Basie and Paisley Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

Since becoming a mother, I’ve recently been reading A LOT of children’s books. You’ve got your educational ones, your sentimental ones, your fun ones and so many more different types. I love them all, but one of my favorite types has to be the plain old silly, make you smile, fun kind of books.

I recently had the opportunity to read the Basie and Paisley Children’s series and they ARE this type of fun. The two books, A Spider Lives in my Belly Button and A Monstrous Smile are such cute children’s stories; I can’t wait for them to come out with more. It’s all about having fun with this series and the author and illustrator do a great job of making these books show children that.

Basie and Paisley were created in 2007 by the author James Robert Miller who creatively came up with this fun concept for the books. James enlisted his sister, Leslie A. Kelly, to create the fun and loving characters that would become Basie and Paisley. Both James and Leslie reside in my home state of Michigan, and I am so thrilled to know such talent is so close to home! I promise my review isn’t biased on this fact alone.

Miller hopes that, with his books, he can inspire children that no idea is too silly, and that dreams can come true with hard work, dedication, and daydreaming. I’m thinking he’s well on his way with these two books and I look forward to more being created.

The books -

A Spider Lives in my Belly Button

I think you can get from the title that this is going to be a silly one. It is and I love it! This book incorporates imagination and silliness perfectly. Basie and the spider in his belly button sure do have some fun! They eat cheeseburgers and fries, play drums, go roller skating and more, only to find out there isn’t actually a spider in his belly button, just lint. It’s very imaginative and very fun. The idea behind this book is so simple, yet it’s so cute, you just have to smile. This book had me smiling the whole way through and I can’t wait for Rosemary to be a bit older so she can understand the silliness and play along with Basie.

A Monstrous Smile

Paisley takes readers through all of the fun activities that cause her to have a monstrous smile. She plays polka on an accordion, jumps in leaves, talks into an oscillating fan and more. I mean, who doesn’t smile when they do those things?! This book is just as beautifully illustrated as the first one and shows just as much fun and imagination as the other as well.

I’m not sure on the exact intended age for these books, but I think Rosemary at 7 months is a bit young for them by herself. They are soft cover, so even though I’ve read them to her, they’re not the kind I’d let her play with by herself at this point. Perhaps board books are on the agenda?? Once Rosemary’s a bit older, I’m going to be so excited for us to read them together. I really hope she loves them as much as I do!

I really like both of these books. Everything about them. The vibrant colors of the characters, the silly way they’re shaped, the silly things they do, everything! I think it’s a great combination of silliness and incorporating positive experiences that all children and parents would approve of. The characters are drawn well, the colors are bold, the writing is well done, and I really recommend this series.

To purchase these books you can find them over on Amazon and several local Michigan stores. Go here for a complete listing. Basie and Paisley also have cute wall graphics for the characters available to purchase here.

One lucky reader won't have to purchase the series as I've been offered one set of the books for a giveaway!

To enter simply visit Basie and Paisley website and return here commenting on something you learned. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

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Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the sleeping bag. Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and ends on May 31, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.


I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses nor damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.