Contests

We really liked Seattle-based songwriter, performer, and music educator Brian Vogan's CD Little Songs. Filled with well-crafted songs for both children, it had a great indie-rock/folk vibe that appealed to parents as well.

We recently received a review copy of Brian's latest effort, Sing a Little Song, in which he performs with his band, his Good Buddies (who just happen to be a number of noteworthy Seattle-area musicians). A worthy successor to Little Songs, Sing a Little Song features a dozen cheerful tracks that share the previous album's nods to indie rock, world music, folk, jazz, and, well, just about any musical style you can think of. The CD's themes of course deal with subjects that children care about—including frogs, dinosaurs, vehicles, and space travel—but the catchy songs definitely appeal to music lovers of all ages.

Our back-to-school Yubo lunchbox kit giveaway is over! Congratulations to Melissa D. of San Rafael, who chose the blue lunchbox with the cool shark faceplates (those are the ones that my son likes, too).

We’re giving away a free Yubo Deluxe Kit lunchbox of your choice (choose color and faceplates—not personalized) to a lucky Marin Mommies reader! Send an e-mail with "Yubo lunchbox" in the subject line to contests@marinmommies.com by midnight (Pacific time) this Sunday, August 15, 2010.

One winner will be selected at random, and we'll announce the winner on Monday, August 16. Good luck!

Read our review of the Yubo lunchbox here.

Congratulations to Karen R., winner of our 2010 back-to-school BusyBodyBook giveaway!

School's about to start and getting organized both for yourself and the kids is a must. Our favorite way to get organized is with the BusyBodyBook! The BusyBodyBook is a stylish and easy-to-use family organizer designed specifically for families. It allows you to keep track of the entire family's schedules at a glance, and it's something I can't live without. BusyBodyBooks are available for both 2010–2011 school year (August 2010–August 2011) and traditional January–December, 2010 calendar year versions. This year, they have some really new cool designs.

To help you get organized, we're giving away a free BusyBodyBook to a lucky Marin Mommies reader! Send an e-mail with BUSYBODYBOOK in the subject line to contests@marinmommies.com by midnight (Pacific time) this Friday, August 6, 2010 One winner will be selected at random, and we'll announce the winner on Saturday, August 7. Good luck!

Update: We've just been given another 10 family packs (4 tickets each) for this screening! The last 10 went really fast, so if you want them, make sure you redeem the RSVP code below as soon as possible.

We're giving away more movie stuff! Ten lucky winners will win a family four pack of passes to attend an advance screening of the family action movie The Spy Next Door in San Francisco on Tuesday, December 29 at 7 pm. Simply visit www.gofobo.com and enter the RSVP code 4HF0N6 to win. The first ten people to enter the code will get a set of passes. Easy, right? If you win, please note that the screening is overbooked to ensure full attendance, so please arrive early.

Disney's newest animated feature, The Princess and the Frog, opened this past Friday to rave reviews. Featuring elegant old-school hand-drawn animation and Disney's first-ever African American princess herione, this take on the classic fairy tale is set in Jazz-age New Orleans, and was created by the team responsible for The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. The Princess and the Frog also boasts music by award-winning composer Randy Newman.

We're giving away a cool The Princess and the Frog prize pack filled with goodies related to the movie as well as a pass for two to see it. (The pass is good in San Francisco only, so unless you live there you'll have to make a trip into the city to see it, but that's part of the fun, isn't it?) To enter, send an email to contests@marinmommies.com with "Princess and the Frog" in the subject line. Enter by 11:59 pm (PST) on Friday, December 18. We'll choose a random winner on Saturday, December 19. Good luck!

Congratulations to Jessica M., winner of our fantastic Fantastic Mr. Fox contest! Jessica won a family pack of four tickets to see the new animated film of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox, directed by Wes Anderson, as well as movie posters and furry fox tail ties to wear. Thanks to Fox Searchlight for generously sponsoring this contest.

Check back on Marin Mommies soon, as we have other great giveaways lined up!

When I was in grade school, my favorite book was Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox. I checked it out from the school library and read in numerous times, and I even committed to memory the little limerick about the story's antagonists, farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.

Boggis, Bunce, and Bean
One fat, one short, one lean
Those horrible crooks
So different in looks
Were nonetheless equally mean

So I was really excited to learn about the upcoming animated movie version of the Fantastic Mr. Fox, which opens everywhere on November 25, 2009. You can also imagine how excited I was when Fox Searchlight generously agreed to sponsor a Fantastic Mr. Fox contest on Marin Mommies! We're offering one lucky winner a family pack of four tickets to see this fantastic new movie, which Salon.com audaciously declares to be "Better than Pixar." But wait, that's not all! The winner will also receive four movie posters and four furry fox tail ties to wear.

All you have to do is send an email to contests@marinmommies.com with "Fantastic Mr. Fox" in the subject line. You'll have until 11:59 pm on Wednesday, November 25, to submit your entry, and we'll select a winner at random and announce the results on Friday, November 27. (As always, we promise not to use your email in any way other than to notify you if you've won.)

Congratulations to Karen F.—she's the winner of our fall BusyBodyBook giveaway! Karen is the lucky recipient of the 2009–2010 School Year BusyBodyBook family organizer.

Thanks again to BusyBodyBook's Joan Goldner for providing the great prize for this giveaway. You can read our article about the 2009–2010 BusyBodyBooks here.