Review and Giveaway of Kathryn The Grape, Just Like Magic

 Growing up is hard to do. When my kids are sick, frustrated, embarrassed, or in whatever pain life inflicts during the long journey to adulthood, I often wish I could trade places with them for that moment because it hurts me to see them suffer. Ultimately, if this “trade” were possible, it would not help our children in any way because they need to go through trials to get stronger, develop character, and learn the game of life. However, along the way, I always welcome motivational/inspirational tidbits of “magic” that can help us raise our children in the rollercoaster ride of life.

Kathryn The Grape, Just Like Magic is a magical children’s book I would recommend as a perfect “read together” for all families with children. It was written by Kathryn Cloward and Jody Duhamel and illustrated by Christine Winscott, published by kandonpublishing in 2010 and retails for $16.99. It is a vibrantly illustrated 40 page purple hard cover book. My daughters who are 3 & 6 years old have enjoyed repeatedly reading this book with me. The story is about Kathryn and her magical butterfly friend Maggie and how they overcome the daily challenges of childhood such as nervousness, fears of a monster under the bed, and befriending classmates who are lonely or sad. The book has its own website http://www.kathrynthegrape.com/ where one can learn more about the book and sample just how cute the illustrations are. On the Kathryn the Grape blog, you'll find links to Kathryn the Grape printable coloring pages to download.  Through awesome pictures and a fun storyline, young readers will “discover their own inner strength and fearlessness, learn about making new friends, and learn the importance of helping others." I feel that families who make this book a part of their reading collection will be able to use this story as a conversation starter with their children when teaching basic values.  Because of the “magic” and colors spread evenly though the whole book, I see it as unforgettable story to refer to when children have challenging days.

True Story: Two weeks ago I ran my first marathon. I had been training for it so I thought I would finish it without much of a struggle. At mile twenty (which is the number of miles we had trained up to), I hit the wall and wanted to give up. It was a very small race in the country with only 14 runners total so there were no people cheering us on at water stations on the side of the road like you see at big marathons. It was all up to each of the runners individually to get through the run. By mile twenty all of us were all spread out so I had no one I could see in front of me nor in back of me. It was just me and my tired legs pounding the pavement in the hot sun all by myself. It was grueling and became a battle of the mind more than my body! I had to walk for a few minutes then I would push myself to run for a ½ mile or so and then walk again and tell myself to keep going and not stop because I was almost there and it had been a lifelong goal to do a marathon. When there were about 2 ½ miles left I started thinking “I think I can, I think I can….keep running…..don’t stop…I think I can, I think I can."  I thought of the Little Engine that Could, I thought of how hard I had trained, I thought of my kids at the finish line. Out of the blue from my subconscious, I kid you not, came a LOUD, “I AM THE MAGICAL Kathryn the Grape!” which is a line from the book. Honestly, it made me laugh and I thought, “The book IS Magic!” and then laughed again. I was SO tired, SO ready to be done with the long run and then I thought of the other parts of the book that I hope my daughters will remember for the rest of their lives such as “the magic lives inside of you!” and “everyone is magical." I guess I had read the book enough times for the certain lines to become part of my inner storage of backup motivation! So, for the rest of the race I alternated between “I think I can, I think I can…. I am magic, keep running….don’t stop," repeating them over and over again. I got through the race and was able proudly able to check something off of my bucket list! Mahalo for the inspiration, Kathryn the Grape!

BUY IT
To purchase Kathryn The Grape, Just Like Magic for your child (or for yourself!), click here or you can buy the book from your favorite online bookstore like Amazon.

WIN IT
The authors have generously offered one lucky Moana Saves reader an autographed copy of Kathryn the Grape, Just like Magic of their own!

To earn a mandatory entry, follow Kathryn the Grape on Twitter here. Mandatory means that if you don't do this first, all of your other entries will be disqualified.  Make sure to leave a comment saying you've done this as well as your twitter handle.

To earn an additional entry, do one (or all) of the following and leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

1. Follow Moana Saves on Twitter.

2. Tweet about this giveaway (limit one tweet per day) using the following (leave the tweet URL in your comment):
#Win Kathryn the Grape, Just Like Magic (hardcover childrens book) from @kathrynthegrape and @moanasaves ends 1/7 http://bit.ly/i2HKV6

3. Become a Google Friend Connect follower of Moana Saves (in the side bar).

4. Like the Kathryn the Grape Facebook page.

5. Like the Moana Saves Facebook page.

6. Follow Moana Saves on Networked Blogs (in the side bar).

7. Subscribe to the Moana Saves feed via RSS reader and/or email updates.

Only one person per email/household/IPaddress can enter this giveaway.  He/she must be 18+ years old and reside in the U.S.  This giveaway ends on Friday, January 7th at 11:59 PM HST (Hawaii Standard Time).  One winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org.  I will notify the winner via email and he/she must respond to claim the prize within 48 hours or I will draw another winner.

Mahalo to the authors for providing Kathryn the Grape: Just Like Magic for review.  I did not receive compensation for this post.  Any and all opinions here are my own.