SnackTaxis were featured on Oprah’s Earth Day Special. Check it out here! The SnackTaxis are sitting right up front!

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090422-tows-earth-day-lunch-challenge

In honor of Earth Day I am giving away a copy of our newest title, Earth Tales.

About Earth Tales:
In this beautiful anthology of folktales, young readers learn how different cultures around the world live in harmony with the rhythms and patterns of nature. Discover how to tread lightly on our precious Earth by following the easy eco-tips and trying out some of the fun and creative activities that accompany each story.

In honor of Earth Day, Barefoot will be planting a tree for every copy of Earth Tales purchased in the month of April in collaboration with Eco-Libris.

In addition to the Giveaway, any purchases made through my site by April 30 will receive a free snackTaxi.

To enter the giveaway please leave a comment about how/if you celebrate earth day or something you’ve done to make your home more green.

Good Luck!

I wanted to let you know that Happy Sacks, those wonderful reusable sandwich and snack bags mentioned here are now called snackTaxis. Same great product and mission just a new name.
I am also happy to announce that you can now purchase SnackTaxis through Go Barefoot.  Here are a few of the fun patterns I have in stock. Great for school or the office. Snack size is $6.95 and Sandwich Size is $8.95, shipping not included. Contact me at holyokemama@gmail.com or leave a comment for more information.

snackTAXIs are made of cotton cloth with a nylon interior (tested and found to be free of heavy metals including lead, phthalates, PBBs, and PBDEs). They can be washed by hand with a damp sponge, or machine washed and dried.

snackTAXIs are a great alternative to plastic bags and wraps, especially when just one reusable bag has the potential to eliminate an average of 1000 plastic bags over its lifetime!

Made is Western Massachusetts!

My life has changed dramatically in the past six months. My oldest started kindergarten and I went back to work full-time. With my son starting a new school, it was like I was entering a new school as well. New parents to meet, play dates to plan (or in my case, favors to watch my kid while I have afternoon meetings, thank you friends!) It was funny, but I had the new school jitters like him, will I be cool enough for school, will my kid get invited to birthday parties? Of course, all of this is the case.  One of the great things that happened is that I was lucky enough to be invited to join MotherWoman.

Since I moved to the Pioneer Valley, I had heard about MotherWoman.  MotherWoman is organization founded by two moms who had a huge awakening when they became parents and needed a place to safely talk about what was happening in their lives. When they looked around they found infant massage, baby yoga; all activities focused on the child and not a group focused on the mothers. So they started a group themselves. The group is place with no judgements, no advice, no kids. A place to speak uninterrupted. It is amazing to say out loud, “my kid really made me so angry today” and see 10-12 heads nod back at you.

We meet once a month. There is lots of laughter, a few tears and plenty of chocolate. I do not leave the group with answers but leave knowing I am not alone in this journey, that many, if not all of us, are learning as we go. Many of the woman in the group I did not know, but some are Moms from school. We don’t get time to really talk on the playground but it is nice to get a nod when your kid is having a tantrum that you are not being judged, that they understand.

To learn more about MotherWoman and start a group of your own, visit www.motherwoman.org

One of the great pleasures of my Barefoot Business is getting to help local non-profits with fundraisers. One such organization is New Haven Leon.

Their mission is:

The New Haven/León Sister City Project is a progressive, binational, grassroots organization that fosters a partnership between the communities of Greater New Haven, Connecticut and León, Nicaragua. Our mission is to promote social justice. We work to form fair and respectful relationships between the people of our two cities. Through delegations and other exchanges, we strive to understand and celebrate our respective cultures. In León, we engage in sustainable economic, human, and community development projects. In New Haven, we educate our neighbors about Nicaragua and about local and global effects of policies of the U.S. government and international economic institutions.

Through their work they create programs and provide much needed support to children in Nicaragua. They have become an affiliate with Barefoot to have a book drive. Any purchases made through their link will go towards buying Barefoot Books in Spanish for their Community Education Programs.

Please click here to have your purchase support this great cause!

To learn more about the Barefoot Books affiliate for your blog or fundraising needs, click here

***Congrats to Winner Michelle Toppi!***

I am so excited to be the featured blog on Kids Craft Weekly! Amber loves Barefoot Books too and asked me to do a giveaway for her readers. Enter to win a Whole World Activity Pack. This includes the Whole World Mini Edition with sing-along CD and the brand new World World Fun Eco Activities Pack. This includes fun activities about recycling and conservation.

To enter, please comment below about your favorite Barefoot Book. If you’ve never heard of Barefoot Books, please visit my Barefoot Books site and mention a book you like. The contest will end Sunday, November 9 at 12am (EST).

Good Luck

Dawn

My son and I sat down last weekend and opened Arthur Of Albion, one of Barefoot’s newest titles. It is a comprehensive volume of the stories about King Arthur, The Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot, etc. I forgot how much I enjoyed these tales until I revisited them with my son. One of my favorite summer reads in elementary school was the Once and Future King and I must admit that I grew-up in a Disney house (my parents went to Disney World on their honeymoon) and loved Sword in the Stone.

You know my son really loves a book when he asks me not to sell it and keep it as our home copy. I happened to order two and was so happy to sell it at the Northampton Montessori Fall Festival last weekend. I had been meaning for a a few years to go to this event but feel privileged to have been invited to have a booth. If you’d like your order to benefit the school please enter EV 27 at check out.

There are many new beginnings in my house this Fall

My son started Kindergarten, my daughter is turning 2 and I returned to work. Of course I have always been working. I have been home with my daughter and running my Barefoot business for two years. It was hard to say good-bye to this special time. I shed many, many tears. More than I thought I would because I have an older child and I sent him of to daycare. But this was different. I was home with my little one. Once I accepted my new job, I realized it was real and that my life was going to change very quickly. It was nice that I had a few weeks to say goodbye to this time in my life. We went to Woodstar and had coffee and a muffin and I cried. We went to the Northampton Parents Center to play with friends and I cried. I told anyone who would listen and a cried. It was nice to know I have so many people to talk to.

All that being said, I have to say that I enjoy being back in the workplace.

by Hilltown Families

This is a shot of my booth at the NOFA conference. The man in the picture read to the kids for a good 15-20 minutes on my rug. This is what is so fun about doing events and introducing people to Barefoot.

The last two weeks have been quite busy. My lovely brother got married, we had a family vacation, I attended the Barefoot Books International Conference and this weekend I had a booth at the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Conference, a wonderful gathering of concerned citizens.

I sold Happy Sacks at my booth and they were a big hit. It was great to introduce people to them. We sold some books too Some of our most popular were The Beeman and The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories

This is one of my new favorites. (My son’s, too)

Recent praise:

“This charming book is visually enticing and just plain fun to read… The text conveys facts, but at the same time captures a larger understanding of and appreciation for nature.”-School Library Journal

“This cozy intergenerational story will delight young readers as it educates them on these industrious insects.”-ForeWord Magazine