Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories {+Giveaway}

I’ve mentioned many times how important it is for me that my children enjoy reading.  Thankfully all of my children do love to read and be read to, I believe this is thanks in large part to the emphasis I’ve put on reading since each was born.  I love how reading inspires my kids to be as creative as they want to be and allows them to take journeys to where ever their imaginations can take them and as a mom it is a great feeling to know that in some small way I helped to nurture that creative freedom. Something just as important to me as fostering my children’s love of reading is making sure that they always have a healthy breakfast.  

Cheerios has always been dedicated to helping families realize the importance of a healthy breakfast as a great start to their day and now Cheerios is inviting families to start the day with a nutritious and a good book!  As part of an initiative to help nurture young bodies and minds Cheerios is providing more than six million children’s books inside specially marked boxes as part of its Spoonfuls of Stories program.  Over the past nine years Cheerios has provided more than 50 million free children’s books inside their boxes through the Spoonfuls of Stories program!

The books included in this year’s program are appropriate for children three to eight years of age and are written in English and Spanish!  The books include:

All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee, which discusses the many wonderful things a child can encounter in the world as well as the commonalities all the world shares.

Chaucer’s First Winter, by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Henry Cole, follows a bear named Chaucer, who knows he is supposed to sleep through the winter but feels it’s much more fun to stay up and play.

Jump!, by Scott M. Fischer, chronicles the adventures of a bug, a frog, a cat, a hound, a crocodile, a shark, and a whale, who all love to jump!

No T. Rex in the Library, by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa, is a story about a little girl named Tess and her adventures in the library with a boisterous T-Rex.

The Purple Kangaroo, by comedian Michael Ian Black and illustrated by Peter Brown, which is a vivid and humor-filled story that tricks the reader into thinking about a purple kangaroo.

Studies have consistently show that children with greater access to books and other print materials have a higher success rate in school and in life.  On the flip side of that there are the studies that show that in  low income neighborhoods that there is only about 1 book for every 300 children…that is crazy.  As part of its Spoonfuls of Stories program Cheerios  is donating $300,000 to First Book, a non-profit agency that helps get books into the hands of children who need them the most, Cheerios has donated over 3.5 million to First Book in the past nine years. 

I received all 5 of the books participating in this year’s Spoonfuls of Stories program and my kids loved them!  It was fun for me to pour each of them a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast and read them a few of the books as they ate…I think that they really enjoyed it too!  In addition to the books and cereal MyBlogSpark sent me a $25 Barnes & Noble and I cannot wait to add some more books to the kids’ collection.

You can learn more about the Spoonfuls of Stories program and donate to First Book as well by visiting www.spoonfulsofstories.com !

So how would you like to win a Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories prize pack like the one I received?  That’s all 5 of the books in this year’s collection, a box of Cheerios, and a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card.

Win it:  Mandatory Entry!

Please leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite children’s book. This is mandatory and must be completed before any extra entries are allowed!

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If you’ve entered All of the current giveaways on MIBR (listed on the sidebar under Current Giveaways) then you may  have 5 extra entries into this giveaway (as well as this giveaway) just leave 5 separate comments saying, “I’ve entered all of MBIR giveaways!”.

This giveaway ends on December 2 , 2010 at 11:59 PM EST.  One winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced in a separate winner’s post.  Winner will have 48 hours to claim his prize, failure to do so within 48 hour time-frame will result in winner forfeiting his prize and mew choosing a new winner.

Prize packs as well as information about Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories were given to me from  Cheerios through  MyBlogSpark .