Liebster Blog Award

Thanks to Michelle Cusolito over at the fantastically-named Polliwog on Safari, Sprout's Bookshelf is now an award-winning blog! That's right folks, Michelle honored me with the Liebster Blog Award. From her post: "The origins of the Liebster Blog Award are unclear, but the word translates from German as "darling" or "beloved." It's given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers in order to generate some traffic for them." Of Sprout's Bookshelf, Michelle writes "This blog is new to me. I discovered it during the KidLit Comment Challenge and boy am I glad I did."

Well, how can I not be honored by that?? Seriously, it's been such a pleasure just writing this blog, mainly as a way for me to keep track of all the books we read as a family - getting kudos from anyone is just the icing on the cake!

Here's the deal - as part of the award I need to thank the giver (done - thanks, Michelle!), post the award here, tell 5 random facts about myself, and pay the award forward to 5 more deserving blogs.

On to the random facts:

1. I love to travel. Love, love, love it. We don't get to do it enough. And one of my favorite travel rituals is buying trashy magazines to read on the plane - hold the Jane Austen, when in transit I'm a People magazine girl all the way.

2. I hate squash (all kinds), watermelon, olives, raisins and pickles. And coffee, even coffee ice cream, makes me gag, which is too bad since my son is from Ethiopia, home of the world's best coffee -- or so I'm told.

3. In high school, I played the part of Ernestine in our school's production of Cheaper by the Dozen. It was cheesy and fantastic, and I loved every minute of it.

4. I have zero artistic talent. Seriously. Can't crochet, knit, draw, sew or play an instrument, although I have nothing but admiration for those who can. The closest I get is baking, and I mostly do that when I'm stressed out. Come finals, it's wall-to-wall chocolate chip cookies around here!

5. I love water rides at theme parks. My favorite ride at Disneyland is Splash Mountain. At Disney's California Adventure I once begged the attendant to let us stay on Grizzly River Run until my husband got wet - by the third time around he was pretty drenched, but I was soaked through and had to go back to the hotel to change. Totally worth it.

Soooo, now on to the five blogs I'd like to honor with this award!

1. Storied Cities -- I love book blogs with cool and unusual slants, and this one has a great premise: children's books set in and about urban landscapes. Though this blogger's bio states "I've never laid claim to being a great reviewer", I absolutely beg to differ. And you will too.

2. A Mother, A Daughter, and 100 Books -- Ditto the unique approach on this recently launched blog. This mom and daughter aim to read their way through Betsy Bird's Top 100 Fictional Chapter Books, examining each one in detail and blogging their reaction. So far the duo has tackled Little House in the Big Woods, and reading along with their thoughts about Laura Ingalls Wilder's book has been a true pleasure. Can't wait for more, ladies!

3. A Random Hodgepodge of Bookishness -- Amy describes herself as "a public librarian who doesn't get to talk about books enough at work", and her blog is truly a great mix of adult, teen and children's picks. Every word in Amy's reviews is well chosen and her comments are thoughtful, something I really appreciate and would love to emulate!

4. Literary Lunchbox -- Here's someone who's not afraid to mix it up - picture books, chapter books, series reviews and some adult stuff too. Ali's posts are written in a personable, conversational way, so you feel like you're learning about books from a trusted friend. And how can you not love a blogger whose profile pic shows her reading The Tale of Despereaux??

5. Delightful Children's Books -- I suspect a lot of folks are already reading this entertaining and visually appealing blog. If you're not, you'll want to add it to your reader right now. (Go ahead, I'll wait.) Because this one is chock-full of goodness, including booklists broken down by age and a feature called "Read Around the World". Delightful indeed.

And there we are! Thanks again to Michelle, blogger at Polliwog on Safari, for sharing this award with me!