3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires: Giveaway & Review: 2 Children's Books Teaching Social-Emotional Skills [CLOSED]

One of the biggest concerns I have as a parent, aside from my children's physical safety, is their emotional well-being. I took very good mental notes throughout my childhood about things I would never do as a parent and things I would do my best not to let my children go through. Still, there are so many things that I just cannot protect my children from, such as social situations at school. All I can do is hope that I can arm them with the right tools to deal with whatever comes up.

Therapist and author, Dr. Pat Palmer has partnered with Louise Hart of Uplift Press to re-release two international bestsellers . . . Liking Myself and The Mouse, The Monster and Me.

Liking Myself is geared towards children ages 5 to 9. This book concentrates on self-esteem and dealing with feelings in a healthy way. It actually starts off with a nice little note to the child, which sets the tone for the book. Liking Myself teaches children to be good friends to themselves, how to feel lovable and valuable, and how to identify, react to, and express both positive and negative feelings.

Having just turned 6, my son was able to understand the concepts introduced in this book. Although I think his self-esteem level is pretty healthy, I do think he needed lots of encouragement to participate in some of the interactive parts of the book. I like that the book encourages your child to draw some of their answers rather than forcing them into attempting to verbalize them.

**************************************************************************

The Mouse, The Monster and Me was written for children from age 8 up to the teen years. It gives your child or tween (or teen) the tools for respecting and asserting himself or herself at a healthy level to avoid attracting bullies, but also to avoid becoming a bully. Although my son is only 6, this is something I do think about. I keep thinking that just one incident could push him in one direction or the other.

These books are ideal for parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and therapists alike. They are great resources for preventing problems as well as trying to sort out an existing problem. There are even free teacher's guides for each book in PDF format available on the Uplift Press website.

You can order one or both of these books by Dr. Pat Palmer on UpliftPress.com with Free Shipping within the U.S. at $12.99 for one title or $24 for both. You can also find both books on Amazon.com .

Thank you to Uplift Press for providing copies of each book for me to base this review upon and also for donating one copy of each book to my son's school.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a paperback copy of "Liking Myself" and of "The Mouse, The Monster and Me" by Pat Palmer, Ed. D.

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:
Leave a comment telling me what your biggest insecurity about yourself was as a child. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND DrLouiseHart.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 2 extra entries, share the link to this contest post on Facebook. Then leave TWO separate comments with the link to your Facebook profile.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)

Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!