Mark Your Calendars!! Free Comic Book Day is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year on May 7, 2011.

Each year, participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely *FREE* to anyone who comes into their stores. Since its inception, Free Comic Book Day has given out over 20 million free comics to nearly 5.5 million people.

The goal of Free Comic Book Day is to promote the comic book medium to new customers young and old and celebrate the independent comic book retailers and their stores. Comics are fun and a great tool for introducing young children to the world of reading.

This year’s list of free comics includes mainstream titles such as: Kung Fu Panda, The Smurfs, Spider-Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, Green Lantern from this year’s expected blockbuster movie and much more!

This is a great way to get your kids reading, and interested in comic books. When I was little I remember loving the Archie comics with Veronica and Betty. To learn more and to find a participating location near you, Please visit www.freecomicbookday.com

Have fun, and get out and get your Comic book today!

The Plus Size Mommy

Congratulations to the following reader for entering and winning the V.Reader from V-Tech. The winner is : Kim D.

Please email me at plussizemommy@gmail.com with “V, Reader Winner” in the subject line. You MUST respond within 48 hours to claim your prize or another winner will be chosen. (No Exceptions).
I will need your name, address, and phone # for shipping purposes. The company will be shipping the V. Reader direct to you.
I am not responsible for lost or damaged prizes.

THANK YOU to all who entered. And to Kim D. ENJOY !!!

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure – I was also sent a V. Reader and the prize will be shipped to the winner at no charge to me.

I was recently contacted by V-Tech Toys to see if my 4 yr. old daughter would like to experience the newest of E-readers. The V-Tech V. Reader! I was so excited as you could imagine. I mean my family #1 LOVES V-Tech toys and we buy them and play with them all of the time. And #2 I, as a mom LOVE the value of my child learning while playing. It teaches Phonics, Rhyming, Word Building, and Reading Comprehension. It is a wonderful tool that my daughter is already in love with. Her little sister who is 2 years old, has also been enjoying it.

My daughter who is 4 will be going to her 2nd year of pre-school this year due to her not meeting the age requirement for the cut-off for Kindergarten (Her birthday is Oct. 5th!) She is eager than ever to learn and so it is the perfect time to introduce her to this great tool/toy.

The recommended age for the V.Reader is ages 3-7. There are a ton of cartridges to choose from with new books for your kids to read from. As your child reads along with the book, the words light up so they can stay with the reader. There are games to fill in the letters and promote spelling. You can bookmark pages while reading too. There is also music and the characters come to life and make reading so exciting for kids.

The child can personalize the V.Reader too by entering their name. I love to take this in the car with us, my daughter has been reading her books over and over and loving it.

The V.Reader comes with a book cartridge called, “What’s That Noise?” It is an adorable story about a dog who moves to the city from the country. It also comes with the USB Cable and the user manual. It takes 4 “AA” Batteries (Or you can use an AC adapter). You can download additional stories from your computer to the V.Reader. SO the library is very large to choose from, in fact it has over 100 titles in it. (See the library at www.vtechkids.com) There is also a story dictionary that children can use to see what a word means.

Overall I am VERY impressed with the V.Reader. However it doesn’t surprise me because like I said, we buy V- Tech learning toys all of the time and love them.

Where can I find a V.Reader to buy? V.Reader will be available exclusively at Target stores and online from June 21 to August. You can see more from Target Here : http://bit.ly/b9RBSL

The cost of a V.Reader SRP is $59.99 and the story cartridges are $19.99  each.

Now, you too can experience the V.Reader with your child by entering to win one right here on my blog!

Here are the ways for entering :

1. Follow V-Tech toys on Twitter at :  @VTechToys comment and tell me you are  = 1 entry!
2. Follow Me on Twitter at: @plussizemommy comment and tell me you are  = 1 entry!
3. “Like” V-Tech on Facebook Here : www.facebook.com/VTechtoys (tell them I sent you on their wall) = 1 entry!
4. “Like” The Plus Size Mommy on Facebook and/or follow me via networked blogs (click on follow on right sidebar)  = 1 entry
5. Visit www.vtechkids.com Browse the V.Reader story titles and come back and comment which book would be the first you would buy your child if you are the winner of this giveaway = 1 entry
6. Become a subscriber to my blog , comment and tell me you are = 1 entry
7. Tweet the following on twitter : ” Win a V.Reader by @VTechToys on @Plussizemommy  ’s blog here : http://bit.ly/bYO0uC ” – comment with your tweet thread, can do this up to 4 times per day = up to 4 entries. (Separate comments please)

This giveaway begins NOW and ends on 7/8/2010 at 9PM Est. You must be a subscriber to this blog to be eligible to win. Winner must be living in USA only. Winner WILL NOT be emailed, Winner will be posted to this blog by 7/9/2010 with instructions to claim your prize. Winner must claim the prize within 48 hours of being posted or another winner will be chosen. Winner will be chosen via random.org.

Prize will be sent directly from the company to the winner. I am not responsible for any damage or lost prizes. If there is a problem please email me and I will see if I can help.

Thank you to ALL who enter and GOOD LUCK to you ALL!!!

The Plus Size Mommy

*Disclosure – I was given a V.Reader by VTech for my review. I was allowed to keep the product, but the opinion I am sharing remains my own.