Baby/Toddler Books Review & Giveaway: Baby Unplugged - Complete Set of Three Books

This giveaway is closed.
When I was contacted by John Hutton, a pediatrician, father, and independent bookseller from Cincinnati, Ohio, to review his new three book set called Baby Unplugged published by Blue Manatee Press, I was immediately intrigued. My 14 month old son has been a huge lover of books for most of his life, so I am always on the lookout for books that would be of particular interest to him. The title of the book set alone - Baby Unplugged - interested me, as I always prefer to have Baby playing with simple toys and books that activate his imagination rather than electronic and technological products. It turns out, John Hutton feels the same way based upon his childhood experiences and work with children, and he created Baby Unplugged because of his passion for bringing the simple icons of childhood back to this generation.
I couldn't agree more with this commentary in the Baby Unplugged collateral:

In a single generation the landscape has changed, replacing the icons [Blanket. Pets. Yard. - The titles of the three books in the Baby Unplugged set] with virtual versions - e-storytime, virtual pets, outdoor adventures through the 2-D filter of a video game. Meanwhile, spurred by the technological deluge, children are expected to learn more, faster, often out of synch with normal developmental milestones. From infants reading, to abstract concepts for kids still wrestling with peek-a-boo, college admission seems hinged on acing SAT before the first candles hit the cake. "Educational" as marketing tool entices parents with gadgets and smart-sounding names - InfantIQ, Baby Nobel - as the world of primary experience that has served children for millennia, loses its former luster.

Baby has been enjoying Blanket, Pets, and Yard so much. He loves recognizing the icons of things that he loves from his every day life like trees, cats, and blankets. Baby enjoys pointing to the icons on the page and then looking for the object in real life. He waves to the trees through the window when he sees them in the books, which I just love.
I have also enjoyed reading these books with Baby because they definitely invoke memories of my own childhood. I love the parts where a sweet pet comforts the child in Pets and where a little girl snuggles in bed with her stuffed animals in Blanket. Baby and I both enjoy the simple and catchy rhymes on every page.
One additional thing that I absolutely adored about this package of books was the enclosed sheet labeled, "Attention, Grownup!" This sheet shares the mission of Blue Manatee boxes, which is to revive the notion of a simple box - in this case the packaging that the books arrived in - as an extension of its user. The instructions inspire you to transform your box into a "wondrously low-tech, unplugged, inexpensive, fun, safe, and stimulating developmental playground - a renewable resource indeed!" It goes on to share ways to make a beat box, a hide and seek box, a mom-and-dad-atee, and a taxi-tee. There are also sweet black and white illustrations enclosed for your little one to color. I especially appreciated this focus on using imagination and a basic box as inspiration because only two days before receiving this Blue Manatee Books package, I had written a blog post about the fun and imagination that an empty box had inspired in my son on a rainy day - The Best Free and Educational Toy for Your Toddler.
I highly recommend these books for babies and toddlers. Yes, they are sweet, joyful, and catchy, but more importantly they support a mindset that seems to be all too rare these days - one that appreciates simple joys, the beauty of childhood, and the wonders of our natural world.

BUY IT!

You can buy Baby Unplugged: Complete Set! (three books: Yard, Pets, and Blanket) for $23.97 on the Blue Manatee web site.

WIN IT!

For your own chance to win one of TWO available sets of Baby Unplugged: Complete Set! (three books: Yard, Blanket, and Pets), enter in the comments below!.MAIN ENTRY: Visit the Blue Manatee Books site and tell us which book your little one would be most interested in and why.Leave a valid email address in at least one of your comments so we can contact you if you win. You can write them like this to foil spambots: mail {at} naturalparentsnetwork {dot} com.This is a joint giveaway with I Thought I Knew Mama and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only, and we'll be recording IP addresses to ensure that there are no duplicate entries. That said, please do visit and enjoy both sites!BONUS ENTRIES: after completing the mandatory entry above to increase your chances of winning (leave a separate comment for each so we can count them all):

• Visit Baby Unplugged and follow them on Google Friend Connect.
• Subscribe to I Thought I Knew Mama in a reader or by email (1 entry for each).
• Subscribe to Natural Parents Network in a reader or by email (1 entry for each).
• Leave a relevant comment on a non-giveaway article at Natural Parents Network and tell us which post (comment on separate posts for up to 3 entries total).
• Like Blue Manatee on Facebook.
• Like I Thought I Knew Mama on Facebook.
• Like Natural Parents Network on Facebook.
• Post this giveaway on your Facebook page or wall and leave the link (1 entry). You can use this status update: Enter to win 1 of 2 sets of Baby Unplugged: Complete Set! from @I Thought I Knew Mama and @Natural Parents Network.Be sure to attach the contest URL to your update! (This is not part of the status text!)
• Follow I Thought I Knew Mama on Twitter and leave your Twitter name in the comment.
• Follow @NatParNet on Twitter and leave your Twitter name in the comment.
• Tweet about this giveaway (up to 5 times total, at least 24 hours apart). You can tweet this text: #Win a set of 3 Baby Unplugged books from @IThoughtIKnewMa & @NatParNet! #giveaway http://goo.gl/9kmEZ
• Enter another of the giveaways on Natural Parents Network (1 extra entry per giveaway — check back for more).
• Put the I Thought I Knew Mama badge on your site or add http://www.ithoughtiknewmama.com to your text blogroll for 2 extra entries each. The html for the badge is on the sidebar of I Thought I Knew Mama. Leave your site URL in the comment.
• Put the Natural Parents Network badge on your website or add http://NaturalParentsNetwork.com to your text blogroll for 2 extra entries each. The HTML code for the badge is in the right sidebar. Leave your site URL in the comment.

RULES:

• Contest is open to U.S. only.
• Contestants may enter at either I Thought I Knew Mama or Natural Parents Network but not both. Entries will be combined for the drawing of a single winner.
• Leave each entry as a separate comment so we can count them all.
• For actions like following and subscribing, if you already follow or subscribe, just let us know in your comment.
• For tasks that garner you multiple entries, you can copy and paste the comment with a #1, #2, etc.
• You don't have to do any of the bonus entries, but you do have to complete the first mandatory one.
• We will pick the winner through Random.org after the contest closes and send an email notification. Leave a valid email address as you comment so we can contact you if you win. If we can't reach a winner or don't hear back within a couple days, we'll draw a new name.
• Any questions, let our interim giveaway coordinator know: ShannonR {at} NaturalParentsNetwork {dot} com

Contest closes October 10, 2011. 11:59 pm PST.

Disclosure: Our reviewer received a free set of three Baby Unplugged books for review from sponsor but all opinions expressed are that of the reviewer.We try to seek out only products we think you would findrelevant and useful to your life as a natural parent.If we don't like a product, we won't be recommending it to you.See our full disclosure policy here.

Photo Credit: Author