Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Shameless Plug

I am not a "party" person.  I don't do Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Candlelight or any other such things.  I understand why some women enjoy them, but in an effort to keep our spending largely in the "must have" category and not end up with 13 unaccounted for Tupperware lids falling out of my cupboards, I have kept attendance at such parties to a minimum.

Therefore, it makes me extremely hypocritical to approach anyone and shamelessly plug something I am trying to sell!  However, it IS Christmas time, and people DO need to buy nice gifts for kids, and I do have a really good reason for doing it...yea...right...

Actually, I have a severe case of "book envy".  Any homeschooler knows of Usborne books, as they are some of the very best around with wonderful illustrations, really great content, and you can build an entire curriculum around some of them.  Since beginning homeschooling last
year, I have coveted 3 large volumes.  The Internet Linked Encyclopedias of Science, Geography and World History.  We stopped at a booth where these were displayed a few months ago and Matthew drooled for almost an hour!  These are absolutely fantastic resources to have around when homeschooling, and they are reasonably priced considering their quality and content, but we don't have any extra funds to cover acquiring them.  Hence, the aforementioned shameless plug...I thought I'd try and see if I could earn a little towards the purchase to help make it more affordable.

The fact is, you really can't buy better books than these...the selection is huge, and our school library for the homeschool program is loaded with them because they are so popular.  I don't endorse anything here on the blog, I purposely don't have Amazon ads or anything else, and there are no hidden bonuses I get when I mentioned I read a book or use a curriculum or anything.  I am just sharing what I may have happened to stumble upon that I found valuable.  So, whether you are interested in purchasing something from my E-Show or not, you simply have to tuck this in the back of your mind for that time when you run across a book loving kid and need a great gift idea. 

In all seriousness, these are the single best books I have seen and are
Matthew LaJoy tested and approved!  Hahaha!  The history selection is phenomenal as is the science section.  The internet linked selections are so totally cool!  Throughout a particular book there will be suggested internet links to visit pertaining to a specific topic. Instead of listing links which need to be continuously updated, you are directed to visit the Usborne site where they keep the list updated and current with hundreds (could be thousands) of current links to the best educational web sites for the topics presented in their books.  You just read an article in the book, click, and find the most entertaining, appropriate, engaging web sites that would take hours of research to find!  They have a large number of internet books ranging from animals to science to history. 

In addition they have several really well illustrated versions of the classics for the younger set or earlier/emerging readers like we have in our family.  The other kids all really enjoy those books and I'd love to get a nice selection of them as a set.  They also have lower level readers for history and science subjects as well, and what I love about them is that they do not talk down to the kids, but instead present solid material at a lower vocabulary level.

There are Kid Kits with games and art activities packaged along with a book, Spanish language selections, toddler board books...you name it, they have it and I guarantee you it will be a delightfully illustrated book.  Usborne books are not available in bookstores, and are only sold via catalog or shows/Eshows. 

If you think you might be interested, my Eshow lasts for 10 days, closing on November 20th.  You purchase through the web site and I'll get credit toward our hopeful purchase.  If you know me in real life and would like to check out a couple of books before deciding to purchase or would like to view a real catalog, let me know and I can share samples I have borrowed and show you a catalog.  You can click on the link below to be directed to the Usborne site where my show is being hosted:










While I do hope that this show allows us to get the books we'd love to have, I also hope that some of you out there discover a line of books that you might not know about and is what I consider to be the best of the best.  If you have any questions, drop me an email at CyndiLJ@aol.com and I'll do my best to get an answer for you.  I am not becoming a consultant or anything, so don't expect to have future sales pitches directed your way...I promise!  However, since I have invited you into our virtual home for the past 4 years, I might as well invite you to my virtual book party! HAHAHAHA!!!!  Thanks a bunch everyone!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good thing I am sitting in bed with the credit card in the other room.. LOL.. Just kidding. Plug here for all those adopting or have adopted Russian kiddos. There is a book on your list called the first 1000 Russian words. I intend to grab this and a few more as Christmas presents for my little guy. Checkout saved... will checkout in the am!!! Thanks Cindy

Cindy LaJoy said...

Thanks Ann!!! Actually, I wish I could buy every single one of our extended blog family a book and send it as an early Christmas gift! It seems sort of unfair to even ask anyone to purchase from us, but then I thought they DO make great gifts...better than some plastic super hero toy that will break the first ten minutes of play! So I justified posting this by saying to myself I was doing everyone a favor to offer an alternative to the Walmart aisle...yea...right...I know, pretty stupid but darn it we really want those 3 books!!! HAHAHA!!! :-) Thanks again!

Carol said...

I had not heard of Usborne books prior to this, but just took a look... and WOW! These look like GREAT books! I am drooling over the "Preschool" section... but you are right... they have something for everyone. I am making a commitment this Christmas... no mindless plastic toys!

Anonymous said...

Shameless woman! What next--used cars? I haven't even looked at the site yet, and I'm thinking. My grand neice or nephew will be born any second now. How about a book to start early? My grandson just had a birthday and Christmas is coming. But, most of all, I covet the Atlas. Mine is old. Many countries no longer exist, and new ones have been informed. I love to look at the eastern states where roads and rivers crowd the page and then at the west where there are wide open spaces still. I love to look at the...Well, I'm on my way to get my credit card. Thanks for the access to adventure.

Lusting Lael

P.S. Just as an aside, I hope you earn some of those book Team LaJoy is coveting.

Lenore said...

Thanks, Cindy, for the plug!! I've been to the website and am absolutely drooling....my keyboard it all wet!! We're going to contemplate this and see what we can do!! I think James would LOVE the internet-linked science book!! WOW!!

Hilary Marquis said...

You're going to get me into major trouble! I'll have to snoop through all the merchandise this weekend :)

Anonymous said...

Wow. Seriously? You expect me to pay down my credit card and you send me this link? Sheeooot, girlfriend, you know we are total book fiends! Will get it done before the 20th, but will have to spend some time narrowing down which books come home first...Vegas