reviews on bullying in these age and grade groups, whether it’s bullying about how a person looks, racial bullying or bullying because of gender identity or sexual orientation issues.
Kathy Kerner said,
March 1, 2012 @ 8:14 am
I enjoy the blog very much — it’s, the perfect length and frequency for me to read when it arrives (so I actually READ it instead of saving it and not getting around to it) — and I’ve learned about some great books. Keep up the good work! ES
Brenda Watson said,
March 1, 2012 @ 8:15 am
I forgot to add HS and MS aat the end of my comment. I think you could tell, just by what I said in my comment, but wanted to make sure.
Beth Wakely said,
March 1, 2012 @ 8:33 am
I have enjoyed reading your Blog but it would be nice to have the grade level indicated in the title, for example: grades K-3 or 9-12.
Kelli Cleaver said,
March 1, 2012 @ 9:21 am
I absolutely love this blog. It is so interesting and helpful, always.
Thanks so much!
Dana Polk said,
March 1, 2012 @ 10:02 am
I have really enjoyed your blog. I have purchased materials base on your comments several times. Thank you for all that you do.
Heidi Grange said,
March 1, 2012 @ 10:14 am
I’ve really enjoyed your reviews. I’ve found some great books that I didn’t know about this way. Keep it up!
ES
Amanda Hamilton said,
March 1, 2012 @ 11:06 am
Adding grade level (or just elementary/middle/secondary) is all I can think of. Thanks!
Sue Flaherty said,
March 1, 2012 @ 6:54 pm
Your blogs are very helpful in deciding on new books. It connects us with colleagues and makes us better at what we try to do.
Sue Flaherty said,
March 1, 2012 @ 6:56 pm
ES or HS by the way!
Tara Thomas said,
March 1, 2012 @ 7:15 pm
I look forward to your honest reviews that are on many reading levels. I like how passionate you are about what you like. As a first year librarian, I think book selection is one of the toughest things about the job. Thanks for helping make some good choices for my ES library.
Shannon McClintock Miller said,
March 1, 2012 @ 10:16 pm
Congrats on the 1 year anniversary of your blog….What a celebration!
I am a big fan of the Books In Bloom blog! I love reading the reviews….I appreciate their down to earth, honest and fun reviews.
I would love to hear the voice of young people on your blog too. I have had students write reviews before and their authentic voice is the best.
Happy Blogging,
Shannon Miller
Polly Stahl said,
March 2, 2012 @ 7:51 am
I have only been reading this blog for a short time but i really love it. I have already ordered many of the books that have been reviewed and I am looking forward to reading them and sharing them with my students. HS
Women’s History Month « Books in Bloom said,
March 5, 2012 @ 8:01 am
[...] don’t forget to check out our one-year anniversary contest. We will be choosing our first winner next Friday, March 9. To enter, just let us know what you [...]
Mary McMahon said,
March 5, 2012 @ 12:14 pm
Congrats on one year! I have filled a notebook with the titles that I want for my elementary school! I look forward to reading the blog. Thank you!!!
Judy Looby said,
March 6, 2012 @ 2:22 pm
Adding the ISBN and grade level would be helpful. I would take ES, MS or HS. Thanks.
Susan Branham-Melvin said,
March 7, 2012 @ 1:16 pm
I’ve enjoyed adding your perspective to my book selection sources. The layout is refreshing and inviting. Thanks!
S L Branham-Melvin
Commemorating the Titanic: 100 Years Later « Books in Bloom said,
March 8, 2012 @ 8:03 am
[...] reminder! Tomorrow we will be announcing the winner of our first week’s contest. Click here to read all about the contest and to see how to [...]
And this week’s winner is… « Books in Bloom said,
March 9, 2012 @ 9:42 am
[...] reading our posts? That’s okay too. Whatever your feedback, leave it in a comment on the contest announcement post to enter. Check back each Friday in March to see if you are the [...]
Holly said,
March 9, 2012 @ 10:55 am
Happy Anniversary! And many thanks for your thorough and honest reviews – so helpful!! (ES)
Book Review: My Life as a Stuntboy « Books in Bloom said,
March 12, 2012 @ 7:06 am
[...] you entered our Blog Anniversary Contest Extravaganza? We have lots of great prizes you won’t want to [...]
Windy Gamble said,
March 13, 2012 @ 11:38 am
I just found this blog thanks to my Mackin Rep. I hope to be able to visit it often and find lots of useful things. (ES).
Angelique Moyers said,
March 13, 2012 @ 1:31 pm
I just learned about this blog a short while ago and I already see a bunch of topics that my kids ask about. Perhaps for each topic listed you can divide up the books by their intended grade levels (like Elementary, Middle, High) Other than that, I love having a new site to get responsible reviews from! (MS).
Stephanie Quinn said,
March 14, 2012 @ 10:39 am
I enjoy this blog very much. I like how you pick a topic and but related titles together. It helps me with the different ages and reading levels in my library which run from K through 12 grade. The reviews also help me see what kids are reading and interested in.
Emily L said,
March 15, 2012 @ 4:33 am
I’m a new reader to your blog so I look forward to reading your past and future posts. Congrats on your one year anniversary! I think the font should be larger because it’s a bit hard for me to read your posts. Otherwise, this blog seems like a great place to learn about new books, etc. Thank you for this giveaway! Happy Reading
Also I prefer HS
Book Review: Ripper « Books in Bloom said,
March 15, 2012 @ 7:00 am
[...] forget to enter our 1 Year Anniversary Extravaganza Contest! We’ll announce the second winner tomorrow [...]
Connie Anderson said,
March 15, 2012 @ 12:31 pm
I love Books in Bloom and recommend it to my fellow librarians. Congratulations on your anniversary!
Connie Anderson
TK-5th
Drum Roll Please….. « Books in Bloom said,
March 16, 2012 @ 7:10 am
[...] remember—this contest is running all month long, so please check out the contest post to leave a comment and win some fabulous prizes. There are still three more chances to [...]
tklearningcentre said,
March 17, 2012 @ 1:17 am
Congratulations on your anniversary! I find your reviews to be valuable, both personally and professionally. I find great ideas for my family as well as my school library. Thank you for your insights, recommendations and honesty. I find your themed posts to be very helpful in sourcing books to support curriculum, and particularly appreciated the recent reviews of multicultural picture books. As a teacher librarian in an international school in Asia, I love finding great books to celebrate the diversity of our students.
Thanks!
Using Poetry Books as Writing Examples « Books in Bloom said,
March 19, 2012 @ 8:06 am
[...] ***Finally, don’t forget about our contest. We’ve given away books and bags and more, and there are still three drawings to go. Check it out here.*** [...]
Kim Haugo said,
March 19, 2012 @ 11:30 am
I’m so excited to find this blog! We’ve been a Mackin customer for YEARS and I didn’t know about this. Your posts are timely for those of us in the trenches. Keep up the good work! (ES)
Judy Looby said,
March 19, 2012 @ 1:33 pm
Thank you so much for adding ISBN and grade level. Very helpful! I am interested in all grade levels.
Judy
Mrs. Provence said,
March 19, 2012 @ 8:44 pm
Thanks so much for always remembering our YA readers!
I Will Survive! – Survival Novels in Science Fiction « Books in Bloom said,
March 22, 2012 @ 8:09 am
[...] ***And don’t forget to check tomorrow to find out the third winner of our month-long anniversary contest!*** [...]
This Week’s Contest Winner Is….. « Books in Bloom said,
March 23, 2012 @ 7:07 am
[...] still TWO more chances to win including our Grand Prize! So if you haven’t commented on our Contest Post, click on the link and tell us what you think of the blog! Like this:LikeBe the first to like this [...]
Laurie Harrison said,
March 23, 2012 @ 12:43 pm
I’m a public children’s librarian of ages 0-14~ish. Please continue to level reviews with grades. I haven’t yet seen any graphic reviews yet, which would be great. Nice length, which makes it manageable. Some of my favorites: Mock ALA Awards – Lindsey’s Picks, Nature Picture Books, & Women’s History Month.
D Maxwell said,
March 23, 2012 @ 1:24 pm
I love this blog! It really helps me with collection development. I read it weekly.
(ES)
Kyndra said,
March 23, 2012 @ 2:02 pm
I love when I open up my blog reader and see all the wonderful books that have been reviewed. I work in the childrens department and am always on the look out for new and exciting books. Please enter me in the next contest, this one slipped by me! Thanks and God Bless! :O)
Looking for Science Poetry « Books in Bloom said,
March 26, 2012 @ 9:42 am
[...] big anniversary book giveaway contest & two more opportunities to win! Leave a comment on the contest post to [...]
Shelley S. said,
March 27, 2012 @ 2:43 pm
I have to agree with many of the comments already given – love the blog because of the layout, book topics, and the fact that it is to the point and not overwhelming. I’ve ordered books after reading the blog and shared titles with teachers and other librarians. Thanks and congrats on your one-year anniversary!
Book Review: Ghosts in the Fog: The Untold Story of Alaska’s WWII Invasion « Books in Bloom said,
March 29, 2012 @ 7:00 am
[...] is your last chance to enter our first anniversary contest! We’ve had three winners already, and tomorrow we will be picking our fourth winner AND our [...]
Robin L said,
March 29, 2012 @ 12:18 pm
I have really enjoyed your reviews they have been a great help in selections I never have enough time to check many different sources and this has helped. Congrats and keep it up you are appreciated. MS, HS
Susan Branham-Melvin said,
March 29, 2012 @ 6:39 pm
I was fasinated about the book, “Ghosts in the fog : the untold story of Alaska’s WWII invasion / Samantha Seiple” and cannot wait to read it! Thank you for your post!