I is for inside dog!

{a Black Friday giveaway!}

Welcome to the letter "I" stop on Secret Agent Josephine's Stealthy Book Tour! I was so, so thrilled to hear that Brenda has written and illustrated not one but THREE awesome books for kids! Secret Agent Josephine's ABC's, Colors, and Secret Spy Numbers!

Secret Agent Josephine is famous in my house for two very important reasons: her chicken enchilada recipe and her recipe planning PDF. I have impressed A LOT of people with those chicken enchiladas, people (I substitute onions for celery and sauté the onions and peppers and sometimes when I'm feeling lazy I just layer the tortillas and filling in the pan) (because I can't be trusted to follow directions). I have read her blog for years and I have always appreciated Brenda's honesty and creativity ... so when I had the opportunity to host her book tour here today I JUMPED at the chance!

Brenda and Bug for president!

My big plan was to download all three books on the iPad and let Syd go crazy! This plan (like most of my plans!) was totally thwarted when I came down with a horrid case of the stomach flu last week (giveaway winner from last week is soon to be announced!) and then we packed it up and headed to Denver for Thanksgiving with my family. And so, the books made it to my iPhone and no further (also! My husband is an iPad hog! Love you honey!).

BUT! The Blonde Tornado LOVED the books (especially the ABC's) and asks to play with them on my phone repeatedly. She worked with them on the airplane and loves reading them together ... the animals are so adorable and creative. The colors are bright and cheerful and the books are just fun, which is par for the course for Brenda. The Secret Spy Numbers book is just so different and creative ... it was MY favorite (hey! Mama can have a favorite, right?!). I like them so much I plan on buying the hard copies for Syd and Elijah to have at home!

I haven't yet had an opportunity to take a photo of Syd reading the books, so I tried to take one of Elijah checking them out. The cheese stands alone.

Um, that was a challenge I was really not up for. Did you know that nearly-14-month-old boys do NOT cooperate very well?

ANYWAY! Here's how you can get your hands on these amazing books! They'd be the perfect holiday gift for all the kids in your circle. Mine are hooked ... these are the first eBooks we've ever read together and they were a huge hit!

• iPad/iPhone: ABCs, Colors, Numbers
• Kindle: ABCs, Colors, Numbers
• Nook: ABCs, Colors, Numbers
• Paperback: ABCs, Colors, Numbers

And now for the giveaway!

To celebrate these awesome books, Secret Agent Josephine is giving away a letter print (your choice!) to a lucky reader! To enter just leave a comment on this post (one per person, please!) and tell me what your Black Friday plans are! My plans today are to lay around as much as possible in stretchy pants and eat all the leftovers I can handle. You wouldn't catch me out shopping today if they were giving away baby elephants at Best Buy. I am not a bargain shopper on Black Friday. EVER. You can enter the contest up until midnight (PST) on November 30. I'll randomly choose and announce the winner on Dec. 1.

Good luck and thanks to SAJ for hosting the contest and writing these awesome books! I love that Brenda has found her true creative angle in being a mother. She's an inspiration to us SAHM types who have a creative streak and want to figure out how to be moms and create things and do both really, really well. I am so happy to share Brenda, her books, and her blog with you all here today.

Keep checking out Brenda's website for each stop on the book tour (and the giveaways! And the awesome crafts! And collect the secret code sentences!). Enjoy!!

Comments

[Sally]

Awesome Books and Blogs!!

[Julie]

I get to clean and cook for the 23 people who will be at my house for a second Thanksgiving dinner. At least I won't have to do it on Christmas!

[Elsha]

I went to two stores this morning (at the very reasonable time of 7:30) and now I intend to watch a lot of TV and lay around.

[MargieK]

No specific plans, just a day off to catch up on things. I've been trying to reorganize closets and drawers a little, will work out and go grocery shopping.

I ordered two sets of Brenda's books... one for my nephews and the other for my grandson. They came earlier this week and are delightful!

[HereWeGoAJen]

We've been shopping. But without waiting in any lines and after we woke up in the morning.

[Jenn S]

shopping at Carter's! they have an awesome sale going on!

[Becca]

I'm working, then shopping. Hopefully going shopping in the evening will allow the madness to die down. Hopefully.

[Courtney]

Ran, read, went to the library with the Bobos,ate some Chik-fil-A, drove home with Bobos,took a nap, moved ALL of Bobos toys to basement, reaaranged furniture in living room...hoping to read some more, then sleep! That sums up my Black Friday. Which for the record, my students last year thought that Black Friday was for black people. Not wanting any race to be left out, we also came up with White Wednesday, Lunes Latino, Martes Mexicano, and Jamaican Thursday. I didn't have any Jamaican students....

[Jessica]

I stayed home all day and ate leftovers. I did do some online shopping.

[Clara]

Well I actually ventured to the hardware store for sandpaper, try to contain your excitement. Then we continued to pack (moving to Denver next week) had a Starbucks play date with friends, ordered Italian take out, commited carbicide, bathed the wee ones, put them to bed and then? Then my Husband and I shared a piece of cheesecake AND a piece of chocolate cake. And here I sit fat and happy. I love black Friday.

[Kristen]

My boyfriend and I moved the final stuff out of my house, since it is pretty much sold now (fingers crossed). And we went to a hockey game and our team list 0-5. Ugh.

[Jennifer]

I love the rush of Black Friday, but haven't been out in a few years. With a 6 day old this year, I definitely wasn't going anywhere near the stores!! :)

[Tina]

We go shopping, but we go about 7 am, so we can beat the lines but still get some of the better (more numerous) deals. We're not rushing out for the big ticket items. We also shop up in my parents smaller town so we kind of like feeling like we're helping out a smaller town's economy. Then we sit around and play games, chat and eat leftovers.

[Caci]

Happy Thanksgiving to all! It was a great day! My shopping started at 9:15 pm and ended at 3:00 am. I had a great time shopping with friends! We ventured out later in the day to check out the boot sales. Scored a great pair of boots for my hubby, at a very reasonable price! Ended the afternoon in the play area at McDonalds. Great day!

[Annabet]

Just love hanging out with my family!

[Robin]

No Shopping! Actually, Friday is when we had our Thanksgiving meal because that's when everyone could get here

[Heather]

My plan was to stay as far away from the madness as possible and I accomplished that goal. :)

[Elizabeth]

Hmmm. I was going to shop for a TV but instead I just sat around and ate left over stuffing.

[morgan s]

We went to the Great Wolf Lodge with the girls and played on the waterslides! It was awesome.

[jan]

Exercised and shopped online!

[Jennifer]

Slept in and shopped for a bit at two whole stores! Exciting, I know. ;)

[Jen]

My Black Friday plans involved a whole lot of hanging around with my family. No shopping, but I wouldn't have had it any other way!

[Turkeylurker]

My black Friday plans were to go to work. Here we don't have any time off for the holidays, so we have to squeeze our holidays into our work days.

[Christina]

I worked out and then set the tree up with my boys. It was an awesome day.

[melissa]

We did absolutely nothing on Black Friday. We intentionally avoided the crowds (also we were already done with the shopping).

[Miranda]

My plan was to go to the Christmas tree farm and run around the trees and go on the little train ride. It was awesome and perfect and SO MUCH BETTER than being elbowed and stepped on at the mall.

[Heather Ben]

Cool books! I stayed at home with the kiddos while the husband raided the sales.

[Cate]

My kids LOVE to be secret agents! Somehow, it always involves them stealing my Scotch tape. On Black Friday, we went to the beautiful Christmas Market here in Bonn. :)

[kim]

Brenda is so talented! We love all three of her books!