Do you have any recordable books? If my children hadn’t received these as a gifts, I’m not sure I would have imagined that we would gain so much from them.
When my older daughter, N, was one and half, her grandparents and uncle sent her recorded copy of The Night Before Christmas. They took turns recording the pages, mailed it off to us, and we all enjoy feeling a little bit closer to them when we hear their voices. They live far away on the other side of the country, and the clear sound of their voices helps us connect to them in between phone calls and visits.
Connecting with faraway family is a enough of a reason to get one of these books. What I didn’t anticipate was that N would learn to recite the entire poem, The Night Before Christmas, before her third birthday. This totally blew me away, and I’m sure it’s because she had control over listening to the passages of the poem at her own pace.
I’m not here to brag about my child’s brilliance — that’s not the point (although of course I think my kids are amazing!)– rather it’s one example of how the repetition of stories, poetry, and songs can get deep into a child’s soul, contribute to memory-building, and transform their imagination.
She listened to this story over and over again, apparently soaking it all up and paying attention to Clement Clarke Moore’s complex and rich language and eventually repeated it back to the book, and then to my husband and me:
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
So when Hallmark asked if I’d like to review a couple of their recordable books, how could I say no?
I got the chance to record my voice on the books they sent while my kids sat on my lap (not recommended unless you like the ambiant sound of your kids asking you questions and making chirping noises), and my girls now enjoy opening them up to hear me tell a story.
And this brings me to a sort of cautionary tale. I was picking up twinkly lights in the holiday aisle of our drug store last winter when I saw a woman looking at a display of recordable books. Our eyes connected and I couldn’t help but share how much my kids have gained from these books. She agreed with me and then explained that her father just passed away and she wished she had asked him to record a copy a book for her kids just a couple weeks back. How could she have known?
Not one to end on a sad note, if you click on this page you’ll see a full list of all the Hallmark Recordable books. I don’t see any holiday books there, but perhaps they’re seasonal and we’ll see them again soon.
If you’d like to enter for a chance to win your very own recordable book, Hallmark has given me two books to give away. To enter for a chance to win one, please leave a comment with the name of the book you would most like to own and why, and I’ll select a winner through Random.org. Contest is open to US residents and closes on Sunday, May 13 at 9 pm PST.
I’m in no way affiliated with Hallmark; I’m just a happy customer who looks for opportunities to share the things I love with my readers.
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
We just celebrated my 1-year old’s and 5-year old’s birthdays this week with a library party. I just told my husband I was going to Hallmark this week to get a recordable book for each of them as our present to them. We love LOVE YOU FOREVER…didn’t know it was recordable! So excited to for the give-away.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
I would love to get any of the books, but if I have to choose one I think I would like to get Under the Same Moon.
The book that we would love to add to our collection is the Mom & Me conversation book. My son has a speech issue and we are working with wh questions. This would be perfect.
My parents have gotten two of these books for my children and we love them! There are so many good titles to choose from, but I think I would pick Bright and Beautiful as my children are particularly fond of prayer time.
We have Love You Forever, and it’s one of my daughter’s favorites. I bet she would also love the Goodnight Moon book.
We would love to win Under the Same Moon, and have the kids’ grandparents, who live far away, record this story for them. Thanks for the chance to win!
We have a couple of the Christmas ones that my parents have recorded for my kiddos. They are wonderful.
Goodnight Moon would be an awesome addition to our library.
We sent Bright and Beautiful to my son while he was still waiting for us in Korea so that he could hear Mommy and Daddy’s voice before we came to pick him up. We must not have locked it so a few pages were rerecorded by his foster mom (and a crying baby!) since they were messed up. Now we have a lovely story read by my husband and I with a few treasured pages by his foster mom! I would love to add Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep to that collection!
I’d like my son to have “On the Night You Were Born” – a book that even I could stand to hear repeated ad infinitum!
Thanks for the chance to win
Hey Diddle Diddle– my son has always loved nursery rhymes.
Mom mom recorded The Night Before Christmas for my son a couple years ago. I just lost her recently. I am looking forward to having her read it to him this year even though she can’t be there. I must admit, it will be very difficult for me to hear.
The recordable books are so great! My mother recorded T’was the Night Before Christmas for my son when he was born. There are two books that would be great to have. Good Night Moon, because my 3 year old knows it so well I think he could record it, and Guess How Much I Love You because it is a book I have been meaning to add to his collection.
I think these would be pretty cool. I would love to get Goodnight Moon because it’s our favorite bedtime story. I started reciting it from memory to get her to sleep at night and my daughter loves it. It would be great to have since we are adding a new baby in the next few days – maybe it would ease the sleeping struggles we are sure to have trying to get two to sleep at night.
These are all terrific choices. If we won, my son and I would love to have Bright & Beautiful so that his grandparents could read it to him and help him remember them always.
We live far away from my baby’s grandparents, so I’d definitely ask them to record one for him. I’m not sure which one I’d pick. Maybe “The Giving Tree”.
We love these books, too! My in-laws recorded two Christmas books for my daughters, and the girls listen to these books all the time! My 3 year old can recite “Twas the Night Before Christmas” too.
I think I’d pick “Under the Same Moon” so that I could have my parents record it for my girls. If I were picking a book for me to record, though, I’d want “On the Night You Were Born” if I could manage to read it without crying.
My sister bought one of these for my mother to record for her youngest grandchild. Unfortunately, she hasn’t done so yet, but we keep working on her. I, on the other hand, would gladly record any of the books (that weren’t specific to grandmothers), including Lightning McQueen and his Winning Team, Winnie the Pooh’s Plan Bee, We’re Not Scared of Anything! I tried to pick a favorite, but this is as far as I could narrow it. My 4-year old niece loves books of any kind. This would be extra special for her. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to win one of them.
There are so many wonderful books to choose from. I think my first choice would be “Thank You God for Everything”. I also love Goodnight Moon and I Will Love You Forever. I have 7 grandchildren and these would make wonderful gifts for them.
This giveaway is wonderful:)
On the night you were born!
What a wonderful idea. I didn’t know these existed. My son would love these. There were so many I was interested in getting for him. Love you forever, stands out
My son has a couple of these from two of his grandfathers. He loves them. Eventually I want one from each of the grandparents, great-grandparents, his dad and me. If I were to pick one right now it would be Thank You, God, for Everything.
Would love to win Hey Diddle Diddle!
It was a difficult choice…but i wiould pick , Bight and Beautiful, a child’s blessing…
fingers crossed…
What a great idea. Never heard of these before. Would love to have Mom record one for my kids as she has dementia and it would be a great memory for the kids. Good night Moon – my fauvorite.
I can’t decide between Love You Forever and On The Night You Were Born. My son just turn 6 months old, so both of these would be great for me to record for him. He already has one from each Grandma, so one in his mom’s voice would complete the set!
Definately not love you forever. I cry every single time i read it. First time i read it i sobbed, wept, hung my head….”mom!” Truely one of the best books ever written.
I’ll pick a funny one.
Would love to get Goodnight Moon, one of our family favorites. Thanks for the chance!
We received On the Night You Were Born shortly after my son was born and fell in love with its beautiful, soulful words and message. We would LOVE to have a recordable book for our family who all live far away.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Love You Forever – because they never get old.
Love You Forever is definitely a favorite! I actually received a non-recordable version of it before my son was born and I read it out loud to him throughout the pregnancy. I’m sure it was partly pregnancy hormones, but I would always cry as I read it to him. It really made preparing to be a first-time mommy amazing for me and that book will always hold a very special place in my heart! I still get a little teary-eyed when I read it today, but that’s because it’s a truly wonderful book! Would LOVE to have a recordable version for him to enjoy as well!!
Curious George because my son loves george
I’d get the grandma and me book. My mom would ADORE that!!
goodnight moon is a personal favorite of mine!
I was just at the Hallmark store today and looking at these books! I would choose “Mom & Me”. Why? For purely selfish reasons. I think the book would be more for me than my son! I just want to be able to listen to his little voice years from now when he’s older. Even now when I watch videos of him as a baby (a mere year ago) cooing and babbling and crying…I get all mushy inside. I don’t know how long the recordings will last, but how great would it be as a keepsake for his children someday?
I’ve always wanted to get one of these but the hefty price tag doesn’t fit our budget! So wow would we love one! So, Winnie the Pooh’s Plan B would be our pick as we are huge Pooh fans over here!
Thanks
Jane
I would like to own the Lightning McQueen and His Winning Team book because my son is a big Cars Fan.
Under the Same Moon as my little ones are into the moon right now.
Goodnight Moon… or On The Night That You Were Born. Deciding between books is hard!!! Thanks so much for the chance to win!
Guess How Much I Love You because my niece loves this book and i live across the country and can’t read it to her as often as i want to!
Frosty the Snowman because I remember it from when I was little and I would love to share it with my children!! I would have their Grandmother record the story since she lives far away…