Day #2 of Blog Book Tour

This Woman's Work said: "The book has tips, inspiration and stories — the kind of book that you give to a new dad-to-be) to make him get a little verklempt and a lot more excited about the upcoming baby. Or give it to an old hand at fatherhood and watch him sniff a little bit, too. But really I think of this book as the absolutely perfect gift to bring to a baby shower where dads are WAY too often neglected. You can see, it has a reasonable price point so next time you’re heading to a new daddy’s house to welcome the recent arrival, make sure you have this in hand."

Cindy LaFerle wrote that: "This is a handbook after my own heart, emphasizing the ordinary moments and sweet epiphanies of daily parenthood.

"Margulis and di Properzio are married and have three kids of their own — which partly explains why their affection for children shines through every essay in the book. “Bonding with a baby or small child is about the small moments that you spend together, looking at each other, talking, taking walks. It’s not something that happens instantly,” they explain in the book’s preface. While the text is instructive, it’s also entertaining and accessible — and can be read between naps. Illustrating the text, Christopher Briscoe’s beautiful black-and-white photos of adorable babies and handsome dads will surely melt your heart. Few books are available on this topic, so this is a welcome addition to your parenting library, and an absolutely perfect gift for new dads and fathers-to-be, anytime."

ReadingWritingLiving called the book "humorous and appealing" and said, "I personally do not think that Motherhood should have ANYthing over Fatherhood, especially in these early months/years, and this book was a great validation of that idea."

The blog book tour stops at the Joy of Sox and Full Soul Ahead

Check out the Q & A at THE JOY OF SOX about the Baby Bonding Book For Dads. The comments--from hardcore Red Sox fans--are really interesting! (Jennifer's a longtime Red Sox fan and used to think she was Jim Rice, and the Red Sox come up several times in the book, in case you were wondering.)

Thanks to Allan Wood for kicking things off on the blog book tour!

Our second stop on the tour was with another of our favorite bloggers, Michelle O'Neil at Full Soul Ahead has this to say about the book:

Most parenting books are fear based and lean toward "what not to do." This book is different. It encourages "baby wrestling," and singing a modified version of "Super Freak" during diaper changes, "She's a very stinky girl...."

While the book is written with great humor, it's also poignant. An example being the section where the author writes a few paragraphs to his unborn baby while his wife sleeps.

If you know any new or expecting daddies out there, this would be the perfect book for Father's Day. And for seasoned dads, it might be a beautiful stroll down memory lane.

Three cheers for good fathers!

May you never underestimate your value to your children.

* adorable photos in The Baby Bonding Book for Dads by Christopher Briscoe. Warning...they may make you want to reproduce.

I'm not having any more babies.
I'm not having any more babies.
I'm not having any more babies.
Say it with me......

Writing Meets Motherhood book event

This morning (it's Sunday), Toni Klym McLellan, Meagan Francis, and I talked to a small audience in the very lovely store, Read Between the Lynes, in Woodstock, Illinois about the intersection of writing and motherhood. Meagan talked about her two books, The Everything Health Guide to Postpartum Care and Table for Eight: Raising a Larger Family in a Smaller Family World, Toni talked about newspaper writing and travel writing (she had a piece in FamilyFun Magazine about dogsledding with her kids), and I talked about the Baby Bonding Book for Dads -- why we wrote it, who it's for, how a book gets written in the first place (it's often the one you are looking for on the shelf but can't find), and why dads and moms might want to read it. The audience was all women, except for Toni's husband who came in with her three bright, boisterous, and kind boys towards the end, but lots of books were sold. Toni's friend took pictures and promised to send some, which I will post when they come in.

After our talk, the lovely owner of the store, Arlene Lynes, stood up to say that when she opened the store three years ago, she and her husband disagreed about whether it should be open on Sundays. Arlene insisted that the store be open on Sundays so that women with small children, who needed a break, could come in and browse, read, and relax in the store.

(The huge stuffed lion under the table at the front, and the store's friendly dog Jake, also make it a nice place for children of all ages, any day of the week. And the comfy chairs throughout the small store are just right for tired folks to relax in.)

Arlene also said that independent bookstores are on the rise, again. She believes that since the Enron scandal more people really are trying to stay local and buy local, and that that has been reflected in the growing popularity of indie bookstores.

Next time you think of ordering off Amazon, check your local bookstore first! Often they will give you an Amazon discount (or some kind of discount), if you ask. If you're hesitant, or just want to save the money, think of this: When is the last time Amazon hosted a local author reading?

Read to Your Baby

A BBC article from April 10th called Dads Don't Read Bedtime Stories cites a new poll that found that only 42% of dads read to their kids before bed. In the Baby Bonding Book for Dads we tell dads it's never too early to start reading and we even suggest you read to your nearsighted 3-month-old! But reading to older kids is where the real fun begins. When our son was 3 he wanted us to substitute the name of all the main characters with his name. We no longer read Curious George, we read Curious Etani. The Runaway Bunny was The Runaway Etani ... you get the idea.

You get to re-read your childhood favorites when you read to your kids, and also discover some of the books you missed as a child (The Light Princess, anyone? A strange chapter book by a contemporary of Lewis Carroll's; Chronicles of Narnia; The Hobbit. Kid lit is so rich and amazing, how could you not read to your kids just to have an excuse to read it yourself?!).

Maybe it's an English thing? Hey American Dads, it's time to stop surfing the net and go read a book with your kid(s).

Win a Free Book

BostonMamas calls the Baby Bonding Book for Dads:

"a sweet little gift book that – in a gentle, friendly dad voice - offers simple, straightforward ideas for how dad can bond with baby at home and on the go. Interspersed throughout the book are artful photos. Yes, there are a couple of buff, bare-chested daddy shots, but otherwise the photos are – like the text – representative of what many of us feel joy seeing at home; regular dads enjoying time with their babes."

They are giving away five free copies of the book!

You can win one by:

1) first visiting our blog (you're already here--hooray! Please leave us a comment to tell us you stopped by!)

2) then emailing contests@bostonmamas.com (with ‘Baby Bonding’ in the subject), and naming another place – other than Amazon – where you can buy the book.

One entry per person, US only, and you need to email them by midnight EST TONIGHT

Join us This Sunday in Woodstock, Illinois

This one is a live event, not just in cyberspace.

Jennifer Margulis will be giving a reading with two other writers: Meagan Francis and Toni Klym McLellan, at Between the Lynes in Woodstock, Illinois (outside Chicago) THIS SUNDAY, APRIL 27th at 11:30 a.m.

129 Van Buren St.
Woodstock, IL
815-206-5967

A write-up of the event is on their Website: click here to read about it.

Baby Bonding Blog Book Tour Starts April 28th

Stay tuned for the Baby Bonding Blog Book Tour, which starts April 28th. We'll be visiting Red Sox fans, snarky dads, nice dads, working dads, stay-at-home dads, some Mom-oriented blogs, and cyber readers as far away as South Africa. We've got more than 30 bloggers lined up to be "stops" on the tour.

See you soon in unexpected places in the blogosphere!